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Good Deeds Would be Best Tribute
Feb. 15, 2000
Now that we have said goodbye to our friend Derrick Thomas, it is time for all of us to take action.
If there was one theme to Tuesday's emotional, moving and sometimes hysterical memorial service for Thomas, Kansas City's fallen football star, it was that the best way we could repay Derrick was by taking action today.
We can't get off with just a one-time financial commitment to Thomas' Third and Long Foundation. No, we are called on to do more.
We need to get involved. We need to make a difference in some child's life. We need to make an impact in our own communities.
Without question, Derrick has delivered the message that we all need to buckle our seat belts when driving. Chiefs coach Gunther Cunningham was correct in speaking about the importance of that legacy Thomas left us.
But several of the speakers at Tuesday's memorial sounded an even more important message.
We must follow Derrick's lead and give back to our communities -- from Jackson County to Wyandotte County to Johnson County.
I'm glad we shed tears for Derrick Thomas. I'm glad we celebrated his accomplishments for a week. I'm glad 23,000 fans walked through Arrowhead Stadium during Thomas' open-coffin visitation.
I'm glad we gave Thomas the respect that he's due.
But now if you're serious about honoring Derrick Thomas, you must do more.
On Tuesday, the people who knew Thomas best told story after story of Thomas' charitable nature. Thomas visited dying children at hospitals. Thomas befriended a young Oklahoma boy with AIDS. Thomas covered the expenses of his foundation out of his own pocket.
That is Thomas' legacy.
He recorded more random acts of kindness than sacks.
Clearly the highlight of Thomas' memorial was when a young boy from Thomas' Third and Long Foundation read a tribute to Thomas. The kid spoke more eloquently and insightfully than many of the adults.
As I listened to the child speak, I thought of Thomas' critics, the people who believe we're wrong for celebrating Thomas as a hero. I wondered whether anyone would ever speak so eloquently and fondly of them at their funeral.
And then I wondered what would someone say about me.
Right now I have no idea what I'm going to do to give back, to honor Thomas' memory. All I know is that I must do something. For 21/2 years, I raised one of my relatives who ran into trouble back in Indianapolis.
There was nothing better than the feeling of satisfaction I got from watching him turn his life around, make good grades and develop into a young man. He has since moved back to Indianapolis.
For the last six months, I've been incredibly selfish. Eventually I will pay for my selfishness.
Today I'm asking you to join with me and spend some time over the next month contemplating what you can do for a sustained period to make Kansas City a better place.
Let's don't make emotional decisions. Today we all want to join Thomas' Third and Long Foundation or give it a large donation. That's good. But Thomas gave to this city for 11 years.
You must be willing and prepared to sustain your sacrifice.
Charity always begins at home, begins in your own family. Maybe there's some child in your family who needs the guidance and the attention of a level-headed, drug-free adult.
Maybe you can coach little league baseball. Maybe your church needs a good volunteer to help the sick and shut-ins.
There are all sorts of little things we can do. We're not all capable of starting and running a large foundation. Little one-man or one-woman foundations are just as important as big ones.
Let's turn the emotions we feel for the loss of our hero, Derrick Thomas, into meaningful actions. That's the best way to keep 58's memory alive.
from kc star
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