By Walt Woodard
Special To Ropers Sports News
I admire bravery, I think we all do. It doesn’t have to be only on the battlefield. I hear stories about soldiers that have done amazing things under fire to save their men. Believing in a cause so strong that you no longer think of yourself first is something extra ordinary. During my life I have been extremely fortunate to have met so many amazing people with character and qualities that I would like to possess. Most of them you have never heard of. They are not famous or sports athletes, just everyday people. When faced with things that we fear they do and say the right thing.
Like the guy I met in Colorado that happened to be a roper. He was at a roping and he said he started to feel bad. He started to get real hot and he was in extreme pain. The next thing he knew he was on the ground looking up with everyone gathered around him. At first he said he was embarrassed. He thought I’ve got to get up but was unable to. Then someone said he’s having a heart attack. My friend said fear consumed his entire mind and body. His heart was racing and he was sweating. All of a sudden he got mad at himself. He thought I have always been a man of deep faith. I believe I know where I’m going and now when faced with death, I’m afraid? He said to himself, “I’m not afraid and if this is the end so be it.” He said he felt his body relax. Later at the hospital the doctor said, he didn’t know whether to attribute it to divine intervention or the thoughts he had about his faith but whichever it was, it calmed him down and that is what saved his life.
When the Titanic was sinking and it became apparent that there weren’t enough life boats Benjamin Guggenheim and his valet went back to their stateroom and changed into their finest evening wear. Someone saw them walking toward the grand staircase. Guggenheim remarked, “we’ve dressed up in our best and are prepared to go down like gentlemen.” A survivor was given a message from Guggenheim: “Tell my wife, if it should happen that my valet and I both go down, tell her I played the game out straight to the end. No woman shall be left aboard this ship because Ben Guggenheim was a coward.”
I was fortunate to be raised by a woman that has that kind of courage. She is and always has been the most giving, generous, and hardest working person I have ever known. She is 83 and I can honestly say I have never heard her say she was tired. She scolded me for saying I was tired when I was a kid. She said it’s a sign of weakness and don’t ever say that. You are not tired she would say. You are strong, now keep working.
When I was a kid our little one acre place was spotless. Leaves were raked, the flower beds were weeded. The lawn was always mowed, most of the time to my objection. That was her orders and if the jobs weren’t completed she would finish them herself. She worked tirelessly. She would say, “be generous, be kind, don’t be weak and don’t you ever be lazy. God has given you a healthy mind and body and you should always be thankful and being lazy is inexcusable.”
She instructed me that in the event of her death, any parts of her body that could be used were to be given to someone who needed it. If her eyes could possibly make someone see then that was her wish. Her will states everything remaining after harvesting her body is to be given to Stanford University for research. By doing this her only hope is to help someone else. I’m telling you right now, I was raised by an extraordinary person.
Two months ago my mother lost her voice. She has been having pain in her arm for several months but never said anything about it. Finally, she was convinced to go to the doctor. She was told that she has cancer in several areas of her body. As soon as I heard the news I called to talk to her. She was sitting on her front porch that evening watching the hummingbirds feed from her feeder. She wanted to tell me about the three yellow finches that also come every evening and how beautiful they are. I said, Mom always when our family has had a problem I could fix it or I knew someone who could, and she laughed. She said, “No one can fix this and I’m fine with it. I’m 83 years old and I have had a wonderful life. I am not interested in any of the treatments that are available and don’t worry about me. If I live a week or five years I’m good with it all and I’ll take it as it comes. Oh, look,” she said “there’s another little yellow bird, I haven’t seen him before.”
That’s the woman who raised me and don’t ever let it be said that Audrey May Woodard was a coward. She has more character and strength than anyone I have ever met or ever will. Thanks, Mom, for showing me and the world how to go through this life. I can only hope I possess some of your qualities.
Hopefully, that day will never come, but if it does I hope Stanford University has a way to measure a person’s heart.
Editors Note: Sadly, word has reached the RSN office that Audrey passed away on August 4, 2012.