A Shining Season
William J. Buchanan
“The future looked bright to John Willard Baker
that Monday, May 26th, 1969.
Twenty-four and at the pinnacle of a remarkable athletic career, ranked
eighth among the world’s indoor milers, he had fixed his dreams on the goal of
competing for the United States in the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. Before entering the Olympic trials, he vowed
he would break the four-minute mile. His
best-time so far was 4:01.” This and
John’s job as coach at Aspen Elementary
School in his hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico were his main priorities,
or at least until the worst happened.
John Baker was diagnosed with testicular cancer.
He was forced to give up some of the most important things
in a person’s life including marriage to his fiancée, Mary Ann Alison. He also was forced to give up his dream of
running in the Olympics. When John was
able to refocus and collect himself, he put his all into helping his
students. He knew he had a limited time
to help make a difference in his students’ lives, so he worked all the
time. His family was always there to
support him, especially, his mother, Polly Baker. John Haaland, Tony Sandoval, and John Baker
allied themselves to coach a powerful girl’s track team named the Duke City
Dashers. John’s specialty was motivating
the girls in a way that worked for them.
In
this emotional memoir, there is a great lesson for all to learn, and it is the
power and strength of passion. Although
John is faced with the biggest fear of his life, he doesn’t let life pass him
by. John takes the time to help his students
and team to make them better athletes and more self-confident people. He teaches them to try their hardest and to
persevere like he did everyday once he was diagnosed.
William J. Buchanan told the story of
John Baker’s short life very passionately.
I was filled with emotion from first to last page, and I found myself
many times with tears in my eyes. The
way John helped his students was amazing, and it seemed unreal that a person
could care that much. His life is very
inspiring, and I hope to someday have the strength that John Baker had
physically and mentally. He inspires me
as an athlete and as a good person.
John Baker lived a
great life. He accomplished more in his
twenty-six years then most do in a longer lifetime. He overcame many obstacles and didn’t give up
on life even when it was fading from him.
This story of John Baker’s life is one of the best books I’ve ever
read. Although the book made me sad for
John’s tragic cancer situation, it left me with the good message to be a good
person and work hard.
Created by Natalie Sample. October 31, 2007