[2022-10-29] Saturday Synopsis #15
If there's a theme for this week's Saturday Synopsis, it would be an indomitable spirit—a determination to overcome obstacles and conquer perceived limitations. I didn't set out to create this theme. It emerged as I created the visual of Chris and the chickadee, and recounted this week's story.
Story of the week: Johnny Agar
This week, I learned of 27-year-old Johnny Agar. Born with cerebral palsy, Johnny was not expected to talk or walk by his doctors. Not only did Johnny learn to talk (and co-wrote a book with his mother, Becki, called The Impossible Mile: The Power in Living Life One Step at a Time), but he also learned to walk, with the help of his parents and a walker. Johnny and his father, Jeff, started competing in 5K runs, then 10K runs, then 25K runs, then marathons. Johnny eventually set his sights on the Ironman triathlon, which entails a 2.4-mile swim, followed by a 112-mile bike ride, and finally a 26.2-mile run. On September 17, 2022, on their sixth attempt to complete an Ironman triathlon, Johnny and Jeff were finally successful. They crossed the finish line at Ironman Maryland at 16:55:35, just shy of the cutoff time of 17 hours. The video that came up on my social media feed this week shows Jeff swimming 2.4 miles, pulling Johnny in a kayak, biking 112 miles in a specialized bike with his son, and running 24.6 miles, the vast majority while pushing Johnny in a wheelchair. But in the final moments of the race, Johnny walks across the finish line. Team Agar: Ironmen.
In another video, Johnny comments on their five unsuccessful attempts at finishing an Ironman, saying, "Failure is just part of the process. For me, I look at it as, 'We didn't make this race. Now how can we learn from that race and translate it into the next one.'" He adds, "I began to walk the last mile of races because the last mile is the one that's always the most difficult for an athlete." Like the chickadee in this week's photo, Johnny Agar exhibits an indomitable spirit. He defies expectations. He learns from every failure. That is truly inspiring.
Quote of the week: Indomitable will
Inspired by Johnny Agar's story, I offer this quote from Mahatma Gandhi: "Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will."
Song of the week: Japanese Bowl
After I wrote my post Kintsukuroi—the Japanese practice of repairing ceramic with gold—a friend sent me a link to Peter Mayer's Japanese Bowl. It's a beautiful song, both lyrically and musically.
I'm like one of those Japanese bowls
That were made long ago
I have some cracks in me
They have been filled with gold
That's what they used back then
When they had a bowl to mend
It did not hide the cracks
It made them shine instead
So now every old scar shows
From every time I broke
And anyone's eyes can see
I'm not what I used to be
But in a collector's mind
All of these jagged lines
Make me more beautiful
And worth a much higher price
I'm like one of those Japanese bowls
I was made long ago
I have some cracks, you can see
See how they shine of gold
The poem reminds us that our scars make us more beautiful; our failures, more resilient; our flaws, more valuable.
Recipe of the week: Buns on the Stove
This week's recipe is Buns on the Stove. My mom came across the recipe for this simple but delicious dessert some 60 years ago. At the time, she had only a wood stove, so after working in the fields with my father, there was no time to bake a dessert in a wood oven. What was so spectacular about this dessert is that she could prepare it in about 10 minutes, and it would cook while the family—and any guests—were eating dinner. We had it many times when we were children. When I told my grown daughter about this recipe, she said she wanted to try it. So, a few years ago, I made it at my mom's house when many family members were there. It is an endearing example of the indomitable spirit of the country woman.
Photo of the week: Oh, hey, little chickadee
Chris and I got out for several walks in nature this week, including a stroll at Old Quarry Trail in Kanata. This week's photo captures a momentary tête-à-tête between Chris and a chickadee. I wrote about my own encounter with a chickadee at Old Quarry Trail just a few weeks after completing my final round of chemotherapy for ovarian cancer. In Indomitable spirit, I shared: "Today, my husband and I returned to the woods, carrying a bag of sunflower seeds. With my face to the sun and a handful of seeds in my palm, I experienced the joy of having a chickadee alight on my hand. Perhaps a little bit of the chickadee's indomitable spirit transferred to me." The reference to indomitable spirit comes from naturalist Tom Brown Jr., who wrote: "We learned to be patient observers like the owl. We learned cleverness from the crow, and courage from the jay.... But above all of them ranked the chickadee because of its indomitable spirit." Ever since reading this, I cannot see chickadees without thinking of their indomitable spirit.
