On Gratitude. And being the luckiest man on earth.

On Gratitude. And being the luckiest man on earth.

As Baseball’s opening day is nearly upon us, I am struck by these simple, yet totally surprising words from Lou Gehrig. After the presentations and remarks by Babe Ruth, Gehrig addressed the crowd:

Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about the 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 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. …

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 groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies — that’s something. When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles with her own daughter — that’s something. When you have a father and a mother who 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.

So I close in saying that I might have been given a bad break, but I’ve got an awful lot to live for. Thank you. — Lou Gehrig at Yankee Stadium, July 4, 1939[57]

How lucky are you? Spend a minute to think about it; it does you some good. And here are some good baseball books for you and the kids…

G-Max taking a few good whacks in between legos and minecraft.

G-Max taking a few good whacks in between legos and minecraft.