Sources of Inspiration (A Must Read)

My father, a WWII veteran with 3 purple hearts and a bronze star who showed me that courage and persistence pays off.

My mother, who volunteers at Jefferson Barracks in South County several times a week and still manages to stay in shape by swimming

The men and women of the armed forces of the United Sates who have and continue to keep us safe.

Ollie and Deeds who showed that age is just a number and that fitness is a part of living.

Ernest Shackleton and the crew of the Endurance, who never gave up and exhibited the indomitableness of the human spirit in the face of probable doom.

To Teddy Roosevelt (American 26th US President (1901-09), 1858-1919) for these words:
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

To Anne Sullivan for not giving up on Helen and discovering a gem that everyone else ignored.

chuckhardesty