An Awful Lot To Live For (The Friday Ficks S5E27)

Something else happened on July 4th.

Something just as stirring as America celebrating its 249th birthday today.

On July 4, 1939, Lou Gehrig - just two weeks after being diagnosed with the disease that would later bear his name - stood before nearly 62,000 fans at Yankee Stadium and said these immortal words:

“Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.”

Lucky? After a virtual death sentence?

Yes - if you consider what he said next.

Gehrig spoke of his 17 years in baseball and how he’d received “nothing but kindness and encouragement from you fans.” He called his parents’ hard work a “blessing,” and his wife a

“tower of strength” who showed more courage “than you dream existed.”

Then came his closing words, the quiet thunder of a man full of grace:

“I might have been given a bad break, but I’ve got an awful lot to live for.”

As America enters year 250, we find ourselves in turbulent times - polarized, uncertain, divided.

We don’t need louder voices. We need steadier ones.

We don’t need more cynicism. We need more clarity, conviction, and calm.

We need purpose. We need principle.

And above all, we need people - real people - to step up. Not the royal “we.” You. Me. Us.

Let’s lead with courage and live with intention.

Let’s show the world - in word and deed - that we, too, have an awful lot to live for.

Just like Lou Gehrig.

Own the day. Own the weekend.

Carl