Last night, I watched the 2001 hit movie, “Rock Star” which stars Mark Wahlberg and Jennifer Aniston.  If you’ve never watched it (or heard of it), I recommend it.  The movie itself is very cheesy, but it is entertaining nonetheless.  The general plot of the movie is a normal guy who is the lead singer of a tribute band becomes lead singer of the real band he idolizes. 

One of the best lines of the movie comes when Wahlberg takes the stage for the first time and says to the crowd, “You know, I’m just a regular guy who grew up with the posters of these guys on my wall… and now I’m one of them! That’s right, I’m standing here, living proof that if you work hard enough, and you want it bad enough… dreams do come true. So follow your dreams…” (Okay, that may not have been the best line, but for the purpose of a heart-warming blog entry it was).

This particular quote reminded me of what I experienced earlier yesterday when I took Cleveland Indians relief pitcher,

Vinnie Pestano, to Roxboro Elementary School in Cleveland Heights.  Vinnie was nice enough to stop by the school and talk to the kids (grades 2-5) about anything and everything.  He talked to them about how he got to where he is today, the importance of a good education, and even covered a little bit about how to deal with bullying in school. 

When you talk to Vinnie, he is just a regular guy who loves to play baseball.  Growing up, he probably had posters of his favorite players on his bedroom walls and dreamed of being in the big leagues and now he is here–playing for a major league baseball team. 

To those kids he was talking to he was their living proof that if you work hard enough, and want it bad enough…dreams do come true.  Then again, they may not have been paying attention to him at all and his whole speech could have gone in one ear and out the other.  I can’t say for sure, but thank you to Vinnie for being there anyway!