So, California Chrome did not win the Triple Crown in horse racing yesterday. That makes me sad. I should not watch a horse race because I get too involved. Every horse is doing his best and I want them all to win which, of course, isn’t possible. I really did want the valiant horse with the amazing story to come in first, though, and I was on the edge of the sofa, yelling, when the horses neared the finish line.
California Chrome’s owner did not take the loss well and he may have a point. I hope that beautiful race horse didn’t feel he had let anyone down. Horses can sense such things, you know, as can dogs.
Life is full of ups and downs. As Longfellow said, “Life is checkered shade and sunshine.” It’s easy to be positive, gracious, joyful when things are going well. It’s a little harder when things are not.
We all want to be winners. Winning is good. But, sometimes winning is not taking home the prize. A winner keeps on when things are rough. A winner is gracious even when he loses. A winner is satisfied knowing that he has done his best; he tried, held nothing back, and believed in what he was doing. A winner is honest and truthful even when being so is to his detriment. A winner is someone who is in need of $10 but when he sees a $10 bill fall out of the pocket of the person ahead of him in the check-out line at the grocery store, picks it up and gives it back to the owner. A winner goes to sleep at night knowing that he has treated other people as he wants to be treated.
As I watched the horses run yesterday, muscles straining, hooves thundering, I knew that each animal was doing his dead-level best. They were all winners. And California Chrome? Well, he’ll always be a winner to me!
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