Touching the Heavens

 ("Claiming the Summit Without Reaching the Top")

Mr. Branch does not speak of any Rosie Ruiz moments among the 44. At most, it appears a matter of definition, not intention, that would separate success from something possibly deemed less.

Should accomplishment really be subject to such scrutiny? These are men and women who tested the boundaries of endurance, of inner fortitude and set their sights not merely on some now triangulated mathematical pinnacle, but on the infinite limit of the human spirit, of the soul's boundless capacity.

It seems an unworthy undertaking to be speaking of a few feet or inches in such context. So what if completing these eight climbs  does not have the meaning now affixed by the nit-pickers. Can that really diminish the magnitude of what transpired?

Rosie Ruiz recently passed away, her obituary leading with the recollection of her having cheated her way to greatness and fame. Shame having followed her as a lifetime companion from that day on the subway and streets of Boston to the grave. Let there not be a hint of failure, of sleight of hand that attaches to the feats of the 44. They do not deserve anything but our praise and our thanks for showing that we can indeed touch the heavens while still residing on earth.