Gerald Green clambered up to the top of the bookcase. It was easy, even as a three-year-old, since the couch provided a convenient intermediate platform from which to climb even higher. His plan, so far, had executed without hitch; his mom was washing dishes in the kitchen, his dad too busy with the newspaper to watch his own son.
Toy basketball in hand, he looked down at his target. Below him was a child-size Fischer-Price basketball hoop, the kind found in millions of American homes. It was satisfying to perform dunks on it, just like Michael Jordan on the TV, but he wanted, no, needed more power.
Gerald’s heart began to beat faster, a sensation he would become familiar with later in life. Raising the basketball above his head with one tiny hand, he jumped.
The sudden motion caught the attention of his father, who looked over his newspaper to see his son falling through the air towards the toy hoop. Meanwhile, Gerald twisted his body to get the optimum angle for slamming the ball. By the time he reached the hoop, he was almost parallel with the floor.
Extending his arm, Gerald pushed the ball through the hoop as he whizzed by it. He had almost no time to savor his success, however, as he landed on the carpet with a heavy FWUMP just a second later.
The tears were immediate and loud. His father watched, stunned, as his son cried on the floor. Hearing the commotion, his mother ran out of the kitchen; as soon as she saw her precious baby in obvious pain, she screamed and rushed towards him.
“Gerald! Gerald! What happened baby? What happened?”
Gerald could not halt his crying long enough to give an answer. What his parents didn’t realize is that his tears were half from pain and half from pure joy.
“You should have been watching him more closely!” his mom chastised his dad, bundling Gerald into her embrace. “What if he broke something? What should we do? Call 911?
Unexpectedly, Gerald’s dad began to chuckle. Soon, this chuckle exploded into a full outburst of laughter. “What we need to do is hire my boy an agent, because he’s going to be a star!”