When I Was Little... I Was Big

When I was little...I was Big.
-----------------------------
Story By Brian Holloway
Written by Brian Holloway & Peter Raymundo
Illustrations by Peter Raymundo
Vol. #1.
A World Class Champion’s Secrets To Success
When I was little… I was Big
Copyright © 2004 All Rights Reserved
1

I always get up early.
I know it’s going to be another good day!
I could just tell.
2

My Dad flies airplanes for the Air Force.
He is gone a lot to protect us from the
missiles.
3

I walk to school every morning. Sometimes I take
the long way so I don’t have to walk past Ray-Ray’s
house. Ray-Ray is a bully -- at least to me.
Sometimes I almost forget what I’m afraid of.
I’ve been doing this a long time.
4

I go to Pearl City Elementary.
It’s near Pearl Harbor.
5

Our school still has holes in the walls
from the war. When I get bored, I dig my
pencil in the holes. Sometimes I get in
trouble for that.
6

I love sports. Dodge ball is my favorite.
I am always the last one picked…
7

...and usually the first one out.
When I get afraid… I get confused, and can not
make up my mind on which way to go. Ray-Ray can
really throw.
8

School is hard too. I stutter. When they laugh I
just stand there. The teacher tells me not to
worry, that some people were just born “stupid,”
and not to set my goals too high.
I do not believe her.
9

And I love baseball. When I think of my heroes,
like Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Bob Gibson, I feel
better. They could run fast, throw hard and they
knew how to win.
I hope Willie Mays breaks Babe Ruth’s home run
record.
10

I wonder what it feels like to win.
I bet it feels really good.
One day I will know.
11

The teacher says I dream too much.
12

My Dad is a hero too.
He tells me it’s ok to dream.
13

One day a strange man came to the front
door. He had a big scratchy beard.
He walked in and Mom gave him a big hug.
It was my Dad. He was finally home...for
a while.
14

And then I noticed something…behind his
back.
15

It was the most beautiful glove
I’ve ever seen.
16

The glove fits great although I need some
practice.
17

I dream that one day I will be an All-Star too.
That way I could help a lot of people. I will teach
them about dreaming Big dreams too.
Despite what the teacher said...I wrote my very
first letter.
It was to Bob Gibson.
18

Then there was this one day. I remember walking
to school and noticed that someone forgot to put
the flag up all the way. Everything looked strange.
No one was outside playing. People were talking
but I could not hear them.
19

I was about to learn a word
that I will never forget.
20

It was about a man named King. Some
people said he dreamed too much too
21

I didn’t even remember walking home. I
walked slowly but got there fast.
22

I went over to Brent’s house. He’s my
best friend, maybe he could help me
understand. He has 4 brothers and
seems to know everything.
23

I could play at his house. I could even go
inside and walk across his lawn without
getting yelled at. We talked a lot that day.
It helped...but not that much. Nothing made
sense to us.
24

After that day, things changed.
Now I have to be home before the street
lights come on or I would get in a lot of
trouble.
This is called a curfew.
25

When I am late, my mom tells me to run
home as fast as I can.
Brent did not have a curfew.
26

My mother always hugs me
when I make it home.
27

At night I pray a long time. My older
brother David is in heaven. He watches
over me with God, I can tell. David did
not have enough red blood cells. We
played all the time. Our favorite game
was waking up our baby sister, Karen. I
miss him.
28

Last week there was a letter on the
kitchen table. This letter had my name
on it. I opened up the letter very slowly.
“Brian...thank you for writing
never be afraid to dream big.”
- Bob Gibson, World Series 68’
29

I could not believe Bob Gibson found me!
I don’t know why his letter meant so
much to me. It just did. Something
inside me was changing. I could feel it.
30

The next morning I got up early, but that
day was different. That day was BIG!
I had made a decision.
I was not going to take the long way
again...to anywhere.
31

I walked straight to Ray-Ray’s house.
32

I asked Ray-Ray to come out to play.
She said nothing at first, and then she
smiled...and grabbed her glove.
33

On this day…I felt so good.
Things were going to be different from now
on.
I learned that big dreams can lift you up,
change your world, and win you new friends.
When I was little…I was Big.
34

*********
Dedicated
To
People Everywhere
Who Dream.
35

When I Was Little... I Was Big

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