前撑杆跳世界冠军鲍勃？理查兹与大家分享了一个感人的故事，一个身材瘦小却全心全意热爱足球的男孩的故事。一次次地坚持训练。为了足球他竭尽所能。但因为他的身材只及其他男孩的一半，所以在球队里几乎没有他的位置。在所有的比赛里，这个充满希望的运动员总是坐在长凳上，从来就没上场过。这个十几岁的小孩和他的爸爸相依为命，他们父子俩之间还有着一种不同寻常的关系。
虽然这个男孩总是坐在长凳上，但他的爸爸却总是站着为他喝彩。爸爸从没错过任何一场比赛。而这个年轻人在上高中时仍然是班里最矮小的学生。他的父亲却一直鼓励他并很清楚地告诉他说，如果他不想打球你不用勉强自己。但是他热爱足球并决定继续留在球队。他下决心全力以赴坚持每一次训练，也许当他进入高年级以后，他就能参加比赛了。
在高中，尽管他从没错过一次训练或比赛，但4年来他一直是坐“冷板凳”。一直支持他的父亲总是在看台上，总是给他鼓励。
当升入大学后，这位年轻人决定尝试继续进入足球队，当一名球员。所有人都确信，这不会成功，但是他却做到了，他被留了下来。教练答应将他的姓名保留在花名册上，因为他总是全心全意地坚持每一次的训练，同时，他为其他队员提供了他们极为需要的精神状态和竞争意识。
裁员幸免的消息令他惊喜万分，他飞奔到最近的一个电话亭给他的爸爸打电话，爸爸跟他一起分享了这份喜悦，并收到了大学生比赛所有赛季的门票。这个执着的的年轻运动员在4年的大学生活里从没错过一次训练，不过，他也从未能上场比赛。
这是大学最后一个足球赛季，他在大型决赛开始前，飞奔到训练场，此时他遇到了拿着电报的教练。读完了电报，这位年轻人陷入了死一般的沉默。
他努力克制自己的情绪，对教练低声说：“今天早晨我的父亲去世了。我今天不参加训练可以吗？”教练将手臂温柔地绕过他的肩头说：“这个星期都可以休假，也不用为周六的比赛赶回来。”
星期六很快就到了，比赛进展得不太顺利。比赛进行了3/4，球队还落后10分，这时候，一个沉默的年轻人偷偷地溜进了更衣室，换上了他的球衣。他跑到了边场，教练和球员们看到他们忠实的队员竟能这么快赶回来都感到吃惊。“教练，请让我上场。我今天就是来参加比赛的。”年轻人说，教练假装没听见他的话，他绝对不希望最差的球员参加决赛。
但是这个年轻人坚持要上场，最后教练因为同情他而让步了。“好吧，”他说，“你可以上场。”不一会儿，教练、球员和所有在场的人都不敢相信他们的眼睛。这个名不见经传，之前从来没有上场比赛过的球员，此刻没出任何差错。他所向披靡。他奔跑、过人、阻挡，简直就像个球星。
他的球队开始反击得分。分数很快就接近了。在比赛结束前的最后几秒中里，这个孩子断了球，为决定胜局的触地得分而狂奔。球迷们疯狂了。他的队员将他举到肩上。你从未听到过像这样的欢呼声。
他含着泪水看着教练说：“你知道我的父亲去世了，但你知道我的父亲是个盲人吗？”这个年轻人极力克制自己的感情，苦笑了一下说：“爸爸每场比赛都来看，但今天是他第一次可以看见我比赛，我想向他证明我可以做到！”
The Kindness in the First Class Flight
We had just finished thirteen miles of hiking in the snowy mountains. We were tired and our muscles ached as we made our way back to New England. The cramped car ride to the airport followed by our two hour flight left our legs in worse condition than they were when we first came off the mountain we had just climbed.
When I heard that two seats in first class on our next flight were available for a small upgrade fee， I jumped at the opportunity. We agreed to blow our budgets and paid the fee to upgrade our tickets. Our spirits lifted immediately. At least we would end our adventure in comfort and style.
Our travel has always been arranged on a budget， so flying first class was a new experience for us. As we boarded the plane， we felt as if we were part of an elite group. We took our seats and were happy to join the other few passengers who could fly in such luxury. It was almost as if we had a sense of pride to be sitting with the group of people that surrounded us.
As we chatted away about hiking， waterfalls and bears， I could hear people around us talking about busy schedules and business meetings. It wasn’t long before I realized that these people were accustomed to flying in luxury. “They are important people，” I thought to myself.
We noticed that the stewardess was working non-stop to ensure the comfort of the first class passengers. She could not walk by a seat without receiving an order. I thought about how much she must love her job as she smiled kindly at each person while attending to their needs.
As the stewardess walked by our seats near the end of the flight， I looked at her and said， “Thank you and I hope you have a great night.” She stopped at our seats with a look of disbelief on her face， bent down， looked at me and said， “Excuse me？” I repeated my words and she smiled in a rather funny way， almost as if I had asked her a question that she did not know how to answer.
After a few moments the stewardess walked back to our seats. She asked us what company we were traveling for. “I can tell you work with the public，” she said. “Why do you think so？” I asked. She answered very quietly： “Because you are the only passenger here to say thank you or stop to say something nice to me tonight and I really appreciate your kindness.”
The sense of belonging to an elite group of people in first class disappeared as we heard her words. Our seats in luxury offered us more than a comfortable ride. We were reminded that， without kindness， we would be flying in no class.
