A Resilient Life February 22, 2004 – by Gordon MacDonald
The
event is engraved upon my soul much like words carved into marble face
of a monument. I have described it often because it shaped the way I
look at life.
I was standing at the starting line-the leadoff runner-in a mile relay championship race at the world-renown Penn Relays in Philadelphia. Our team had drawn the second lane. The first lane was occupied by a
runner who, a few weeks before, had broken the American record in the
100 meter dash. He was fast..and he was cocky.
"May the best man win," he said as he hammered his starting blocks
into the cinder surface of the track. "I'll be waiting for you at the
finish line."
It was trash talk, 1950's style. And it was intimidating to a skinny
15 year old who was competing in a large stadium with thousands of
people for the first time.
Front Porch Reflections 