Heart

Friday morning I got this text (screenshot, right) from Robby.  The time was 7:37 AM, as indicated.  Clearly he had

SportsCenter on — no surprise there — as he was getting ready to head to the office.  The teaser — BACK IN DAY: CARDIAC KEMBA — caught his eye.  Of course, he had to watch — work be damned.

As far as I can tell, Robby’s hero of all sports heroes is Kemba Walker.  Now a Charlotte Hornets All-Star, the pint-sized Walker carried our beloved UConn Huskies to their storybook 2011 national championship.  On the way to that title, in the Big East tournament, he hit one ridiculously big shot after another, scoring 130 points in five games — a Big East Tournament record and the most points scored in any conference tourney in the past 15 seasons.  UConn, squarely on Walker’s back, became the first school to win five games in five days to earn a conference championship.

To Robby, Kemba Walker’s all about heart; it sure ain’t his size (6’1″, at best) that makes him a dominant basketball player.  And Robby prizes heart above all else.  It’s why he loved his Ricky the Beagle so much.  When the rest of us screamed at Ricky for hoisting himself up onto the dining room table to snag a steak, Robby praised him for his heart.  This is also why our Duck Toller came to be called Kemba:  Robby figured with that name, he’d have the heart of a champion.

Which is a long way around (okay, okay . . .) to what I wanted to share with you: a story about another dog with a huge heart.  The dog’s name is Arthur, and the video clip was forwarded to me by my friend Laura, from Chicago.  (You might remember it was Laura’s dog, Amazing Grace, who had the starring role in the Centennial Beach Massacre during LA/XC-4 in 2015.)  The clip is almost 14 minutes long.  I know, I know — you don’t watch animal videos your friends send you.  Neither do I.  But do yourself a favor.  Make an exception.  Watch this one.  Especially if you like Kemba Walker.

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