Saturday, August 21, 2010

Inspirations, friendship, and life.

What happened to
The fresh air that I breathe,
A smoky haze has filled my house,
I look outside there is a looming haze,
I shut all my windows, turn off the air conditioner,
and let my dog in, and double check that the cat is
inside as well.
I cough and then cough again.
I put on my shoes to step outside to make sure they was no fire on our street,
thinking that one could possibly be very close.
I could smell the smoke much stronger outside,
I could see no firetrucks.
I was somewhat dumbfounded as to what was going on,
as I had only been awake for about five minutes.
I went inside and turned on the television.
It turned out that because of the smoke in the next province.
and with the wind that was causing all the smoke,
They were recommending anyone with any type of respiratory problem 
to stay inside, and anyone with serious illnesses as well.
They had done some air quality test and it was considered to be jeopradized.
Those poor people in British Columbia,
The fires must make it very hard for them.
Every year it is common due to lightning strikes in the mountains
to start fires. Nothing saddens me more than to see the remnants 
of the trees , burnt grass, destruction left behind..
So far the worst day was Wednesday,
people complaining of headaches,
nausea, sore throats, sore eyes,
and breathing problems.
Hopefully it will disapear in a few days,
and that the fires will be put out,
and that everyone is safe and sound,
and healthy and breathing okay.
.................
Fires have always scared me,
I worked in a sunglass store,
and I had a gentleman that would come and visit.
He was a burn victim, had no ears, hardly any nose, fingers gone,
I would say at least 90 percent of his body was scarred very badly.
I have to admit he startled me, I had been putting stock away,
and when I stood up, he must have seen the expression on my face,
I told him sorry that I had not seen him because of putting the stock away.
He needed the best kind of sunglasses because now he was so light sensitive,
the glasses could not be too heavy because of no ears,
we finally got him into a pair of Polarized Oakleys,
He loved that he could be styling.
Over a few years he came many times to visit,
and he was always surprised that I had no problem touching his skin 
and doing adjustments. I learned so much from him,
what strength he had to face the world where most people automatically look,
because he was different,
What a kind soul, what an inspiration,
he never once complained,
He had his big floppy hat to protect him too,
and he always smiled when he said goodbye,
and I always shook his hand,
again I think he was surprised by that.
.............................
He never volunteered his story,
and I never asked,
we both knew he had been in a fire..
After  I went on to another job,
I never saw him again,
I think about him often, and I smile,
I often wonder if he knows what an impact he made on my life.
He taught me that you can get through anything,
that life is about hardships, and living is about how we deal with them.
When life can get to you, you pick yourself up by your bootstraps and you go on,
and  you adjust.
We all have our own battles,
I have an illness that when I laugh I  can lose muscle control and fall down,
Some people say they are inspired by me by how I live my life,
I don't have a right to complain,
I think sometimes God has a really funny sense of humor.
But he is right there walking beside us,
teaching us lessons that we are even unaware of..
I think of David often,
not of his difigurement, but of the friendship that grew,
I often wonder what pair of sunglasses he is wearing now,
I pray that people got to know him and were not scared off,
because sometimes when one feels uncomfortable,
we can act really foolish.
I pray he is well and that his days have been pain free.
There are Angels that walk this earth,
To me he is one of them.
................
One of the bravest, strongest, charming, determined individuals I have ever met.
He is beautiful.
I hope one day we cross paths again.
..................
Have a wonderful weekend,
and I hope
it is your Best Day Ever.

17 comments:

  1. What a wonderful tribute to David. Such a tender heart and so courageous to walk this world, dedicated to outward beauty!!
    Thank you for sharing his story!
    Hugs
    SueAnn

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  2. In a world centered around the beautiful people it would be even more difficult for the Davids of the world. Isn't it a pity that the outward beauty is the thing that gets the most attention but it is the inward beauty that is the real us.

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  3. i bet he thinks of you often, too.....

    what a heart you have !

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  4. what a wonderful tale of the burn victim...i imagine you touched his life as well treating him as you did...smiles.

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  5. such a beautiful tale of inspiration - what a brave person.

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  6. Cinner what a beautiful post, my eyes filled with tears reading about David. I am so glad he had you in his life......:-) Hugs

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  7. Cinner, that's a truly lovely story! I believe that we meet other people for some reasons ... reasons we may not understand, for sure lessons to be learned ... you made each other happy and you may have learned things from you both ... happy day Cinner!!

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  8. Such a beautiful story Cinner. There is so much to learn from others. What strenght David has...and what an angel you are. Hmmmm..I bet he has some cool sunglasses (I bet he misses you too!). Fire season is coming shortly...I hate it...because many of the fires here are set intentionally by arsonists!

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  9. i adore this story. you are an inspiration to me... to be the best person, i can be. thank you, friend.
    xo

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  10. Caroline, sad that there are arsonists in this world, sometimes we get them here too. makes me crazy. the memories and lifes that are stolen. ahhh. take care, have a great week.

    Birdie, I think we both learned from one another, glad our paths have crossed too. hugs.

    Bernie, I had tears writing this one as I was thinking of his strength.hugs.

    Debra, thanks, hope you have a great week.

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  11. Christine, I am honored you call me friend, if we all tried our best what a world we would live in, I will always see this life as more good than bad.hugs to you, have a fabulous week.

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  12. Char, a brave person yes, probably was not given a choice either, surprising what one is able to do when life happens to us. Brave brave soul where people are always bound to stare, or look, I hope his life is peaceful and that all good comes from his hardship. hugs.

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  13. Brian and Beth, you are both so kind, I think we left marks on both our lives. hope you have a great week. and that you have your best days ever.

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  14. TechnoBabe, It is very sad for the Davids of the world. I think in some ways we are all Davids...just to different extremes...I always thought how courageous he was, sadly lots would never see the inside of him because people don't know what to say or how to react. I know when I first got Cataplexy, I was so ill at ease because people would think I was drunk when I would fall...then to see someone cry for you, that was even worse for me, because they feel so helpless. I learned to be not so self conscious about it...maybe I got a little of that from David....What a hardship it would be to walk in his skin. he had lots and lots of operations too. a horrible thing to endure. You are right it is so sad that we are judged by what is on the outside, but maybe by being judged we will judge less ourselves...even if it is just a second. hugs to you my friend. hope you have a great week.

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  15. Lovey thank you for saying that, that is very kind, hope you are well, I need to come for a visit. take care.

    SueAnn, yes he is a very brave soul. He taught me alot. hope you have a great week. still thinking of your final pieces of your artwork. so amazing.
    hugs to you, you are very colorful just like your artwork, so lively. hugs.

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