About 25 years ago, after I moved back to Northern Nevada following a stint as the sports editor at the Carlsbad, NM Current-Argus, I bought a membership to swim at the Alf Sorensen Community Center in Sparks.
Every morning when I showed up to struggle through my laps, there was a 90-year old man who swam with the kind of determination usually reserved for Navy SEALs and people trying to get the last parking spot at Costco.
I had reached my mid-30s and was trying desperately to stay in shape in some way that didn’t aggravate a constantly throbbing left knee.
Swimming seemed like a reasonable choice. It was low impact, good cardio, and, in theory, something a reasonably healthy adult should be able to do without too much pain.
But while I was there for a physical workout, what I got every day was an emotional lift, watching this old man glide through the water. I’ve long since forgotten his name but I think of him often because of the way he inspired me.
Around that same time, I traveled to Ely to interview a man named John Polish, a Yerington legend who was then in his 90s and still competed in the Senior Olympics in various track and field events and could shoot lower than his age on the golf course. I drove to Ely to interview Polish and ended up spending the entire weekend at his house.
He showed me his nightly routine, which included 20 minutes of jumping on a mini trampoline.
Watching those two made it hard to feel sorry for myself. It’s tough to complain about sore knees or being tired when a pair of 90-year-olds are out there making exercise as routine as brushing your teeth.
Those are the two guys I think about whenever I am looking for inspiration. Any challenge I might be facing feels a little smaller when I think about the way they kept going.
I don’t think I ever had more than the single conversation with the swimmer the day he told me his age. I did have a whole weekend’s worth of talks with Polish, but the impact was the same.
Without even saying it, both of them left me with the same message: keep going.
I guess that’s just how life works. We can be shaped as much by people who cross our path for a moment, or a weekend as we are by the people we see every day.
Neither of those men knew they were teaching me anything, but they did, and on the days when I’m struggling to find momentum, I think about the way they both kept moving and it helps me take the next step.
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