AN AMAZING FEAT

 

 

On the morning of August 31, 2013, Diana Nyad, at the age of 64, embarked on her fifth try to swim from Havana, Cuba to Florida, a distance of about 110 miles, accompanied by a support team of 35 persons.  She swam without a shark cage, but protected from jelly fish by a silicone mask, a full body suit, gloves and booties.  She faced a long enduring swim for about 53 hours.   At approximately 1:55 p.m. EDT on September 2, 2013, Diana emerged onto the beach at Key West, Florida amid cheering greeters.  She was in good spirits, tired but well.

 It is awesome when we realize what she accomplished.   There is no doubt her relentless and persistent effort to overcome such an overwhelming challenge is a sign of great character and courage.  What is even more interesting to appreciate is she is a person with whom many of us may identify as a senior citizen.  So, what does that mean?   If we allow ourselves to know her, she could be anyone of our neighbors.  

 Diana Nyad, (coincidentally, her last name is pronounced the same as naiad, which is a type of sea nymph), is a local person   My research about her life indicates that she was born in New York City on August 22, 1949 to a stockbroker William Sneed and his wife Lucy Curtis.  Her father died and her mother remarried Aristotle Nyad, a Greek land developer, who adopted Diana.  The family moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida where Diana attended the private Pine Crest School,

 As she grew up, she began swimming seriously in grade seven and won three Florida state high school championships in the Backstroke.  She dreamed of swimming in the 1968 Summer Olympics, but in 1966 she was bed ridden for three months with endocarditis, an infection of the heart.  Unfortunately, when she began swimming again, she lost speed.  Finally, she graduated from Pine Crest and eventually from Lake Forest in Illinois with a degree in English and French.    Still highly motivated, she returned to south Florida and continued training for marathon swimming.   Diana was inducted into the United States National Women’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1986 and the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 2003.  

In addition to her prowess in swimming, she has authored three books about her life and distance swimming.  In her 1978 autobiography, she described marathon swimming as a battle for survival against a brutal foe - -The Sea!   Her fortitude and determination to succeed, even under challenges,  is a sign of greatness.   It is so unusual to me that I had composed the poem below as of July 11, 2013 before I even knew of Diana Nyad and it seems only appropriate to address it in her honor.

GREATNESS

Comes from forward moving

Growing and improving

Seeking ways to give humanity

Something useful for making the world

A better place to live and thrive

Offering others insights to succeed

More than to just survive

Rather to enrich life with a feeling

That one can discover new sources

For helping one earn the rewards

Well deserved from hard work

That high energy spent wisely

Is invigorating and motivating

Providing impetus to

Contributing new ideas to advance

Civilization toward a utopian goal