Appreciation, kindness make all the difference in the world
It was the spring of 2016, Kevin Durant had flown the coupe for Golden State, the very team against which he’d died (twice) when the Thunder had the chance to eliminate the Warriors and reach the NBA Finals.
That left Russell Westbrook, who just had to stay in Oklahoma City, lest it become an irrelevant basketball outpost for who knows how long.
Gloriously, a deal was struck.
Then came the press conference and Westbrook’s wondrous entry into it, beginning outside then-Chesapeake Energy Arena, coming through a gauntlet of adoring fans, those in the front row getting high fives from the man himself, as he strode into the structure, a smile bigger than Magic Johnson’s on his face.
It’s possible I’ve never seen anybody happier than Westbrook that day.
I was there and began my column like this:
OKLAHOMA CITY — We are all capitalists and still there is no currency like appreciation.
So yeah, Russell Westbrook has 8.8 million additional reasons to be thrilled about his next year of basketball in Oklahoma City — and perhaps more than a quarter billion over the next seven seasons should he choose to stick around for the very long haul — yet all of that appeared less important than the adulation flowing every direction Thursday afternoon inside Chesapeake Energy Arena.
A scheduled press conference, what it really was, was a love-fest flowing every direction between Westbrook, the organization he works for and the fans who cheer them both.
That’s one.
Here’s two.
I happen to devour hard-boiled crime fiction, be it in books, movies or limited series and there have been many good ones over the last several years.
Did you see “Spade,” “Bosch,” “Sugar” or “Wallander”?
Have you read Robert B. Parker, Robert Crais, Elmore Leonard or Gregory McDonald?
I love the atmosphere, the tension and character studies of each hero.
Great stuff.
Buy show me anything where real kindness is portrayed, on a show, a YouTube video, even a commercial and I may start laughing to keep from crying, tears welling in my eyes.
I didn’t used to.
Kindness, though, didn’t used to be so endangered.
Enter Lindel Fields, our state’s recently announced and newly sworn in superintendent of public instruction, who, for all we know is a horrible manager, doesn’t know how to wade through state government bureaucracies that must be waded through, who may not even know a whole lot about K-12 public education, having been the 12-year superintendent of Tri County Technology Center, located in Bartlesville, which is a different type of administrative educational challenge.
He could also be a terrific manager, who seamlessly navigates bureaucracies, who knows everything about every educational genre … but none of that is the point.
The point is his tone-rich and reassuring entrance into his new job, which should probably be par for the course, but is so diametrically opposed to anything ever intimated, demanded, demagogued or just lied about by the small, vapid, radical man that is Ryan Walters, his predecessor.
Like, who knew magnanimity was allowed by a statewide office-holding Republican (other than Leslie Osborn).
The day Fields was announced, not only did he say all the right things, he said many of them with great emotion in his voice, likely because he well understood the disaster he was replacing.
“If you’re not a teacher, a bus driver, a cafeteria worker or a custodian … then you and I are support staff,” he said. “Our job is to take care of the people who take care of the students.
“That’s why our new mantra is, if you’re not taking care of the students, take care of someone who is … To every teacher in Oklahoma, you are the heartbeat of this work.”
Just like that, it was a new day.
No mention of terroristic teachers’ unions.
No mention of woke mobs, the radical left or grooming.
No lecturing of a little man’s version of American values.
No culture war needing to be fought.
No casting of any villains at all.
Just like that, sunshine.
Fields wasn’t finished.
He’s since sent an electronic letter to Oklahoma parents. It’s four paragraphs long and here would be the second and third:
“The Oklahoma State Department of Education exists to serve students, families and educators alike. My team and I are committed to restoring trust, improving communication, and ensuring that our schools operate efficiently and transparently. You can expect accountability from us — and we will, in turn, encourage accountability throughout our system.
“As we strengthen our commitment to high standards, we must also hold fast to kindness. Our schools work best when respect and dignity guide every interaction. Parents and educators are partners in a student’s journey, and both deserve to be heard, valued, and treated with courtesy as we work together to find the best solutions for each unique child.”
Oklahoma’s teachers (and students, their parents, administrators and support staff) must feel transformed, heard and, yes, appreciated and dealt with kindly.
Westbrook’s happiness that day money could not buy.
What Lindel Fields has done so quickly has cost nothing, yet meant everything.
Appreciation and kindness.
Maybe it will catch on.
Lots of us are checking our teaching certificates...I renewed just after Joy left office...so it had Walters' signature. Now it has Fields' and the gratitude I felt was real! NOW I need to go visit the portraits of my friends and heroes in the Hall of Fame! Working on that.