Sorry, and disregard - was just going thru my brain... I like that part. 1961, Gene Chandler, whoeverintheheck he is. I was 9. Pretty sure I couldn't hit those bass tones, but, a hunnerd percent sure I tried.
Good Morning. Is it?
I reckon that all depends if we are Karen, Ebenezer Scrooge, you and or me at age 9, or mebbe even 9 year old John O'Leary.
Who's John O'Leary?
One sec..........
First, one more obit.
Victor, morbid. NO.
Sorry, gotta.
Lived until a couple weeks shy of her hundreth Birthday. After HS, graduated college, then got her Master's in Speech Pathology. Spent 20 years helping kids in school with their speech. THAT'S IMPORTANT! Ya think not? Howabout asking these folks who struggled as a child... Emily Blunt, Joe Biden, Samuel L Jackson, Tiger Woods, Nicole Kidman, Bo Jackson. Paycheck, but with purpose.
Then, near and dear to my heart she voluntarily worked one on one with stroke victims to help them express themselves. No paycheck, with purpose. Then, she slid over to help Seniors with poems and short stories as they dealt with diminishing voice quality and volume.
She didn't do much besides that... well... she and her hubby did raise three of their own, and oh yeah, took in another... and..add to that, taught Sunday School, water-skied, tap danced, ballroom danced, played tennis, the gym, yoga, exercise classes. photography (had her own dark room), made sure and visited lifelong friends when they themselves could no longer get out...... and there's a lot, lot more. SOME LADY!
Now, John O'Leary.
Who?
John O'Leary. Remember? The 9 year old? In a boys will be boys unintened accident at age 9, a gas can and a burning piece of paper got together and blew him across the room... semi conscious... burns over 100% of his body............ 1% chance to live.......
Live he did. Thanks for a village. A village that included, of course, his family... hospital workers, experts, Jack Buck........ WAIT? Jack Buck? THE Jack Buck? Yes.
He was from the St. Louis area. Jack had overheard Red Schoendienst talking about it (Red's relative lived nearby John).. That night, Jack went to the Hospital. And the next night. Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo many prodded, championed John on... including Jack who told him, "You WILL walk, and, when you do, we're gonna have a John O'Leary day at the ballpark." Did.
Fast forward... years, tears, struggles later - rehabbed houses in STL (quite a feat considering his fingers were burned off).. got up the gumption to ask his lady friend out.. she said 'no'. Tried again (three times) No. No. No. A bit later, she then asked if they could still go out. Marriage, kids, love, amazing.
Now..........he's a motivational speaker. A renowned one.
Everywhere he goes now they ask him about his movie. MOVIE? Uh huh. It came out last year. Rotten Tomatoes gave it an 80. "Soul On Fire." Was Jack Buck in it, if so, wonder who played him? Uh huh, and, ever heard of a guy named William H. Macy? Uh huh, what I thought.. .one'a my favs too.
John whittles things down to three basics.........
Uno.... Our life is a sacred, awesome gift.
Dos.. We get to choose our mindset in every situation, no matter how bleak it seams.
Tres.. Together, we can change the world. Starting with our own.
SO VICTOR?
Yes?
You don't always address it.. but, through the cracks, we done seen comments about your geezer scooter.. poor poor pitiful me jokes(?)... there HAVE been some blogs, you gotta admit, you seem mad at the world.. why me kinda stuff. Yeah?
Ahm.......
Mebbe.
But, now that I think of it, that's why I'm here. After the smoke clears.. (Bad pun John, sorry).. Through it all.... even my whiney butt (we've all heard the story of the boy who felt bad and wanted new Nikes, and the one who had a hole in his sole, and, the one that only had one shoestring, and, the one that only had hard shoes, no tenni's.. and, the one who had NO shoes... and then the one who had no feet.
Takes awhile to sink in...........but......... LIFE IS PRETTY DAMN GOOD. Yeah?
Yeah.
Soul of Fire is available online.. it's like 6 bucks (7 if you count Jack). Much, filmed in our neighboring STL. I'm a tightwad, I'm gonna check the library first. If not, then I'll rent. Crap, if I can pay 6 bucks for the NCAA Championship game, I can pay for something like that.
Life is good, and every nowandthen, I needs me a reminder.
Duke, Duke, Duke, Duke of Earl Duke, Duke, Duke of Earl Duke, Duke, Duke of Earl Duke, Duke, Duke of Earl
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