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{Heart Touchers}   *Best Seat in the House*  9/25/01

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If you enjoy this free daily email service, I encourage
you to spread the word to family and friends that we
may bring inspiration into the lives of many!  If you
are not on the list and this has been passed along
to you, join us by sending an e-mail with the word
"Subscribe" in the subject line to:
HeartTouchers@aol.com

Visit our inspirational web site and read all the past
stories in our archives at:
http://www.HeartTouchers.com
____________________________________________

Michael's long awaited book Straight From the Heart:
"A Celebration of Life," is finally here!  Close to 200
pages of true short stories filled with love and laughter
await you!  Visit our web site to order the EBook, or
to order by credit card! You can also read some
sample stories from the book here!

http://www.HeartTouchers.com/michael_t__powers/


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Before we get to today's story we wanted to ask a favor
of all you.  Would you help us wish a very happy
birthday to one of the classy young ladies I coach in
basketball? Today is Lindsey's birthday and Kristi
and I wanted to make it special for her...and what
better way then to have the wonderful readers of
Heart Touchers send her birthday greetings from
all over the world!  If you get the chance could you
send her happy birthday wishes by e-mailing Lindsey at:

Lidsey22@aol.com

Be sure to let her know what part of the world
your wishes and greetings are coming from!

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

And Lindsey, know that you are fearfully and wonderfully
made by a God who loves and cares for you more than
you will ever, ever know!  May your birthday be a
special one!  We are so grateful that you and your family
are a part of our lives...

"I thank my God every time I remember you."
(Philippians 1:3)

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Today we welcome a new writer to Heart Touchers!
Be sure to write to Brad Meltzer and let him know what
you thought of his story today and then check out his
web site!

We have one more story tomorrow night and then we'll be
taking the rest of the week off to spend some time together
as a family camping up north!

From my family to yours,
Michael

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Best Seat in the House

By Brad Meltzer


"You can have them," my friend offered.

"No, that's OK," I replied.

"I'm serious," he said. "They're yours."

"We'll be fine," I said. "We already have tickets."

"But these are 20 rows behind home plate. They're perfect."

"I know, but like I said, we already have tickets."

"Did you hear what I said?" my friend asked. "Twenty.
Rows. Behind. Home. Plate. It doesn't get better."

And so the conversation went the day I decided to take
my volunteer Little Brother to his first-ever professional
baseball game.

It was a perfect night. The peanuts were fresh, the
grass was recently mowed, the hot dog buns were
soft (not too soft -- not mushy -- just right). Ryan
(not his real name) was 10 years old; I was almost 30.
Without a doubt, going to the game was a big deal.
Why? I wasn't sure - I wasn't even that big a
baseball fan myself. But surely every kid should have
a chance to go to a real baseball game.

To commemorate the event, we even went to the
local sporting goods store earlier in the week to
try on some baseball mitts. I tossed Ryan one
of the smaller-sized gloves, then continued
rummaging through the aisle, looking for a baseball.

"How's it fit?" I asked.

He didn't answer.

And by the time I turned around, I understood why.
instead of putting the glove on his catching hand,
he had put it on his throwing hand. The wrong
hand. I couldn't believe it. Ten years old and he'd
never, ever worn a baseball glove. So now it's the
night of the game. The sun is about to set at
Camden Yards, the home of Maryland's beloved
Baltimore Orioles, and I'm ready to show Ryan how
real baseball is enjoyed. I buy a hot dog, grab a program
and even pick up a bag of peanuts. Sure, I want to
give him the full experience, but I also don't want to
spoil him -- which is why I cringe when Ryan asks
me the all-important question: "Where are our seats?"

It's a simple question. Where are we sitting? Are we
in the outfield? Along the first base line? Back in the
upper decks? In many ways, where you sit
affects your whole view of the game. Indeed, I
thought the same thing myself when my friend
offered me his season tickets a few days earlier.
It was an incredibly thoughtful offer; Chuck's seats
were 20 rows behind home plate. As he said, they
don't get much better. But as I prepared for our
visit to the ballpark, all I kept thinking was: "If I
take Ryan to those incredible seats, won't I be
sending him the wrong message? Won't I be
spoiling him, potentially ruining all of his
subsequent ballpark visits?" Sure, I obviously
was overthinking it, but I made my decision: It's
better to take him to seats in the bleachers, then
slowly -- after a few games -- work our way to the good
seats up front. Teach him to appreciate the world.
That's the better life lesson.

