Evening star., 1939-11-19


the luckiest kid on earth.
My mother and father were hard-working
people and they hadn't had great educational
advantages. But they were American parents,
willing to work hard and skimp to give their
son the advantages that they had missed. In
America they could do it, so | went to college
- which made me the luCkiest boy on EARTH
| was blessed with a good physique. In
some countries that might have been just the
thing to commend me to the attention of the
authorities as likely young man to carry
gun. But in America it commended me, in
stead. to the attention of the Yankee baseball
scouts So became ig-league player
which made me the luCkiest fellow on earth
Just what my wife saw in me to make her
consent to marry me I've never fully under
stood. But | do know that if hadn't been
sure that could support her wouldn't have
had the gall to ask her to do it. In this
America, the most prosperous country in the
world, had no qualms about making enough
money for that. So we were married - which
made me the luckiest man on earth
There are plenty of other reasons why l
claim that title. America has lavished oppor-
tunities upon me, wonderful friends and
associates, great personal satisfactions = all
good breaks. | can see no more reason to be
overwhelmed by one bad break in the game of
life than could in the game of baseball. After
ALL I'm still playing on the top-notch team
And what better break could man have than
chance to do his part for his country as an
official of its greatest city: That break came
to me recently when was appointed member
of the Parole Commission of New York CITY.
In baseball you learn that it's team play
that makes the good breaks pile up, makes up
for the bad ones. remember, several years
ago. going up to Sing Sing prison with the
Yankees to play an exhibition game. When
we went out on the field it sounded like old
home week to me A lot of the convcts in the
stand were yelling: Hey, Lou -. How're
you, Lou?" Remember me, Lou" |
looked around and there were several of the
fellows who had been kids with me back in
my old neighborhood. And suppose they
were thinking Lou got all the breaks.
Well, that's what I've just been saying.
And I'm sorry for those poor fellows who got
bad breaks and landed in Sing Sing. But they
certainly got one good break, the most i'm
portant break of ALL the same break that |
got. They were Americans. That made them
members of the best team in the league, the
team that spots fellow more than his share
of the good breaks before he starts.
Only they forgot or never knew - that
you don't get the breaks unless you play mih
the team, instead of against it. That's one
thing that baseball has taught me. I've seen
plenty of fellows come up to the big leagues
and land on their ears, because they tried to
chisel little extra glory for themselves and
let their teammates down. And they almost
always blame the breaks - though they have
had the best break Of all in getting on the
team in the first place.
suspect it is just the same in any other
field, or in life in general. My hunch is that
if those fellows up in Sing Sing hadn't tried to
chisel little extra glory - or gravy - for
themselves, at the expense of their fellow
Americans, they would have had much better
breaks all the way along. As a parole COM
missioner. hope that can help youngsters
who have got headed wrong to see that they
make their own bad breaks - and good ones.
| hope that l can help them to help them
selves to breaks as good as have had.
And I'm the luckiest man on earth.