BHM2014 - Wilma Rudolph

Wilma Rudolph was born on June 23, 1940 in Bethlehem, Tennessee, one of eight children to parents Ed and Blanche Rudolph.  Wilma weighed only four-and-a-half pounds at birth and was born with polio and left for a time with only the use of her right leg because of it.  She suffered from double pneumonia twice and scarlet fever once before she was four years of age.  For two years, her mother brought her weekly to Meharry Medical College in Nashville for treatment.  Her family also massaged her leg at least four times daily.  From age five to nine, she wore a metal brace to correct her polio condition.  

By the age of 16, she was a bronze medalist in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics in the 4X100 m relay. In 1959, Rudolph won a gold medal in the 4×100 m relay at Pan American Games and an individual silver in the 100 m.  Wilma Rudolph entered the Rome 1960 Olympics and became the first American woman to win three gold medals: in the 100 meter dash, 200 meter dash and the 4 x 100 meter relay.  She also set world records for all three events.  Rudolph retired from track competition in 1962 at age 22.

On May 27, 1963, she graduated from Tennessee State University and was offered a job as an elementary teacher and girl’s track coach at her old school, Clark Elementary School.   Wilma Rudolph was named United Press Athlete of the Year in 1960, the AP Woman Athlete of the Year in 1960 and 1961, and inducted into the Women’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1994.  She died in Clarksville in 1994 at the age of 54, a victim of both throat and brain cancer.

A Week of Thankfulness- Dogs

Today (and most days) I am thankful for my dogs.

It takes a true crazy dog lady to say that... and write it for everyone to see it! LOL Whatever!! I am comfortable with that. For anyone who doesn't know, my life is pretty much run by dogs. They control what time I get up, my cooking schedule, the vast majority of my free time... Who would have thought? Certainly not me!! I did not have dogs growing up and I never really figured myself for a dog person, honestly. That all changed when I met the sweetest, loveliest pooch to grace the Earth.

Picture this, Columbus, Ohio, 1997 (that was my Sophia moment of the day- I love the Golden Girls!) OK, seriously 1997- I was dating this young man from my home town and we were home for the weekend. I went over to his mom's house and was greeted by a medium sized dog with a GIANT bark. That was the first and only time Lady barked at me. Ooh, she was beautiful and SO nice. Granted, she was just as spoiled as my dogs are now! She totally got treats and special (people) food, but she deserved it! Amazing temperament, cutest little face. It was love at first sight.

Fast forward to New Year's Eve 2000. I was living in Nashville, Tennessee and had asked my parents for a dog for Christmas. In true Moximillion family style, my parents bought me a robot dog (remember those?) Yeah, Momma Moximillion did not think that I was up to the challenge of being a dog owner. Now, I am *slightly* stubborn (shocker) so a robotic dog was NOT going to work out for me. I had absolutely NO plans to ring in 2001, so I answered an ad in a newspaper, grabbed my lovely neighbor Rob Cash to go along for the ride and headed into the depths of country land that surrounds Nashville. We drove for almost an hour (in the dark... in the south- I was scared) to this little country house. The lady of the house met us, took us in the backyard where I saw a dog that looked just like the Taco Bell dog and right behind her was the cutest little face I have ever seen. Needless to say, that night I bought a dog and it was the start of something wonderful.

There are hard days, (read: someone pees on the floor, eats my underwear, or pukes on a pile of clean clothes before I can put them away) but those a few and far between. I share my crazy life with five dogs right now, and they love me no matter who I vote for! :) I am no fan of 5 am potty breaks in the middle of the winter or long walks in the rain (truth be told, the dogs aren't crazy about those either) but I wouldn't have it any other way. I love those little puppy dog eyes and the way that they hog the covers. Every day they teach me a little more patience than I had the day before, and no matter how bad everyone thinks I am- they think I am pretty cool. I think they are all keepers! :)