In 2013, Seattle College was honoring one among its most notable graduates, Jim Whittaker, the first American to reach the top of Mount Everest, and I used to be commissioned to do a caricature of Whittaker to be offered to him at a giant banquet.
Previous to the ceremony, I used to be privileged to satisfy Whittaker and located him to be about as good as anybody I’ve met. He gave me a replica of his memoir, “A Life on the Edge,” and signed it, “To David, a hell of a cartoonist and good man.”
Jim Whittaker was a great man – and an adventurer with few friends. He conquered mountains – Everest, K2, Denali and Rainier – numerous occasions. He sailed across the Pacific for a few years. He taught a whole lot of others concerning the joys and challenges of climbing to nice heights, together with his shut pal Robert F. Kennedy. He constructed the out of doors gear retailer, REI, right into a nationwide model. And he used his notoriety and his voice to talk up for environmental safety.
He lived 97 years on this planet and made these years depend. The final paragraph of his ebook is a testomony to what mattered to him and what ought to matter to each human who passes by way of this valuable existence. He precedes these last phrases with a reminiscence of coming down from the frigid, oxygen-deprived, barren summit of Everest in 1963 and feeling tears come to his eyes when he noticed the primary blade of grass. Then he writes: “I’m nonetheless moved once I consider that second. I am so grateful to have been shut sufficient to the sting of life that I can treasure each valuable day of it. It’s a magical place we inhabit. The world is gorgeous and filled with marvel. I urge you to go exterior and play. Discover, marvel. Be pleased with life and in love. Cherish and respect the world to which each and every residing factor belongs. Get up for peace and nature, worldwide. Shield this planet with each fiber of your being – and cross it on to your kids, their kids, and their kids.”
See extra of David Horsey’s cartoons at: st.news/davidhorsey
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