Our good friend, Mike Glenn, bought our family a book from a used book sale at the neighborhood library. It's entitled, "Sam Patch, the Big Time Jumper". Its a children's book written about a real man named Sam Patch, who made a living as a dare devil jumper in the early 1800s. His claim to fame was a historic jump off of Niagara Falls where he lived to tell the tail. And still to this day there is a plaque in his honor at Niagara Falls documenting his momentous jump. Pretty cool huh! my great, great, great, great, grandfather was the first guy to jump off Niagara and live.
Now days, our family has adopted this inspiring man as our unofficial favorite family heritage hero. The children take the book to school for "show and tell", they give book reports about the guy, and Monica even wrote his famous quote on our kitchen wall in vinyl, "Some things can be done as well as others." The quote serves as a constant reminder to us all about......, ah,..... about........, about what is most important in life.
Take a second, if you will, to really ponder these inspired words, and you too will soon learn its humble power to answer the toughest of life questions. For example, (Personal happiness) - Question - How can I find more happiness in my life? Answer - Some things can be done as well as others. Ah Yes! I understand! Or, (Financial issues) - Question - Do I take out a loan to buy a bigger home? Answer, Some things can be done as well as others. Yes! OK, Exactly! Then there are (Restaurant choices) - Question - Cafe Rio, or Burger King? Answer - Some things can be done as well as others. Yes! why didn't I think of this? It helps with (family priorities) - Question, -Mow the lawn and clean the house, or take the family to Lagoon? Answer - Some things can be done as well as others. This is amazing! Or, it can even keep the spark of love in (marriage) Question - Does this outfit make me look fat? Answer - Some things can be done as well as others!" Oh, I love You!!! It even works on simple every day situations like (shopping) - Question -Charman Extra soft three ply toilet paper for $8.95 or Western Family single ply toilet paper for 2.95? Answer - Some things can be done as well as others. Wow! its spooky how this pearl of family wisdom, brings all of life's greatest mysteries and greatest challenges into crystal clear definition and perspective!
I for one am happier, healthier, and have so much more meaning in my life, because this great man decided to go ahead and JUMP. So, I am forever grateful for Sam's courageous example, and his fearless zeal for life, and his willingness to defy death itself to inspire ordinary people like me.
Side note. . . . Tragically, Sam Patch died the very next year, while attempting a higher jump in Canada.
But that unfortunate mishap is besides the point. What matters is, the next time you are stuck with a impassable mountain of a decision, just remember Sam Patch, the 1st man to jump off of Niagara Falls and live. But more importantly, remember Sam Patch is the man who said, "Some things can be done as well as others!" And really, isn't that all that matters?
Now days, our family has adopted this inspiring man as our unofficial favorite family heritage hero. The children take the book to school for "show and tell", they give book reports about the guy, and Monica even wrote his famous quote on our kitchen wall in vinyl, "Some things can be done as well as others." The quote serves as a constant reminder to us all about......, ah,..... about........, about what is most important in life.
Take a second, if you will, to really ponder these inspired words, and you too will soon learn its humble power to answer the toughest of life questions. For example, (Personal happiness) - Question - How can I find more happiness in my life? Answer - Some things can be done as well as others. Ah Yes! I understand! Or, (Financial issues) - Question - Do I take out a loan to buy a bigger home? Answer, Some things can be done as well as others. Yes! OK, Exactly! Then there are (Restaurant choices) - Question - Cafe Rio, or Burger King? Answer - Some things can be done as well as others. Yes! why didn't I think of this? It helps with (family priorities) - Question, -Mow the lawn and clean the house, or take the family to Lagoon? Answer - Some things can be done as well as others. This is amazing! Or, it can even keep the spark of love in (marriage) Question - Does this outfit make me look fat? Answer - Some things can be done as well as others!" Oh, I love You!!! It even works on simple every day situations like (shopping) - Question -Charman Extra soft three ply toilet paper for $8.95 or Western Family single ply toilet paper for 2.95? Answer - Some things can be done as well as others. Wow! its spooky how this pearl of family wisdom, brings all of life's greatest mysteries and greatest challenges into crystal clear definition and perspective!
I for one am happier, healthier, and have so much more meaning in my life, because this great man decided to go ahead and JUMP. So, I am forever grateful for Sam's courageous example, and his fearless zeal for life, and his willingness to defy death itself to inspire ordinary people like me.
Side note. . . . Tragically, Sam Patch died the very next year, while attempting a higher jump in Canada.
But that unfortunate mishap is besides the point. What matters is, the next time you are stuck with a impassable mountain of a decision, just remember Sam Patch, the 1st man to jump off of Niagara Falls and live. But more importantly, remember Sam Patch is the man who said, "Some things can be done as well as others!" And really, isn't that all that matters?
1 comment:
Sam met his demise while attempting to jump from the Upper Falls on the Genesee river in current downtown Rochester, Ny. The falls are "only" 99' so Sam had a platform installed to raise the height to 125'. This was an attempt to break his previous record of 120' achieved at Niagara.
A crowd of some 8000 people showed up on that cold day of November 13 1829 (Friday the 13th!) Alas some thing's CAN'T be done as well as others and poor Sam's frozen body was found almost prefectly preserved on St Patrick's Day 1830 some 7 miles from the falls where the Genesee feeds Lake Ontario. The crowd was aghast with horror and many believed he didn't surface because it was part of the stunt. Some say he slipped but in any event most agreed that he didn't jump in his usual manner. Both of his shoulders were dislocated and he couldn't swim. His body was buried in a pauper's grave with a simple wooden board that read "Sam Patch" "Such is Fame". The wooden board is long gone but was replaced by a stone and a plaque that explains his fame, courtesy of the students from Charlotte High School. My brother lives a 1/4 of a mile from that cemetary in Charlotte, Ny and you can see it to this day. Sam was very famous in his day (or maybe infamous) Andrew Jackson named his horse Sam Patch!
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