REALISTIC FICTION

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt:  "Citizenship in a Republic," speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910

The Contender.  Alfred and James were best friends – two teenagers living in a poor black area of Chicago.  Both had quit school and worked at entry-level jobs.  They had a special little cove they retreated to, hidden from view behind thick shrubs in the park.  There they escaped the taunts of street toughs who called them “slaves to whitey.”  And there they dreamed of becoming rich and important.

One day, Alfred went looking for James and found him in the basement club room where Major, the street bully, doled out drugs and alcohol.  From that point on, James went further into the drug culture.  Alfred, however, met Henry, a young boy crippled by polio.  Through Henry, he found himself at Mr. Donatelli’s gym, where he learned to discipline himself and strive to become a boxer.  But he found that before you can be a boxer you must be a contender, someone who strives against every adversity to become more than what he ever thought he could be.

At the gym, Alfred met several people who had started out to be boxers and for one reason or another, were unable to realize that dream – but they were contenders.  They put the skill and discipline they developed training to box to use in other areas and become successful and admirable adults, trying to help the next generation do the same.

Alfred got his chance to compete, winning two fights but losing the third and last one.  He came to realize that he didn’t really want to be a boxer, but he knew that all he had learned would make him a contender and he would be successful in whatever he chose to do.

Eventually he found James, who had sunk to the lowest despair of a drug addict.  When James said he couldn’t’ quit – didn’t have the strength – Alfred told him that he had the strength for both of them and would be beside him all the way.  He let him know you couldn’t accomplish anything if you didn’t try and if you strive hard enough, anything is possible.  The message for young people is clear:  never give up - be a contender.