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COURTESY COACH: A Tale of Romance and Heroism
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The Tea Party Company
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Feb 14, 2005 05:10 PST
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IN THIS ISSUE:
‘RIGHT’ WRIST BANDS ON SALE NOW!!
FOR VALENTINE'S DAY--CELEBRATE WITH RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS
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“A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.”
–Jackie Robinson
"Teachers are people who start things they never see finished, and for
which they are never thanked until much later." --Max Forman
"There is a wonderful, mystical law of nature that the three things we
crave most in life -- happiness, freedom, and peace of mind -- are
always attained by giving them to someone else." –Unknown
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A VALENTINE’S DAY STORY OF ROMANCE AND HEROISM: THE ROBINSONS
From The History Channel at www.historychannel.com
Jackie Robinson is one of the most admired people in sports. But unlike
most sports heroes, his battles did not take place only on the athletic
field. His most important battles were against the pervasive national
racism that not only excluded blacks from participation in major league
baseball, but from economic opportunities in fields of all kinds.
Robinson led the Dodgers to four National League pennants and one World
Series championship in 1955. And, in the process, he led his nation in a
struggle for civil rights that continues today -- but he didn't do it
alone.
When the Brooklyn Dodgers' Branch Rickey began his search for a talented
and educated black baseball player to be the first to integrate the
sport, twenty-six-year-old Jackie Robinson seemed the perfect man for
the job. A graduate of UCLA, he was a superb four-sport athlete with
strong religious roots and a strict work ethic. But, Rickey realized the
hard road that lay ahead of Robinson, and during their first meeting, on
August 28, 1945, he harshly questioned him about whether or not he could
handle the hatred, threats of violence, and baiting he would have to
endure as he crossed the color line. In his autobiography, Robinson
recalled Rickey asking, "You got a girl? There are going to be times
when you're going to need a woman by your side."
Rachel Isum was Robinson's fiancee. They had met in 1940 when she was a
first-year nursing student at UCLA and he was already an accomplished
athlete. They were married on February 10, 1946. Two weeks after the
wedding, they left for Robinson's first spring training, for the minor
league Montreal Royals, in Daytona Beach, Florida -- the deep south, a
bastion of hard-core racism. In an interview with the Houston Chronicle,
Rachel Robinson later recalled, "That first spring training was like a
nightmare. There was so much degradation. There was bigotry like we had
never encountered." But Jackie, with Rachel at his side, endured the
indignities of the training trip and a season filled with countless
insults, threats, and bean balls on his way to leading the league in
batting, runs scored, and fielding. The next spring, despite a
threatened boycott by the club's players, the Brooklyn Dodgers promoted
Robinson to the major league -- seven years before the Brown vs. Board
of Education Supreme Court ruling integrated the country's schools.
In the majors, the Robinsons again suffered through death threats,
constant verbal harassment from managers, players, and fans, and
physical abuse, including more pitches to his head and body. But
Robinson succeeded in winning the respect of players and fans and was
named Rookie of the Year in 1947, after batting .297 with 125 runs
scored and twenty-nine stolen bases and leading his team to a National
League title. By 1949, with the signing of more blacks to major league
baseball, integration had arrived in major league baseball.
Throughout his life, Jackie credited his wife Rachel for providing the
support that allowed him to work through the difficulties of his
baseball career. "Strong, loving, gentle and brave, never afraid to
either criticize or comfort," he once wrote of his wife. Later,
according to People magazine, he said, "When they try to destroy me,
it's Rachel who keeps me sane." People also reported that Norma King,
wife of Dodger pitcher Clyde King, once said of Rachel, "I recall the
look of pride on her face watching him play while the rest of us were
worrying about whether our husbands would do something foolish."
After Jackie's retirement from baseball in 1956, the Robinsons continued
to play a visible role in politics and the civil rights movement. They
were staunch supporters of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the fight against
segregation, and spoke out against black separatists like Stokely
Carmichael. The Robinsons were especially proud of their three children,
Jackie Jr., Sharon, and David. Sadly, Jackie Jr. died in a car accident
in 1971. In an interview with the Boston Globe, daughter Sharon said of
her parents, "The house revolved around my father, but my mother was
always the center of the family. She was in a real partnership with my
father. We felt that. We knew that. He appreciated it and we did too."
Even after a heart attack cut short Jackie's life on October 23, 1972,
Rachel, who has also worked as a nurse and teacher, has continued to
work hard to advance the legacy that she and her husband began as
newlyweds. In 1973, she founded the Jackie Robinson Foundation, which
she still chairs. To date, the foundation has raised hundreds of
thousands of dollars in scholarships to help send more than 500 minority
and underprivileged students to college. Rachel Robinson continues her
husband's work of leading by example. Many who knew the couple are not
surprised. Major league first baseman Mo Vaughn, who wears number 42 in
honor of his hero, Jackie Robinson, once told the Boston Globe, "Jackie
Robinson couldn't have been Jackie Robinson if it wasn't for Rachel
Robinson. It's another case of the fact that behind every good man is a
good woman. Study your history. He wanted to quit. She wouldn't let
him."
