Threads / Heart Warming Story (Kurt and Brenda Warner)
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This is an email I received today.
KURTIS THE STOCK BOY AND BRENDA THE CHECKOUT GIRL
In a supermarket, Kurtis the stock boy, was busily working when a new voice
came over the loud speaker asking for a carry out at register 4. Kurtis was
almost finished, and wanted to get some fresh air, and decided to answer the
call. As he approached the check-out stand a distant smile caught his eye, the
new check-out girl was beautiful. She was an older woman (maybe 26, and he
was only 22) and he fell in love.
Later that day, after his shift was over, he waited by the punch clock to find
out her name. She came into the break room, smiled softly at him, took her card
and punched out, then left. He looked at her card, BRENDA. He walked out only to
see her start walking up the road. Next day, he waited outside as she left the supermarket,
and offered her a ride home. He looked harmless enough, and she accepted. When he
dropped her off, he asked if maybe he could see her again, outside of work. She simply
said it wasn't possible.
He pressed and she explained she had two children and she couldn't afford a
baby-sitter, so he offered to pay for the baby-sitter Reluctantly she accepted
his offer for a date for the following Saturday. That Saturday night he arrived
at her door only to have her tell him that she was unable to go with him. The
baby-sitter had called and canceled. To which Kurtis simply said, "Well,
let's take the kids with us."
She tried to explain that taking the children was not an option, but again not
taking no for an answer, he pressed. Finally Brenda, brought him inside to meet
her children. She had an older daughter who was just as cute as a bug, Kurtis
thought, then Brenda brought out her son, in a wheelchair. He was born a
paraplegic with Down Syndrome.
Kurtis asked Brenda, "I still don't understand why the kids can't
come with us?" Brenda was amazed. Most men would run away from a woman
with two kids, especially if one had disabilities - just like her first husband
and father of her children had done. Kurtis was not ordinary - - - he had a
different mindset.
That evening Kurtis and Brenda loaded up the kids, went to dinner and the
movies. When her son needed anything Kurtis would take care of him. When he
needed to use the restroom, he picked him up out of his wheelchair, took him and
brought him back. The kids loved Kurtis. At the end of the evening, Brenda
knew this was the man she was going to marry and spend the rest of her life
with.
A year later, they were married and Kurtis adopted both of her children.
Since then they have added two more kids.
So what happened to Kurtis the stock boy and Brenda the check-out girl? Well,
Mr. & Mrs. Kurt Warner now live in Arizona , where he is currently employed
as the quarterback of the National Football League Arizona Cardinals and has his
Cardinals in the hunt for a possible appearance in the Super Bowl. Is this a
surprise ending or could you have guessed that he was not an ordinary person.
It should be noted that he also quarterbacked the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI.
He has also been the NLF's Most Valuable Player twice and the Super Bowl's Most Valuable Player.
AND THE REST OF THE STORY:
Today at church our minister mentioned that when Kurt, his wife and 7 children go out to eat he
has one of his children pick out a family eating at the restaurant. Kurt then tells the wait staff he is
picking up the tab for that family's dinner anonymously. He remembers the days he was working nights
in the grocery store and feeding his family on food stamps.
Makes it hard not to root for the Cardinals IN THE SUPER BOWL doesn't it?
KURTIS THE STOCK BOY AND BRENDA THE CHECKOUT GIRL
In a supermarket, Kurtis the stock boy, was busily working when a new voice
came over the loud speaker asking for a carry out at register 4. Kurtis was
almost finished, and wanted to get some fresh air, and decided to answer the
call. As he approached the check-out stand a distant smile caught his eye, the
new check-out girl was beautiful. She was an older woman (maybe 26, and he
was only 22) and he fell in love.
Later that day, after his shift was over, he waited by the punch clock to find
out her name. She came into the break room, smiled softly at him, took her card
and punched out, then left. He looked at her card, BRENDA. He walked out only to
see her start walking up the road. Next day, he waited outside as she left the supermarket,
and offered her a ride home. He looked harmless enough, and she accepted. When he
dropped her off, he asked if maybe he could see her again, outside of work. She simply
said it wasn't possible.
He pressed and she explained she had two children and she couldn't afford a
baby-sitter, so he offered to pay for the baby-sitter Reluctantly she accepted
his offer for a date for the following Saturday. That Saturday night he arrived
at her door only to have her tell him that she was unable to go with him. The
baby-sitter had called and canceled. To which Kurtis simply said, "Well,
let's take the kids with us."
