My friend Rob enjoys music, and follows his favorite bands when he can, and I tag along from time to time. One time I go with him down to Cleveland’s west side. The Happy Dog band are loud and boisterous, so I am delighted when after the show Rob says “Let’s go back in time”. Turns out a fellow had reopened a bar that was shuttered in 1996. No remodeling or updates of any kind had been done. There is even a cigarette machine, the kind where you put your money in and pull the knob to dispense your chokes of choice. I am just pleased that it is relatively quiet in the Edgewater cafe that night. Feeling extroverted, I look for a conversation with a stranger.
I often try to make friends with the biggest guy in the bar, just in case. So, I sit down at the bar next to a mountain. He is XXXL. The bartender hands him an unopened beer. In a very serious tone I ask the mountain, “Do you need help with that twist top?” He looks down at me with a combined look of disdain and surprise that soon gives way to a jovial laugh. The mountain is an Oglala Sioux from the Pine Ridge reservation. He came to Cleveland on a construction project years ago and ended up staying. I don’t know if this says more about conditions being rough on the reservation or easy in Cleveland, but here he is.
While we are drinking our beers, the mountain mentions that his uncle had won a gold medal in the Olympic Games. Incredulous, Rob and I demand details. Who is your uncle? Which Olympics? When? What event? We immediately consult the sacred oracle of our day, Google. Billy Mills, an Oglala Sioux from the Pine Ridge reservation, won the gold in the 10,000 meter run in Tokyo in the 1964 Olympic Games, in a heroic, gritty, come from behind, nail biting, enthralling race. Billy Mills had not even been considered a contender in this race.
The three of us crowd in to watch, on the small screen of Rob’s phone, the YouTube video of that amazing race. Shoulder to shoulder with the mountain as he does the commentary, each lap more exciting, the mountain cheering louder and louder as his uncle keeps pace with the best runners in the world, jostling for position, elbowed, pushed, then the kick, a heroic sprint, the exciting, come-from-behind finish. The mountain, the nephew of Billy Mills, sits there beaming with pride.
I watch the video again, Rob watches the video again, I come home and show my wife. I show my friends. Everyone who watches has the same reaction, all choked up with joy, awe, and pride. Often, when I’m in need of inspiration, I revisit the video, and the perseverance and courage of Billy Mills uplifts me, and I know why that mountain was so proud.
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You can find Petro Byczyk on Instagram at @rabbi_yoder
Check out the highlights from that race here
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