For more stories of romance and history, visit The History Channel at
www.historychannel.com
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‘RIGHT’ WRIST BANDS NOW AVAILABLE !!
You’ve probably seen folks donning wristbands which are more than just a
fashion trend, but are intended to remind the wearer of a fundamental
thought or focus. We are proud to announce that Courtesy Coaching is
producing our own wrist band reminders featuring the fundamental
principle of ‘Getting it RIGHT: Respect, Integrity, Grace, Hospitality,
and Tact’. These glow-in-the-dark wristbands are our first-ever
fundraising project. 100% of the profits from the sale of these $3.50
bands will be sent to www.womenforwomen.org. Please visit our website
at www.courtesycoach.com to order yours today...makes a great year-end
gift for your child’s class!
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RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS
Like most everyone, I have frequently encountered what might be called
‘Random Acts of Rudeness’. Unprovoked rude acts...people being curt or
unkind to me from the very beginning of an interaction. And
increasingly, these Random Acts of Rudeness seem to come from folks who
are being paid to provide a service to me!
Just yesterday, I was calling to make an appointment for my son at a new
doctor’s office and was, from the very beginning, treated so rudely by
the receptionist on the other end of the line that I finally asked “I’m
terribly sorry for calling, am I keeping you from something more
important?”. I think the irony was probably lost on her.
When I worked in the classroom, I had a little card facing me at my desk
which said “My students are not an interruption of my work. They are my
work”. There were countless times when I found myself drowning in
paperwork or lesson plans and needing just a moment of peace at my desk
while the students worked on their assignments. It was almost
inevitable that some student would come to my desk anyway. “JUST A
MINUTE!” I’d want to shout at them, but then my little card would
remind me that as the teacher every single thing that I did or said had
a potentially huge impact on the students in my class.
In my experience, what comes across as rudeness is very often just a
lack of understanding of the negative consequences to one’s self for
behaving in such a manner. The fact is that anger kills. And there’s
increasing scientific evidence to prove it thanks to the work of
behavioral scientists such as Dr. Redford Williams from Duke University
in Durham, North Carolina.
Dr. Williams suggests that how we react to other people and the minor
and major irritants of daily living can influence our risk of dying from
cancer and heart disease. “What's beginning to emerge now is that
these psycho-social risk factors like hostility, chronic anger, like
depression, and like having fairly low levels of social support, or
being socially isolated, travel together in the same individuals. A
person who is high on a hostility scale will be more likely to be high
on a depression scale and low on social support. Each of those two,
depression and social isolation, have been found to predict high death
rates, not only in healthy populations, but also in patient groups who
already have coronary disease. And they tend to cluster in the same
individuals, and especially do they tend to cluster in lower
socio-economic groups: people who are poor tend to have these
characteristics more than higher groups.”
And so it’s more than just conjecture when I say that being
inconsiderate of another person is actually more harmful to one’s self
than it is to the recipient of the rudeness!
One of the best ways to counter the negative effects of rudeness in our
society is particularly seasonal during our Valentine's Day focus on
love and romance. What is a Random Act of Kindness?
Consider these:
-An elderly lady came to the post office and explained to the clerk that
she had to mail a package to her dear granddaughter. After she paid the
second class postage and left, the clerk was observed taking money from
his wallet and upgrading the package to priority mail.
-An over-stressed office worker was driving home from work one day,
crying and asking God for a sign to help her decide her life’s path. As
she approached the toll booth, the attendant told her that her fare had
been paid...by a complete stranger in the car ahead who had already
driven away.
-An executive found himself holding two tickets to a baseball game.
Because he didn’t want these good seats to go to waste, it appeared that
he faced a choice between going to the game with a client or spending
time at home with his family. Suddenly, on his way home, a third choice
became clear to him and he handed the tickets to a doorman at a building
along his route.
Can you think of ways that you can incorporate at least one Random Act
of Kindness today? Please visit www.randomacts.org to learn more!
TEACHERS! Check out their lesson plan contest, you could win $100!!
Visit http://www.actsofkindness.org/classroom/contest/index.asp
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The mission of The Courtesy Project is to Cultivate a Culture of
Courtesy. Our approach to this goal is three-fold. First, we will
provide direct instruction in the behaviors, skills, and values of good
manners. Secondly, we will complement and complete existing Character
Education initiatives in schools and communities by providing educators
with effective teaching tools to provide quality etiquette training for
every child. Finally, we will foster a partnership with
Considerate-Done.com, a nationwide Click-to-Complain website designed to
provide both businesses and consumers with positive solutions to
courtesy issues in the marketplace.
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SAVE THE DATE: March is International Women’s Month and in recognition,
we are helping spread the word about one of the most important
charitable organizations in the lives of women and children all over the
globe. Please visit http://www.womenforwomen.org/ today and look for
more information from Courtesy Coaching for ways that you can help!
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Courtesy Coaching is excited to partner with Considerate-Done: A
click-to-complain website where consumers and others can offer positive
and helpful solutions for poor customer service and a lack of courtesy
in the marketplace today. More information will follow in upcoming
editions of Courtesy Coach!
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NEXT ISSUE: Spring Courtesy Coaching events in Metro Detroit and beyond!
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