She tried to explain that taking the children was not an option, but again not
taking no for an answer, he pressed. Finally Brenda, brought him inside to meet
her children. She had an older daughter who was just as cute as a bug, Kurtis
thought, then Brenda brought out her son, in a wheelchair. He was born a
paraplegic with Down Syndrome.
Kurtis asked Brenda, "I still don't understand why the kids can't
come with us?" Brenda was amazed. Most men would run away from a woman
with two kids, especially if one had disabilities - just like her first husband
and father of her children had done. Kurtis was not ordinary - - - he had a
different mindset.
That evening Kurtis and Brenda loaded up the kids, went to dinner and the
movies. When her son needed anything Kurtis would take care of him. When he
needed to use the restroom, he picked him up out of his wheelchair, took him and
brought him back. The kids loved Kurtis. At the end of the evening, Brenda
knew this was the man she was going to marry and spend the rest of her life
with.
A year later, they were married and Kurtis adopted both of her children.
Since then they have added two more kids.
So what happened to Kurtis the stock boy and Brenda the check-out girl? Well,
Mr. & Mrs. Kurt Warner now live in Arizona , where he is currently employed
as the quarterback of the National Football League Arizona Cardinals and has his
Cardinals in the hunt for a possible appearance in the Super Bowl. Is this a
surprise ending or could you have guessed that he was not an ordinary person.
It should be noted that he also quarterbacked the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI.
He has also been the NLF's Most Valuable Player twice and the Super Bowl's Most Valuable Player.
AND THE REST OF THE STORY:
Today at church our minister mentioned that when Kurt, his wife and 7 children go out to eat he
has one of his children pick out a family eating at the restaurant. Kurt then tells the wait staff he is
picking up the tab for that family's dinner anonymously. He remembers the days he was working nights
in the grocery store and feeding his family on food stamps.
Makes it hard not to root for the Cardinals IN THE SUPER BOWL doesn't it?
Replies (31)
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, FL
It makes it hard to not really appreciate and respect Kurt Warner as a person and wish nothing but the best for him and his great family. The end is what is really meaningful to me. My cousin has 8 adopted kids that all have special needs in some way and she recently told me that they went out to pizza hut only to find at the end of the meal that someone had anonymously paid for her bill. It's great to actually hear that are decent people out there.
Nice story. I believe he also played in NFL Europe and the AFL before he played for the St Louis Rams.
The premise of the above-quoted story — that NFL quaterback Kurt Warner (now with the Arizona Cardinals) married the mother of two children, one of whom which had severe medical problems — is true. On the other Kurt Warnerhand, most of the key details given in the now widely e-mailed story are wrong. (Which in itself is a crying shame because the real story about Kurt's and Brenda's path through life is far more inspiring than this factually incorrect one.)
Let's address the inaccuracies first:
Kurt and Brenda did not meet while both were working in a grocery store, so you can throw out all that bit about his mooning over her timecard. They met in 1992 at a country bar while he was Northern Iowa's starting quarterback. (After being cut by the Green Bay Packers in 1994, Kurt did find employment in a grocery store, though: He stocked shelves at a Hy-Vee in Cedar Falls for $5.50 an hour.) The next morning Kurt brought Brenda roses and wanted to meet her youngsters. She'd told Kurt about her children the night before, so there was no dramatic surprise when she introduced her disabled son.
The Warners' was a lengthy courtship. They married in 1997 after meeting in 1992 (not "a year later," as the e-mail has it).
Brenda (who is four=2 0years older than Kurt) had two children by a previous marriage; however, the e-mail version has their birth order reversed. In real life, Zachary is three years older than his sister, Jesse Jo. (More on this seemingly picayune point later because it's pivotal to the real story of Brenda Warner's life before Kurt.)
Zachary Warner (born in 1989) does indeed have serious physical infirmities, but how he came by them is far more of a story than the Internet fiction lets on. He was a perfectly healthy infant, not a Down Syndrome child. When he was four months old, his father dropped him, and in the blink of an eye, this previously healthy baby was suddenly clinging to life, his grip slipping fast. He suffered severe brain damage, and both of his retinas were ruptured. At the time, few thought Zachary would live, and fewer still held out any hope he would ever see, sit up, read, walk, or
talk.
Zachary's recovery has been long and arduous, but he now walks and talks. Though still legally blind, he can make out colors and shapes. No longer strictly a special-needs student, he is integrated for half-days in a regular high school classroom.
