Dance
November 13, 2006 Tonight was Mr. S' birthday. He is 71.
There's a group of musicians who come and play on Monday nights at our public meals program, and they sang Happy Birthday to him. Then, as they began the next song, one of the ladies in the group asked him to dance. I sat and watched them, as they danced among the tables, and tried - I really tried - to grasp the wonder and the beauty of it all, and I tried not to let the tears slip from the corners of my eyes, and I didn't do either very well.
Years from now, someone might be reading this page, retrieved from a cache - just one of millions upon millions of such pages. I have no idea who you are, or why you're reading this, or what your life and your world is like, but I want you to know that tonight was Mr. S' 71st birthday, and he came to our public meals program....
and he danced.
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Reader Comments (10)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR. S !!
I live in Melbourne, Australia. In my suburb and surrounds, there are some problems with homelessness, but not in ways that are noticeable to us. We could easily go months without seeing a person who is obviously homeless. This "out of sight, out of mind" problem makes the issue very difficult for some people (myself included) to grasp.
I love this particular post. It brings the homeless into a new light for me, and makes me realise the smaller issues are just as important as the big ones. I would never have thought of simple things like missed birthdays, and yet when I stop to consider, in my life that's so blessed I have never felt the loneliness of having a birthday go by without having a loved one acknowldedge me.
I feel like I should apologise for my lack of understanding, for my ignorance. But apologies don't help. It all makes me so much more thankful for the amazing blessings I have all around me every day.
Sorry for my rather disjointed post. I just felt I had to say something. My prayers are with you as you work in places where so many turn the other way and pretend they don't see.
Heather.
lorna - I agree - it was a sight full of wonder!
Ken - Thanks.
John Smulo - It's good to have you with us.
Jackie - Yup - Happy Birthday!
Heather - It's nice to meet you! Being thankful for our many blessings is such an important thing. Far too many people take their blessed life for granted and I think simply being thankful changes our outlook on life in such a profound way.
Brian - I think so too...
I, too, shed a tear that night.
There was Rob, an older gentleman, relegated to his parents garage when he's using, back trying again, and now singing to God, the Saviour of His Soul.
I had not heard our little client choir yet. They are going to sing in nursinghomes, etc. One man, Sherry couldn't remember his name, so she said, "No teeth man has a solo! He can really sing!!"
Did they sound good? Not really. And yet, it was truly music to my ears.
Heather, I urge you to check out Mission Australia. They are doing the work of RESCUE throughout your country!
Beautiful!