42. Conquering the Impossible
Less than a month ago, May 2001, there was a small little article put out by the Associated Press, Katmandu, Nepal. "Blind Climber, 64-Year-Old reach the Everest Summit" was the caption. "Two Americans on Friday became the first blind climber and the oldest man to reach the Everest summit. Erik Weihenmayer, 32, of Golden, Colo., became the first blind climber to conquer the 29,035-foot peak, according to the Nepalese Ministry of Tourism. Sherman Bull, a 64-year-old physician from New Canaan, Conn., was the oldest climber."
WOW! I’m sure you are as astounded as I am with this news item. The news played up Mr. Weihenmayer’s accomplishment much more than Dr. Bull’s, and deservedly so. I mean, 64, pshaw, that’s not really all that old nowadays, is it?! There are individuals, much older, who are running in marathons, earning college degrees, and in general raising the standards of what is considered "old." I guess that’s why several movie theaters are changing their "senior discount" age from 55 to 65.
On the other hand, being blind, now that’s definitely a daunting handicap that is not easily overcome... and climbing Mt. Everest!!! It’s almost impossible to even conceive, yet it has happened and is now recorded in the annals of historical fact.
Whenever I learn of amazing feats such as these, I can’t help but relate to them in some personal manner. Not that climbing Mt. Everest is on my "To Do List," not even in my wildest dreams. What I mean by relating personally to these fantastic feats is that I begin to look around for a substitute Mt. Everest. What could I find to challenge myself that would be equally rewarding to me? It doesn’t have to be anything nearly as grandiose or newsworthy, it merely has to be a personal challenge.
I was looking through my file of others who have been as inspiring. Rae Terran, 95 years old in 1995, had always had a fear of water and swimming. Finally, at age 67 she took swimming lessons at the YMCA and graduated to teaching swimming exercise classes of her own. John Suta, 77 years old in 1999, bought a French horn in a thrift store and signed up to take lessons in a middle school. He’s been practicing and performing with the youngsters ever since.
Another newspaper clipping in my file is dated November 28, 1994: "Rookie Cop Joins Force at Age 59." "Laid-off defense worker Edward Olivares trains hard and sets an LAPD age record as a new officer." The list goes on and on of course, but I have to share one last favorite item. Taken from Modern Maturity, Nov.-Dec. 1997, "Joan Hotchkis is a well-groomed woman of 70 whose photo you might expect to see in the society pages of the paper. So when she walks onstage for her one-woman show and starts talking frankly about sex, audiences tend to do a double-take."
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