All of us get those e-mail forwards from our friends...the cute pictures or the sentimental prose or even the funny messages. We either glance at it or delete it if we are too busy. Yesterday a friend sent me an e-mail with a website highlighted. He told me to read and watch it when I had a chance. Being ever respectful of people's time, he even told me that it lasted about 12 minutes, but he said it was well worth watching. Now he rarely sends me anything like this, so I saved it until I had a chance to watch it last night. I'll set it up, but as he pointed out, it is kind of beyond words.
The subject is a man named D.J. Gregory. He was born with cerebral palsy and his parent were told he would never walk. Fast-forward to 2008, and this site highlights how D.J. attended 44 events over 45 weeks on the PGA tour. This was his life long dream, and as he travelled, he wrote about his experiences each week on the Tour. The most poignant scene is when this amazing man watches himself on tape. Although he has achieved his dream, he is embarrassed by what he looks like on tv. The juxtaposition of his pride and emotions are beyond touching. His story is beyond inspiring. If you have a chance, take 12 minutes and go to www.pgatour.com/2008/r/dj.blog/index.html. I promise it will change your attitude for the rest of the day. It reminded me once again of my favorite line from The Little Prince . "One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eye." (Today's title)
Reactions to yesterday's political diatribe were mixed to say the least. (Please notice the use of the word "diatribe". This is the "word of the day" on my blog site. Everyday a new word appears and I try to incorporate it into my writing. The last few days the words have been about 22 letters long and I couldn't pronounce them. Therefore, I'm feeling pretty excited and super-intelligent that I used today's) More people read that blog than almost any I have written, but I also got a lot of negative responses. One lady said, "Too heavy, go back to the girl stuff." Another said, "If I want politics, I'll read Newsweek." And my favorite was "Go back to the beach. Stop trying to sound smart." That was just rude on so many levels because there is always that small chance that I am smart...
As previously stated, this is a blog about my everyday life. Some days I think about fishermen and bikinis, and some days I think about politics. I don't really plan in advance what I'm going to write about. Occasionally something will happen during the day and I'll think "maybe I'll write about that." But usually by the next morning, I change my mind and discuss something else. When I started this, it was meant to be a writing exercise. It seemed a good discipline to HAVE to write something every morning for 32 minutes. After I'm finished, I'm kind of in writing mode and it is easy to pull out an article or a novel and keep writing. But after doing it for several weeks, it has become semi-addictive. And I say this with a little shame because I find myself being sucked in by the site hits and the responses. On the days that I get a lot of hits, I'm a little too self-congratulatory. If I get a lot of responses, I feel kind of famous. However I am quickly brought back to earth by my daughter and husband who say "someone must have randomly typed it "bore me " today, and it brought them to your blog." And just like that I am whisked back to reality.
On to another subject. Why was our President on Jay Leno last night? I know we live in a People Magazine culture, but this just seems kind of demeaning and inelegant. It was one thing during the campaign, but during these tough times, shouldn't we hope that he has better things to do than joke around with Jay? Aside from the crassness of it, he made a very distasteful joke about the Special Olympics. I think at heart he is a kind man, and I have no doubt he will apologize for the remark, but that is the chance you take when you are trying to be funny. I wish he would stop trying to be"everyman", stop trying to charm us, and just focus on leading the country....Ok, enough lectures.
Very tragic about Natasha Richardson. Yet another reminder that life is fragile and each day needs to be celebrated. She was a lovely woman on the outside, but from all reports, she was even more beautiful on the inside. I guess we think we are in control of our lives, but when things like this happen, we remember that "control" is just a fallacy. No matter how much you outsmart or over-protect, life (and death) happens.
I'm taking the morning off and going shoe shopping. I need a 2 hour reminder that I am, at heart, just a girl who loves a pretty pair of shoes. 2 hours where nobody needs a meal or clean clothes or spelling words or an ironed shirt. Then I will return, hopefully in a new pair of fabulous shoes, with a renewed spirit, ready for a weekend of baseball games and play dates.
So until next week...
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