Kurt adopted Zachary and Jesse after his wedding to Brenda in 1997. The Warners have since added five more children to their brood: Kade in 1998, Jada in 2001, Elijah in 2003, and twins Sienna and Sierra in 2005.
As for what sort of lad Zachary is and what kind of relationship he enjoys with his adoptive father, this anecdote should say it all: After the Rams victory in the NFC Championship game in 2000, 10-year-old Zachary presented Kurt with a homemade card done in Rams blue and gold. Inside, in childlike scrawl, it read: "You're as good a dad as you are a quarterback!"
Zachary's birth dad could hardly be described in similar fashion. An inability to come to terms with the injuries he'd visited upon his son led to the breakup of his marriage to Brenda. He left her when she was eight months pregnant with Jesse.
Over and above the numerous inaccuracies, the worst offence this particular e-mailed glurge is guilty of is omission. Not content with recasting the details of the Warners' lives (and the reality had the fiction beat, remember), it leaves by the wayside horrendously large chunks of a truly thrilling story of the sort one usuall y pays $9.00 to see at the movies:
* All the heartbreak Kurt endured trying to get into the NFL, and the many setbacks he had to weather along the way. So many of our gridiron heroes go in as highly touted draft picks it's sometimes hard to realize some take a tortuous path to the pigskin paradise of the NFL. Kurt presented as a free agent to the Green Bay Packers in 1994, was signed, then cut by them that same year. In 1997 he had a tryout scheduled with the Chicago Bears which fell through when an injury sustained during his honeymoon rendered him hors de combat. (A venomous spider had bitten him on his throwing elbow.) He had to muck about in the Arena and European leagues before finally being taken on by the Rams in 1997 as their third-string quarterback. In 1999 he stepped in during the preseason in place of injured Trent Green and began almost immediately to rewrite Rams' history.
* Brenda's battle to make a life for herself and her two children after her first husband deserted her. This former Marine had to return to her parents' home when she was eight months =2 0 pregnant with her second child and with a brain-damaged child already in tow. She completed her nursing training during this period, getting by with the help of food stamps and student loans.
* The death of Brenda's parents in Mountain View, Arkansas, in a tornado in 1996. They'd retired there just a year earlier.
* Kurt's embracing of Christianity in 1996. (Although he was raised a Catholic, he dates his spiritual awakening to those dark days in the wake of the deaths of Brenda's parents.)
* Kurt's throwing for a record 414 yards in his 23-16 Super Bowl XXXIV victory over the Tennessee Titans and being named that contest's Most Valuable Player. This new mark topped the previous record of 357 yards set by San Francisco's Joe Montana in Super Bowl XXIII and capped an astounding 4,353-yard, 41-touchdown regular season that won him league MVP honors.
As you can see, falling in love with and then marrying a gal who had two children, one of them a special needs child, was just part of this most remarkable story.
In Super Bowl XXXVI, Kurt Warner led the St. Louis Rams in their quest for another victory; although they came up just short, Warner was already the stuff of legends. Deservedly.
Let's address the inaccuracies first:
Kurt and Brenda did not meet while both were working in a grocery store, so you can throw out all that bit about his mooning over her timecard. They met in 1992 at a country bar while he was Northern Iowa's starting quarterback. (After being cut by the Green Bay Packers in 1994, Kurt did find employment in a grocery store, though: He stocked shelves at a Hy-Vee in Cedar Falls for $5.50 an hour.) The next morning Kurt brought Brenda roses and wanted to meet her youngsters. She'd told Kurt about her children the night before, so there was no dramatic surprise when she introduced her disabled son.
The Warners' was a lengthy courtship. They married in 1997 after meeting in 1992 (not "a year later," as the e-mail has it).
Brenda (who is four=2 0years older than Kurt) had two children by a previous marriage; however, the e-mail version has their birth order reversed. In real life, Zachary is three years older than his sister, Jesse Jo. (More on this seemingly picayune point later because it's pivotal to the real story of Brenda Warner's life before Kurt.)
Zachary Warner (born in 1989) does indeed have serious physical infirmities, but how he came by them is far more of a story than the Internet fiction lets on. He was a perfectly healthy infant, not a Down Syndrome child. When he was four months old, his father dropped him, and in the blink of an eye, this previously healthy baby was suddenly clinging to life, his grip slipping fast. He suffered severe brain damage, and both of his retinas were ruptured. At the time, few thought Zachary would live, and fewer still held out any hope he would ever see, sit up, read, walk, or
talk.
