This past week, former New England Patriots star Darryl Stingley passed away too early at the age of 55. The Chicago native’s remarkable career was cut way too short when a cheap hit from behind in a preseason game in 1978 left him confined to a wheelchair. He returned to Chicago and helped start a non-profit foundation to help inner-city youth.

I just read an article on the Patriots’ official Web site talking about Stingley and two other famous teammates drafted together by the team in 1973. At the end of the story is a poem that Stingley had taped in his locker during his rookie season titled "Don’t Quit" and the first stanza reads:

"When things go wrong, as they sometimes will, When the road you’re trudging seems all up hill, When the funds are low and the debts are high, And when you want to smile, but you have to sigh, When care is pressing you down a bit, Rest, if you must – but don’t quit."

I am fortunate to be surrounded by positive people in my life, but when things get somewhat crappy for me during the day, I will now think of this poem.

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