The Bouncer (Turning Defeat into Victory)

I'm a pretty competitive guy, though I try to keep it in perspective. But there are times, often when I least expect it, when life teaches me lessons about the true nature of competition. One of those lessons came on a warm spring day several years ago, in a small town outside Portland, Oregon.

I used to love to watch the high school track team train-especially the distance runners. But that year, my eye was drawn to one girl in particular. Her running style was all wrong-she ran with her arms tucked close to her body, bouncing up and down in a way that must have driven her coaches crazy. My athletic mind scoffed at her strange style, I began to think of her as "the Bouncer."

But the more I watched her, the more I began to notice something else about this awkward young girl. While she ran, she was oblivious to everything and everybody as she bounced around the track, and always wore a smile that could only be described as serene. For her, running had taken on significance that was difficult to define, and in spite of myself, that young woman with the angelic smile began to intrigue me.

Even so, I couldn't help wondering how she was going to fare once the real track season began-and it didn't take long to find out. In early May, the high school hosted its first big track, featuring athletes from every school in the conference.

Since the conference ran the distance races with both boys and girls on the track at the same time, a large group of athletes gathered at the starting line for the two-mile run-including the Bouncer. The gun sounded, and the runners took off in a multi-colored flash.

That year, our school had a very gifted runner named Dave, and he quickly took the lead, one he would never relinquish for that entire season, because he never lost a race.

But the Bouncer quickly fell far behind the pack and as the race progressed. Dave lapped her once, twice, and finally a third time. In fact, every runner, male and female, lapped the Bouncer at least once before it was over. But she just kept running, arms tucked close to her sides, never varying her stride, bouncing up and down-and always wearing the same angelic smile.

I found myself being embarrassed for that ungainly girl who was being lapped again and again. Surely she must be mortified, I thought-but it didn't seem to bother the Bouncer at all. She didn't even seem to notice, and just kept doing exactly what she was doing, never changing her stride.

A short while later, the crowd rose to its feet, cheering Dave to another victory, followed by scattered applause for every athlete who crossed the finish line after him. It wasn't long before the Bouncer was the only one left on the track, running all by herself.

That poor kid, I thought. What must she be feeling? Why didn't she just give up? There was nothing at stake now, and nothing to be gained by finishing so far behind the pack. Still, the Bouncer never faltered, and her serene expression never changed.

After what seemed like an eternity, the Bouncer finally approached the final turn, a full five minutes behind even the slowest runner. But then, something strange began to happen. As the Bouncer entered the home stretch, a cheer began to rise up from the bleachers. It rose and swelled, growing louder with each stride the Bouncer took toward the finish line until, finally, every person in the stands, regardless of which team they'd come to support, stood and cheered as if the fate of the entire meet hinged on this one lone girl, bouncing toward the finish line.

The Bouncer turned on no extra burst of speed or big kick down the straightaway. She just continued to run exactly as she'd been doing from the opening gun, smiling so sweetly that it made my heart ache. But as she neared the finish line, the roar of the crowd could be heard echoing throughout the valley. And in the midst of all that noise and celebration, the mighty, invincible Dave walked out onto the track and held out his arm to slap the Bouncer's hand as she crossed the finish line.

It was an incredible moment.

I've seen hundreds of races since that day, and I've seen thousands of runners cross the finish line. But I've never seen anything that embodied the true spirit of victory as I watched on that warm spring so long ago, when I saw a race won-and I mean won-by an ungainly girl I had laughingly called the Bouncer.

So here's to you, Bouncer, wherever you may be, and may your smile always be as sweet as it was on that day.

From Spider's Night on the Boom

www.abciowa.com

© Gary E. Anderson. All rights reserved.

About The Author

Gary Anderson is a freelance writer, editor, ghostwriter, and manuscript analyst, living on a small Iowa farm. He's published more than 500 articles and four books. He's also ghosted a dozen books, edited more than 30 full-length manuscripts, produced seven newsletters, and has done more than 800 manuscript reviews for various publishers around the nation. If you need writing or editing help, visit Gary's website at www.abciowa.com.

abciowa@alpinecom.net

---

Character is Whats Left When You Leave

1 Samuel 16:7"...The Lord does not look at the things... Read More

The Pledge

You know kids, one of the things I've learned by... Read More

Inspired Intuition - Following Your Inner Voice

"Some people call the still, small voice insight or intuition?Our... Read More

Whats Your Reason For Waiting?

The fever had been high late into the night, but... Read More

My Next Year With Jesus (Joyful Reflections On My Walk With The Lord)

The one question I keep coming back to is..."Am I... Read More

You Can Quickly And Easily Solve Your Problems

Today I just wanted to write you a quick note... Read More

Are You Taking Responsibility?

It is time to take responsibility for our actions and... Read More

A Brick Wall

Direct Answers - Column for the week of August 18,... Read More

Wherever You Are, Be There

One of the major reasons why we fail to find... Read More

The Seasons Of Life, Part 5 of 5

This week is Part Five of our five part series... Read More

Passion: What It Means To Live With It

Passion can guide you, not just to live, but to... Read More

Its The Journey, Not The Destination

Don't you just hate clichés like the one illustrated in... Read More

Vistas

The other day I found myself frustrated with the slow... Read More

Why Buddhism Succeeds - The Right Thing is the Thing to do

The ongoing teachings are exemplified in an understanding and execution... Read More

Look Out Any Window

Over my extended Thanksgiving weekend I took some time to... Read More

Where Did We Miss?

Talking with friends, people I meet on a regular basis,... Read More

Make Mistakes! Its Okay - Really!

When you fall, do you get right back up? Do... Read More

My Journey

I believe it's important for you to develop a mission... Read More

Discover Your Passion

What are you passionate about? We didn't ask if you... Read More

Dreams Do Come True

Experience has made a lot of folks to consider dreams... Read More

You Are a Beautiful Person

I wish that I could tell every person that I... Read More

You Are The One, There is No One Else

At the time I created my web site, I was... Read More

Embracing Your Wildness

As small children, we were all wild. Not unlike the... Read More

Inspiration: Some Things Ive Noticed Along the Way So Far

Let's file this one under the heading of random musings... Read More

Live the Adventure!

Think of an adventure that you might like to take.... Read More

Misplaced Allegiance

Direct Answers - Column for the week of June 23,... Read More

Emancipation

Direct Answers - Column for the week of September 8,... Read More

Make Life Work: Repair the Relationship with Yourself

What areas of your life are working well? Career? Finances?Relationships?... Read More

Remember The Titans --Let Them Never Forget...

In the popular movie, "Remember the Titans" most of us... Read More

Ask the Angels - Get Specific !

There are Angels for everything and they are just waiting... Read More

Aftermath of a Child?s Near Death Experience

An 18 month-old girl lay dying of diphtheria in January... Read More

Humble Riches

"We come equipped with everything we need to experience a... Read More

Who are you?

I have a question for you.Who are you?This may be... Read More