In this cynical world where we eat our heroes, it's extraordinarily uplifting
to experience a collective feeling of uninhibited affection and appreciation.
I had such an experience not too long ago when Chick Hearn, the announcer
for the Los Angeles Lakers, returned to the job after a 56-game hiatus
due to illness.
Why the big deal?
Well, Chick Hearn is 85 years old and prior to this gap on his work record
he hadn't missed a day in 37 years! Already acclaimed as the best basketball
announcer in history, he didn't need the applause or the money. He came
back to work after open-heart surgery and a hip replacement simply to
do the thing he loves.
Though I sit only
six rows behind him at every Laker game, I've never met or spoken to the
man. Yet like millions of others, I feel I know him, and I know I admire
him.
Living in Los Angeles,
a town known more for capriciousness than constancy and more for crash
than class, Chick Hearn is more than a breath of fresh air, he is a monument
to the existence and durability of virtue. His high competence and commitment
and old-fashioned reliability earn him a legacy of respect. That he continues
to do his job better than anyone else ever has merits admiration. The
fact that he is such a thoroughly decent and gracious man warrants adulation.
I can't help but wonder,
as rare as Chick is, how many other Chick Hearns, men and women of heroic
character - teachers, postmen, receptionists, housekeepers - can be found
in cities across this land and whether we appreciate them enough.
This is Michael Josephson
reminding you that character counts.
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