Officer Joe Martin was off duty that night and was working out at the gymnasium. The gym was in the lower level of the Columbia Auditorium where a merchandise exhibition was going on that evening above him. While working out in the gym, he glanced over at the doorway and saw a little boy crying. “What’s wrong?” Joe asked. The youngster gasping out words between sobs said that he had been told that there was a policeman in the basement. Joe with a back turned thumb indicated that he was the cob that he was seeking.
“They stole my bike” the child blurts out.
“Who?” asks Joe. The boy just shook his head because he didn’t know. It was a brand new bike. A red and white Schwinn. The boy had waited a long time to get it and now it was gone.
“How old are you son?” Joe inquires.
“Twelve” replies the boy.
The officer smiled inside because there was a cherished bicycle in every boy’s life but this one would most likely never be recovered. There was a big crowd upstairs and a clean getaway made it nearly impossible. Joe tried to explain this as gently as possible to the youngster.
“If you can’t help me get my bike back,” the boy blurted through angry tears, “Then I will find out who took it and beat him up” the boy stated.
It was right then that Officer Joe Martin’s inner smile turned outward. “Listen here,” he told the young lad, “Before you start fighting someone you better learn how.” The boy became suddenly silent while the last tears still trickled down his face. The tears had stopped flowing now.
“Learn how?” the boy repeated quietly.
Joe nodded and then added, “I’ll show you.”
So in October of 1954 began a lifelong friendship between a young crime victim and the officer in the basement. The two would meet down there in the gym often after that night. Joe taught him the basics that Joe had learned long ago. Much to Joe’s surprise, the little boy was a quick study. Although, the boy soon forgot his original reason for wanting to learn to fight he really took to the sport. There might be another bicycle in this boy's life but there is only one Joe Martin for sure.
This story is a thank you to all the Joe Martin’s that work within our partnership. Thank you for realizing that big hurts come in small packages. Thank you for giving your time and your heart when the world isn’t watching. Some day, it might be as it would be for a weeping boy of twelve who grew into a tall strong young man and who was under the guidance of and encouragement of an officer named Joe Martin. Joe became the forever pal of the man that this child became. You know him as Cassius Clay or Muhammad Ali.
Thank you for making a difference in the lives of the future men and women that you serve at your schools.
Have a fantastic weekend. You all make a difference.
Rob
Superintendent
Redding Elementary School District