Jesús Garcia, Railroad Engineer

On November 7, 1907, while stopped in the village of Nacozari, Mexico, a train boxcar filled with dynamite caught on fire.   Jesús Garcia, the railroad engineer, immediately drove the train at full speed for six kilometers away from Nacozari until the dynamite exploded.  The explosion killed Garcia and 11 other train crew and bystanders, but missed the town.

Today, November 7th is a national holiday in Mexico honoring Garcia's bravery.  Nacozari was renamed Nacozari de Garcia.

Famous Mexicans:  Jesus Garcia

Wikipedia

Crew of the Shackleton Expedition

"MEN WANTED: FOR HAZARDOUS JOURNEY. SMALL WAGES, BITTER COLD, LONG MONTHS OF COMPLETE DARKNESS, CONSTANT DANGER, SAFE RETURN DOUBTFUL. HONOUR AND RECOGNITION IN CASE OF SUCCESS. SIR ERNEST SHACKLETON"

In August of 1914, Ernest Shackleton led a crew of 55 other crazy-but-not-stupid people (they were adventurers, seamen, artists, geologists, meteorologists, physicists, biologists, surgeons) to be the first to cross the continent of Antarctica--on two ships called the Endurance (28 men) and the Aurora (28 men).  In December, they leave the South Georgia whaling station to enter Antarctic waters.  Only one month later, Endurance froze in the water, leaving its crew stranded in cold beyond imagination.  They would not touch land again for 497 days.  It would be 22 months before they were rescued.  Miraculously, all 28 men survived almost two years in the Antarctic without food or adequate clothing.

The Aurora crew was not so lucky.  Their job was to leave depots of food and supplies on the other side of the continent for the transcontinental trekkers.  They dropped off a shore party of 10 men (mostly scientists) who carted heavy cargo in -92ºF weather.  Most of the dogs had long died in the cold.  To add insult to injury, the Aurora broke free of its mooring and left its shore party stranded with only the supplies in their huts. Believing the other team's lives were in their hands, they continued on their mission, laying caches of whatever food and supplies they could cobble together at designated points--while subsisting on 8 lumps of sugar and half a biscuit a day themselves.  While fighting scurvy.  They would not be rescued until January 1917, 4 months and 10 days after the rescue of the Endurance crew.  Three men out of the 10 died during the two years they spent on Antarctica.

The attention is usually on the crew of the Endurance.  With no lives were lost, it somehow makes for a happier story.  The shore party of the Aurora is often forgotten, but in my eyes, they were more heroic.  They voluntarily starved and died to do their jobs against all odds and lay food depots for the Endurance crew that would never come.

No other entries will be posted this week, because these 38 extraordinary men should keep your jaw dropped for a while.

Here they are.  More details on the 28 of the Endurance crew are here.

NOVA:  Shackleton's Voyage of Endurance

Wikipedia

American Museum of Natural History on the Endurance

Daniel Kish, Perceptual Mobility Specialist

Daniel Kish is the president of World Access for the Blind, a non-profit organization which teaches blind persons to use echolocation to increase their mobility. Totally blind, he bikes in traffic, hikes, and gets around without conventional visual aids--using only a slight clicking of his tongue to echolocate his surroundings.   Like a bat.  And he is teaching others to do it too.

Youtube video on Daniel Kish's use of echolocation

World Access for the Blind Bio

BBC Interview with Daniel Kish

Daredevil Interview with Daniel Kish

Wikipedia:  Human echolocation

Oscar Pistorius, Sprinter

A double amputee who runs with prothetic legs, Oscar Pistorius is a sprinter and world record holder in the Paralympic 100, 200, and 400 meter events.   As a former Olympic contender, his biggest hurdles were legal:  to convince the Court of Arbitration for Sports to reverse a decision by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) that no athlete could compete with the aid of a "technical device."  He won the appeal.  Though he eventually fell 0.70 seconds short of qualifying for the South African Olympic team, he set a new standard that opened doors for aspiring disabled athletes everywhere:  to be judged by his athletic ability and not his disability.

"My focus throughout this appeal has been to ensure that disabled athletes be given the chance to compete and compete fairly with able-bodied athletes. I look forward to continuing my quest to qualify for the Olympics." (Source)

Official website

Wikipedia

Glenn Cunningham, Track Athlete

Glenn Cunningham, Ph.D. (1909 - 1988) was a track athlete who won a silver Olympic medal and held the world record for the indoor mile at 4:04.5 from 1938 to 1954.   What was lesser known is that because his legs were badly burned in a fire when he was 7 and he suffered from chronic infection from dental abcesses from a ball accident when he was 20, every step he walked or ran, even in races, was very painful.

My Mother and Father had always brought us up to never complain. I was asked to do a lot of speeches through the years, and I often talked about overcoming challenges, but I just always figured that I needed to do my best and never quit. Complaining about something I had no control over would have diminished what I was trying to do. I just wanted to let my running speak for itself. (Source)

Glenn Cunningham in interview

Glenn Cunningham:  US Track & Field Hall of Fame

Glenn Cunningham:  University of Kansas History

Wikipedia:  Glenn Cunningham

Esraf Armagen, Painter

Esraf Armagen was born blind, but has been painting since he was a child.  Born into a poor family, he has no formal education and is completely self-taught.  His paintings are good, but will probably never hang in the Met.  That's not the point, is it?  He pursues what he loves, what makes his soul sing.  And he doesn't take "I can't see" as an acceptable obstacle to his passion.

News profile on youtube:  Artist with no eyes

Volvo commercial/PR campaign on youtube:  Armagen paints the new Volvo S60

Official website (where you can see images of his paintings)

Wikipedia:  Esraf Armagen

Clay Dyer, Fisherman

We all know about Helen Keller and FDR and John Nash.  Here is a list of some famous persons with disabilities.


But what about less famous, yet equally astounding persons who fight each day to pursue their passions despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles?  This week, we'll look at 5 disabled persons who do ordinary things--in extraordinary ways. 

Clay Dyer, Fisherman Extraordinaire

Clay Dyer is a competitive fisherman who was born with no legs, no left arm, and a partial right arm.  He is also a motivational speaker.

News profile on youtube

Official Clay Dyer Website

Wikipedia:  Clay Dyer