Zachary's recovery has been long and arduous, but he now walks and talks. Though still legally blind, he can make out colors and shapes. No longer strictly a special-needs student, he is integrated for half-days in a regular high school classroom.
Kurt adopted Zachary and Jesse after his wedding to Brenda in 1997. The Warners have since added five more children to their brood: Kade in 1998, Jada in 2001, Elijah in 2003, and twins Sienna and Sierra in 2005.
As for what sort of lad Zachary is and what kind of relationship he enjoys with his adoptive father, this anecdote should say it all: After the Rams victory in the NFC Championship game in 2000, 10-year-old Zachary presented Kurt with a homemade card done in Rams blue and gold. Inside, in childlike scrawl, it read: "You're as good a dad as you are a quarterback!"
Zachary's birth dad could hardly be described in similar fashion. An inability to come to terms with the injuries he'd visited upon his son led to the breakup of his marriage to Brenda. He left her when she was eight months pregnant with Jesse.
Over and above the numerous inaccuracies, the worst offence this particular e-mailed glurge is guilty of is omission. Not content with recasting the details of the Warners' lives (and the reality had the fiction beat, remember), it leaves by the wayside horrendously large chunks of a truly thrilling story of the sort one usuall y pays $9.00 to see at the movies:
* All the heartbreak Kurt endured trying to get into the NFL, and the many setbacks he had to weather along the way. So many of our gridiron heroes go in as highly touted draft picks it's sometimes hard to realize some take a tortuous path to the pigskin paradise of the NFL. Kurt presented as a free agent to the Green Bay Packers in 1994, was signed, then cut by them that same year. In 1997 he had a tryout scheduled with the Chicago Bears which fell through when an injury sustained during his honeymoon rendered him hors de combat. (A venomous spider had bitten him on his throwing elbow.) He had to muck about in the Arena and European leagues before finally being taken on by the Rams in 1997 as their third-string quarterback. In 1999 he stepped in during the preseason in place of injured Trent Green and began almost immediately to rewrite Rams' history.
* Brenda's battle to make a life for herself and her two children after her first husband deserted her. This former Marine had to return to her parents' home when she was eight months =2 0 pregnant with her second child and with a brain-damaged child already in tow. She completed her nursing training during this period, getting by with the help of food stamps and student loans.
* The death of Brenda's parents in Mountain View, Arkansas, in a tornado in 1996. They'd retired there just a year earlier.
* Kurt's embracing of Christianity in 1996. (Although he was raised a Catholic, he dates his spiritual awakening to those dark days in the wake of the deaths of Brenda's parents.)
* Kurt's throwing for a record 414 yards in his 23-16 Super Bowl XXXIV victory over the Tennessee Titans and being named that contest's Most Valuable Player. This new mark topped the previous record of 357 yards set by San Francisco's Joe Montana in Super Bowl XXIII and capped an astounding 4,353-yard, 41-touchdown regular season that won him league MVP honors.
As you can see, falling in love with and then marrying a gal who had two children, one of them a special needs child, was just part of this most remarkable story.
In Super Bowl XXXVI, Kurt Warner led the St. Louis Rams in their quest for another victory; although they came up just short, Warner was already the stuff of legends. Deservedly.
He's come a long way and, does have a lot to be grateful for. That's why he always gives his thanks to the Almighty above.
Kurt is awesome and I also say "GO CARDINALS"
Kurt is awesome and I also say "GO CARDINALS"
If I were not a Steeler fan, I would be rooting for him myself. He has always been a class act and I wish him nothing but the best EXCEPT AGAINST MY STEELERS. Great story. Why don't you cut and past it and put it into an article?
I don't think plagiarism is aloud in articles, besides that, more people will see it here, in the threads. I was rooting for the Steelers, but, after that story, i'm rooting for the "underbirds"
however, I won't be upset either way.
however, I won't be upset either way.
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Well Ben Roethlisberger donated several of his checks to the families of Hurricane Katrina and has done it for other things as well. Now you can root for the STEELERS again. Why would you want to root for the team coming in second place anyway?
what an incredible person he is. and what a great family. wish there were more like them. thanks for posting this.
Wow..what a nice story. I wish Kurt Warner the best of luck in the Superbowl, and I'm rooting for the Cards because it would make a great story if they win.
