This appeared in ALL ABOUT FAMILIES, edited by Norman Bales.

He wrote:

In recent days the news media has deluged us with information,
analysis, speculations and recommendations in the wake of shooting
incidents on school campuses. The subject has surely been
explored from every possible angle. One wonders if we have not
been over informed.

Sandwiched in between the Littleton tragedy and the Conyers
misfortune was a heartwarming story that probably didn’t make the
news away from North Louisiana, where I live. It’s a story about a
teenage boy, a famous athlete and his family and it deserves wider
exposure.

Let’s start with the athlete. The year was 1959. Harvey Haddix
pitched the longest no-hitter in the history of baseball. He
lost the game in the twelfth inning when Joe Adcock of the
Milwaukee Braves hit a home run. Joe Adcock was from our neck of
the woods, a place called Coushatta. Although some of his
teammates – Eddie Matthews, Hank Aaron, Lew Burdette and Warren
Spahn were better known, Adcock left his mark on the game. He hit
336 home runs in 17 seasons and played on the team that won the
World Series in 1957. After his career was finished, Adcock went
home to Coushatta, where he lived until his death earlier this
month.

Now let’s talk about the teenage boy. His name is Jamie Adams.
Jamie is an 18 year old senior at Lakeview High School in
Coushatta. He maintains a 4.0 grade point average and he plays
tennis. As a matter of fact, he plays tennis very well. He won
three state championships and may have been on his way to a fourth
one, when he learned of Joe Adcock’s death. Oh, I forgot to tell
you. Joe Adcock was Jamie’s grandfather. Jamie was in the midst
of the championship game, when the matches were halted for a rain
delay. The rain delay meant he wouldn’t be able to attend his
grandfather’s funeral. He chose to withdraw from the match.

Why did Jamie do it? That’s where family comes in. From
Jamie’s point of view, family was his grandfather’s priority. He
said, “Family always came first to Papaw. I wanted to come home
and be there for my sister and my cousins and I wanted to say good
by.”

>From what I can see, it sounds like Jamie Adams is a young man who
has his head on straight. I’m sure there are thousands of young
people in our world who value family just as much as Jamie does.
They’re not going to walk into school buildings and start shooting.
They’re going to make good grades, respect adults and behave
responsibly. At an early age they developed enough character to
make the right decisions in life. I don’t know of any law or even
any principle that would have required Jamie to relinquish his
quest for a state tennis title, but I have great respect for his
choice.

His decision to give priority to his family wasn’t really made on
the Highland Park tennis courts in Baton Rogue, where the
championship matches were being played. His decision was made
gradually as a result of his respect for and relationship to a man
he called “Papaw.” Joe Adcock was a man, who lived in the spotlight
for awhile, but what he gave his family may have been his most
important achievement. Wouldn’t it have been nice to have heard
that story on CNN or even ESPN?

In the Bible the names of Eunice and Lois have survived for many
centuries. We don’t know much about them. Perhaps they possessed
remarkable culinary skills. They may have been proficient in the
use of the loom. Who knows what remarkable things they may have
done? We remember them for one thing. They passed along faith to
their son and grandson (2 Timothy 1:5). I just wish the members
of the media had enough wisdom to recognize the value of that
accomplishment.

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