The next time I went to visit Granddaddy, we, of course, went fishing, and I started to talk to him about fighting. I told him of a situation where a friend of mine was getting beat up in the restroom at school. I stepped in to even things up, and got messed up and sent to the principles office. Then I got 30 licks for fighting.
He asked me how I felt about that. I told him I was angry and felt an injustice had been done. I told him I didn’t want the fight and neither did my friend, but I couldn’t stand by while two people wailed on him.
He asked me if I would do it again. I had to think about it, but then I told him I would. “Why?” he asked. I said because it’s just wrong to watch somebody get treated like that. I waited for him to tell me how stupid I was, but instead with tears in his eyes, kissed me on my forehead and told me how proud of me he was.
That was when he explained, “Choose your battles wisely, and don’t choose a fight you can’t win. But you didn’t choose this fight, you just tried to keep things within reason.”
“When you enter a battle, don’t hold anything back for dignity. If the battle is worth fighting, you don’t need dignity. Never, never, ever quit until you reach the finish line.”
“Now I’m gonna tell you something I know you won’t understand.” He said that like I had understood everything he had said so far. “When you do something, fight, a project at school, sports or even love, do it with all your heart. Don’t hold anything back, and don’t accept anything but success.”
“Here’s the tough part, if you don’t quit, you can’t lose. The second best feeling in the world is investing everything you have and not winning. Time may simply run out, and it’s not quitting if the game is over. “
“Before entering a battle, know what winning looks like. When you win your battle, stop and be gracious. Let your adversary lose with dignity.” Boy, did I have some thinking to do!!
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