I have a dream

 

 

 

100 years ago, a little boy strapped on hockey skates for the first time and stepped onto the placid ice of the lake. He found a comfort in this sport that guided him to the happiness he had been searching for, but the unjust hand of the rich plunged into his new found happiness and took hockey out of his life because his family could not afford it.

 

 

100 years later children all around the world still can not afford to play hockey. 100 years later the mannicured hand of the rich still pillages the dreams of aspiring hockey players. 100 years later, a privelage that should be available to every child is still squandered because of their financial circumstance. And we have come here today to voice our discontent.

 

 

For too long, poor children have been watching from the sidelines as their classmates and peers play the sports they love. For too long, money has dictated the outcome of childrens dreams. And now it is time for our rested bodies to rise up in protest of this unjust system and take back what privelage is righfully ours. Now it is time to unite as one team, rich and poor. Now it is time to show that every child deserves an oppurtunity to pursue their dream regardless of their financial circumstance.

 

 

But I have a dream that one day the once cold hand of the rich will reach out to the withered hand of the poor and offer a warm embrace. I have a dream that the ice of a hockey rink will soon be carved by both cheap and expensive skates. I have a dream that the quality of ones gear will not be seen as a reflection of ones worth. And I have a dream that a united team of the rich and poor will defeat the unbeatable squad of the uninclusive and pretentious.

 

 

Let every child skate alongside their friends and family.

 

Let every child feel the chill of the arena's air on their cheeks

 

Let every child feel the satisfaction of playing the sport they love


Only then will children be truly happy. Only then will there be true equality. Only then will the sport of hockey truly be the greatest sport in the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

I walked into the hospital waiting room and sat down desperate for some good news about the lump that had been found on my shoulder 1 month prior. As I sat down I could feel the bloodshot eyes of the other ederly patients glaring at me trying to figure out what was wrong with me. The smell of sterylized medical equipment and blood made my stomach feel uneasy and was making the wait almost unbearable. A stretcher was being wheeled past at high speed as the person being cared for clung to thier life, and I could not help but think of the worst for myself. Ostensibly I appeared calm and collected, but inside I had been a mess for the month that this dreadful lump had been on my shoulder. The nervous tapping of the patients feet on the waiting room floor was slowly deteriorating my nerves and a minute more of this torture would certainly be the end of me if this lump wasn't. The flash of a bright white coat caught my eye and a cold hand suddenly rested on my shoulder. I turned around to meet the sympathetic eyes of the doctor, and followed her into the examining room. A frigid bed was waiting for me to sit on in front of a wall filled with medical supplies, and there was a chair for the doctor an arms length away. She pulled up the chair and as she looked up our eyes met, and without any words being spoken I knew my fate. Suddenly the rubbing alcohol and blood had removed their pungent odours from my nose, and the sounds of the heart monitors and children crying had faded into nothingness. All that was left was a blurred outline of the doctors slim figure and a ringing in my ear so clear that it seemed to have chased all other thoughts or memories from my head. I tried to move or at least procure some sort of thought but it was no use, I might as well have been dead.

                                                 
                                                            Happily ever after

George looked up from shoeing the horse to see the outline of Curley's wife in the doorway of the barn. They were alone. "What do you want?" George said shortly.
     "Well my plan is easy as pie" she retorted slyly. "I heard your friend Lennie talking about the ranch house youre gonna buy together".
     "Damn blabbering idiot! George exclaimed angrily under his breath. "Well the guy doesnt know what hes talkin' about hes dumber than a sack of potatoes!". A cool stare set over her face and as quickly as George's temper had flared up, he fell silent. This was the calm before the storm and George knew he was in for it now.
     "Whats it to ya anyways?" George finally said meekly
     "Youre a smart guy George, do I seem happy to you?"
George contemplated the different things he could say, then finally rested on what he believed would anger her the least.
     "Why... I reckon so ma'am." George said calmly
     "Well I aint'!" Curley's wife snapped angrily, trying to mask the sorrow that had suddenly crept into her voice.
But like Curley's wife had pointed out, George was a smart guy and he immediately decrypted the poorly hidden message Curley's wife was trying so hard to keep to herself.
     "So I reckon livin with Curley aint no walk in the park?" George added in a tone in which he hoped would lighten the mood.
Curley's wife wiped away a tear with a quiet laugh that reassured George that he had not angered her with this accusation.
     "How could you tell?" Curley's wife stated facetiously. "Curley cant read between the lines that I aint happy and never will be able to, so I don't know why I don't just get outta dodge."
     "Where would you go?" George inquired with a sudden fascination for her hypothetical escape.
      "Wherever the wind takes me!" She said confidently "I've always wanted to be in the movies, and a man once offered me a job but I turned it down because I was marryin' Curley, and what a mistake that was."
She looked off into the distance most likely envisioning her life without a ball and chain.
      "All that glitters is not gold you know" George added insightfully
      "What do you know about glitter Mr. Milton?" Curley's wife added in an innocent and playful manner.
     "Not a damn thing ma'am, but that's exactly my point."
     "You got my attention" she said while stepping closer to where George was kneeling.
George took a break and stood up from shoeing the horse, and sat on a hay bale.
     "After me and Lennie buy that ranch you should come and live there with us!" He said surprisingly calmly considering the weight of what he had just suggested.
     "Its a diamond in the rough but we can fix it up easy, and a woman's touch would sure help a lot" George added in a desperate tone.
      "George, you don't have to convince me none" she said with a happiness that couldn't be contained, "I'm in."