Alex Rodríguez did a great thing this week.  He was as good off the field as he was on the field.  I think it was one of the best things I ever heard a celebrity do to give something back to their community. You always hear of celebrities traveling long distances, having their pictures taken with people less fortunate than they are, posturing themselves as being benevolent, caring and involved -- mentioning what they do to make the world a better place every chance they get -- but rarely, actually accomplishing too much, if anything.  Many times the CAUSES are forgotten, but everyone seems to always remember what the CELEBRITY did.  What exactly did they do?  How can it ever be measured if anything they had actually done was something substantial or something effective? The answer is -- it can't.
 
Celebrities have a habit of choosing a cause that is either chic or looked upon as being something few would be able to find fault with.  Nothing too controversial.  Nothing too complicated.  After all, a couple of days or a couple of weeks of work and with the magic of television and video tape, it looks like they are at it year-long.
 
This week, Alex Rodríguez did everything a lot differently.  He chose a cause that many never want to hear or speak about.  He chose a cause that HE had personally experienced.  Few if any celebrities can ever actually put themselves in the same place and situations as the people they are working to help.
 
In the New York Daily News article "A-Rod Bares Pain, Therapy," Alex Rodríguez said he was haunted by memories of the father who abandoned him when he was 9. 
 
The article goes on to say .  .  .
 
«Raised by his mom in Miami, he spent most of his childhood looking for a father figure.  "I thought he was coming back," he told the Seattle Times in 1998. "But he never came back. ... It still hurts."»
 
What Alex Rodríguez spoke of this week is something that has no universal cure.  No matter how advanced science becomes -- this problem will always exist to some degree, never to be completely eradicated.
 
What Alex Rodríguez did was to talk about relieving a nagging pain.  Not a back pain, not a leg pain, not a shoulder or neck pain, but a pain in the brain.
 
The kind of pain that can NEVER go away without HELP from someone, whether a family member, a friend or a loved one.
 
It's a pain that few if any celebrities speak of publicly.  It's a pain that many millions of people experience in the United States and at least a couple of hundred thousand in Puerto Rico.
 
It's a pain that -- WHEN FIXED -- fixes just about everything else that may have seemed wrong as a result of the main, original source of pain.
 
The pain is something that was never planned or ever fully understood.  When a "man" makes a baby and then does little if anything after the baby is delivered -- it creates a life-long pain that can almost never fully go away without PROFESSIONAL HELP -- therapy.
 
When Alex Rodríguez shared with the world the PROFESSIONAL HELP he received regarding issues he had with his dad -- he had to have struck a nerve with many people in the same boat.  Some just got into the boat, some just realized they were in the boat and others have been in the boat so long they cannot imagine their life out of the boat.
 
This week the boat got a captain and the captain understands the pain because he lived the pain and now wants to relieve that pain for as many people he can throughout the rest of his life.
 
Whether you are famous or unknown, rich or poor, successful or unsuccessful -- the pain of not having a relationship with your dad is a pain that can very easily destroy someone's life -- or at the very least inhibit a full, complete, happy life.
 
Every major problem that faces Puerto Rico and the United States and every country throughout the world could be reduced to a minor nuisance rather than a grave problem if EVERY MAN that "fathers" a child actually FATHERS THE CHILD.
 
The root cause of every major social problem that faces the world today is a broken family -- usually being the "man" in the family.
 
The absence, the neglect, the cruelty, the lack of love is a pain that can never fully heal.  With PROFESSIONAL HELP, someone would easily be able to learn to live and function with this pain.  That's the KEY to a successful conclusion of a problem NOT ONE CHILD EVER DESERVED TO EXPERIENCE.
 
It makes no difference how great your mom is, it makes no difference how long you attempt looking for a father figure to replace the emptiness -- when you do not have your real dad -- you do not have real peace.
 
Every kid can grow up understanding when a father dies and is no longer around.  It's very comforting to hear just how much their dad loved them.  What's DIFFICULT is when "dad" is still around SOMEWHERE -- usually with a NEW FAMILY and you are PERMANENTLY and LITERALLY the very last thing on his mind.
 
That's what hurts.  That's what most people can never fully understand or fully come to terms with.  That's why "MEN" WHO MAKE KIDS -- BUT DO NOT FOLLOW THROUGH AND TAKE CARE OF THESE KIDS -- should be ostracized, ridiculed, shunned and held in contempt by EVERYONE and at the same time having the full weight of the law get the money these kids will need to succeed.  You cannot force someone to love their child, but you can force them to provide the financial support that is their RESPONSIBILITY.  Money isn't everything -- unless it's the only thing -- then IT IS important -- then it's something every child deserves AT THE VERY LEAST.
 
An interesting article in today's USA Today, "Therapy May Rival Pills For Some Depressed Kids," seems to suggest that kids from more affluent families benefit from therapy more than antidepressants -- but like always, another study will be published in a short time stating just the opposite conclusion.

This week I salute Cynthia and Alex Rodríguez for everything they began to do and will continue doing -- The Children's Aid Society and The New York Daily News for giving this story the front page coverage it deserved.
 
When I read "A-Rod Donates $200,000 For Youth Mental Health Centers," I said to myself that someone important and influential FINALLY GETS IT.
 
I'll bet that EVERYONE who heard this story and lived or is currently living this story connected with Alex Rodríguez and feel a lot better knowing that it's not just them.  What better way to begin receiving PROFESSIONAL HELP than to hear that someone you know and respect has the exact same problem you do -- did something about it and is working hard to get others the same help.
 
Yesterday, The New York Daily News had this follow-up article "I Revealed Therapy To Help Kids, A-Rod Says," where the ONE and ONLY reason Alex Rodríguez did what he did was for the kids.
 
I'll never forget something that another champion of children said about 5 years ago regarding what EACH ONE OF US must do to help those who are the weakest among us. The following was said by Colin Powell during a speech at the 2000 Republican National Convention .  .  .
 
«". . . Our children are not the problem, they are our future . . . If you want to solve the problem of violence and crime on our streets, it begins with us teaching children to value life, their own and others, and to have respect for themselves and respect for others.
If you want young people to become contributing citizens and not convicts, then early in life we must give them the character and the competence they need to succeed in this exciting new world . . . It begins in the home with caring, loving parents and family members who pass on the virtues of past generations, who live good lives which serve as models for their children . . . And where the family is broken or not up to the task, the rest of us must step in to help as mentors, tutors, foster parents, friends to kids who desperately need responsible adults to show them the way. Tens of thousands of our neighbors have stepped forward . . . Tens of thousands who realize that children are a gift from God not only to their parents, but to their community. They belong to us all"»
 
Hopefully Alex Rodríguez, his wife Cynthia and The Children's Aid Society will not only help those at risk and those currently hurting badly -- but at the same time, do EVERYTHING POSSIBLE to help PREVENT the DEADBEAT DAD PLAGUE from spreading out of control any more than it is.
 
A vicious cycle is only vicious until it is tamed.

Well, that's all folks! Until next Friday.

Keith


For motivational speeches, conferences, media requests and other things such as eating disorders, you'll have to contact someone else. My only qualifications for writing a weekly column are based solely upon having a lot of free time, unlimited Internet access and very little else.