It was an ordinary day. Just threw some change and a dollar bill into the metal can that some pretty girl was holding at the stoplight. Don't always do that, but when I can see that it is for Penn State's THON I don't mind. Twice Carol and I have traveled to State College to visit with our friends Jerry and Just Sue during THON weekend. Amazing sight to see all those kids dancing and having a good time in Bryce Jordan Center. But, I was never quite sure what they did with all the money that was raised until this past Friday when an article appeared in the morning paper titled "A jewel of a story." The story told about an Elizabethtown, PA eight-grader who wrote a story for his English class titled "The Four Diamonds." His story inspired the fund of the same name that benefits Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital located nearby his home in Elizabethtown. The teacher was Shirley Deichert and she asked the students in her accelerated English class to write their autobiographies. Chris Millard, one of the brightest kids in the class didn't want to write about his life, since it was filled with sorrow and grief because of his struggle with cancer. His teacher, being so understanding, told him he could write about anything, knowing full well that he would excel at any assignment. So in 1972 he wrote a tale of a knight, Sir Millard, who would complete difficult tasks in order to earn diamonds of courage, wisdom, honesty and strength. Chris died later that year and his parents sent the story to a Hershey Medical Center official who was beginning to establish a fund to help children who were battling cancer. And the rest is history, as they say. I never knew the origin of the fund that helps so many children and I certainly didn't think that it could have been the story written by a young local boy with cancer that would inspire the fund. While other students were writing about their childhood experiences, Chris was writing a tale that was planted in his head by his grandmother who had shown him their family crest. His father, Charles, was a music teacher at Elizabethtown High School at the time and said that his son never showed him the story while he was working on it, by does remember him running out of his bedroom the weekend before it was due and telling him that he got another diamond! Pretty heavy stuff this boy who was struggling both mentally and physically. His teacher said she never saw any drafts of the story, but when Chris submitted it for his requirement, she was amazed at the tale. When grading the story she sensed she should not make grammatical or punctuation changes on Chris' copy, because she knew the attention it was going to receive in the future. One of the few things she did write on it was to mark it with an "H" for honors and under that added: "Very well written. You ought to be a writer. By the time you're a senior, you'll be writing novels!" The story about Chris and the THON was in the local paper recently, since Elizabethtown High School was having a Mini-THON, as so many other high school are doing in Pennsylvania. Part of the early funding for "The Four Diamonds" fund included the sale of the story written by Chris which was published in Chris' original longhand as a booklet, which had illustrations by an industrial arts teacher in the Elizabethtown School District. So far "The Four Diamonds" fund has raised over $89 million. I am proud to say I have contributed to the fund many times when I toss my money in the can of a young adult who may be standing at an intersection or along the curb at a stoplight. My only regret is that I never had the chance to purchase one of Chris' booklets that started the whole "The Four Diamonds" fund. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
The symbol for "The Four Diamonds" fund with dancers in the background
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