Manizales has been great…despite the almost constant drizzle and heavy fog. This morning I visited one of the schools that the group I am consulting for is working with. The kids were amazing. It was sad, when I left they all gave me a massive group hug. I am actually going to see them tomorrow too…but they don’t know that! Check out this video of us working with some of the children who are in a bilingual choir in one of Manizales public schools.
I am still writing up blog entries from last week!
Photo: Reed
So I told you in the previous blog posting about my trips to see the Mets vs. Nationals games last week. After the game I was sifting through the crowds a the subway station platform trying to position myself so that I would make the next train. I walked by Anthony who was leaning against a short wall that overlooked the lower level of the station where another train line runs. As I walked by he leaned his head back as if to rest it against the wall, but there was not wall behind his head so his head went back further than he expected and his sunglasses fell from their resting position on top of his baseball hat and fell 20 feet onto the tracks below.
“Did you just lose something,” I asked him as I saw him quickly look over the side of the wall. Shaking his head back and forth he smiled and said, “Yeah…my sunglasses.” We both peered over the wall to see if we could see them but they were gone.
“They were cheap. I paid like $7 for them.” He shrugged it off and I continued my way toward the other end of the station.
I wasn’t ten feet away when I realized he should be my $10 recipient for the day! I rushed back to see if he was still there. He was.
Anthony is a 40-year-old Caddie Master at a prestigious local country club. He was born and raised in Maryland. After a few minutes I realized that he was a Met’s fan as well! Let’s go Mets! We reminisced a little bit about the days of the 1986 Mets. “People even used to say that I looked like Dr. K when I was younger,” he said referring to Dwight Gooden, the former star pitcher for New York.
It turns out that Anthony he himself is a former professional baseball player with the Texas Rangers’ farm team. He spent two years with them from 1992-1994. He also played on the USA national team and won a bronze medal in 1996.
Below there is a clip of us talking about Anthony’s attitude toward life and his experience with the Texas Rangers. You might catch a glimpse of his father directly behind Anthony if you look close. They had went to the game together. I still like to go to games with my dad. In fact, he and I went to see a game the last year that Shea Stadium was being used and then the first year of their new stadium, Citi Field.
Anthony is a really nice guy. I love that I met him and it is sad to think that if I had not been doing this project, I might not have stopped and spoken with him. With every person I meet through the Year of Giving, my life becomes much richer. An interesting irony given the negative cash flow of my current situation.
Oh, I almost forgot. You guessed it. Anthony is going to buy some new sun glasses with the $10 I gave him.
Year of Giving 