Earlier this month, news came that Roger Bannister had died.
I turned 18 the year Roger Bannister became the first human to run a mile in less than four minutes. A mile – you may remember those things, a quaint anachronism consisting of 5280 feet, each containing 12 inches. Only the U.S. still uses those funny dimensions, although it has long given up other measures of the mile – eight furlongs, 80 chains, 320 rods…
Back in 1954, though, the mile was still a standard measure. We measured fuel efficiency in miles per gallon, speeds in miles per hour.
And the four-minute mile was still considered impossible for mere humans.
It turned out to be a psychological barrier, not a physical one.
Bannister was a medical student at Oxford who would later be knighted for his work on neurology. He took up running as a hobby. Some tributes say that he only trained for about half an hour a week – a ridiculously low figure for today’s athletes.
Demythologizing the mile
But Bannister had one thing going for him that no other athlete did – he refused to be trapped by conventional wisdom.
Until then, the mile was seen as a distance race. One trained for it by running longer distances. Milers tried to conserve their energy.
In interviews later, Bannister explained that he saw the mile as an extended sprint. Instead of saving his energy, he planned to expend it totally, to cross the finish line with absolutely no reserves left.
The first time he broke the four-minute barrier, he collapsed.
Later that summer, Bannister and his rival John Landy of Australia met in what was called the Miracle Mile in the British Empire Games in Vancouver. (Like the mile, time has rendered the name obsolete; they’re now called the Commonwealth Games.)
Emotional moment
I was in the far west of Ireland that August night. To mark my graduation from high school, my parents had taken me to experience what was still called the British Isles, and to meet my mother’s family.
My uncle had rented a fishing lodge in Connemara for our two families. In 1954, it still had no electricity. And Vancouver was eight time zones away.
So when the Miracle Mile was run in Vancouver in the afternoon of August 7, eight of us clustered around a table in the kitchen of a pitch-dark house, lit by the glow of a single kerosene lantern, ears tuned to a battery-operated radio.
We were rooting for Bannister.
Landy led for four laps. In the final turn before the finish line, Landy risked glancing back over his left shoulder to see how much of a lead he had. Perhaps it affected his stride, perhaps it affected only his concentration. But in that moment, Bannister surged past on Landy’s right and won the race of the century.
Our kitchen erupted. Two families not normally given to expressing emotions danced, hugged, and cheered.
It seems so long ago now.
Of the eight people present that night, only three of us are still alive. And now the cause of those memories has died too.
But I won’t forget that moment, listening to a race on the other side of the world. And I won’t forget the man who had the courage to think outside the box, and to change the world of running forever.
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Copyright © 2017 by Jim Taylor. Non-profit use in congregations and study groups, and links from other blogs, welcomed; all other rights reserved.
To comment on this column, write jimt@quixotic.ca
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YOUR TURN
Cliff Boldt called last week’s column on the legacy of Saul Alinski “An interesting analysis of Saul’s work. I have come to understand that the issue is still power. Who has it, and who wants it, and for what purpose? I have also come to understand that politics in Canada has changed considerably in the 21st century. But change is going to come and it will start at the neighbourhood school level and move up. Bottom up will confront top down, both of which are needed in some way, and we’ll see how that turns out. Market that, Godin!”
Tom Watson also took on Seth Godin: “Regarding Godin's conclusion that sooner or later everyone is standing in a burning building, here's the thing: The blaze doesn't flare up instantaneously, as if out of nowhere. The fires were lit way back. My question is: Why does it take until the building is about to tumble down for people to start reaching for the fire extinguishers? History, and even things current, suggests it's because they seemed to be benefiting from the psychosis that started the fire in the first place.”
Henry Yorke wrote from England: This week's article made me think of our current situation in the UK. We are in the throes of leaving the European Union, and Brexit is a topic on almost every news bulletin or current affairs TV discussion. Brexit arrived as a result of a referendum in June 2016 on the UK's relationship with Europe. An enemy was created, namely EU immigrants, asylum seekers and refugees, who were variously accused of taking British jobs, claiming every possible benefit, being given preferential access to housing, clogging up the schools and abusing the National Health Service -- and all of this despite lots of statistical evidence to the contrary.
