Thensomebodysaid,“Hey, Dick, whynotatriathlon?”How’saguywhoneverlearnedtoswimandhadn’triddenabikesincehewassixgoingtohaulhis110-poundkidthroughatriathlon?Still, ’vedone212triathlons, includingfourgrueling15-hourIronmansinHawaii.Itmustbeabuzzkilltobea25-year-oldstudgettingpassedbyanoldguytowingagrownmaninadinghy, don’tyouthink?
Hey, Dick, whynotseehowyou’ddoonyourown?“Noway.”“theawesomefeeling”hegetsseeingRickwithacantaloupesmileastheyrun, , atages65and43，DickandRickfinishedtheir24thBostonMarathon, in5，083rdplaceoutofmorethan20，?Twohours,40minutesin1992-only35minutesofftheworldrecord, which, incaseyoudon’tkeeptrackofthesethings, happenstobeheldbyaguywhowasnotpushinganothermaninawheelchairatthetime.“Noquestionaboutit,”Ricktypes.“MydadistheFatheroftheCentury.”
.Doctorsfoundthatoneofhisarterieswas95%clogged.“Ifyouhadn’tbeeninsuchgreatshape,”onedoctortoldhim,“youprobablywould’vedied15yearsago.”So, inaway, DickandRicksavedeachother’slife.
Rick, whohashisownapartment（hegetshomecare）andworksinBoston, andDick, retiredfromthemilitaryandlivinginHolland,
, includingthisFather’sDay.
Thatnight, Rickwillbuyhisdaddinner, butthethinghereallywantstogivehimisagifthecanneverbuy.“ThethingI’dmostlike,”Ricktypes,“isthatmydadsitinthechairandIpushhimonce.”
我努力去做一个好爸爸。我送孩子们礼物，带他们去游泳，上夜班为他们挣信息费……
但是，与迪克·霍伊特相比，我是一个糟糕的父亲。有85次，他在马拉松赛跑中，推着自己身患残疾的儿子跑完26.2英里。其中有8次，他不仅推着坐在轮椅中的儿子跑26.2英里，还接着在游泳比赛中，拖着坐在橡皮艇上的儿子游了2.4英里，用自行车载着儿子走了112英里——这一切都是在同一天里做的。迪克也带着儿子去越野滑雪，背着儿子爬山，他还骑自行车拖着儿子穿越了美国。比起迪克的所作所为，你带着儿子去打保龄球，就显得太差劲了，对吗？
