A boy named Neil tried too hard. He tried too hard at home, he tried too hard at school. He ruined his homework assignments by erasing over and over again, or trying to write over white-out before it was dry. One Mother's Day he thought he'd fix breakfast for his mom. First he fried the eggs but they didn't look right so he tried to scramble them but they still looked funny, so he put salsa on them then he burned the whole thing so he set the pan on the floor for the dog and his mom came into the kitchen and tripped on the pan and cracked a bone in her wrist. The dog had also severely burned his tongue, though no-one knew this - except the dog that is.
At his third grade parent teacher conference Neil's teacher told his mom and dad ``Neil must try not to try so hard'' and Neil became even more inept because he couldn't figure out how to try not to try.
When Neil was starting high school he tried out for the football team. The coach really liked him because he tried so hard. He went out for daily doubles in the summer and never missed a practice in four years. His senior year he was starting quarter back. At the first game of the year he got slammed in the head and knocked out for a minute maybe. When they tried to take him off the field he just said ``Ready to go, Coach,'' so they let him play on. He didn't remember it. They lost the game as they nearly always did. At the last game of the season the moms and dads were talking back and forth about their video cameras and the kids were racing around and the girls were edging about sneaking looks at certain boys. No-one was watching the game. Foregone conclusion. Neil was giving it his all. If they could just score one goal! He ran over to the dwindling audience and he yelled at them and begged them to give the team a shout, give them a cheer. No-one saw. No-one heard. If anyone had bothered to look they would have seen the tears pouring down behind the bars of his helmet.
The doctors said a previous injury had damaged a blood vessel in his head and Neil finished the job that night.
At his memorial service nearly every kid in the school attended and now they too wept. His mom didn't weep. She stood up and told them all not to try too hard in their future lives.
``It just isn't worth it,'' she said.