“The lead up to the referendum seemed to be marked by complacency on behalf of those who wanted to remain in the EU, and fierce nationalism from those who wanted us to leave.”
Henry quoted my line: " Uniting for a common goal is good. But when that common goal is to defeat the enemy, what do you do after? What now is your goal, your purpose? Chances are, you don't have one."
In the Brexit battle, Henry suggested, “Neither side had any after-plan -- the Leavers had only rhetoric and the 'enemy', while the Remainers simply didn't expect to lose.
“It saddens me to think that we may only get to the point of treating others as we would want to be treated, when we've run out of enemies. Pray God that more people live to create friends rather than enemies.”
Bob Rollwagen was, “frightened to think what the Tea Party understood from reading Alinski. I am sure they got stuck on words like ‘Target, Enemy, Weapon and Ridicule’… As for Trump, I don't think he has read anything and just uses the same tactics he has been using since grade school. Many people use "Fake News" through exaggeration or when they don't have all the facts but need to finish a story. It appears that Trump creates it by taking all the facts and distorting them to appeal to his loyal followers.”
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PSALM PARAPHRASES
Preacher and author Herbert O’Driscoll also did paraphrases and commentaries on the psalms. One day, in a phone call, he commented, “Those psalmists were an incredibly miserable and mealy-mouthed bunch!” That’s my reason for skipping Psalm 51, the lectionary’s primary choice for this Sunday – it’s a long whine asking God to smite the Hebrews’ enemies, characterized mainly as wild dog prowling the streets at night.
The alternate reading, Psalm 119:9-16, at least offers some hope.
9 Hollywood paints pretty pictures of flaming passion and sensual pleasures.
I will not deny it -- they tempt me.
Their insidious lies sneak under my skin--
I have trouble telling right from wrong.
10 Only your guidance, gathered through the generations,
keeps my feet from straying off the proven path.
Your wisdom keeps my thoughts from wandering.
11 I treasure each insight that you teach me.
12 You are holy, God;
infect me with your holiness.
Make me more like what I was meant to be
when you conceived me.
13 I can say all the right words
but still I am tempted.
14 I would rather hear you than the racket of hedonism;
turn my obsessions away from possessions and playthings.
15 Help me shut out the clamour of popular pressures;
let me concentrate only on you.
16 You are my guiding light, my model, my mentor.
Even when I don't understand, I will not reject you.
For paraphrases of most of the psalms used by the Revised Common Lectionary, you can order my book Everyday Psalms from Wood Lake Publishing, info@woodlake.com.
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TECHNICAL STUFF
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PROMOTION STUFF
To use the links in this section, you’ll have to insert the necessary symbols.
Ralph Milton ’s latest project is called “Sing Hallelujah” -- the world’s first video hymnal. It consists of 100 popular hymns, both new and old, on five DVDs that can be played using a standard DVD player and TV screen, for use in congregations who lack skilled musicians to play piano or organ. More details at wwwDOTsinghallelujahDOTca
Ralph’s HymnSight webpage is still up, http://wwwDOThymnsightDOTca, with a vast gallery of photos you can use to enhance the appearance of the visual images you project for liturgical use (prayers, responses, hymn verses, etc.)
Wayne Irwin's “Churchweb Canada,” an inexpensive service for any congregation wanting to develop a web presence, with free consultation. <http://wwwDOTchurchwebcanadaDOTca>
I recommend Isabel Gibson’s thoughtful and well-written blog, wwwDOTtraditionaliconoclastDOTcom
Alva Wood’s satiric stories about incompetent bureaucrats and prejudiced attitudes in a small town -- not particularly religious, but fun; alvawoodATgmailDOTcom to get onto her mailing list.
Tom Watson writes a weekly blog called “The View from Grandpa Tom’s Balcony” -- ruminations on various subjects, and feedback from Tom’s readers. Write him at tomwatsoATgmailDOTcom or twatsonATsentexDOTnet