In A Heartbeat-- Post 3

The next chapter in the book is written by the father, Sean Tuohy. In this chapter, Sean outlines his life and his childhood, explaining how the idea of giving began in his family and what has caused him to become someone the gives to others. Sean grew up having a father that was very popular within the community and was a very good basketball coach. Sean’s father had a stroke, causing him to be handicapped and in a wheelchair, and the response of the community in the way that they helped Sean and his family was tremendous. The community, although poor, found ways to feed Sean and his siblings, being sure that although his father was no longer working, he was being taken care of. Sean had a friend, Max, who would take really good care of him. Having very little money, Sean would have to make bets with people in order to get enough money to pay for his lunch. Without even saying anything, Max would realize when Sean was hungry and would pay for his meal without saying a word. The lesson that Sean learned from this entire experience is something that I also learned and had not previously realized. Having to ask his friend to pay for his lunch would have been very embarrassing and degrading for Sean to do, but the fact that his friend realized his need and helped him without saying a word is extremely nice and makes someone like Sean feel so much better. This teaches a lesson about giving to others and about recognizing when someone is in need. While there are absolutely times when someone may be in need and you don’t know about it, when someone is in need of something and it is apparent, helping them without making them ask makes them feel so much better about themselves. Something so simple, such as giving a kid a dollar for lunch, can mean the world to them. Without having to humiliate themselves by asking for help, they can see that someone cares about them and is thinking about ways to help them without even asking.