When I Was Little... I Was Big

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

1

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

Copyright © 2004 All Rights Reserved 2

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


3

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.


4

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


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


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


...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


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.


9

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.


10

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


11

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


My Dad is a hero too.

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


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


And then I noticed something…behind his back.


15

It was the most beautiful glove

I’ve ever seen.


16

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


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


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.


19

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


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


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


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.


23

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


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


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


My mother always hugs me when I make it home.


27

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


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’


29

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


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


I walked straight to Ray-Ray’s house.


32

I asked Ray-Ray to come out to play.

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


33

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.


34

*********

Dedicated

To

People Everywhere

Who Dream.


35

Documents

When I Was Little... I Was Big