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Nope does not make it hard at all. The STEELERS will crush them. I know a few people that pick up checks for families at restaurants and have even done it myself once. Will you now root for me to win the Lottery? PLEASE
The story of Kurt and Brenda Warner's meeting and marrying is an often-told and inspiring one, but this particular eRumor version of it includes a lot of fiction.
They did not meet as fellow employees at a supermarket and their son does not have Down Syndrome.
When they met, Kurt was a university student and Brenda was a divorced single mom living on food stamps. In his autobiography "Keep Your Head Up," Kurt describes his and Brenda's first encounter when a teammate at the University of Northern Iowa talked him into going to a country-music club in Cedar Falls, Iowa. There was an instant connection, but Brenda didn't know whether it would last. Not only was she a single mom, but one of her two children, her son Zachary, had significant medical problems. He was blinded and brain-injured when accidentally dropped to the floor by her first husband. Kurt was not turned aside by the children or Zachary's condition and he and Brenda forged a relationship that resulted in their marrying four years later. Kurt's celebrated job at a grocery store took place in 1994 after he got a pink-slip from the Green Bay Packers. He returned to Cedar Falls and worked nights stocking shelves for $5.50 an hour. He rose to fame by throwing an amazing 41 touchdowns for the Rams, bringing them to a 13-3 record and to memorable victory in Super Bowl XXXIV. He's become known for his commitment to his family, his clean-kid lifestyle, and his Christian faith. He and Brenda now live in St. Louis with their four children Zachary, Kade, Jesse, and Jada Jo. He is the founder of the First Things First foundation.
- from a website
They did not meet as fellow employees at a supermarket and their son does not have Down Syndrome.
When they met, Kurt was a university student and Brenda was a divorced single mom living on food stamps. In his autobiography "Keep Your Head Up," Kurt describes his and Brenda's first encounter when a teammate at the University of Northern Iowa talked him into going to a country-music club in Cedar Falls, Iowa. There was an instant connection, but Brenda didn't know whether it would last. Not only was she a single mom, but one of her two children, her son Zachary, had significant medical problems. He was blinded and brain-injured when accidentally dropped to the floor by her first husband. Kurt was not turned aside by the children or Zachary's condition and he and Brenda forged a relationship that resulted in their marrying four years later. Kurt's celebrated job at a grocery store took place in 1994 after he got a pink-slip from the Green Bay Packers. He returned to Cedar Falls and worked nights stocking shelves for $5.50 an hour. He rose to fame by throwing an amazing 41 touchdowns for the Rams, bringing them to a 13-3 record and to memorable victory in Super Bowl XXXIV. He's become known for his commitment to his family, his clean-kid lifestyle, and his Christian faith. He and Brenda now live in St. Louis with their four children Zachary, Kade, Jesse, and Jada Jo. He is the founder of the First Things First foundation.
- from a website
, OH
I got this email the other day. I checked it out on snoops and it was partially true. They explain in more detail there
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The thread title of "Heartwarming Story" next to a smoking blond in a bikini dancing suggestively made me giggle.
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OK, this time I actually read the article. Great story, especially the part about paying for dinner ANONYMOUSLY.
Kurt apparently told the kids he would get them a puppy if he won the Super Bowl this year.
Bill Simmons at ESPN.com said it best - you just can't pick against God and puppies.
Kurt apparently told the kids he would get them a puppy if he won the Super Bowl this year.
Bill Simmons at ESPN.com said it best - you just can't pick against God and puppies.
What the HECK???? As a parent of a child with down syndrome … I find it TOTALLY offensive that “down syndrome” was added to this story to make it more dramatic.As if the real story wasn’t dramatic enough. Children are born with or develop special needs in different ways. But, one is not necessarily more difficult to deal with than another. There is a large spectrum of what is normal for any child … this works the same for children with special needs!!! People need to realize that EACH child is their own person and can be as diffrent as “typical” children (people) can be. Lets all try to remember that our words can and do change lives … lets not tell UNTRUTHS to make a story “sell” better!!! Ugh! Disgusting actually!!!
Here. Here. As a father with 2 of my 4 children born with severe medical conditions I couldn't agree more.
I got the emailed to me the other day. Turns out it's quite inaccurate, as proven by snopes. Some truths, but exagerrated and some false parts. They met at a country bar in college. I can post the real story if you want, was emailed to me two days later.
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