Irish writer and satirist Jonathan Swift once said, “Promises and pie-crust are made to be broken.” But defying the saying, a high school quarterback fulfilled his childhood promise to take a friend with Down syndrome to the prom. This hearty tale is all about Ben Moher and his friend Mary Lapkowicz, whom he had promised in fourth grade a prom date, as per Penn Live.
Mary Lapkowicz found a close friend in Ben. The duo’s fourth-grade teacher Tracey Spogli was one of the people to have noticed the special bond between the two. She said, “He watched over her constantly… If she was looking like she wasn’t having fun, he would go over and talk to her. He would pull her into whatever activity they were doing. He just always watched out for her.”
As time progressed, the teens no longer attended the same school, but that didn’t stop Moser from fulfilling his childhood promise. After changing schools in sixth grade, Mary moved to the Central Dauphin School District, where her father Tom Lapkowicz worked as a math teacher. Meanwhile, Ben had gone into football at Susquehanna University, playing as a quarterback. With destiny on their side, the two childhood friends crossed paths when Susquehanna and Central Dauphin played one another and it was at that moment Ben remembered his fourth-grade vow.
Mary’s father talked about how she was focused on going to prom, as he said, “She talked about going to prom. I’d taken her to homecoming and stuff, but she had prom on her mind all along.” Little did Mary know that Ben would follow up on his old promise and take her to the long-awaited prom. The moment of truth came for Mary as Ben finally asked her for the special night. The high school quarterback planned it all, “We got balloons and I wrote ‘prom’ on it… I presented her with the balloons and asked her to go to prom with me.”
Mary admitted that she was surprised at how her dear friend had kept the promise. With a joyful smile on her face, she said, “I was surprised. I was going to go with some friends.” For the special day, Mary chose a beautiful lavender gown.
What makes the bond special between these two friends is Moser’s simple attitude towards the friendship. Per him, Down syndrome should never be a “barrier” to friendship. In his words, “You should just be who you are, and do what’s right. Simple,” reported Huffpost.
