CHARLESTON, W.Va.–Taking a break between practices, Rand native and NFL star Randy Moss made a quick trip into Charleston to try to make Thanksgiving a little better for 50 local families. Moss, a wide receiver for the New England Patriots, flew in to Charleston’s Yeager Airport Tuesday morning and spent only a few hours in town, handing out food baskets to dozens of families, before heading back to Massachusetts. Excited chatter filled a crowded conference room at the Best Western hotel on Washington Street East. The turkey recipients sat around tables and stood along the wall waiting for Moss. When the former Marshall University football standout arrived at the hotel and spotted the people waiting for him, his face broke into a grin that seemed contagious. “I look forward to seeing smiles,” Moss said, after personally handing out Thanksgiving baskets to the families…

His return trips often seem to include some kind of community outreach, especially involving younger West Virginians: He has held autograph signings for children, taken children on bus trips to amusement parks, started a foundation for children, hosted a charity golf tournament and, most recently, paid for renovations to the aging field house at DuPont Middle School, where he attended high school and played football in the early 1990s. Charleston Mayor Danny Jones, who attended Moss’ event Tuesday afternoon, said that while Moss often attracts a lot of attention for his charity work, being in the spotlight isn’t his intention. He said many of Moss’ contributions are not made public because the athlete doesn’t want to draw attention. “He’s just a good person – he’s got a great heart,” Jones said. “He had a bumpy road in the beginning, but those of us who have watched him know he’s got a smooth upward road ahead.”

Before I say a word about this, allow me to apologize for any typos or misspellings in this post. It’s hard to type when you’re trying… unsuccessfully… to choke back tears. That said, I’d noticed the last few weeks there were more and more reports of Randy Moss missing practices, usually with the qualifier “for non-injury reasons.” And after 2 1/2 years of seeing what Moss is all about, I’d assumed the best. That he was skipping practices to visit veteran’s hospitals, read to underprivileged kids or play the piano at an old folks home. Whatever it was, I knew he was somewhere spreading joy and putting smiles on the faces of those less fortunate than ourselves. My bad for not looking at the calendar and figuring out that he was handing out Thanksgiving dinners to those in need. Could we expect anything less? “He’s just a good person – he’s got a great heart.” From Mayor Jones’ lips to God’s ears. Because whether he’s taking kids to the park, feeding the world or torturing opposing secondaries by catching touchdowns in the middle of double coverage, Randy Moss is all about one thing: bringing joy into our lives. We all should learn from his example this Thanksgiving and buy a “Straight Cash Homey” t-shirt, the proceeds of which will go to feed a needy Barstool employee.