Risin' up, back on the street
Did my time, took my chances
Went the distance, now I'm back on my feet
Just a man and his will to survive
So many times, it happens too fast
You trade your passion for glory
Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past
You must fight just to keep them alive
It's the eye of the tiger, it's the thrill of the fight
Risin' up to the challenge of our rival
And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night
And he's watching us all with the eye of the tiger
Face to face, out on the heat
Hangin' tough, stayin' hungry
They stack the odds still we take to the street
For the kill, with the skill to survive
It's the eye of the tiger, it's the thrill of the fight
Risin' up to the challenge of our rival
And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night
And he's watching us all with the eye of the tiger
Risin' up, straight to the top
Had the guts, got the glory
Went the distance, now I'm not gonna stop
Just a man and his will to survive
It's the eye of the tiger, it's the thrill of the fight
Risin' up to the challenge of our rival
And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night
And he's watching us all with the eye of the tiger
The eye of the tiger
The eye of the tiger
The eye of the tiger
The eye of the tiger
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Frank Sullivan / Jim Peterik
Eye of the Tiger lyrics © Wb Music Corp., Sony/atv Melody, Easy Action Music, Beijing Zi Tiao Wang Luo Ji Shu Ltd.
C.: I’m sorry I forgot about our training session yesterday, d.c., but T won the Pong! match with the neighborhood kid,
so he’s still undefeated. I guess now I can kick back, relax, and not worry about anything.
d.: I think that your husband, Tucker Tucker Two, a.k.a. The Cat Fighter Formerly Known As The Tuxedo (who really needs a shorter nickname) Now Simply Known As T Because Triple T Was Already Taken would disagree, Cal.E.
C.: Why?
d.: Because y’all have a real cat fighting match next week, and you need to train.
C.: I would, but I got that eyelash in my eye a couple of weeks ago and it’s still bothering me.
d.: And T had a grade three sprain of his left hind leg three weeks ago, but he’s back to training..
C.: The big baby was on crutches, but I had an eyelash in my eye. That’s much worse.
d.: Glenn Cunningham.
C.: What?
d.: Read chapter five of my nonfiction manuscript.
C.: d.c., how am I supposed to read when I have this eyelash in my eye?
d.: Fine, I’ll read it to you (if I can remember where I put my manuscript and reading glasses for Friday). Even better, I’ll just paraphrase what it says.
This is from the University of Kansas’ website paraphrased.
When Glenn Cunnigham was nine, he and his brother were caught in a church fire. Glenn’s brother died, but he survived with both legs badly burnt. In the early part of the middle of the last century, medicine and surgery didn’t have the advances it does now, so the doctor at the hospital where Glenn was sent wanted to amputate both legs above the knees. He wanted to do this to keep the legs from getting infected. Cunningham refused the surgery, but was unable to walk.
Undeterred, Glenn tied his hands to a plow and had a horse drag him until he could walk and then run behind the plow. While enrolled at the University of Kansas, Glenn Cunnigham set the world record for the mile run at 4:08.4 seconds. He also ran the “metric mile” the 1500 meter run in 3.52.3 seconds, earning him a silver medal at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany. I’m sure that Adoph Hitler was not pleased, because Glenn Cunnighma’s stride more closely resembled a duck waddling than a man running, and HItler didn’t like what he considered to be imperfection. (UK press, n.d.)
“The Kansas Flyer” held the world record for the mile run for three years and the American record for five. His efforts were probably what convinced Roger Bannister that the mile run could be run in less than four minutes, and may have also been an inspiration to Turbo Tumo, who ran a 4:30 mile at mile 23 of the New York Marathon. That’s when a runner’s reserves are completely depleted, so that was an impressive feat.
C.: Wow! You’ve inspired me, d.c.! Let’s go on a five-mile run right now.
d.: Okay, as soon as I change into my running shorts and singlet, get my sunglasses and two knee braces, stretch and drink one gallon of water. I’ll be right with you.
30 minutes later
C.: (I guess d.c. is still getting ready to run, but I want to run now! T takes me on five-mile training runs quite often, so I know where to start and end my run. Since d.c. and I are next door neighbors, the distance will be almost the same from both our front doors. I’ll start now, and I may be done before d.c. even gets started.
(Well, that’s not too bad. I’ve gone one mile in forty minutes, so I’m ten times faster than Roger Bannister was-heehee. I must keep running, though, because I don’t want to let T, my husband, down when we have our championship heavy weight tag team cat fight next week. I must finish this run….MEOW Z. TONGUE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?
d.: That’s all the time we have for today, folks. please join us tomorrow for another episode of Cal.E.’s Korner (now, if I can just find my Friday running shoes, I’ll be on my way).
REFERENCE
The University of Kansas Press (n.d.) Glenn Cuningham. Student affairs KU memorial
union. https://union.ku.edu/glenn-cunningham. Recalled 04/05/2024
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