Beyond the Margin

By Joe Spear

Thankful … and then some

It was Bruce Springsteen’s birthday and the couple walked their bikes downtown, he wearing a long cattleman’s-like coat with a hoodie pushing a bigger bike with a baby carrier on the back and another knapsacklike suitcase full of stuff.

A small American flag was attached to the back of the baby carrier.

Born in the USA.

She had a smaller bike, pink backpack and a purse. A photo showed a hole in the sole of her right shoe.

Thankful is a word we turn to this time of year, and that’s good. We all need to keep in mind the good things we have, the food we eat and the shelter we have from the storm.

And we need to be grateful to the people who help us be thankful.

The folks at the Connections Shelter likely know our couple. Started a few years ago, the shelter houses some 20-30 people a night in rooms at First Presbyterian Church, the oldest in Mankato proper.

Connections offers Holy Grounds at Centenary United Methodist Church a block or two from First Presbyterian, a place for anyone to get a free breakfast and coffee to start their day.

Connections works with the Salvation Army and numerous churches and volunteers to take care of Mankato’s homeless.

Thankful.

High school athletics have long been a place where heroism appears. These teens coming of age often reveal remarkable signs of who they are and who they will be. At a young age they often set an example for us all.

Last year in the Mankato EastWest Jug football game, East player Puolrah Gong saw West’s Ryan Haley suffering leg cramps, lying on the ground late in the emotional game.

The Mankato East senior ran over to Haley, a rival he’d been battling during the game, and tried to help, eventually getting a water bottle from his own sideline to offer to the West player.

Gong told The Free Press at the time: “It’s the normal thing to do. If you see someone cramping, you get them water. It doesn’t matter who it is. I think the respect goes both ways. We play hard against each other, but we’ve all been friends for a long time. I think sportsmanship can take you far in life. Sportsmanship and respect for your opponent.”

Thankful.

And these athletes can show true character in the face of overcoming obstacles.

Mankato East senior B.J. Omot was a highly rated player recruited by Division I schools, but outstanding players often draw more contempt from opposing fans.

When Omot committed a turnover, the opposing fans started chanting “overrated, overrated.”

“Sure, I heard them,” said Omot, a 6-foot-8 wing. “I’m glad they did it. It made me turn on a different mode. I was not going to let them have the last laugh. I just turned it on.”

Omot scored 17 points after hearing the chants for a total of 29 points on the way to a one point Cougar victory.

Thankful.

And let’s not forget about dedicated coaches, who don’t gain a lot financially for going the extra miles, but often do it because they want to see young people succeed.

Mankato’s first co-ed adaptive floor hockey team didn’t have a lot of wins, and coach Dylan Boettcher didn’t expect it. He hoped school pride and confidence for these athletes would be the first goal.

“This year is really not about winning,” he told The Free Press last year. “I’m hoping this can be something the kids enjoy and be proud of, walking the halls at school or getting together with families on holidays.

“High school sports meant a lot to me, and I want these kids to have the same experience. It’s a feeling you can only get playing high school sports.”

Thankful.

It may be hardest to be thankful in the face of tragedy, but that is when the idea of gratitude becomes most powerful in spreading far and wide to those who then carry it forward.

Mel and Todd Hoffner stand in such a place. Losing their 13-yearold daughter to suicide was as gut wrenching and traumatic an experience as any family can endure.

But Mel, a longtime educator and counselor, and Todd, the Minnesota State University football coach, shared their story in hopes of preventing any family from having to go through what they had gone through.

They supported a nationally renowned suicide prevention speaker in the schools and in a gesture of complete openness and grace told their story to The Free Press and the thousands of people who read it.

They supported the Greater Mankato Area United Way’s efforts in youth support and suicide prevention.

“It’s a parent’s worst nightmare to lose a child. But to lose a child by suicide, it’s viscerally heartbreaking and traumatic, and we would do anything to prevent this tragedy for any family,” Mel told The Free Press.

Thankful.

The simple and ordinary can often inspire if we take the time to smell the roses.

Louis Armstrong recorded “What a Wonderful World” in 1967, inspired by the people and the places of the Queens, New York, neighborhood he lived in.

“The colors of the rainbow // So pretty in the sky // Are also on the faces //Of people going by.”

As the pink-backpack woman passes the city-sponsored flower bed on the downtown sidewalk, she stops, grabs a handful of purple flowers for a bouquet and continues.

Thankful.

Joe Spear is editor of Mankato Magazine. Contact him at jspear@mankatofreepress.com or 344-6382. Follow on Twitter @jfspear.