In
preparing for a presentation tomorrow night on blogging and book reviews, I
realized I haven’t reviewed an important book – one that hits very close to
home. Last year my colleague Brad Garrett realized a life-long dream in writing
his own book, Layups with Lincoln. In doing so he combined two of his
passions – sports and history.
I’ve taught
with Brad for fifteen years. Through the years I have seen his students develop
a passion for the presidents. He has a “Presidents’ Fair” each year where the
kids share what they have researched. To walk into his classroom is to walk
into a history museum with memorabilia every spot you turn. When students leave
his classroom they can tell you not only that their teacher loves history, but
what they now love about it too. As a person with a degree in history, I
celebrate this.
Brad is
also a huge sport nut – whether he is cheering his beloved Cardinals to victory
or celebrating the many teams of girls basketball that he coached over the years.
What I always admired about his coaching style was that he seemed to see each
player’s potential and worked to nurture it. He let his players’ talents shine.
It was with
delight when I heard that Brad was combining his two passions with a new one –
writing. After asking his students to write for years, he picked up the pen
too. And over breaks and weekends he wrote out Layups with Lincoln. He
said it started with a dream he had and he woke up, went downstairs and began.
The story follows a boy named Blaine who moves with his mom to live with his
uncle A.B.E. Coincidently, his uncle resembles Abe Lincoln and happens to have
a passion for history as well. Through the book he weaves a friendship story
with lessons on history and sports as well.
Brad has
written three books in his Playing with
Patriots series so far: Layups
with Lincoln, Fastballs with Franklin, and Jogging with Jefferson.
I’ve enjoyed the series and love watching his students get excited about what
he is writing next. I think the true lesson he is sharing with his students is
that there is always time to follow your dreams.
