Jessie Owens Tidbits from Wikipedia

A few things that caught my attention from his Wikipedia page.

  • His middle name is Cleveland.
  • His name wasn’t Jessie, but James and he went by J.C.  Eventually J.C. turned to Jessie.
  • Owens said, “Hitler didn’t snub me – it was FDR who snubbed me. The president didn’t even send me a telegram.” On the other hand, Hitler sent Owens a commemorative inscribed cabinet photograph of himself.  Jesse Owens was never invited to the White House nor were honors bestowed upon him by President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) or his successor Harry S. Truman during their terms. In 1955, President Dwight D. Eisenhower honored Owens by naming him an “Ambassador of Sports.”
  • After a New York City ticker-tape parade of Fifth Avenue in his honor, Owens had to ride the freight elevator at the Waldorf-Astoria to reach the reception honoring him.
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Skydiving Gone Bad – Grandma Falls Out of Tandem Harness

Just skip forward to the 2:20 mark unless you want the backstory and buildup . . .

Luckily this tandem instructor’s negligence ends without casualty. This 80 year-old grandma does a tandem skydive for her birthday and nearly falls out of the harness because it’s not properly adjusted prior to exit. 

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