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| Blogs > wickedeasy > wicked and that ain't so easy |
you can lose a battle but win the war...
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you can lose a battle but win the war... usually when my folks get in the paper it's in the police blotter or something else bad. this week, our local newspaper and a great reporter named robin came to great hill and did a story of hope on the veterans and chronics housed there. one of my guys did a video and it was on line...and his picture made the front page. he was ecstatic and sent copies off to all his best buds. his story is not all that different from many of the homeless men we serve. his parents divorced when he was 15 and he found himself on the street. his life was a montage of alcohol, drugs, beatings, sleeping on the street, petty theft. but then, finally, the navy. when he enlisted, he was 17 and lied about his age. he is 50 now and looks about 65 and has the spirit of a man half his age. his parents have both passed over and 5 years ago his was killed..that's when we found him passed out behind the dumpster at the food program. his room is filled with things....flags and pigs and baseball hats and those tiny animals that came in tea boxes for a while. it is colorful and amazing...sort of like a mini carnival. but it is also clean and neat and most importantly...his. he has a key. one of the things he said was that being an addict is not a way of life and certainly not a choice...it is a war that he fights every moment...not by the hour but by the minutes of his days. he has lost many a battle over the years...but for the last three his victories are building one on the next and he believes this time he will win the war. he is a singularly determined man. the music in the background of the video was satisfaction...and he grinned at the reporter and said...yanno, jagger had it right...i didn't get what i wanted, but i got what i need. happy story for a sunday afternoon when spring is turning the trees softer and the ground gives under our feet and crocuses are poking their timid heads up through the last of the snow. You cannot conceive the many without the one. |
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Uplifting story, WE! But will he make it this time? Beyond the walls of your homeless shelter? How do you go about reacclimating someone who has dropped out of normal society for so long? How do you find this man a meaningful job in this tough economy when so many others are losing theirs? Are there any employers in your community who offer the chance for redemption to a 50 year-old guy? God bless 'em if they do!
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thanks for sharing, Wicked Chas
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Blessigs abound, precious. Thanks for sharing. After all the sex is gone, there is the mind - Lady Hunter / BAB Copyright © House of Lady Hunter 1998-2009 
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Yay! May his recovery be lasting... My stepbrother never won the war - he was found dead in his home a week ago.   
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wow we..this story moved me!!!..you have a job that i see brings you and others so much hope and i hug you for sharing such a heart warming story!!! spring..i can feel it in the air!!!   []   Seduce my mind and my body
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we... As for the war, that was over from day one; and I'm yet to see any reparations.  Solar...
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many of the homeless served their country and quite a few were decorated. wishing him all the best John Lee Hooker Recommended: [blog lucyjane78]
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3/18/2009 10:37 pm |
I am not sure who is more blessed...him for having you in his life...or you, for having him in yours. I think it's pretty even. What you do amazes me, we...that you have the strength to just be there, giving hope to people who may have forgotten the meaning of the word. I'll be they don't realize how much they touch your life. Thank you for sharing this and touching our lives... (I smiled when I read about the little animals from the tea boxes...we have some of those...the giraffe is my favorite...and he's looking over my shoulder right now.) tight hugs, my friend. ce  "All you'll get from strangers is surface pleasantry or indifference. Only someone who loves you will criticize you." - Judith Crist, crack film critic
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"many of our guys can't work - they're too damaged but some do and yes, we have some gret local people who will take them on....GE is one of the best in our area"[/blue] Good for GE! Times are tough for everyone in America, even once-great companies like GE. The actions of greedy businessmen especially in our nation's big banks and insurance companies have really damaged any trust that business has ever had with the American people. I wish the media would do some stories on American companies which, for all their warts, are trying to do the right thing by "giving back" within their communities. It's going to take a long time, but we eventually need to restore trust and confidence in American business. Government too! If we can't restore trust and confidence in our major American institutions, we will all go down the tubes together! Another thought which your posting brings to mind is the need to rebuild America one damaged soul at a time. The damaged souls in your homeless shelter. The damaged souls who have lost their homes in foreclosure. The damaged souls who have lost their jobs (and their human dignity) in this deep recesssion. So much to do!
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