The Luckiest Man.

“Tonight, I stand here, overwhelmed, as my name is linked with the great and courageous Lou Gehrig, ... I'm truly humbled to have our names spoken in the same breath. Some may think our strongest connection is because we played many consecutive games. Yet I believe in my heart that our true link is a common motivation-a love of the game of baseball, a passion for our team and a desire to compete on the very highest level.” ~ Cal Ripken.

I remember back many, many, years ago when I first read about Lou Gehrig, I was in the army and just a young and naive teenager looking at the world through rose colored lenses. I made a decision back then that his mindset, his never late, never absent, blue collared work ethic was something i admired. Something I wanted to emulate. The guy was solid, dependable and the kind of man that every coach wanted on their team. A man who had every right to whine about the tough break he got when he was struck down with a debilitating illness that would end his career - and yet he called himself "the luckiest man on the face of the earth". Now that was a guy I would have loved to meet.

A man that anyone would be honored to shake hands with.

To learn more about Lou Gehrig - Click here