Post by Maggie on Feb 22, 2014 21:47:23 GMT -6
Apparently, there are dozens of descendents in Illinois around Abraham Lincoln's home town. This is one of them:
Do you know who this attractive woman is? She looks pretty much just like her famous son (above). So why is he so ... challenged aesthetically?
Jesse Owen's story is so inspiring. Hitler had intended for the Olympics he hosted to glorify Nazi Germany. He was deeply embarrassed when his Aryan god was beaten by him.
The German, who took the silver, was Lutz Long. What happened next is recounted below by the pinner of the picture.
Berlin Olympics, 1936 : The German silver medalist was the first to congratulate Jesse Owens and they took a lap of honour around the stadium together as the crowd rose to salute them both. "It took a lot of courage for him to befriend me in front of Hitler," said Owens later. "You can melt down all the medals and cups I have and they wouldn't be a plating on the 24-carat friendship I felt for Lutz Long at that moment."
It is hard to praise the sportsman-like conduct of Long too much. The German did more than befriend Owens, but also helped make Jesse's victory possible. In the qualifying round Long had set an Olympic record. Owens had fouled twice and if he had fouled a third time would have been disqualified. Before that third jump, Long went over and told him how to adjust his take-off point. Owens took the advice and the rest is history. Like so many of Germany's finest, Long was killed in action in 1943 at the age of 30.
We need something cute after that. How about ...