A Circle of Kindness

This story was shared by my Aunt Maryann and Uncle Vito. It is a story of big-hearted generosity, paying kindness forward, and circling back.

Vito and Maryann live in a quiet New Jersey suburb where they raised their four daughters. It is a lovely home with a big yard for children to play, cozy rooms, and a friendly neighborhood.

In the mid seventies, Vito and Maryann invited a family they had met from church to their home for a Saturday afternoon. The family had two daughters and an eleven year boy, Louis, who was not keen to spend the day with a bunch of girls. Although Vito and Maryann’s eldest daughter was about Louis’ age, Louis was too shy to get to know her. He wanted to stay home with his grandmother and watch the Yankees baseball game on TV. What he wanted was not an option, so he had to endure a visit with the new family.

Everyone was friendly and welcoming, but Louis remained shy. After lunch, the girls went outside to play. Vito put the Yankee game on for Louis. Louis’ dad mentioned how much the boy loved sports—especially baseball and football. Vito invited Louis to see his baseball and football cards.

Like most boys in the 70s, Louis collected sports cards. He had Yankee greats like Catfish Hunter and Reggie Jackson and football stars like Terry Bradshaw and Walter Payton. He cherished those cards. But Vito’s cards were from an earlier era. He had neatly kept cards of amazing heroes—Sandy Kofox, Roger Maris and Carl Yastremski. 

Vito and Louis talked sports while going through the cards. It was a fantastic afternoon. Louis did not want to go home. Before leaving, Vito offered Louis the 200+ card collection for keeps! Vito explained his daughters would not appreciate the cards and he would never sell them or bother with trading. Vito wanted Louis to have them. The boy showed deep interest and knew he would make the best of them. Vito insisted and gave away his beloved collection of sports cards. Louis thanked him and promised to take good care of them. 

Louis cherished Vito’s cards. He studied the stats and showed the cards off to his friends. The shy boy grew confident and used the cards as props for school assignments and presentations. He could talk baseball and football better than his peers and engaged in great conversations with sports-loving adults in his life. 

Louis made some trades of least favorite stars like Carl Yestremski, a Red Sox great. No Yankee fan likes anything about the Boston Red Sox. One of Louis’ best trades was a Ron Santo rookie card for a Willie Mays Sport Magazine autographed by “Willie the Kid”. 

Vito’s generous gesture taught Louis to give away cards. He gave cards to friends when he was a teenager. As a young man and teacher, Louis gave cards to his students who were passionate sport fans. Most memorable was a 13-year-old boy who knew everything about Sandy Kofax. Louis handed Vito’s Sandy Kofax card to the excited boy. Louis’ best man, a die-hard Giants fan, received star Giant football player cards. He traded a mint Ernie Banks for a beat up Jackie Robinson and gave it to his dad, who had a Jackie Robinson collection, but not this card. As Louis gave away and traded Vito’s cards, he always told the story of the nice man he barely knew who gave him the collection.

The joy these simple cards gave to children and grown men was infectious. Louis made people (some he barely knew, like Vito) happy to have their interests validated and enjoyed. 

Thirty-three years passed before Louis reached out and found Vito and Maryann again. 

Although his parents lost touch with them, they were easy to find through a coincidence connection on Facebook. Vito immediately recognized the boy, now a man, over the phone and invited him to visit.

They spent a wonderful afternoon together in the same house they first met. They talked about careers, families, but mostly sports. Vito could spout stats better than anyone Louis knew—including himself. Vito showed Louis an autograph Mickey Mantle ball Maryann got him because she felt he missed his cards. At the end of the visit, Louis handed over seven of Vito’s best cards—Hank Aaron, Rodger Maris, Whitey Ford, Frank Robinson, Eddie Matthews and Stan Musial and Frank Gifford. He explained he had a few of the best cards left and wanted to give some back to Vito. Vito graciously accepted and said that he hoped to give them to his young grandson who was already a fanatic baseball fan. 

Vito cards were not just an incredible gift for a young child. It provided a shy boy a prop to connect with others and share with those who may have difficulty sharing. Vito’s cards journied a full circle while spreading unconditional kindness and a wonderful story.

My Uncle Vito and Aunt Maryann had always practiced simple (and grand) acts of kindness. It had never been about money or acknowledgement. Instead, the gestures were more about the riches kindness generated, the stories shared, and the joy it brought to a wide circle of friends and strangers. The world is a better place because of kindness.

Great BIG Thanks and appreciation go out to Natalie the Explorer who keeps the Weekend Coffee Share percolating.

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