by peteblack4ua@gmail.com | Aug 18, 2020 | Long Shots, Overcoming Adversity, Overcoming Failure
1955 – Pittsburg, Pennsylvania: Some diseases killed, polio crippled children for a lifetime. Since the first epidemic in the summer of 1894 in Vermont, polio had become the disease most feared by parents. It struck children without warning, frequently causing muscle...
by peteblack4ua@gmail.com | Apr 27, 2020 | Against the Odds, Chasing Your Dream, Determination Despite the Odds, Long Shots
Saturday, February 9, 1980 – Madison Square Garden, New York City: The Russian Olympic hockey team crushed the USA Olympic team 10-3 in the final exhibition before the Olympics. The young American squad was embarrassed. Humiliated. It was a blow out that could have...
by peteblack4ua@gmail.com | Mar 17, 2020 | Determination Despite the Odds, Finding Hope, Long Shots
February 1, 2004 – Mammoth Mountain – Mammoth Lakes, California: It was another day of crystal meth and snowboarding. Eric was addicted to both. Ignoring the ski patrol’s warning that the mountain was closing because of an approaching blizzard, he planned to make one...
by peteblack4ua@gmail.com | Mar 9, 2020 | Determination Despite the Odds, Limitless Possibilities, Long Shots
1995 – Dallas, Texas: Carl Henry, a literacy recruiter, knocked on the door of the small, dilapidated house in south Dallas. He informed the older gentleman who answered the door that adult literacy classes were being offered a few blocks away at the old high...
by peteblack4ua@gmail.com | Feb 3, 2020 | Finding Hope, Long Shots, Never Give Up
1992, Veterans Administration Clinic – Baltimore, Maryland: “Mr. Boorman, you need to face the facts,” the VA doctor told him, “You will never walk again without assistance.” Boorman, age 32, was a former Army paratrooper who made more than 200 jumps during the Gulf...
by peteblack4ua@gmail.com | May 28, 2019 | Limitless Possibilities, Long Shots, Underdogs
Spring 1961 – Palm Springs, California: At the end of spring training camp the Los Angeles Angels baseball team cut him from the roster. Manager Fred Haney’s feedback was short, to the point, “You don’t have a big league arm.” They gave him a bus ticket back to...
