Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants

I met the young boy at the mall as he was fishing through the selection of $150.00 starter jackets.

"Are you Terence?" I asked.

"Yeah, that's me. They said I'm s'posed to talk to you."

"Well that's right, Terence. As you know Senator McCain thought you and I should talk about steroids...that is, you know, about just saying no to performance enhancing drugs."

"You know anything about steroids?"

"Well I know they're dangerous."

"Says who?"

"Well, doctors and scientists and people like that."

"You ever used steroids?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Yeah, that's what I thought. You probably don't know nothin' about steroids 'cept what you read in the paper, do you."

"Look, Terence, Senator McCain feels it's important that I educate you about-"

"Senator McCain? Has he ever used steroids? I mean, if I give him some money can he go score me some?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Terence. Just because you've never used steroids doesn't mean that you don't know how dangerous they are. You don't have to drink poison to know it'll kill you, right? You take these steroids and they make you big and strong, until 'BOOM' - one day your heart just stops beating."

"The governor of California took steroids and he ain't dead. He's the governor, man, with money and Hummers and a big house in Hollywood and all that. If steroids are so bad for you how come he's not dead?"

"You're missing the point here, Terence. -"

"No, man, you're missing the point. I know what you're trying to tell me. We have these guys coming around school all the time talking to us about how bad it is to be doing what we're doing. You ask me they're just wasting their breath. What they ought to do is just send around an undertaker and say 'You know kids, someday you're all gonna die' and I could say "Yeah, that's right Mr. Undertaker, someday I'm gonna be dead, but I plan on having a whole lot of fun before I go'. You know what I'm saying?"

"It's not that simple, Terence. There's a lot more to life than birth and dying. "

"I know that."

"No you don't. It takes time to learn that. It takes time to learn how to live with yourself, and accept yourself, and be truthful with yourself."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about Barry Bonds. How do you think he must feel living a lie like that? Having to lie all the time, and then having to lie about his lies and think up new lies to cover the holes in the lies he's already told. How do you think he feels inside?"

"I think he feels great. He's rich and famous and they got a great big room in Cooperstown all waiting and ready for him to move into."

"But it's a lie, Terence?"

"No, it's not a lie. Everybody knows he's using steroids. You honestly think anyone was suprised when he got up in front of a grand jury and admitted it. C'mon, people got eyes and they know when they're looking at something ain't natural. How can it be a lie when everyone knows you're doing it?"

"Because he said he didn't use steroids. He was lying."

"Yeah, whatever. It don't bother me none if he was lying or using steroids. You know why? 'Cause it don't matter. When you turn on ESPN or Fox Sports or whatever, do you see those guys getting up there and delivering sermons about truth and honesty and athletic purity? Hell no, they've only got one thing to sell and that's who won the game and who lost. That's what the audience is tuning in for, that's what the sponsors are paying for, and that's what the sportcasters give 'em. Nobody cares about how pure a victory it was, or how virtuous the athletes were. You buy the winners and sell the losers - that's how it is on Wall Street, that's how it is in sports, and that's how it is in life."

"There used to be a thing called sportsmanship, you know. I don't suppose you ever heard of that."

"Yeah, 2,4,6,8, who do we appreciate...I know all about that. So what. Maybe it used to be about sportsmanship, but now it's about the money. And I don't know about you, but I'll take the money. Heh, heh, heh, 'Show me the money!'. You know what I'm saying."

"No I don't. Does that mean you risk your life and your health for a little cash in your pocket? What good is money going to do you when you're dead?"

"It won't do me any good when I'm dead, but I'll sure have a lot more fun along the way. Besides, what do you know about steroids anyways? There's a guy I know down at the gym can benchpress 400 pounds. Can you benchpress 400 pounds?"

"I don't know, but I doubt it."

"Then what do you know about steroids, huh? The technology's here, man, and you can't make it go away. You can't put that genie back in the bottle, so don't talk to me about what to do. It's a new world full of new p0ssiblities, and I plan to take full advantage of all of my opportunities."

"And if you get caught, what happens then. What happens when they take all those opportunites away."

"How they gonna catch me, man? Huh? How they gonna test for something when they don't even know what it is they're testing for. And you know what, even if they do catch me what can they do? What they can really do to Barry Bonds anyways? No, you go tell your Senator McCain that we don't need no educating about steroids. The guys down at the gym know a lot more about it than he ever will."

And with that the boy walked away.