Today I learned that Jackie Robinson was the first black man to play major league baseball. I vaguely knew that he was a baseball player but I didn't realize that he was the first. His number, 42, was also the only number retired from all of baseball. Once a year, everyone wears 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson. His wife, Rachel, runs a foundation that provides scholarships. I learned all this from the movie 42.
I also learned that the LDS church changed their scripture mastery selections. For the most part, I think this is a good thing, but it's frustrating since I was almost done with all of the new testament scripture masteries and now will have a bunch of new ones to learn. I suppose I should be glad that one of the ones they replaced was the one I didn't have memorized yet. I hope they update the scripture mastery app soon since that's what I've been using to learn them. Maybe I'll switch to the articles of faith in the meantime.
I also finished reading The Boys in the Boat. Despite their stroke seat being ill to the point of having lost almost 20 pounds and nearly passing out while rowing, and despite the fact that the US team had the best qualifying time (breaking an Olympic record and a course record), they were given the worst lane assignment, which put them in a position that was estimated to be the equivalent of starting about two boat lengths behind, and despite the fact that the race was started so abruptly that the US and British teams did not even hear the start so they were behind by about a stroke and a half at the start of the race, they pulled off an astounding come from behind victory. It was so close that none of the spectators knew who had won and most of them were still shouting for the Germans (who came in third, Italy came in second) until the announcer broadcasted the results. The Germans won every other rowing event in that Olympics. I'd kind of like to watch the movie that Leni Riefenstahl (sp?) made about the Olympics that year. I think it was called Olympia.
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