So I discovered that he wrote a book – The Game of My Life – with Daniel Paisner, who did a masterful job as credited ‘ghost’ writer by staying out of the way and letting J-Mac tell his story the way he wanted to. The result is like sitting across the table from Jason and listening to him tell his story. The result is an honest, unfiltered, humble, inspiring story of this young man’s remarkable life.
If you don’t know his story, take about 10 minutes now, watch both of these videos, and you’ll get a flavor of how amazing it is. They are worth every second of your time. I still can’t watch them without tears and wanting to pump my fist repeatedly in the air in celebration.
Part I:
Part II:
And now about his book. Jason fills out the breadth and depth of his experiences only hinted at in the videos. The challenges he has faced throughout his life are far more numerous and significant than alluded to on TV.
His story adds many important details to The Game, but as the title says simply and beautifully, the book is about the game of his entire life and how he has played it and devoted himself to it. As thrilling a moment and a memory as it must be for him, there’s not a single hint of self-aggrandizement in his book. He appreciates and savors everything that has come to him as a result, but isn’t the least bit caught up in the kinds of things that fame often brings about in people.
To preview what Goosie Cards are, visit their web site at GoosieCards.com.
As we’ve chronicled in recent posts (see “My God, He IS Reading!”, “Roy G. Biv”), our son is all about his flash cards lately. They’re not going to displace the Sacred Wooden Letter Blocks of Steadfast Security and Comfort anytime soon, but flash cards are a cornerstone of many of his most important learning activities.
We recently discovered that – at age 3! – he can read many sight word cards (see above posts and “The $64,000 Question…” – and note that he’s trying to read people’s t-shirts now), so Mary and I are all about finding as many different kinds of cards as we can to build on these wonderful skills he’s suddenly developed.
So, in what proved to be a timely e-mail, I was contacted by Tom Stein, COO of Goosie Cards, who asked if I would be interested in trying out some of their cards and reviewing them. This was right up our alley and a great opportunity to try something new with the J-Man, so of course I agreed.
I looked at their web site before the cards arrived and was immediately intrigued (go look now if you haven’t already) but you can’t really appreciate what you’re getting until you hold a Goosie Card in your hand. Once you do, you know immediately that these are light-years beyond the flash cards you get at the store.
Goosie Card (left) next to other flash cards of two other brands.
The cards are practically bomb-proof. The card stock and lamination are of a quality, thickness, and durability unparalleled by anything I’ve ever seen. I think the only way to make them more durable would be to manufacture them out of slate or paving stone. While nothing is technically indestructible in the hands of a toddler, I don’t know whether anyone – child or adult – could put even a nick on them without using scissors or a hacksaw.
Bedtime meltdown mystery solved - I hadn't been using enough toothpaste on his brush. Win - his intentional cues helped me figure it out!about 3 days agofrom Tweetie
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