With Gerald Hayden

I have to laugh sometimes at these titles I choose for my posts.  The title is usually the first thing that pops into my head and then I go from there.  I am very excited to share this post with you.  I wanted to write about it the night I took the picture but I really didn’t know what to say ~ I was really blown away.  For lack of a better word it was… well just cool.

Last winter one of my neighbors posted to her Facebook page that her brother, Gerald Hayden, would be participating at the U.S. Paralympics in Sochi 2014 for Alpine Skiing.  Now, I was raised in the South and don’t really care for cold weather sports.  My idea of skiing is sitting in the lodge watching the skiers as I sip my hot cocoa.  I can remember when we were stationed in Germany we went to a  ski lodge in Garmisch .  I was outside for about 20 minutes before I migrated back to the mother ship for the warmth of a hot beverage.

I immediately sent a message that if he came to visit I wanted to meet him.  I didn’t even think twice about asking.  Last Saturday I got my chance.  I thought how cool can it be to meet an Olympian.  COOL!  I’ve meet a lot of amazing people in my life and he will be added to that list.  I don’t look at this from the sports view but rather from the angle of the great perseverance of the human spirit.  Even though an accident took away his ability to walk, here you have an incredibly talented young man that is a fantastic role model.  Frankly, he just soars!  He was very kind to put up with my questions ~ I could have asked a ton more and even more kind to take a photo with me.  It was a privilege to meet him.  I’ve added a link to his name above for more information.

Never.Give.Up.