opportunities

Opportunity. If I had just one wish in this world, I'd wish for my little nephew to have a lifetime of opportunities.

At four my nephew wanted to be a grandmaster chess player. He skipped the whole, policeman and fireman obsession of most boys and went right to admiring guys name Kasparov, Botvinik and Fischer. It was cute at first, until he started kicking my butt. At one point, I made up reasons to ground him just to regain some sort of control. The worse the beatings, the more severe the punishments. One game he beat me in three moves. The kid didn't see daylight for two weeks.

At eight, he wanted to be a rapper. I was told that rappers write about what they know. I wrote this rap for him.

I wanted rice. Grandma gave me noodles.

She yelled eat-whatever the I give you.

Eight year old Vietnamese kid, didn't really give me a lot to work with there.

At ten he wanted to be a football player, a wide receiver. We'd play catch everyday after school. I told him I'd represent him for thirty percent. He did a google search and told me typical agents make between four to ten percent. I countered with twenty. He said he'll only go as high as twelve. Negotiations broke down, and we had a lock-out. Never played football again.

He currently wants to be an NBA player, a shooting guard. He has a nice smooth fluid stroke. I have the height advantage. We shoot hoops everyday in the driveway. Still think I can get thirty percent.

I'm not sure where this path of dreams will take him when he's eighteen or twenty-five or ninety-seven, but I hope that someone will always open the door when he comes knocking.

****

There is this guy named Mike. Comes in my shop every Sunday. I make him a cup of coffee, two spoons of sugar and a splash of half and half with a straw. He loves the San Francisco Giants. Told me once he was going to get married. I wished him the best of luck.

Mikes parents gave him up as a baby because back when he was born, that's what parents were encouraged to do with special needs kids. He was born without arms. His face is deformed, his cheeks are squeezed together so tight that his words are inaudible, unless you try really hard. And even then, there are no guarantees his thoughts are understood. He eats and drinks everything through a straw, because he has to.

He cheats at scrabble. He spelled zbinka on a triple word square. I didn't know what to do, so I gave him 2000 points for it. Then he tried to play off faqaor for another 1,000 points when my competitive side made him use it in a sentence. It was then did I realize that because of his condition, he can't see the letters on the little wooden squares. I looked at his letters, and have him spell out the words I saw. He didn't miss a single word. Final score 2150-89. He zbinka me in scrabble, worst defeat ever.

He likes music.

Yellow Submarine, The Beatles.

"1968," Mike said.

You send me, Sam Cooke.

"1957."

Heartbreak Hotel, Elvis Presley

"1955."

Mike can tell me a song, the artist and the year the song was released. I played nice though, stayed away from things like Snoop Dog and Lady Gaga, but who knows, he might have gotten that too. Never underestimate a guy who wins by over 2000 points in Scrabble.

Yesterday he came into my shop decked out in SF Giants gear.

"Game 162, Giants going home if they don't take it today Mike."

When he left, he approached me with a seriousness I have never seen before said,

"They got to win today, they're going home?"

That afternoon the Giants had the opportunity to take down the Padres. They took home the National League West title with a 3-0 victory. Doors don't open too often for guys like Mike. People don't normally answer when he knocks.

My favorite baseball team is the Tampa Bay Rays, winner of the American League East and has the best record in the MLB. If the Rays meet the Giants in the world series, I'm pulling for the Giants all the way. If that happens, I'm going to get Mike a cup of coffee, with two spoons of sugar and a splash of half and half and talk about the how the Giants are the 2010 world champs. Mike would love the opportunity for that chat, and so would I.