I'm In My Prime. There's No Goal

I Know Black Women In Tennessee Who Have Worked All Their Lives, From The Time They Were Twelve Years Old To The Day They Died. These Women Don't Listen To The Women's Liberation Rhetoric Because They Know That It's Nothing But A Bunch Of White Women Who Had Certain Life-styles And Who Want To Change Those Life-styles.

I Had A Series Of Childhood Illnesses... Scarlet Fever.... Pneumonia.... Polio. I Walked With Braces Until I Was At Least Nine Years Old. My Life Wasn't Like The Average Person Who Grew Up And Decided To Enter The World Of Sports.

I Ran And Ran And Ran Every Day, And I Acquired This Sense Of Determination, This Sense Of Spirit That I Would Never, Never Give Up, No Matter What Else Happened.

I Would Be Disappointed If I Were Remembered As A Runner Because I Feelthat My Contribution To The Youth Of America Has Far Exceeded The Woman Who Was The Olympic Champion.

My Doctor Told Me I Would Never Walk Again. My Mother Told Me I Would. I Believed My Mother.