'Nice' piece of the week

Recommended reading: The Associated Press story on what some NFL players did on their off-season — what they did and what they learned.

Learned from helping kids in India and Nepal, learned providing earthquake relief in Haiti, learned spending time with “real” warriors in Afghanistan. (Above, NFL players Joe Thomas of the Cleveland Browns, Mario Williams of the Houston Texans and Jason Witten of the Dallas Cowboys, from left, talk to Sgt. Eric Harder, of Crystal, Minn., in Bostick, Afghanistan).

The story said that after spending time in Africa, Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson “was struck by how the simplest necessities could be so difficult to get, with people often walking miles on dirt roads for fresh water.

“ ‘It was a blessing to be in a position to experience that,” he said. “It makes you more grounded and be able to say: ‘Hey, you think you’ve got it rough? Ha.’ This was rough. This was survival.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/04/sports/football/04nfl.html?ref=football