I am definitely not a connoisseur of speeches. Paying attention for any length of time is not my strong suit but Lou Gehrig’s speech after learning that he had ALS is powerful. There is very little that I can say to do it justice, but his attitude is one that I think everyone should stop and learn from. He doesn’t ask for everyone to feel sorry for him, in fact he stands in front of thousands and all he wants them to know is how lucky he is.
Here is the full text of the speech:
“Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break I got. Yet today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. I have been in ballparks for seventeen years and I have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans. Look at these grand men. Which of you wouldn’t consider it the highlight of his career just to associate with them for even one day? Sure I’m lucky. Who wouldn’t have considered it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert? Also, the builder of baseball’s greatest empire, Ed Barrows? To have spent six years with that wonderful little fellow, Miller Huggins? Then to have spent the next nine years with that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology, the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy? Sure, I’m lucky. When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat and vice versa, sends you a gift, that’s something. When everybody down to the groundskeeper and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies, that’s something. When you have a father and mother work all their lives so that you can have an education and build your body, it’s a blessing. When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed, that’s the finest I know. I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth. And I might have been given a bad break, but I’ve got an awful lot to live for.”
People come up to me regularly and share stories about my dad. One of my favorites is about his attitude when he received his diagnosis of Lou Gehrig’s disease. Friends and family wanted to know how he stayed so positive and his answer was always “I never have a bad day.” Even though he and Gehrig had different words they had the same message.
Tell me what you think