Competing and Being Prepared
Wilma Rudolph paved the way for black female track and field athletes. No one thought they were good enough to run the races with the all-white runners. At a young age, she was diagnosed with polio. Some people told her to forget the idea of running. "Just put it off...wait until there is a better time for you. It will take too much effort to map out your rehab." Instead she used every minute of every day to get stronger, to begin to run, never wasting a second in planning how she would succeed. In 1960 she received three gold medals in the Olympics. Many teenagers took an interest in track because of her. When I was growing up in Denton, the spring was a time when the local gas company would have a Cooking School. Ladies and their families(remember few women were working back then)would come from Monday through Friday, see the latest gas stoves, get some free prizes, have food cooked every day, and just have an enjoyable time. On Wednesday of the week those who had come wer...