When I Was Little... I Was Big

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When I was little...I was Big. -----------------------------

Story By Brian Holloway Written by Brian Holloway & Peter Raymundo Illustrations by Peter Raymundo

Vol. #1. A World Class Champion’s Secrets To Success

When I was little… I was Big Copyright © 2004 All Rights Reserved

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I always get up early.

I know it’s going to be another good day! I could just tell. When I was little… I was Big

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My Dad flies airplanes for the Air Force. He is gone a lot to protect us from the missiles.

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I walk to school every morning. Sometimes I take the long way so I don’t have to walk past Ray-Ray’s house. Ray-Ray is a bully -- at least to me. Sometimes I almost forget what I’m afraid of. I’ve been doing this a long time.

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I go to Pearl City Elementary. It’s near Pearl Harbor. When I was little… I was Big

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Our school still has holes in the walls from the war. When I get bored, I dig my pencil in the holes. Sometimes I get in trouble for that. When I was little… I was Big

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I love sports. Dodge ball is my favorite. I am always the last one picked… When I was little… I was Big

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...and usually the first one out. When I get afraid… I get confused, and can not make up my mind on which way to go. Ray-Ray can really throw. When I was little… I was Big

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School is hard too. I stutter. When they laugh I just stand there. The teacher tells me not to worry, that some people were just born “stupid,” and not to set my goals too high. I do not believe her.

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And I love baseball. When I think of my heroes, like Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Bob Gibson, I feel better. They could run fast, throw hard and they knew how to win. I hope Willie Mays breaks Babe Ruth’s home run record.

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I wonder what it feels like to win. I bet it feels really good. One day I will know.

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The teacher says I dream too much. When I was little… I was Big

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My Dad is a hero too.

He tells me it’s ok to dream. When I was little… I was Big

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One day a strange man came to the front door. He had a big scratchy beard. He walked in and Mom gave him a big hug. It was my Dad. He was finally home...for a while. When I was little… I was Big

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And then I noticed something…behind his back.

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It was the most beautiful glove

I’ve ever seen.

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The glove fits great although I need some practice. When I was little… I was Big

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I dream that one day I will be an All-Star too. That way I could help a lot of people. I will teach them about dreaming Big dreams too. Despite what the teacher said...I wrote my very first letter. It was to Bob Gibson. When I was little… I was Big

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Then there was this one day. I remember walking to school and noticed that someone forgot to put the flag up all the way. Everything looked strange. No one was outside playing. People were talking but I could not hear them.

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I was about to learn a word that I will never forget. When I was little… I was Big

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It was about a man named King. Some people said he dreamed too much too When I was little… I was Big

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I didn’t even remember walking home. I walked slowly but got there fast. When I was little… I was Big

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I went over to Brent’s house. He’s my best friend, maybe he could help me understand. He has 4 brothers and seems to know everything.

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I could play at his house. I could even go inside and walk across his lawn without getting yelled at. We talked a lot that day. It helped...but not that much. Nothing made sense to us. When I was little… I was Big

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After that day, things changed. Now I have to be home before the street lights come on or I would get in a lot of trouble. This is called a curfew. When I was little… I was Big

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When I am late, my mom tells me to run home as fast as I can. Brent did not have a curfew. When I was little… I was Big

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My mother always hugs me when I make it home.

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At night I pray a long time. My older brother David is in heaven. He watches over me with God, I can tell. David did not have enough red blood cells. We played all the time. Our favorite game was waking up our baby sister, Karen. I miss him. When I was little… I was Big

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Last week there was a letter on the kitchen table. This letter had my name on it. I opened up the letter very slowly.

“Brian...thank you for writing never be afraid to dream big.”

- Bob Gibson, World Series 68’

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I could not believe Bob Gibson found me! I don’t know why his letter meant so much to me. It just did. Something inside me was changing. I could feel it. When I was little… I was Big

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The next morning I got up early, but that day was different. That day was BIG! I had made a decision. I was not going to take the long way again...to anywhere. When I was little… I was Big

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I walked straight to Ray-Ray’s house.

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I asked Ray-Ray to come out to play.

She said nothing at first, and then she smiled...and grabbed her glove.

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On this day…I felt so good.

Things were going to be different from now on. I learned that big dreams can lift you up, change your world, and win you new friends. When I was little…I was Big.

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*********

Dedicated

To

People Everywhere

Who Dream.

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