Smokers need out help to kick their habit

He was the first guy I ever looked up to. I never knew my dad until very late in life and my mom died when I was a teenager. But my cousin, Leon Taylor — he was the man.

Leon was a catcher for the Kankakee (Ill.) Jaycee Little League team and helped propel the team to the Little League World Series championship game in 1958. He won one of the big playoffs leading up to the Series with a last-inning, three-run homer. I was so proud.

Leon went on to college — the first in our family to go. He was a counselor, dedicated to talking through problems and lending a hand to those falling through the cracks.

Leon is the reason I went into social work and counseling. He made me see that a life of making things better — working with people — could change the future for all of us.


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