Recently, I’ve been purchasing shoes at an alarming rate, and for the life of me, I don’t know why (I lied, maybe I do.  But I won’t admit it here).   During my last year of college, I ignored all the pairs of Jordans I owned and gave my attention to one pair of Timberland boots, and one pair of PF Flyers.  Those two saw a lot of miles while my other sneakers collected dust and either found new owners or the bottom of old Avon boxes.

Fast forward to the current, I have three large bins over-filled with shoes – all collected within the last 12 months – and everything from boots, casual, dress, mostly sneakers, and my Currys.

And yes, my Currys deserve its own category.

I had the fortunate opportunity to disrupt this behavior from a kid that needed new shoes.  He has two younger siblings and they are all cared for by their single father.  Without going into the details, times have been rough for this family.  And I’ve been there before, literally in those same shoes.  Shoes with holes, without heels, without traction.  Shoes that should no longer be worn anymore.

The next day I went through my bins and pulled several pairs that were good for a growing 8^th grader.  I had them delivered over to him, hoping it would suffice both his needs and wants.  What I appreciated most from this was having the feeling of not wanting anything back.  I’ve been buying one new pair after another, but on a drop of a dime I parted with some of them because kids deserve to run, catch, shoot, throw, and dive; they’re limited to those necessities without a simple pair of shoes.

A few days later I received very genuine letter of appreciation from him.  Before a tear could roll from my eye I’m reminded of a simple life rule I’ve adopted and lived by: don’t be the dick in the crowd that catches a foul ball and doesn’t give it to a kid.

Letter received for the sneakers provided.

No matter what goals you are in pursuit of or what you live for, keep in mind that ever single thing you do make up the fabric that our youth will wear on their backs.  So feed tradition, teach compassion, encourage necessary mistakes, forgive faults, ignite success, instill better, laugh a lot, and love even more.

If we make enough of our own luck, they won’t be keeping any baseballs for themselves, either.