(A)
An important lesson to remember is that we should try to
see the positives in life even while we are stuck in the
middle of trouble. Riccardo, who was named after his father,
an immigrant from Mexico, learned this lesson at a young
age. Although the family called him Ricky, his father had his
own nickname for him: Good-for-Nothing. Why did the
elder Riccardo call (a) him that? Because Ricky hated
fishing.
(B)
The nation came to know Ricky as the most complete
player of his generation, and he was voted into the Hall of
Fame. And his father, the elder Riccardo, what did he think
about it? Though he had wanted all of his sons to join the
family business, he was finally proud of Ricky and respected
his accomplishments. Ricky held onto hope in one of the
most difficult moments of (b) his life and achieved
greatness.
(C)
Since these jobs were not fishing, his father saw no value
in them. Young Ricky hated fishing. Everything would be
fine if it were not fishing, he thought to himself. Soon, Ricky
began to follow his older brother who used to play sandlot
ball. For Ricky, playing baseball with (c) him was a way to
forget his hardship. Fortunately, Ricky was very good at it,
and was treated like a hero among his playmates. When
Ricky was sixteen, he decided to drop out of school to
become a baseball player. And by the time he was through
with baseball, (d) he had become a legend.
(D)
His father saw this very negatively, because he was a
fisherman. He loved the fishing business. So did all of his
sons, except for Good-for-Nothing Ricky. The boy did not
like being on the boat, and the smell of fish made him sick.
Instead, Ricky ― who was not afraid of hard work ―
delivered newspapers, shined shoes, worked in the office, and
even repaired nets. (e) His income went to the family. Even
so, his father was strongly dissatisfied with him and still
always said that he was good for nothing.
* sandlot ball: 동네야구