As St Patrick’s Day rolls around yet another year, I am reminded of a humbling experience that I associate with this holiday. In 1977 I was a player on the high school baseball team. It was well documented by the school officials that St Patrick’s Day had the highest absentee rate more than any other day of the year. So they put out official notice that you better have a good reason for missing school.
As the saying goes, on this day “everybody is Irish!” Over 100 U.S. cities now hold Saint Patrick’s Day parades. Chicago is one of those cities and has one of the finest celebrations. Our baseball coach was also aware of this tradition and he too put out warning to all players that if you missed practice that day, he would levee a fine for those absent. The way my class schedule was set up I could go downtown late in the day and not miss any classes. However, I would miss baseball practice.
With a bit of trepidation, I succumbed to peer pressure and decided to make the trek to see the dyed-green river. I saw a couple of other players and felt relieved knowing I wouldn’t be the only one to miss practice. When I returned to school the next day I was in for quite a surprise. Upon showing up for practice the coach read off the names of those absent the previous day. I was the only player on the list. Apparently, the other players had gone downtown for the festivities, but were smart enough to get back in time for the afternoon practice. I was not so fortunate.
The coach called me in front of the team and asked why I wasn’t at practice. I said I went downtown and didn’t get back in time. I added that I knew I screwed up and was willing to pay the fine. I think the coach felt I was showing him up. So he told me to start running while the others practiced. And run I did. For two hours, the coach had me keep running on the oval track. Whenever I slowed down to catch my breath, he would yell at me to keep moving. I think I figured out I did about 10 miles that day. Coach finally told me to stop running; there was one more thing. I still had to pay a five dollar fine. Quite a lesson.
It is a lesson I will not forget. I believe in values such as integrity, honesty, commitment, loyalty. I was honest. I told the truth. But I also believe integrity is doing the right thing for the right reason. The day I made the decision not to get back for practice, I jeopardized my values. I sacrificed commitment to my teammates over the willingness to have fun. I undermined my loyalty to my coach. That coach spent 47 years teaching thousands of kids like me the true value of making sacrifices. Every St Patrick’s Day, I think of Coach Jack Kaiser and what he taught me off the field.