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Building upon small hopes

During last Tuesday’s annual Leadership Dinner for the Boy Scouts of America Allohak Council, Pittsburgh Steeler great and National Football League Hall of Famer Rocky Bleier held the audience’s attention with the perfect balance of humor, football and important life lessons.

Nevermind the laughter and round of applause he got for pointing out the Cleveland Browns couldn’t even hurt him when he wanted them to (after he had gotten the draft notice that eventually sent him to Vietnam); Bleier made just as much impact with his belief that we must all be in the business of hope.

He detailed the moments in his life and career when one person, with one seemingly insignificant gesture or word, offered him the hope he needed to propel him, rather than holding himself back. Were it not for one postcard, one short but encouraging visit, one phone call, he might have followed a very different path in life.

We might never know the differences we make in others’ lives with similar small moments.

He also talked about a doctor, who dismissed his hope that he might one day return to professional football, after suffering injuries in Vietnam. He said the problem was that doctor made assumptions about him based on the doctor’s own limited data and perspective, not on Bleier himself.

I’ve been having a lot of discussions about … well, discussions, lately. Looking at the ways in which we talk to each other, the assumptions we make, the goals we have with the words we use.

Imagine if we all tried to be the best person we could be, even in what we perceive to be small conversations? What if our goal was to spread hope, rather than dash it? What if we were able to avoid making assumptions (both for the negative and the positive) about the person with whom we are talking?

It might make a world of difference.

Bleier thinks a few of those moments made a four-Super Bowl-ring difference, for him.

***

Corrections

Randy Modesitt, director of Henderson Hall, cleared up some inaccuracies in last week’s column. I made a series of mistakes, which were the result of me misunderstanding details that then got twisted around and spit onto the page in almost entirely the wrong arrangement.

I hate making mistakes like that — even more when the mistakes build upon one another. So, in an effort to correct myself, here is Modesitt’s explanation:

Alexander Henderson was advised by George Washington to purchase land in western Virginia — not the Henderson Hall property, but five 5,000 acre plots in the region unrelated to that area. The property on which Henderson Hall was eventually built was purchased and inherited by grandson G.W. Henderson and his wife, the former Elizabeth Tomlinson, though that property was likely surveyed by Washington.

A document on display at Henderson Hall, which I referred to as a letter, is actually a deposition that accused Burr and Blennerhassett of their treasonous plot. That document was meant to be used in the trial, but the Hendersons were never called to testify. Burr, who was on trial first, had never met the Hendersons. When he was acquitted, there was no reason to bring Blennerhassett to trial, so the deposition was never used.

There is a land grant signed by Patrick Henry displayed at Henderson Hall; regarding the purchase of property by Alexander Henderson Sr.

Many thanks to Modesitt for helping me get that sorted out.

Christina Myer is executive editor of The Parkersburg News and Sentinel. She can be reached via e-mail at cmyer@newsandsentinel.com

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