So there we are, walking up to our seats in far left
field. In truth, they are bad seats. We can barely
see home plate, much less the infield. The only
thing we are close to is the scoreboard, and even
then, it's on our far left. But as we find our aisle and
make our way over to our seats, Ryan studies the
view and takes it all in. He looks at the bright-green
grass -- the glare of the lights -- and all the people
surrounding us. And then, this 10-year-old boy who
never has been to a ballpark in his entire life turns
to me and says, "These are the best seats in the
whole place."

I almost fall over right there. A wide smile takes his
face. And mine. As I said, it was a perfect night. But
somehow, it just got better.

Brad Meltzer
meltzer@smart.net

Write Brad and let him know what you thought of his story!

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Brad Meltzer is the New York Times best-selling author
of the legal thrillers The Tenth Justice, Dead Even,
and The First Counsel.  His new book, The Millionaires,
will be published in January. Raised in Brooklyn
and Miami, Brad is a graduate of the University
of Michigan and Columbia Law School. He's been
featured on the Today Show, and in major
publications including Time, USA Today,
Vanity Fair, Entertainment Weekly, and
dozens of newspapers across the country.
Brad currently lives in Maryland with his wife
(and high school sweetheart), Cori, who's
also an attorney.

For more info or to contact him, please visit
www.bradmeltzer.com

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Reader Feedback!

Hi Michael,

How are you? I just wanted to let your know that since my article about the Scottish Kilt appeared on your site on September 10, I have been inundated with lovely emails!  I have kept every one of them and will make a little booklet one day soon to share with my family and friends.  I will never forget my first story being "printed" .  I will never forget what happenend the day after either.  I have chatted with so many special people from the States who have blessed me with their courage and love for each other and their God.  I am so happy to be a part of this wonderful family of God. Love from my family in Australia to yours in the USA.
Debbie Davidson
guydeb@free2air.com.au

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Thought For The Day:

"The goal in marriage is not to think alike but to
think together."


Verse for the Day:

"For this reason a man will leave his father and
mother and the united to his wife, and the two
will become one flesh." --Ephesians 5:31


Kid's Thought For The Day:

"Silence can be an answer."


Parent's Thought For The Day

"Character is taught at home, but not by a
purple dinosaur or big yellow bird."

Coach's Thought For The Day

"The highest reward for a person's toil is not
what they get for it, but what they become by it."
-- John Ruskin, Art Critic/Writer (1819-1900)


Deep Thought For The Day:

"The reason lightning doesn't strike twice in
the same place is that the same place isn't
there the second time."

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  _
/_/\/\    MICHAEL T. POWERS
\_\  /    HeartTouchers@aol.com  
/_/  \    "For I have been crucified with Christ and I no

\_\/\ \   longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I
  \_\/   live in the body I live for the Son of God, who
   
          
loved me and gave Himself for me."
          
Galatians 2:20
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Touchers are owned by the authors and are used with
their permission. We refuse to run stories without
the author's permission and contact info listed after
the story. We also refuse to publish stories listed
as "author unknown."  (All of which violates Copyright
Law and the rights of the authors.) This e-mail may
be forwarded in its entirety, but please do not cut
and paste the stories to be used elsewhere unless
you have contacted and been given permission by
the individual writer.  Thank you so much for
honoring the rights of those writers who graciously
share their stories with us!

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Video Imagery --Michael's Video Production Business

"
I thought of you first after my family sat down to watch
the video we gave them. They loved it, to say the
least!  Within thirty seconds my mom was crying
and my dad did too. They said it was the best
Christmas gift we could have given them!!  You
did such a beautiful job!  They were so surprised
and so touched--they really, really, really loved it.
Thanks for helping to make it so special to us all.
My mom mentioned how the songs were perfect
for the video too! Thanks again!"
K
elli-- College Station, TX

Let me make you a video from your pictures or
home movies! Check out the web page for Michael's
video production business!  Visit:

http://www.hearttouchers.com/video_imagery/


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Would you like to see your story in Heart Touchers?
Writer's guidelines can be found on our Web site here:
http://www.HeartTouchers.com/guidelines/

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Writer's Guidelines
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Do you feel as if life has no meaning for you?

http://www.greatcom.org/english/four.htm


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Transfer your photographs or old home videos over to DVD or MP4 files! Give the gift that will touch your family's heart and soul.

You can join the 15,000 followers on his Facebook Nature Photography by clicking on the link above!

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