Resident Evel: My Month-Late Tribute
From EvelKnievel.com:
Friday, November 30 marked the end of what will forever be remembered as the longest and most courageous battle between one man, a man we all know as the world’s greatest daredevil, and death. Robert Craig “Evel” Knievel died in Clearwater, Florida, finally succumbing after nearly a three-year bout with the terminal lung disease, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. He was 69.
His death was preceded by more than 40 years of constant battle against the persistent pain of broken bones and severe trauma after jumping and crashing motorcycles like no man had ever done before.
I knew the name and the profession from the news reports when I was a kid, but the first time it sunk in just who he was was when I heard him interviewed on The Jim Rome Show. When asked about his jump across the Snake River Canyon, check out what he had to say about a certain egotistical know-it-all little bastard.
Evel was known to walk around with a diamond encrusted walking stick filled with Wild Turkey. In fact he had a shot of Wild Turkey before his legendary (and painful)
jump over the fountains at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas:
On the morning of the jump, Knievel stopped in the casino and placed a single $100 dollar bet on the blackjack table, which he lost, stopped by the bar and got a shot of Wild Turkey and then headed outside where he was joined by several members of the Caesar’s staff, as well as two scantily clad showgirls. After doing his normal pre-jump show and a few warm up approaches, Knievel began his real approach. When he hit the takeoff ramp, he felt the motorcycle unexpectedly decelerate. The sudden loss of power on the takeoff caused Knievel to come up short and land on the safety ramp which was supported by a van. This caused the handlebars to be ripped out of his hands as he tumbled over them onto the pavement where he skidded into the Dunes parking lot. As a result of the crash, Knievel received a crushed pelvis and femur, fractures to his hip, wrist and both ankles and a concussion that kept him in a coma for 29 days.
Evel had to have been the toughest man alive. And the most self confident. You’d need to be in his business!
“I wear this red, white, and blue number one on my shoulder because I think I’m the best…in my business, you have to think you’re the best or you could wind up dead. Because when you do what I do for a living, you’ve got to have a positive mental attitude. If you don’t have that positive mental attitude when you make that jump, then you’ve got to be man enough to handle the consequences. Anybody can jump a motorcycle. The trouble begins when you try to land it.”
For those of you who want to model your life after the wisdom of Evel:
Evel listed his five things for being a success in life:
1) have to believe in God
2) have to have your health
3) have to have something to do that you love to do
4) have to have someone to love, to care about
5) have to have a dreamRide on, Evel!
Indeed!
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