July 4th 1939

Most people have seen the Gary Cooper film, Pride Of The Yankees. It was completed shortly after Lou Gehrig passed away in 1941 from Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neurone disease (MND) and now mostly referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease. This photo from 1939 captures the moment better than any film and can't help but make you pause to wonder. The original recording of his speak is mostly lost due to the technology available at the time. What remains are the opener — “For the past two weeks, you’ve been reading about a bad break” — leads into the “luckiest man” declaration. How on earth he could call himself lucky has always baffled people who did not know him. They look at the facts that he had no pension, not much money and massive health care costs. This was long before people sold their souls for a little cash. I can only surmise that he called himself "lucky" because he had a wife who loved him, friends who supported him, and a treasure trove of memories which no disease could take from him. That ought to be enough when you know you are going to die soon, right?