I have been asked to speak to a group of middle school kids tomorrow at a local church. What does an old man like me say to middle school students? I actually have a 1996 male model of one of those at home, but I am still at a loss. The speaking context is a basketball tournament, so that put me on a sports track… Do I tell them about my friend who played on the National Championship University of Florida football team? I even have a picture of Tate Casey and me to show off. Tate makes me look like an overgrown 3 year old when he standing next to me. He is a big guy. I think I will pass on that one. I decided to venture off in a different direction.

 Late this afternoon I started thinking about people I know who have never participated in sports…
Kids playing basketball automatically think that everyone can play that or any other sport. But that is not true. My friend Mark never played basketball or football or tennis. Mark was confined to a wheelchair for the vast majority of his life.

I met Mark when I was a sophomore in college. We went to church together. He was several years older than me and far more mature! In those days, there was no such thing as the American Disabilities Act. Our university church group met in a second floor room. It took four of us to carry Mark up and down the stairs in his battery operated wheelchair. The combination of the two was quite heavy. However we were always eager to accommodate Mark’s needs.

When the spring semester in 1982 was about to come to a close, Mark asked me if my schedule would allow me to drive him to his summer school classes at Texas Tech that year. He had a van that was equipped for a wheelchair, but he was not able to drive himself. I was also going to summer school, so I told Mark to put me down!

Truthfully I agreed to chauffer Mark that summer because I felt sorry for him. He could not come and go at will like I did. I felt badly for him. Little did I know that I was about to learn a major lesson in life.
Mark was not one to seek people’s pity. I enjoyed his company immensely during our school runs that summer session. He was positive and interesting. And he had a great sense of humor. Driving Mark around in his old 1972 orange van was a high point of my college years. I will never forget the events of that summer school session in 1982.

One morning on the way to school Mark inquired about a girl that both of us knew. He asked me if thought she was nice looking. I told him I thought she was very attractive. I was thinking in the back of my head that she must have asked him about me. (How is that for being egocentric?) He informed that he was going to ask her out. What? You are going to ask her out? Yes…he told me. He then proceeded to ask me if I would drive them on their date, if she did not feel comfortable driving the van. What? I quickly got my wits about me and told Mark that I would gladly serve as his driver .He then had the nerve to give me a lesson on proper conduct for chauffeurs on dates. I shook my head, but inside I was amazed at his can do attitude.
I continued to join three other guys in carrying Mark up and down the stairs. And I enjoyed our summer school excursions. I learned so much from him about life and about having a positive attitude. We enjoyed a great friendship.

He graduated with his degree in electrical engineering from Texas Tech and went to work in Dallas. We actually graduated the same year from college even though he was about 6 years old then me. Chronic health problems caused his education to drag out much longer. He would lose entire semesters being in the hospital, but that did stop him. Mark never gave up.

Ironically my brother in law ended up working with him at that company for a period of time in the same field. Mark’s health began to fail not too many years after graduation. He passed away when he was in his early thirties. He never married. He never had children. But he made quite an impression on everyone who knew him. Even the ICU nurses who took care of him in his final days were touched by his faith and his loving spirit.

I am going to speak to some middle school kids tomorrow who will be right in the middle of a basketball tournament. I am going to tell them about someone who never played basketball. I am going to tell them about Mark.