First, I drank coffee and lounged a bit. Then I got up and moved books for the rest of the morning. I made a huge dent in the small mountain of books under our carport. We are going to finish one of these days. At least we are totally out of the other house, sold it, and just this week I paid the last utility bill over there.
After that, I had lunch with my sweet wife and then rested. Yes, I was tired. I kept thinking I would get up and take a run in the oppressive heat or maybe go to Plate City. Eventually, I gave in to my laziness and finished reading a biography of Gertrude Ederle.
Ederle was the first woman to swim the English Channel (1926) and for several years she was the best swimmer in the world. Her range was and remains unmatched. Was and remains. She swam world class times in everything from 50 yards to 22 miles. Her 22-mile swim from Battery Park to Sandy Hook was the fastest time for that swim for 81 yearrs. Did you read that? That is unmatched in the history of athletics. It would be like Husain Bolt-- who won the 100 meter race at the last two Olympics-- also winning the 10,000 meter race, the marathon, and then going on to win a 100-mile footrace after the Olympics. That has not and never will happen.
She was one of those once in every five generations kind of athlete. I have worked up a PowerPoint presentation on her that I hope I can share with some audiences at some point.
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