A Tribute To A Survivor

My daughter, Pat, gave me that lovely red poinsettia for Christmas, and here it is mid-May, still alive and beautiful even though it has lost a few leaves. It makes me smile and it makes me want to muse about life in general and the people I know who are survivors. I went out in the yard several times this week and weeded. I filled two huge black bags with cuttings and twigs, and because my grass was growing so tall, I used the push mower and cut it down to size. It only took a half hour to cool down, rub my little bible bumps in the center of my palm, and arch my back in several positions to get a few of the kinks out . . . oh, tomorrow it will be another story as I complain about moving slow.

There is a gentle Mexican man, named Chon, who does gardening work for four of us in the neighborhood. I have a huge hedge which I cannot cut, no matter how hard I try to keep it clipped, so Chon comes with his trusty buzz saw and cuts it back to a size he can handle without a step ladder. When Chon arrived unexpectedly yesterday afternoon, after I did all my work out in the back yard, he redid my patch of grass, raked piles of debris, went back to the rear of the garage and put his boots on to go into the drainage ditch to pull weeds that choke and slow the flow of rain water. He bought a new blower and went around and blew all of the chips from the felled trees and he did this with a smile after working at the mill all day. This man is a true survivor in my estimation, a hard worker, a good father and husband. He has been in the States over twenty five years, raised five children, one son in our service and did his stint in Iran. He lost a daughter this past year who left a husband and two children and Chon and his wife are helping with the grandchildren . . . yet . . . he never complains, just continues to work hard just to survive. . . he has and he will.

Our world is topsy-turvy at the moment and many of the younger generation are having problems just trying to survive. Lay offs, losing homes, high cost of food bills, clothing prices out of sight and no end in sight. As a survivor of my generation, I can tell them to have faith, it will change and life will go on, but not without helping one another. So I will end my musing with a wake up call to change your attitude, keep your faith, smile more often, treat yourself royally, help your neighbor, be kind to those who have lost their way and go light a candle and meditate, it's good for the soul. Remember just how short life is. The old adage "live life as if this was your last day on earth" and you too will survive. The door is open, the coffee pot is on, you know the way.