Norman Corwin, 99 years old, pioneer of radio’s golden age, and that rare lottery winner (the genetic lottery, in his case) who didn’t squander his treasure, found a baseball hook for his This I Believe essay on the power of simple kindness:
Years ago, while watching a baseball game on television, I saw Orel Hershiser, pitching for the Dodgers, throw a fastball that hit a batter. The camera was on a close-up of Hershiser, and I could read his lips as he mouthed, “I’m sorry.” The batter, taking first base, nodded to the pitcher in a friendly way and the game went on.
Just two words, and I felt good about Hershiser and the batter and the game all at once. It was only a common courtesy but it made an impression striking enough for me to remember after many summers.
The blood relatives of common courtesy are kindness, sympathy and consideration. And the reward for exercising them is to feel good about having done so…
One more secret of happiness (and one more dispensation of evolution) revealed: doing good, feeling others’ pain, and caring about other people makes most of us feel good, one at a time. For some of us, it even lengthens a happy life. Norman Corwin is a national treasure. I want what he’s having.
Up@dawn 