From owner-freebsd-doc@FreeBSD.ORG Mon Aug 25 14:41:25 2003 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-doc@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.FreeBSD.org (mx1.freebsd.org [216.136.204.125]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id C055516A4BF for ; Mon, 25 Aug 2003 14:41:25 -0700 (PDT) Received: from lyris.lyris.net (wood.lyris.net [216.91.57.29]) by mx1.FreeBSD.org (Postfix) with SMTP id E067843FDF for ; Mon, 25 Aug 2003 14:41:24 -0700 (PDT) (envelope-from bounce-heroicstories-1174960@lyris.net) X-Spam-Status: No, hits=-99.2 required=5.0 Mime-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2003 14:00:00 -0700 To: doc@freebsd.org From: HeroicStories Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed" Subject: HeroicStories #438: The Color Blind Hug X-BeenThere: freebsd-doc@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list Reply-To: Don't Mail Here!See Bottom of Message List-Id: Documentation project List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2003 21:41:26 -0000 Reaching more than 31,000 subscribers in 103 countries, this is... ------------------------------------------------------------------------ HeroicStories #438: 25 August 2003 www.HeroicStories.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Color Blind Hug Story Editor: by Susan Golian Joyce Schowalter California, USA When I was 24 I suffered my fourth miscarriage. My Air Force husband was assigned to another base for six weeks, so I was all alone in a small town in the western USA. I had learned two days earlier by ultrasound that this was an unsuccessful pregnancy, and my doctor wanted me to "let nature take its course." I was to walk a great deal and that would lead to a natural end of things. After a long, depressing walk I climbed into bed and pulled the covers up over my head to sleep and grieve. Many hours later the doorbell awakened me and I discovered I had hemorrhaged while sleeping. I opened the door to find one of my girlfriends, thank goodness, who immediately drove me to the hospital. I was admitted to the maternity floor (no shortage of irony there) and a nurse came in to start an I.V. for me. I had a tremendous fear of needles and, having lost a huge amount of blood, my veins collapsed. I finally lost my composure and sobbed uncontrollably during the I.V. ordeal and the brief wait for someone to cart me down to surgery. The orderly arrived, an enormous, sweet-faced black man. For the record, I am so white I practically glow in the dark. I continued to weep as he pushed me down the hall and into the elevator car. We started down to the surgery floor and suddenly he pushed the stop button and the elevator car jerked to a halt. He came around the side of the gurney and bent down over me. He gently scooped the top half of me up into his arms and cradled me against his chest, rocked me like a baby and murmured encouragement and blessings. After a couple minutes I settled into those post-hysterical cry hiccups. Then he kissed the top of my head saying, "God bless and keep you," and tenderly laid me back down, smoothed my hair and punched the "Go" button. The elevator lurched back into action and he wheeled me into the surgery prep area. Amazingly, my husband appeared at my side just before they wheeled me into the operating room. My girlfriend had called someone with enough juice to make an Air Force pilot throw him into a fast jet and whisk him back to my side. I was, of course, glad to see my husband. But I will never forget the tender comfort given me in the elevator. That man risked so much to soothe me. What if I had complained to the hospital that he had touched me while we were alone? He risked his job and possibly his career. His behavior was in stark contrast to the way almost everyone else had treated me during each of my miscarriages; as "just a body" instead of as a feeling person. I don't know this man's name, but I have no doubt that others are being comforted by him to this day. ----------==========----------o----------==========---------- Let HeroicStories help you market your product, or promote a cause you care about. See http://www.HeroicStories.com for details. Thanks to all our readers who have contributed support to HS for three years. To see their names, or to add yours, see http://www.HeroicStories.com/fund.html ----------==========----------o----------==========---------- Thanks to all those who wrote about our first "HeroicStories" recipes, which resulted from the story "The Greatest Gift" (#435), which mentioned two recipes. Well, our first recipes for the *kitchen* that is, every week we deliver recipes for being a better person in our stories. Several readers wrote to ask if we meant "1/4 cup" or "1/3 cup" sugar in one of the recipes. The quantities are corrected now, at: http://heroicstories.com/435.html . We received quite a response to "Send It All!" (HS#437). Chris in Colorado wrote: "Thanks for sending out this story. I've never commented on a HeroicStories issue before, but this one really reverberated with me. It was so refreshing to read about Declan's first glimpse of the joy that charity (and for that matter, activism in general) can provide. The idea that you can reach out and make a change for the better often doesn't dawn on people today. Here's hoping that Declan continues to feel that he can really make a difference in our world." Pat from Pennsylvania:"What a truly wonderful story! Declan shows us all that giving is from the heart." Janelle in Kansas: "I believe Tamara is another hero in this story. A child who can reason out 'But that's OK, because lots of people look at the trains, and I'm the only one that would play with this car' at only 4 years old must have a wonderful example of generosity to learn from. But I noticed something else that I think makes Tamara a hero. When they were discussing what to do with the money, she reminded Declan that he wouldn't be able to buy any toys for a while. And when they were at the grocery store, he put a toy back because HE didn't have any money. I applaud Tamara for teaching her son at such an early age that money has value and choices have consequences. When he does accumulate enough money to buy another toy, I'm sure he will appreciate it, value it, and take care of it -- much more than if he got any toy he wanted at the grocery store simply by begging Mom to buy it for him." Patti in Virginia writes the author, "Tamara, please write down your parenting tips and PUBLISH them! Your little boy sounds like he's growing up in a household that encourages this kind of selfless behaviour. I realize that some of that has to do with the child's *nature*, but the *nurture* part of it is huge. Declan is wise and compassionate in ways that I don't see in many adults, let alone in many children." Speaking of kids, Happy Birthday, August! Joyce Schowalter, Editor in Chief Co-Conspirator to Make the World a Better Place SUBSCRIPTIONS to HeroicStories are FREE. Just send a blank message to join-heroicstories@lyris.net or visit http://www.HeroicStories.com (to UNSUBSCRIBE, see the end of this message) COMMENTS about stories are always welcome -- please include your first name and location: Comments@HeroicStories.com TO SUBMIT A STORY, see our submission guidelines, tips and information at: http://www.HeroicStories.com/submit.html PUBLISHED BY HS & Son, Inc., PO Box 55213, Seattle, WA 98155, USA. HeroicStories is a trademark of HS & Son, Inc. Newspapers can get the stories as a regular feature column for FREE. For details, send your paper's editor to http://www.heroicstories.com/column.html Copyright 2003 http://www.HeroicStories.com -- All Rights Reserved. All broadcast, publication, or copying to the WWW, e-mail lists, or any other medium, online or not, is prohibited without prior written permission from HeroicStories. 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