Chick15
Chicken Soup of the Soul
#15
Nothing but the Truth!
David Casstevens of the Dallas Morning News tells a story about Frank Szymanski,
a Notre Dame center in the
1940s, who had been called as a witness in a civil suit at South Bend.
"Are you on the Notre Dame football team this year?" the judge asked.
"Yes, Your Honor."
"What position?"
"Center, Your Honor."
"How good a center?"
Szymanski squirmed in his seat, but said firmly: "Sir, I'm the best
center Notre Dame has ever had."
Coach Frank Leahy, who was in the courtroom, was surprised. Szymanski
always had been modest and unassuming.
So when
the proceedings were over, he took Szymanski aside and asked why he had
made such a statement. Szymanski
blushed.
"I hated to do it, Coach," he said. "But, after all, I was under
oath."
By David Casstevens
from Condensed Chicken Soup for the Soul
Copyright 1996 by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen & Patty Hansen
"Never Give Up!"
Sir Winston Churchill took three years getting through
eighth grade because he had trouble learning English. It
seems ironic that years later Oxford University asked him to
address its commencement exercises. He arrived with his
usual props. A cigar, a cane and a top hat accompanied
Churchill wherever he went. As Churchill approached the
podium, the crowd rose in appreciative applause. With
unmatched dignity, he settled the crowd and stood confident
before his admirers. Removing the cigar and carefully
placing the top hat on the podium, Churchill gazed at his
waiting audience. Authority rang in Churchill's voice as he
shouted, "Never give up!" Several seconds passed before he
rose to his toes and repeated: "Never give up!" His words
thundered in their ears. There was a deafening silence as
Churchill reached for his hat and cigar, steadied himself
with his cane and left the platform. His commencement
address was finished.
By Speaker's Sourcebook II
from Chicken Soup for the Surviving Soul
Copyright 1996 by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Patty Aubery
& Nancy Mitchell, R.N.
The Home Run
On June 18th, I went to my little brother's baseball game as I always did.
Cory was 12 years old at the time and
had been playing baseball for a couple of years. When I saw that
he was warming up to be next at bat, I decided to head
over to the dugout to give him a few pointers. But when I
got there, I simply said, "I love you."
In return, he asked, "Does this mean you want me to hit a home run?"
I smiled and said, "Do your best."
As he walked up to the plate, there was a certain aura about him,
He looked so confident and so sure about what he
was going to do. One swing was all he took and, wouldn't you know,
he hit his first home run! He ran around those
bases with such pride - his eyes sparkled and his face was lit up.
But what touched my heart the most was when he
walked back over to the dugout. He looked over at me with the biggest
smile I've ever seen and said, "I love you too,
Ter."
I don't remember if his team won or lost that game. On that
special summer day in June, it simply didn't matter.
by Terri Vandermark
from Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul
Copyright 1997 by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Kimberly
Kirberger
The Beauty Remains; the Pain Passes
Although Henri Matisse was nearly 28 years younger
than Auguste Renoir, the two great artists were dear friends
and frequent companions. When Renoir was confined to his
home during the last decade of his life, Matisse visited him
daily. Renoir, almost paralyzed by arthritis, continued to
paint in spite of his infirmities. One day as Matisse
watched the elder painter working in his studio, fighting
torturous pain with each brush stroke, he blurted out:
"Auguste, why do you continue to paint when you are in such
agony?"
Renoir answered simply: "The beauty remains; the pain
passes." And so, almost to his dying day, Renoir put paint
to canvas. One of his most famous paintings, The Bathers,
was completed just two years before his passing, 14 years
after he was stricken by this disabling disease.
By The Best of Bits & Pieces
from A 3rd Serving of Chicken Soup for the Soul
Copyright 1996 by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen
Recognize Your Winners
Fran Tarkenton, former Minnesota Vikings quarterback, once called
a play that required him to block onrushing
tacklers.
NFL quarterbacks almost never block. They're usually vastly outweighed
by defenders, so blocking exposes them
to the risk of severe injury.
But the team was behind, and a surprise play was needed. Tarkenton
went in to block, and the runner scored
a touchdown. The Vikings won the game.
Watching the game films with the team the next day, Tarkenton expected
a big pat on the back for what he'd
done.
It never came.
After the meeting, Tarkenton approached coach Bud Grant and asked, "You
saw my block, didn't you, Coach?
How come you didn't say anything about it?"
Grant replied, "Sure, I saw the block. It was great. But you're always
working hard out there, Fran. I figured
I didn't have to tell you."
"Well," Tarkenton replied, "if you ever want me to block again, you do!"
Don Martin
from A 3rd Serving of Chicken Soup for the Soul
Copyright 1996 by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen
