[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 3]
[House]
[Pages 3570-3571]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



 EDDIE TIMANUS DEMONSTRATES HOW ENDURANCE AND TENACITY CAN ALLOW US TO 
                           REALIZE OUR GOALS

  (Mr. RYUN of Kansas asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. RYUN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to share a story about 
a friend of mine who has overcome great adversity. His name is Eddie 
Timanus.
  Eddie has been completely blind since he was a toddler, but he has 
chosen not to let this disability stop him from realizing his goals.
  Eddie has dreamed of being a contestant on the TV game show Jeopardy. 
After years of trying to make the cut, he was selected in 1998. The 
producers of Jeopardy agreed to make accommodations for him, namely, 
giving Eddie a list of the categories in Braille.
  Eddie went on to win five, count that, five episodes of Jeopardy, and 
nearly $70,000. I know how much tenacity it has taken to accomplish 
these kinds of dreams in spite of the hardships. Eddie deserves our 
admiration, not just because he is a Jeopardy grand champion, but 
because he is a testament to the principle that enduring trials 
produces endurance, which helps people bring the best out of 
themselves.

[[Page 3571]]

  I want to thank Eddie for showing us what people who are visually 
impaired can do, and actually each one of us can do, when given the 
opportunity.

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