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Real Man, Real Love for his Son

DKW 86

By DKW 86
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MDM4AU Founding Father

MDM4AU 336

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Great article from SI:

Strongest Dad in the World

This article by Rick Reilly introduces a few very touching and inspiring people. It has nothing to do with traveling, but it's a great read anyway.

I try to be a good father. Give my kids mulligans. Work nights to pay for their text messaging. Take them to swimsuit shoots. But compared with Dick Hoyt, I suck.

Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars -- all in the same day.

Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. on a bike. Makes taking your son bowling look a little lame, right?

And what has Rick done for his father? Not much -- except save his life.

This love story began in Winchester, Mass., 43 years ago, when Rick was strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs.

"He'll be a vegetable the rest of his life," Dick says doctors told him and his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. "Put him in an institution."

But the Hoyts weren't buying it. They noticed the way Rick's eyes followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there was anything to help the boy communicate. "No way," Dick says he was told. "There's nothing going on in his brain."

"Tell him a joke," Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a lot was going on in his brain.

Rigged up with a computer that allowed him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the side of his head, Rick was finally able to communicate. First words? "Go Bruins!" And after a high school classmate was paralyzed in an accident and the school organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out, "Dad, I want to do that."

Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described "porker" who never ran more than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he tried. "Then it was me who was handicapped," Dick says. "I was sore for two weeks."

That day changed Rick's life. "Dad," he typed, "when we were running, it felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!"

And that sentence changed Dick's life. He became obsessed with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon.

"No way," Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren't quite a single runner, and they weren't quite a wheelchair competitor. For a few years Dick and Rick just joined the massive field and ran anyway, then they found a way to get into the race officially: In 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the qualifying time for Boston the following year.

Then somebody said, "Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?"

How's a guy who never learned to swim and hadn't ridden a bike since he was six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still, Dick tried.

Now they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour Ironmans in Hawaii. It must be a buzzkill to be a 25-year-old stud getting passed by an old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy, don't you think?

Hey, Dick, why not see how you'd do on your own? "No way," he says. Dick does it purely for "the awesome feeling" he gets seeing Rick with a cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together.

This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best time? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992 -- only 35 minutes off the world record, which, in case you don't keep track of these things, happens to be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the time.

"No question about it," Rick types. "My dad is the Father of the Century."

And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a mild heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries was 95% clogged. "If you hadn't been in such great shape," one doctor told him, "you probably would've died 15 years ago."

So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other's life.

Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care) and works in Boston, and Dick, retired from the military and living in Holland, Mass., always find ways to be together. They give speeches around the country and compete in some backbreaking race every weekend, including this Father's Day.

That night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he really wants to give him is a gift he can never buy.

"The thing I'd most like," Rick types, "is that my dad sit in the chair and I push him once."

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jumbo Founding Father

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Seeing that makes a big impression lets you know whats important and we all should be thankful everyday for what we have!!!!!!!!!!!! i need a break after that

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DKW 86 Founding Father

DKW 86 7,440

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Ya I think Jenny posted this a couple weeks back.... good story.

Drugs and stuff. If she did I apologize, I really do not read every thing put on this board. But Iwas sent that yesterday and I really got my eyes opened.

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Tigermike Founding Father

Tigermike 3,053

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This Father does it all just for the purpose of seeing the smile on his

son's face.

Read the story and then watch the video (the website link is at the end).

Strongest Dad in the World

From Sports Illustrated, By Rick Reilly

I try to be a good father. Give my kids mulligans. Work nights to pay for

their text messaging. Take them to swimsuit shoots. But compared with Dick

Hoyt, I suck.

Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in

marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a wheelchair

but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and pedaled him 112

miles in a seat on the handlebars--all in the same day.

Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back mountain

climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. on a bike.

Makes taking your son bowling look a little lame, right?

And what has Rick done for his father? Not much--except save his life.

This love story began in Winchester, Mass., 43 years ago, when Rick was

strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him brain-damaged and

unable to control his limbs.

``He'll be a vegetable the rest of his life;'' Dick says doctors told him

and his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. ``Put him in an

institution.''

But the Hoyts weren't buying it. They noticed the way Rick's eyes followed

them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the engineering

department at Tufts University and asked if there was anything to help the

boy communicate.

``No way,'' Dick says he was told. ``There's nothing going on in his

brain.''

"Tell him a joke,'' Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a lot

was going on in his brain. Rigged up with a computer that allowed him to

control the cursor by touching a switch with the side of his head, Rick was

finally able to communicate.

First words? ``Go Bruins!''

And after a high school classmate was paralyzed in an accident and the

school organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out, ``Dad, I want to do

that.''

Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described ``porker'' who never ran more

than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he tried.

``Then it was me who was handicapped,'' Dick says. ``I was sore for two

weeks.''

That day changed Rick's life. ``Dad,'' he typed, ``when we were running, it

felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!”

And that sentence changed Dick's life. He became obsessed with giving Rick

that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly shape that he

and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon.

``No way,'' Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren't quite a

single runner, and they weren't quite a wheelchair competitor. For a few

years Dick and Rick just joined the massive field and ran anyway, and then

they found a way to get into the race officially: In 1983 they ran another

marathon so fast they made the qualifying time for Boston the following

year.

Then somebody said, ``Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?''

How's a guy who never learned to swim and hadn't ridden a bike since he was

six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still, Dick tried.

Now they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour Ironmans in

Hawaii. It must be a buzzkill to be a 25-year-old stud getting passed by an

old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy, don't you think?

Hey, Dick, why not see how you'd do on your own? ``No way,'' he says.

Dick does it purely for ``the awesome feeling'' he gets seeing Rick with a

cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together.

This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston

Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best

time? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992--only 35 minutes off the world record,

which, in case you don't keep track of these things, happens to be held by a

guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the time.

``No question about it,'' Rick types. ``My dad is the Father of the

Century.''

And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a mild

heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries was 95%

clogged.

``If you hadn't been in such great shape,'' one doctor told him, ``you

probably would've died 15 years ago.''

So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other's life.

Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care) and works in Boston, and

Dick, retired from the military and living in Holland, Mass., always find

ways to be together.

They give speeches around the country and compete in some backbreaking race

every weekend, including this Father's Day.

That night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he really wants to

give him is a gift he can never buy.

``The thing I'd most like,'' Rick types, ``is that my dad sit in the chair

and I push him once.''

***Here's the video… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjPrL3n63yg

Also, you can read more of their story on their website. Awesome !!

http://www.teamhoyt.com/

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