Imagine you had just been dealt a death sentence — how would you respond?

Michael Goldsmith ’72 J.D. ’75 was diagnosed with the terminal neuromuscular disorder amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, about four years ago. Since then, he has dedicated his life to ALS advocacy and fundraising — masterminding Major League Baseball’s 4ALS event this past Fourth of July. And in fact, the Goldsmith family bleeds carnelian red and white — Goldsmith’s daughter Jilllian, for example, is a current senior who wrote a guest column for Daze’s “Notes From Abroad” last semester.

This issue of Daze chronicles the efforts of Goldsmith and his family in coping with the difficulties of what is commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Hall of Fame baseball player Gehrig gave his name to the disease 70 years ago, when he retired from baseball due to this illness, but his retirement speech remains one of the most famous speeches in American history for its humility and honor.

I opened The New York Times just last week and saw a reminder of Lou Gehrig’s continuing influence on the culture of baseball and America. In “Gehrig’s Final Hit: In Bronx, a Single on a Cold April Day,” Richard Sandomir wrote of Gehrig’s last days in Major League Baseball, and how the current Yankee captain Derek Jeter is so close to passing the career hits mark set by Yankee legend Gehrig.

People like Gehrig and Goldsmith set an example for the rest of us. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, this is the type of story that truly makes my job worthwhile (which is why I wanted to write the article myself).

If you have comments, questions or suggestions about the feature or the issue in general, email us at daze-editor@cornellsun.com. And don’t forgot to follow Red Letter Daze on Twitter, and become a fan of us on Facebook!