ONE FROM THE ROAD: Winning doesn’t happen by accident

My wife and I attended a softball tournament in Great Bend. I have to say this was one of the most unusual tournament that I have ever watched. We went to support the Special Olympics team that was  sponsored by the place where my wife works.

As we drove to the ball field, I'm thinking that we would be watching one Special Olympics team play against another Special Olympic team. That would be the only fair thing to do, right? You would be wrong as I was.

The Special Olympics team known as the "Misfits", took the field. The opposing team came up to bat. Coming up  to home plate was some of the best women and men softball players. They hit the ball all over the field and for some reason they just couldn't run that fast around the bases.

They scored a couple of runs and then got the three outs. It was now the Misfits time to bat. Some of them were really good hitters. Some were given six strikes to hit the ball. No matter  how far they hit the ball, the other team had trouble with it.

Ten runs were scored by the Misfits before they had their third out. Once again they were out on the field and a man came up to bat. This man took baseball very seriously. He was wearing baseball uniform pants.

He hit the ball and it went sailing over the left center fence and out into the parking lot. As he was jogging to to first base, the umpire stood up and yelled, "foul ball".  He came back to home plate with a grin on his face and this time dropped the ball in the outfield so they could play.

The Misfits won that game and another two earlier in the day. They were all so happy and excited and some were on their phones calling their family. It didn't matter to them how they won as long as they were winners.

I have never heard of a Special Olympic driving team. If there was, who do you think would be on it? Here is a list of drivers that I think would make the team.

The beginning driver because they do not have the experience. Then I would include the senior driver due to the loss of vision and reaction time.   Now you have the "aim and drive" driver who do just that. Then the driver that don't really know the rules and drive like they're the only one out on the road.

We all have seen the aggressive driver do daring feats with an automobile. The biggest group would be the distracted drivers. Cell phones, eating, drinking, changing the station on the radio are just a few ways we are distracted.

How many times have you had family or money problems and that was all you could think about? You could be making plans for the evening in your mind as you drive. I seem to do a lot of thinking about what I'm going to write in my column as I did this one. Distracted driving happens all the time.

All of us would be on the Special Olympic driving team. If we treated other drivers as if they were on the team and watched out for them, they would be winners. They may never know that they are a winner but you would know. How many times has some one made you a winner but you never knew it?

The best way I can sum up what I learned at the baseball game is this, winning doesn't happen by accident.

Ron Moore is a professional truck driver and contributing columnist. His e-mail is
ron_weasel@yahoo.com