An Important Message

I received this in an e-mail and opened it today. It really made an impression on me because of the message. I hope you'll take the time to read it. Posting it here is my way of sending it on.

"Twenty years ago, I drove a cab for a living. One night I took a fare at 2:30 am, when I arrived to collect, the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window. Under these circumstances, many drivers would just honk once. But, I had seen too many impoverished people who depended on taxis as their only means of transportation. Unless a situation smelled of danger, I always went to the door. This passenger might be someone who needs my assistance, I reasoned to myself. So I walked to the door and knocked. "Just a minute", answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor. After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 80's stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940's movie. By her side was a small nylon suitcase.

The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets. There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware. "Would you carry my bag out to the car?" she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb. She kept thanking me for my kindness. "It's nothing", I told her. "I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated". "Oh, you're such a good boy", she said.

When we got in the cab, she gave me an address, and then asked, "Could you drive through downtown?" "It's not the shortest way," I answered quickly. "Oh, I don't mind," she said "I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice". I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. "I don't have any family left," she continued. "The doctor says I don't have very long." I quietly reached over and shut off the meter. "What route would you like me to take?" I asked. For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator. We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds. She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl. Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing. As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, "I' m tired. Let's go now".

We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico. Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must have been expecting her. I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair. "How much do I owe you?" she asked, reaching into her purse. "Nothing," I said "You have to make a living," she answered. "There are other passengers," I responded. Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly. "You gave an old woman a little moment of joy," she said. "Thank you."I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life.

I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away? On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life. We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments. But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.

PEOPLE MAY NOT REMEMBER EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID, OR WHAT YOU SAID, ~BUT~ THEY WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL. You won't get any big surprise in 10 days if you send this to ten people. But, you might help make the world a little kinder and more compassionate by sending it on."

Thank you, my friend...Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance. Please continue to pray for our troops and their families.

2008 So Far. . .

We're a week into 2008 and I've already taken action toward my New Year's resolution-I've gone back to Bulldog! Bulldog is the gym I joined almost four years ago. Back then I became a "regular" and I was in the gym 7 days a week, lifting weights and doing a minimum of 60 minutes of cardio exercise a day. I felt great, dropped 2 sizes and even developed a butt, not an easy task for someone who's genetically programmed to not have one. For a variety of reasons, I fell into a pattern of going on a hit-and-miss basis, then eventually I quit going altogether. Once I stopped exercising, the pounds just kept multiplying until I couldn't stand it anymore. In March of 2007, I decided I'd had enough and began a diet that has produced a 55-pound weight loss so far. I would like to lose another 30 to 40 pounds but realized that I needed help so I've added weight-training and cardio back into my life. I've also accepted the fact that losing the weight is the easy part; keeping it off is the real challenge. I plan to do so by exercising and developing more lean muscle to help keep my metabolism going. The motto at Bulldog is, "The only way to abuse your body by not using it". . .I love that!

Today as I sat at work and watched the winter sunset through the window in my office, another thought came to me. In February my husband and I will celebrate our third wedding anniversary. The reason the winter sunset brought that memory to me is because I watched the same type of sunsets through the same window right after we'd set a wedding date and that's how I chose the colors I used in my wedding. Seeing those colors in the sky once again made me feel happy inside because of the good memories of my wedding. I wish everyone could experience the kind of happiness I feel on a daily basis.

If anyone actually reads this blog, please feel free to comment. I would love to hear your New Year's resolutions or happy winter memories you have.

Please continue to pray for our troops and their families. God bless everyone!