Sure, I'm Lucky

“…today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth…” Lou Gehrig, Yankee Stadium, July 4, 1939


The date, July 4th, has a special significance in the United States, as every school child knows. It is, among other things, the day best known as “Independence Day,” the day ascribed in our history when the Second Continental Congress adopted the United States Declaration of Independence, a formal document declaring the Republic free from the stolid English.

Much otherwise has occurred on this date. Some notable births on July 4th include Calvin Coolidge (30th President), Meyer Lansky (Russian born American gangster—can we ever shake the Russians?), Leona Helmsley (The Helmsley Hussy), Geraldo Rivera, Michael Milken, junk bond inventor (some of you may still owe your demise to this man!) and Koko (the sign-language gorilla…I just threw that in). And very significantly, my own father, without whom many would be bereft of these erudite vignettes…which may be a blessing to some, a curse to others.

Following birth is the obverse of Life’s Coin ~~ Death. Many have chosen to depart on this day, including: John Adams, 2nd President, Hannibal Hamlin, V-President (who can forget him, or remember him for that matter!), Eva Gabor (now, that WAS a loss!) and, according to national statistics, many millions more.

Notable events have also occurred on this date: The US Military Academy at West Point opened; New Orleans showed up in The Louisiana Purchase, and Bourbon Street was born; Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was published; the US was given the Statue of Liberty by France (not to mention the french-kiss and the exquisite Bridgette Bardot); Radio Free Europe’s first broadcast and NASA’s Pathfinder space probe landed on Mars (an event still disbelieved by many enlightened citizens as a cheap Hollywood trick, giving rise to Martian Invasion Theories).

On this date in 1939 Lou Gehrig, the “Pride of the Yankees” baseball great, retired. He was 37, played in 2,130 consecutive games from 1925-1939 and had a .340 batting average. Before 60,000 fans he stood and gave a 277-word speech, beginning with the words:
“Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.”

The speech is punctuated with the words, “Sure I’m lucky,” as he summarized his life.

While his speech may not rival the profundity of Lincoln’s words at Gettysburg, nonetheless it’s immortalized in the history of the US. After all, is not baseball the great American pastime? Lincoln only played billiards.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a terrible disease. Lou Gehrig died from it. It is now commonly known as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease,” a somewhat unusual way to be remembered—having a malady named in your honor. While it does give a face, a body, to a disease, it also reminds us of the indomitable stature of an American…courage in the face of tragedy.

On this July 4th our nation is experiencing a collective disease of lack of confidence, a waning of faith in our primacy, a distrust of our systems and our “place” in the world in this time of history. In many ways this malaise is more destructive than the rare disease of ALS, since it paralyzes the body politic and creates a negative and defeated spirit.

Lou Gehrig, though living with the knowledge that his disease was terminal, never succumbed to the depth of depression, but on the contrary, he ascended to the heights of confidence…”Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.”

My hometown newspaper has a heading, “Pull for Colquitt or Pull Out.” This simple statement might be appropriated today: Pull for America or Pull Out!

My friends, on Saturday, July 4, 2009, may we shout again with a singular voice in the National Chorus, proclaiming to the world, “Yes, I’m lucky!”

Lou Gehrig closed his speech with this line:
“So I close in saying that I might have had a tough break— but I have an awful lot to live for!” We might consider doing likewise!


Bud Hearn
July 2, 2009