I THINK ABOUT it all the time. I wasn’t there, but I know this was how it happened.
Dad could run for ever and ever, and nothing could stop him. He had long strides, a beautiful rhythm. You only had to look at him to know that he could do anything.
When he stood on that bridge next to that man, near the place where they later put that plaque to his memory, he didn’t feel any fear. He stood on the ledge – it’s a little ledge, I’ve seen it, about four or five inches wide – and he looked out into clear air. From that high, you must feel as if you could take off and fly: spread your arms and soar, like a paper crane.
He wasn’t afraid. He was confident, sure-footed, full of power and grace. He was saving someone’s life, a stranger’s life. And when he stepped off that ledge, running in air, he must have known what it felt like to be free.