Concept2 Forum

When you have some inspirational stories or quotations, post them here.

It Couldn't Be Done
Edgar Guest

Somebody said that it couldn't be done,
But he with a chuckle replied
That "maybe it couldn't," but he would be one
Who wouldn't say so till he'd tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, and he did it.

Somebody scoffed: "Oh, you'll never do that;
At least no one ever has done it";
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat,
And the first thing we knew he'd begun it.
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, and he did it.

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure;
There are thousands to point out to you one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle it in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start to sing as you tackle the thing
That "couldn't be done," and you'll do it.

My inspiration for rowing is a friends mother. Molly is a wonderful lady back home in New Zealand who decided at age 79 she should try and get more out of life since she had never been to college, worked outside of the home etc. She did a skydiving jump and then took up indoor rowing. Her goal was to make the million metres. Unfortunately she is now in a rest home, her challenge incomplete. I plan to get my million in September 2007 (with 100k a month starting this month it should be achievable) and send her the pin. She still has two records on the concept2 page for women in the 80-89 age group from her season in 2001, which is a real achievement. I think it's pretty cool that at an age where most people wouldn't even consider taking up a sport if they had never done one before, she got out there and trained to a point where she could do a world ranking 60 minute piece.

That's a nice idea to have this thread. Here is a link to a site with some rowing quotes, many of which apply to rowing indoors or outdoors:

http://www.ignatiuscrew.com/sicontent/siquotes.asp

Byron

Kiwi_Rower wrote:My inspiration for rowing is a friends mother. Molly is a wonderful lady back home in New Zealand who decided at age 79 she should try and get more out of life since she had never been to college, worked outside of the home etc. She did a skydiving jump and then took up indoor rowing. Her goal was to make the million metres. Unfortunately she is now in a rest home, her challenge incomplete. I plan to get my million in September 2007 (with 100k a month starting this month it should be achievable) and send her the pin. She still has two records on the concept2 page for women in the 80-89 age group from her season in 2001, which is a real achievement. I think it's pretty cool that at an age where most people wouldn't even consider taking up a sport if they had never done one before, she got out there and trained to a point where she could do a world ranking 60 minute piece.

You are an inspiration. Good luck. I am in the process of getting my own erg but if I get one and Concept 2 will allow it I think it would be great to put together a team row over a certain time frame to get her the million mile pin.

Things being posted like this is one of the reasons I am so interested in erging. I love the community I have interacted with so far here and at local rowing clubs.

Tim