AZ
by James Ebb Huggins, Jr.



I was telling Mother Bird about my Wife's Uncle by the name of AZ. He did not have much of a name and very little formal education but he was a winner in many areas, especially welding, his chosen field. He learned this skill while walking across Italy with the Army in WWII. AZ had many positive attributes, but the ones that stood out were the pride and enthusiasm he displayed for what he did. When welding was mentioned, his eyes would brighten, his body become erect, and his desire to tell welding "war stories" was intensified. Yes, AZ was proud to be a welder, and I bet he was a good one, even when things got tough.

I noticed the comments of Coach Mike Ditka about the Saints in the September 30 Times Sports Page. He noted that, "You can't win without emotion. You cannot win without enthusiasm, without excitement, without getting crazy, without getting pumped up, without believing, etc." Coach Ditka noted all the things that AZ had and that apparently the Saints, and perhaps a lot of us, do not have.

AZ is gone now, but the character lesson his life represented is still here. It takes more than just knowing how to do things to be a winner. It requires the application of all the character traits that the Coach mentioned. It requires living the values that AZ lived. I bet that if more of us would apply these lessons, more of us would be winners, even when things get tough.
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