Bob and I were talking about old times the other night while we were watching the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Game. After all these years he was surprised to learn that I played basketball in high school, and even more surprised to learn that I tore the ligaments in my knee and ended up in a cast and on crutches for six weeks.
In 1962 we had no backpacks. We carried all our books and binders in our arms from home, from class to class, and back home again. That is not something you can do on crutches.
The semester this happened, I had been chosen by my typing teacher to teach typing to a class of students with disabilities. The idea was that it would improve eye-to-hand coordination. Their classroom was in the back of the school in a portable known as H3.
Kids can be cruel and those who were seen entering H3 were immediately labeled with labels no one should ever wear. Most of my “friends” at the time joined in.
On my first day back at school on crutches, it wasn’t my friends who met me at the bus, but one of my “H3” typing students, grabbing my books and escorting me to my class. At the end of class, another met me and escorted me to the next class. That happened every period. At the end of school, the last one carried my books to the bus.
For six weeks, these kids carried out the same self-assigned tasks. After 62 years I seldom think about my “friends,” but I’ll never forget the kindness shown me by my “H3” typing class. Amazing how long a simple kindness is remembered.
“Therefore, God’s chosen ones, holy and loved, put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” [Colossians 3:12 HCSB]
