By Dr. Ely Lazar & Dr. Adele Thomas
[Republished here by permission of the authors from their “Lifestyle Tips for Over 50s,” affiliated with their website “Passionate Retirees,” August 25, 2018.]
Recently, I read a book about Tim Samaras, and the reason I was attracted to this individual was that he was a storm chaser, and storm chasing is one of my passions in life. Coincidentally, when we lived in Denver, in 1992-93, Samaras lived in the same western suburb of Lakewood. Tim was not just any storm chaser, although, like many others, he started out hunting tornadoes because of his fascination with severe storms.
As a child, Tim spent a lot of time tinkering with devices such as ham radios. Growing up, he became an amateur engineer, though he had no college education. He graduated from high school and then landed a job through sheer determination with a company involved in explosives and rocket research. Tim took his knowledge and experience to the field of meteorology and developed instruments that could measure temperature, pressure, and wind velocity inside a tornado. He became an expert in the area and was sought out by television stations to present reports and received a grant from National Geographic. He was, in fact, featured in the September 2012 issue of the magazine.
Samaras was known as a careful, scientifically-minded storm chaser, not one of those cowboys who take unnecessary risks. Unfortunately, in 2013, nature dealt a deathly blow to Tim, his photographer son, and his regular driver. Near the town of El Reno, on the outskirts of Oklahoma City, the team was chasing one of the most powerful tornadoes ever recorded, almost 4 kilometres in width. As they were travelling eastward on the highway, the beast of a storm, which was moving southeast, suddenly veered northward into the path of their vehicle. Communication was lost. Tim’s car was lifted in the air and carried a half-mile before crashing to the ground. The occupants didn’t stand a chance.
Tim Samaras died at age 55 doing what he loved to do, and his life was an inspiration to many others. He is still immortalised in the storm-chasing community.
We find those people who are inspired to do what they love to be the ones who lead great lives with purpose. What motivated people like Edison, Ford, or Martin Luther King, Jr to achieve greatness? It was the love and inspiration to do something meaningful in their life.
A great way to find inspiration for what you can do in your life is to read the life stories of the great achievers. They are uplifting and can motivate us to lead more productive lives. William Shakespeare stated it well when he said, “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.”
No man or woman is an island, so look to the lives of others to imbue yourself with the motivation to make a difference going forward.
| Copyright © 2018 by Dr. Ely Lazar & Dr. Adele Thomas |
Thank you Ely for the inspiration.
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