It’s the rare movie that makes me want
to write.
I just saw 42, the story of
Jackie Robinson, and a range of emotions were aroused in me.
Branch Richey, the owner of the
Brooklyn Dodgers, played by Harrison Ford, was awe-inspiring. Where are the men like that these days? Men who have an innate sense of right vs.
wrong, a love for people, and a love for God.
He was a hard-core cigar smoker, wheeler-dealer, take-no-prisoners, will
do anything to win baseball team owner…but he did it right.
Come on, I just want to ask again…where
are these guys today?
Jackie Robinson, played by Chadwick
Boseman was real-life. The background
story was the overt racial discrimation that sadly characterized our country in
the post-WWII years, but the real story for me was the quality of man he
was.
Yes, he was torn up inside by the hate
that came from white men, but he realized that his anger would cause him to lose…not
just in a game, but in life. It was
Branch who helped him to realize that boys (yes, even white boys) looked up to
him as a hero. What he did on the field
and off was watched by every young boy who loved baseball, and Jackie
understood that it was a great responsibility that he had to be a role model
not just for the boys, but for men as well.
What a brave man he was.
