My+Luke+and+I

My Luke and I by Eleanor Gehrig               . <span style="display: block; color: rgb(15,1,1); font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(254,246,246); text-align: center;"> <span style="display: block; color: rgb(15,1,1); font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(254,246,246); text-align: center;">
 * = This was no ordinary man we were fussing over, either emotionally or physically. Sensitive, but not demonstrative, a huge but proper wallflower, maybe shy, maybe even square. Kind of an adult Eagle Scout, a six-footer with strength, stamina and an unreal threshold of pain. A proffessional athlete for more than fifteen years, and one of the elite of the proud New York Yankees for 2,130 games in a row. In a row(4). ||= [[image:http://www.suntala.com/classicbaseball/gehrig.jpeg width="292" height="451" caption="(gehrig.jpeg)"]] ||= Eleanor Gehrig obviously loved her husband very much, and it hurt her to see Lou suffer from this disease called Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis a. To her, he was sort of invincible as shown from this quote. He was a big, strong man physically and emotionally, and the disease was wearing him down into a man that he wasn't. It was hard for Eleanor to see Lou like this. ||
 * = "But then, who was Gehrig? One of thousands of city's youngsters who poured into the gray buildings daily, whose parents like those of the rest of us were hardworking, struggling folk hoping their sons some day might become bussinessmen(Linc Werden 40). ||= [[image:http://education.baseballhalloffame.org/experience/thematic_units/character_education/assets/lou_and_family.jpg width="344" height="367" caption="lou_and_family.jpg"]] ||= This quote implies that life back in the early 1900's wasn't easy in the United States. There was tons of poverty in the U.S., and many families like the Gehrigs and Eleanor's family grew up very poor. Parents could only hope for their kids to become successful. ||
 * = "Whats the difference between a baseball player in the high minor leagues and a man in the major leagus?" I asked one day when we got to talking about weighty, far away things like retiring. And Lou Gehrig looked at me and said: "One Step"(205). ||= [[image:http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/DES/D629~Lou-Gehrig-Ironman-Batteries-Posters.jpg caption="Lou-Gehrig-Ironman-Batteries-Posters.jpg"]]
 * = "Whats the difference between a baseball player in the high minor leagues and a man in the major leagus?" I asked one day when we got to talking about weighty, far away things like retiring. And Lou Gehrig looked at me and said: "One Step"(205). ||= [[image:http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/DES/D629~Lou-Gehrig-Ironman-Batteries-Posters.jpg caption="Lou-Gehrig-Ironman-Batteries-Posters.jpg"]]

Lou was known as the "Iron Man" mainly because of his 2,130 consecutive games played. ||= Lou Gehrig had been the Yankee's first baseman for thirteen years straight and never fell one step behind. He never missed a single game. I think that says something about the character of Lou Gehrig. He would never give up or give in. That is one of the many reasons why Lou was one of the most beloved American baseball players of all time. ||
 * = "Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. I have been in ball parks for seventeen years, and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans... So I close in saying that I might have had a tough break; but I have an awful lot to live for"(221-222). ||= media type="youtube" key="a4msaZTJrTA" height="344" width="425"
 * = "Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. I have been in ball parks for seventeen years, and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans... So I close in saying that I might have had a tough break; but I have an awful lot to live for"(221-222). ||= media type="youtube" key="a4msaZTJrTA" height="344" width="425"

(Lou Gehrig farewell speech) ||= When Lou Gehrig was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis on his thirty-sixth birthday, he was estimated to have only two and a half years left in his life. The Yankees decided to celebrate Lou's contribution to their orginazation by giving him a ceremony. There Lou gave his farewell speech. This quote is a piece of it. Despite his terminal disease that would end his life short, he still considered himself the luckiest man in the world. Why? How can he think he was lucky? But he was. He lived a great life and had everything he ever dreamed of, so in his mind, he was the luckiest man in the world. ||
 * = "...few in the in the stadium in the Bronx who listened silently as he spoke from memory over the public-adress system and few who listened over the radio. Tallulah Bankhead was listening in her dressing room at the theater, radio engineers were listening in their control rooms...(221). ||= [[image:http://images.allposters.com/images/photofile/aadp003.jpg width="370" height="376" caption="Ruth and Gehrig.jpg"]] ||= This quote says there were "few" who listened, but really it means hundreds of thousands listened to Lou Gehrig's farewell speech. So many people cared for and loved Lou and it wasn't only because he was a great baseball player but also because of the way he carried himself as a human being. He truly was the "Iron Man." ||
 * = **American Hero
 * = **American Hero
 * = **American Hero

Lou Gehrig is arguably one of the greatest baseball players to ever play the game. He left behind such a great legacy, and that legacy will be remembered by many American generations to come. He will not only be remembered for his contributions to the game of baseball, but also for his contributions to life. He always stayed positive, and even when he could have easily given up, he kept going. He has left a great impact on American history and will be remembered forever.** ||= **Biography

Henry Louis Gehrig was born June 19,1903 in Manhattan and was the son of poor German immigrants. They were a poor family just trying to make a living. Both his parents considered baseball a silly game and wanted Lou to pursue a business career. Lou went to Columbia University for two years but did not graduate. There Gehrig played baseball and football. He was recognized for his baseball talents while playing for the Columbia Lions in front of a crowd of about ten thousand, and he hit a grand slam to win the game. Later Gehrig pitched against the Yankees, and the Yankees became interested in his hitting. The rest was history. Gehrig played 2,130 consecutive games for the Yankees. He was known as the Iron Man and loved the sport very much. During the 1938 season, he was diagnosed with a deadly disease, and his play began to diminish. Next year he retired,and the streak ended. His wife Eleanor took care of him for the two years he had left. One of his most memorable moments was his farewell speech at Yankee Stadium. He truly was an American hero and icon. His devotion to the sport of baseball was extraordinary, and he left a great legacy behind that Americans will remember forever.** ||< <span style="display: block; color: rgb(15,1,1); font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(254,246,246); text-align: left;"> **Works cited**
 * Gehrig, Eleanor and Joseph Durso. __My Luke and I__. New York City: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1976.

"Gehrig.jpg"1Dec2008. <[|**http://www.suntala.com/classicbaseball/gehrig.jpeg**]>

"Lou_and_family.jpg" 3 Dec 2008. <[|**http://education.baseballhalloffame.org/experience/**] thematic_units/character_education/asset s/lou_and_family.jpg>

"Lou Gehrig.jpg" 4 Nov 2008. <span class="wiki_link_ext"><http://gamesinterchange.com/LouGehrig.jpg> ** [|**http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Gehrig**]. "Lou Gehrig Ironman Batteries Posters" 4 Dec 2008. <[|**http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/DES/D629~Lou-Gehrig-Ironman-Batteries-Posters.jpg**]>
 * __Lou Gehrig__. Wikipedia. 5 Dec 2008.

"Lou Gehrig Farewell Speech" 4 Dec 2008 <[|**http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4msaZTJrTA**]>

"Ruth and Gehrig.jpg" 4 Dec 2008. <http://images.allposters.com/images/photofile/aadp003.jpg>** ||