Sunday Thoughts

by Al Sturgeon
(published each week in Desperate Houseflies)

INSPIRATION

A little writing advice from me to you (no charge): if you are ever in need of material, initiate a conversation with a seven-year-old. I believe seven-year-olds are a constant resource for inspiration.

"Inspiration" was, in fact, our discussion topic yesterday. I was practically in Heaven yesterday afternoon when I sat down to watch ESPN's "Stories of Inspiration." Combine the world of sports with inspiring stories and you've got me for as long as you want me. My daughter, however, had a question that interrupted my viewing pleasure. "What's inspiration?"

Now you need to know that I'm about to receive a large shipment of a book I have written that has the word "inspiration" in the title (you need to know that to place your orders for multiple copies), so one would think that I would have a quick answer to her important question. But one would be wrong. Instead, I fumbled around until I came up with something along the lines of "something that makes you want to live better."

Shut up. You wouldn't have done any better.

But that seemed to work for her - at least it was enough for her active little mind to work with until she came up with something better than her old man's definition. So while she thought, and while I considered my failure as a parent, we watched the show together.

There was the story of Butch, a cerebral palsy victim who has been picked up by Middlebury College athletes and driven to the games for decades now. There was the story of a Pennsylvania football team who, after losing two of its players in a drowning accident, started only nine players on defense in every game of their undefeated state championship season. There was the story of another cerebral palsy victim, a young man who is the slowest cross country runner in the nation, but whose team runs through the course twice just to cheer him on. And finally, there was the story of a 7th grade football player with Down's Syndrome, who scores a touchdown in every game thanks to his teammates and the compassion of their opponents.

Touching stories, every one.

When the show ended, my little inquisitor only had one question. "What is Down's Syndrome?" This time I would not fail, thank you very much. My daughter's babysitter in her preschool years is a wonderful person whose middle child has Down's Syndrome. Alisa is nearly twenty years old now, still having fun in high school, and as I remember a big fan of Mark McGwire. So I answered my daughter, "You know Ms. Pam's daughter, Alisa? She has Down's Syndrome."

I felt proud of my answer until Hillary replied, "Alisa? What's the matter with her?"

Inspiration.

I'm supposed to write a column on religion each week, but I hardly ever do. To be honest, I don't get that excited about the Pope Tourney (interested, not excited); nor do I get too up in arms over the hot issues from denomination to denomination (interested - well, periodically - but not up in arms).

Instead, I suppose I'm mostly captured with the idea of inspiration (as in my eloquent definition of "something that makes you want to live better").

Religion seems to be a reaction to the belief that there is something more than what we see here. It evolves into the idea that the "more than what we see here" has a purpose behind what we do see here, including you and me. That all concludes in my estimation with a need for inspiration - to be whatever that purpose is better and better all the time.

I am a Christian specifically because, to me, Jesus is that inspiration. And time after time Jesus crystallizes life for me - like for instance, when He points to a child as a witness to truth.

"Nothing is the matter with Alisa, Sweetheart. You are exactly right."