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Windows Media
Player the crew of Apollo 8 became the first human beings to orbit the moon and look back at earth. Over a billion people watched as the crew reflected on this new perspective by reading the creation story from the book of Genesis, followed by a Christmas greeting and prayer. The greeting and prayer are as relevant today as they were then.
The Kingdom of Heaven,
at a glance...43 years ago in Boston, MA, a baby was born strangled
by his umbilical cord, leaving him brain-damaged and unable to
control his limbs.
When Rick was 11 years old, his parents took him to
Tufts University and asked if there was anything they could do
to help the boy communicate. His father, Dick, was told "No
way,'' "There's nothing going on in his brain.'' "Tell him a
joke,'' Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a
lot was going on in his brain.
Rigged up with a computer that allowed
him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the side
of his head, Rick was finally able to communicate. First
words? "Go Bruins!'' And after Rick saw his first race, Rick
pecked out, "Dad, I want to do that.''
Yeah, right. How was Dick who never ran
more than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles?
Still, he tried. "Then it was me who was handicapped,'' Dick
says. "I was sore for two weeks.''
That day changed Rick's life. "Dad,'' he
typed, "when we were running, it felt like I wasn't disabled
anymore!''
And that sentence changed Dick's life. He became
obsessed with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. He
got into such hard-belly shape that he and Rick were ready to
try the 1979 Boston Marathon.
Then somebody said, "Hey, Dick, why not a
triathlon?''
Now they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour
Ironmans in Hawaii.
Hey, Dick, why not see how you'd do on your
own? "No way,'' he says. Dick does it purely for ``the awesome
feeling'' he gets seeing Rick with a cantaloupe smile as they
run, swim and ride together.
This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick
finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of
more than 20,000 starters. Their best time'? Two hours, 40
minutes in 1992--only 35 minutes off the world record.
Rick now is able to buy his dad dinner, but
the thing he really wants to give him is a gift he can never
buy. "The thing I'd most like,'' Rick types, "is that my dad sit
in the chair and I push him once.''
"See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;4 he will wipe
every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more; mourning and
crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have
passed away."5 And the one who was seated on the
throne said, "See, I am making all things new." Rev. 21.4
Adapted
From Sports Illustrated, By Rick Reilly
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The Strongest Dad (