Comments on: A Promise Kept

A Promise Kept

dirtdirt — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 09:20:56 -0800

A Promise Kept: "When two medical flight helicopters collided near a Flagstaff, Ariz., hospital June 29, a promise died. It was a sacred promise from a Red Sox-loving father to his three young sons. On his 37th birthday in August, they would make the 2,100-mile pilgrimage to see the Red Sox play in Fenway Park."

James W. Taylor, Jr.'s promise was kept, thanks to hundreds of strangers, most of whom his family would never meet, some of whom are known to Red Sox fans everywhere. Read the story from Traci Johnson's perspective. Listen to Traci describe the day. Read Red Sox blogger Cyn's version of the story. If you'll excuse me some sentimental editorializing: that this came together, and that we can see it from so many perspectives, is truly the best of the web.

By: jonmc

jonmc — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 09:30:13 -0800

As a Mets fan, I hate the Red Sox with the passion of a thousand suns. But I gotta admit, this was a pretty classy move and a touching story.

By: notsnot

notsnot — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 09:32:46 -0800

Hsssss!!!!Mets, Red Sox? My Cardinals heart shudders. But yeah, neat story.

By: dirtdirt

dirtdirt — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 09:34:38 -0800

Mets?! What'd the Red Sox ever do to you, besides roll over and play dead in WS game 7, 1986?

By: roomthreeseventeen

roomthreeseventeen — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 09:35:01 -0800

Another Mets fan who was moved. Great story!

By: jonmc

jonmc — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 09:38:49 -0800

dirtdirt, my buddy Jim, who's from Bevahly on the Naath Sho-ah, delights in coming into work in Sox and Pats tee-shirts and me and my buddy Eric (who has the Mets logo tattooed on his neck, delight in busting his balls about it. I call him 'schnapps' as in 'Mr. Boston.' It's a symbiotic relationship.

By: pardonyou?

pardonyou? — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 09:45:58 -0800

Since there's no crying in baseball, I think something must have gotten in my eye.

By: HuronBob

HuronBob — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 10:25:09 -0800

Good for everyone involved..... All I could think of after reading this was, if we each could have that much compassion for EVERY stranger, this world would be an amazing place....

By: jamesonandwater

jamesonandwater — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 10:28:15 -0800

Nice story. A lot of people spent a lot of moeny (the flights, the box seats, the souvenier store shopping spree), good on them.

By: ericb

ericb — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 10:34:29 -0800

After reading that I required two separate tissues.

By: breakfast_yeti

breakfast_yeti — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 10:36:27 -0800

the same thing happened in my family, only it was more of a slow booze death and arena football kind of scene.

By: drewbage1847

drewbage1847 — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 11:29:08 -0800

Nope, not going to get misty eyed. Ok, that's a lie. But man.. to have a little baggie of Fenway soil? Definitely not worth the price those kids paid, but their father granted them a totem to hang onto for dear life. Years from now after they can no longer remember the sound of his voice and his mannerisms fade, the importance of that game will hold fast.

By: heyho

heyho — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 11:31:42 -0800

Really nice story. But did this punctuation freakout bother anyone else? "... eight box seats just up from the Red Sox' on-deck circle." Just me? Sorry. Nice story, though.

By: desjardins

desjardins — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 11:50:57 -0800

very touching. I don't understand the non sequitur about the youngest child having autism, though. I kept expecting there to be some point to that revelation, like he was miraculously cured through baseball, but it never came.

By: dirtdirt

dirtdirt — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 11:54:14 -0800

punctuation freakout I am always amused by people, players particularly, trying to talk about a singular member of the team. A Red Sock? A Red Sox? Um?

By: yhbc

yhbc — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 12:07:39 -0800

dirtdirt, I always fall back on "a carmine ho".

By: recoveringsophist

recoveringsophist — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 12:26:05 -0800

That even Red Sox fans can be this classy is proof of...something.

By: ericb

ericb — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 13:53:52 -0800

That even Red Sox fans can be this classy... Yankees suck!!!

By: jonmc

jonmc — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 13:56:41 -0800

Indeed. METS RULE!!

By: wv kay in ga

wv kay in ga — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 17:14:26 -0800

It was a moving story. I cried.

By: donnagirl

donnagirl — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 19:58:34 -0800

Thanks for posting this, really. It was a very sweet story, and I did love hearing it from so many different angles. Reading the whole thread in the Red Sox forum and realizing how quickly it came to the attention of the right people, who all chose to do the right thing, was really astonishing.

By: dejah420

dejah420 — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 17:41:43 -0800

Awh...see folks, we *can* be compassionate caring humans. Good on everyone involved.