We gave every member of the soccer team a copy of best selling book “Outcasts United,” the story how soccer transformed the lives of the kids in a refugee soccer team in Georgia, and changed their small town as well. The best two commenters would get to take home a tropical fish – a Beta (a/k/a Siamese Fighting Fish), I got two roomy special tanks for each one, and nets and food as well.
I had no illusions that anybody would get through the whole book in one night, but I did see about half the kids reading it over the weekend. The kids grasped the idea of the book, especially that being on a team breeds community and strength and friendship.
We had a good talk about the book this morning before lunch.
They talked about how they are almost always up against wealthier and better equipped kids in their soccer league – some even have personal trainers and special coaches. Sa-Nay said soccer taught the kids not to quite to depend on each other to stay away from the drugs and other troubles on the streets.
Almost all of the kids had experiences with kids in school who wondered if they were terrorists, or who are picking up on some of the racially charged political attacks on immigrants.
Ali, Maria and I met to pick the winners, and these two were very happy to take the fish home.
They arrived safety tonight, they rode home in their laps. I like these tanks, they have LED lights and covers. Betas are often sold in tiny jars, this is much better than that.
These fish have a history with me. I bred Beta’s when I was a kid, I sold their babies to the fish department of a J.J.Newberry store in Providence and had quite a fish world in my room – five or six 25 gallon tanks with heaters and filters and real tropical plants.
One day, the thermostat blew out and it blew the sides out of all the tanks, sending hundreds of fish out onto the floor (When I got upstairs my Basset Hound Sam was lapping up as many of the fish as he could eat.)
That was my last run-in with fish. I was very happy to give these two to these impressive and articulate kids. While I was at it, I got two goldfish for Maria, they are named Frida and Diego, of course.