by Barry Pasicznyk
Every year go players from the Penn Go Society and Phoenixville Go Club teach go at Philadelphia’s Sakura (Cherry Blossom) Festival. This year an especially poignant moment occurred that I wanted to share with other go players.
While we were teaching people how to play go, a man approached our tables. He said that he wanted to donate a go set so we could pass it on. He mentioned that when he was in the hospital with cancer that someone came to the hospital to play go with him. Now he was cured of the cancer; I was under the impression that he had not expected to survive. He said that he was eternally grateful for the act of kindness in his most desolate time, and that he wanted to pass the go set on so others could enjoy the game.
So we accepted the go set and gave it to a group of young adults who seemed to be enjoying the game. We told them the story of the set so that maybe it would inspire them to acts of kindness.
Sometimes go is more than just a game.
photo courtesy BoomsBeat
