KAILUA, Hawaii—It’s dark outside. It’s late. Or is it early? Hard to remember. Been a long day.
Here she comes. Jogging. People are cheering. They should be. She just finished swimming 2.4 miles, pedaling 112 miles, and running 26 miles.
With finish line in sight, she trips. She falls. The race should be over for her right here. But it’s not. She stands. She starts jogging toward the finish again. Unstoppable.
She crosses the tape.
Natalie Grabow, of Mountain Lakes, New Jersey, has just become the oldest woman to finish the Ironman World Championship Triathlon. Amazingly, Natalie only learned how to swim around age 60.
Today, Natalie is 80 years old.
“It’s never too late to take on a new challenge,” says Natalie.
LONDON—Here’s another challenge. Sixty-five-year-old Denise Bacon from East Sussex, England, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. She lost the ability to do her favorite things like play clarinet.
Until the other day.
She underwent a procedure called DBS—deep brain stimulation. If the procedure was successful, it would restore motor function. DBS is offering new hope to patients with Parkinson’s, like Denise.
The doctor told Denise to bring her clarinet just in case. Mid-operation, the surgeon told the techs to fetch her clarinet.
And so it was, the surgical team stood behind a plastic sanitary guard as Denise lay on the table, still under local anesthesia, under powerful lights.
She held the clarinet to her lips. And played for the first time in years. And not only did she play, the operating room sounded like an Artie Shaw performance.
“I’m already experiencing improvements in my ability to walk,” says Denise. “And I’m keen to get back in the swimming pool, and on the dance floor.”
CAPE BRETON BEACH, Nova Scotia—Here’s another challenge worth mentioning. It occurred when three pilot whales were stranded on the beach.
Low tide was fast approaching. The three whales were stuck. They would die on the sand. Probably nothing anyone could do about it.
Until two men came walking by. Mark Rankin and Grant Cameron. Dressed in winter clothes, braving the icy coastal winds. They spotted the whales, and knew something had to be done.
Bystanders told the men to back off. Authorities had already been notified, onlookers said. But whales die on the beach all the time while waiting for authorities.
So, the men stripped. They jumped into the wintery Atlantic, and began muscling the whales into the water. One at a time.
A pilot whale can grow up to 20 feet long and weigh up to 9,000 pounds.
“To be able to touch them and look into their eyes, that’s kind of what got us…” said Mark.
When asked how the two men feel about the rescue, they answered: “We feel pretty good… and if nothing else we’ll get a good laugh out of being on the news in our underwear.”
OMAHA, Nebraska—Frank Uryasz is the oldest resident at Remington Heights Retirement Community. He was talking to one of the female staff members who mentioned she was a Taylor Swift fan.
She told Frank that she’d written “Tay” many letters, but had never received a response.
So Frank decided to rise to the challenge. He started a Taylor Swift fan club. Stickers were made. T-shirts were printed. Bracelets were exchanged.
Things got out of hand. The club grew beyond Frank’s control. At first, Frank only allowed 10 members into the club. But it doubled. Tripled. Quadrupled. Now there are over 100 members.
Frank is one of the oldest known “Swifties” on planet earth. Plans are already underway for the club to meet Taylor in person.
When asked what Frank would say to Taylor Swift in person, he replied: “…I’d give her a hug.”
If you’ve read this far, you know the world is inundated with news of horrendous events. Headlines aren’t worth printing if they don’t shock and disturb. And people are angry about everything. Finding a ray of sunshine in such hateful times can be a challenge.
Then again.
A wise 80-year-old once said: “It’s never too late to take on a new challenge.”