The Bright Side Of The Road

The Bright Side of the Road

A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength. Proverbs 17:22

In his marvelous book The Soul of Baseball, Joe Posnanski chronicles a series of road trips with Buck O’Neil, the venerable Negro League player and first African American coach in the major leagues. Buck took these trips when he was ninety-three. Joe was fascinated by Buck’s youthful resilience and more important, his positive outlook on life.

Here was a man who, despite great ability, had been thwarted time and again, on the field and off, by what Buck referred to as “my beautiful tan.” Relegated to playing in the Negro Leagues because of his skin color, Buck didn’t let that and a lifetime of other slights prevent him from marveling at the small joys of life every day.

Posnanski opens with a story of a game in Houston that he and Buck attended. At the end of one inning, Houston’s right fielder, Jason Lane, tossed a ball into the crowd, presumably intended for a young boy in the stands. Immediately, a man lunged in front of the boy, snatching the ball. The crowd booed, and Joe seethed.

Buck smiled and turned to Joe, telling him not to be too hard on the man. “He might have a kid of his own at home.” Joe relaxed for a moment but wanted to stay irritated at the man. After a moment, he turned back to Buck. “Why didn’t he bring the kid to the game?”

Buck smiled and said, “Maybe his child is sick.” Try as he might, Joe knew he would never get Buck to say a negative word. Here was a man who refused to be a victim, to ever see life in any other way than as a gift, a marvelous occasion.

Take it from Buck. At every opportunity, be joyful and look at the bright side.

Uncommon Key > You only go around once in this life. You can spend it looking for the negative, or like Buck O’Neil, you can use God’s gift of life as an opportunity for joy and grace.