(Below is an excerpt from a short story by elite runner Dallas Smith. Click the link at the bottom of this post to read the rest full story.)
The King of Caribbean Marathons and a Boy Who Wanted a Watch by Dallas Smith
It seemed likely I’d never find Jason. A couple months after I’d sent an e-mail inquire to the race director, I quit thinking about it. Then a message suddenly arrived from Gail Jackson. “I know that kid,” she said.
Gail owned the hotel in Negril where I’d stayed and she’d worked on the marathon’s registration committee. “I was at his school yesterday…and asked if after the race did he go for a swim and talk to a white man?” she wrote. The boy’s answer had been yes. He was the one. His real name was Oraine.
I promptly mailed one of my 100-lap Ironman watches to Gail to give to the boy. It was a watch I’d actually used in an Ironman triathlon. Sending him a watch I’d used seemed more personal than buying a new one. I put it in the original box with it’s instructions along with a note of good wishes from me.
A month later, Oraine sent a letter thanking me. He liked to draw, and he included a pencil-drawn portrait on green paper. In his letter he said, “If there is anything you want me to do for you in drawing don’t be afraid to ask.”
Read the Full Story by Dallas Smith on his website by Clicking HERE
