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November 2008
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I did a story on Orville Rogers, a 90-year-old Dallas man who runs competitively. In March, he set a couple records for his age group at a meet in Boston, in the 800 meter run and the mile. Here are a few things about Orville I couldn't fit in the story that were interesting: Orville was named after Orville Wright, one of the Wright brothers. He was a pilot for Braniff Airlines for 32 years, until his retirement in 1977. Braniff has been out of business since 1982. Orville flew for the military. When he was recalled to the Korean War in 1951, his target was Moscow, and he was assigned to drop an atom bomb on the city had war broken out. For 80 years, Orville says he has had a relationship with Jesus Christ, and his spirituality is as important to him as his physical and mental well-being. In December 1992 (when he was 75), it was found that six of his arteries had 80-95 percent blockage. He had bypass surgery in January 1993 and has been good ever since. His record times: In the mile, 9 minutes, 58 seconds. In the 800 meters: 4 minutes, 19 seconds. Orville hopes to run at the Dallas Masters in Coppell on July 26th, and then in Spokane Washington August 8th through the 10th. He hopes to set an outdoor record or two during one of those meets (his records in Boston are indoor records). But he's been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, which is the most common kind of irregular heartbeat. Some days Orville's fine, other days he gets tired a lot easier than normal. |
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