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summer is here I don't think that I could have asked for a better day. With my lawn chair retrieved from the garage and returned to its rightful place on my deck, I sat back and enjoyed what the weather had to offer. Reading the latest issue of The New Yorker, I took in the blue sky and gentle breeze that kept the heat comfortable. For me it was ideal. Sitting there for hours was exactly what I needed to forget any stress from work and I did. I also told myself that I should repeat the experience as often as possible this summer. Inside said issue of The New Yorker, I got to know Natalie Coughlin, an Olympic hopeful as they say in sports commentray. Her sport is swimming and I'm not sure what made me read the entire article. Was it the black and white photo of her standing on a bus stop bench that caught my attention? Yes, that part is true, but there has to be more than just the visual. I think that it was her determination to keep training after an early injury at the age of sixteen that kept me reading. Now I know that the world of Olympic athletes is filled with such stories, but they almost always have an impact on me. Speaking of stories of incredible determination, besides Coughlin there was another person that fit that description today that had my full attention. Months ago I saw Joe Simpson on television talking about his near death experience on a mountain in Peru that was eventually turned into the film Touching the Void. Today I finally saw that film and I am even more amazed by what he did to survive. Having walked on a glacier in New Zealand I can understand the difficultly of crossing one. However, the key word is walk. I can not imagine trying to crawl and or drag myself across a glacier for hours. I suppose one could say that that is the will to survive that kept him going, but I wonder how many other people would simply have given up at some point in his journey. There is more to the story than just his survival, there is his climbing partner Simon and his role in the event. Oddly enough I can completely understand why Joe continues to defend Simon and thank him for what he did to help Joe. Cutting the rope or something to that effect could have happened as soon as Joe broke his leg. Simon could have said that he would go for help and that would have been the end of it. From Joe's perspective Simon did all that he could do for Joe and I agree. |