what price, foolishness?
On a bitter cold day in 1983, three young men were found in a vehicle roll-over in a snow covered cornfield in rural Minnesota, in an accident that took place after a night of binge drinking. One died, the other was found not breathing and the third was crippled for life. After six weeks, the one who wasn't breathing was brought out of his medically induced coma, and awakened to realize that he was given a second chance at life- even though it meant that he needed to learn to walk all over again. To feed and dress himself. It could have ended very different. He could have spent the rest of his life strapped to a wheelchair with a serious brain injury. Yet today he is a hard worker, married with kids and grandkids. Three teens who were acting very foolish-- two lived to understand the price for foolishness.
A second chance. How many of us have that? How many of us live day to day, taking for granted that we will be here tomorrow, or next year or next twenty years from now ....and how fast those plans are taken away.
When or if you have been given that second chance, what will you do with it? Will you just piss it away, thinking you are immortal? My friend, you are just as mortal as the rest of us. IF you have been given a second chance, I would hope that you have used it wisely.
There are songs about having that final chance to go skydiving, or Rocky Mountain climbing, as Tim McGraw sings about. Nickelback asks if today were your last day, what would you do?
You see, we are all connected. One day you are top of the world and maybe the next, facing an illness, homelessness, a death in the family or in your circle of friends, then it hits real close to home, doesn't it? Wow, this could have been /is me. Now what? For some of us, we grieve, we move on, but how quickly is the message lost? Look at 9/11. How soon we got back into "normal mode." Yet, if it happened again in another disastrous way....would you be prepared?
Today, take time to look around you, examine your life. How can you make that change in the little corner of the world that you live in to make it better? Live a little sweeter, tell someone they matter to you. Go out of your way to live out the Golden Rule. You only have today. I say this because a young 18 year old died yesterday who thought he also had forever. Forever is not such a long time after all.
you are telling the story of my life, almost. I have that second chance and though it wasn't what I had dreamed of, its better than what "could have been." I tell you all, learn from me. It'll save you a lot of grief!
ReplyDeletehow many of us had a second chance? All of us if you really think about it!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm the one who wasn't breathing, and learning to walk again is harder than you think! I've learned to appreciate the little things in life, like rainbows and finding a penny on the ground, much in part to the Rev. here, whom is the most valuable person on the planet. I dont care what you think about presidents and sports stars, this woman is "The Baum"! Get it, The BAUM? Rev. Baum?!? Ok. Enough there. Second chances don't always come, so try to make the best of the first ones as they happen. And they happen every day.
ReplyDeleteI find dimes and pennies all over! and I give thanks to God for each one, for they show me that I am not all alone, He is with me. Thank God for you all here as well. You are my lifeline in a world gone mad. You are a soothing balm to my soul. (so who needs organized religion anyway?)
ReplyDeletesheesh...you sure know how to make people cry. This is why I love reading your blogs!!!
ReplyDeleteIn response to Suzie Q. Who needs organized religion? Although Rev Baum's words sound quaint, does she speak from Scripture or is it a blatnat attempt at feel good fuzziness? Does Rev Baum believe in hell for sins committed or is life just onebig rush until heaven? Because I assure you, we all will pay the price for our sins. One just does not do whatever feels good, then meets God and all is well. I urge one and all to consider this before taking Rev Baum's words to heart. I have read back a few of these blog posts and am just astounded. She seems to support alcoholics. That in itself should tell you something. Alcoholics are a breed unto themselves and should be first in line for God's meted out punishment for what they put the innocent around them through! For all the resources out there for them, to say "I can't stop drinking" is a cop out excuse. Think about it.
ReplyDeleteooh this is a blog in itself! Speak, Reverend! I can tell you all however--Rev Baum has lived her hell already. She has paid the price for the sins of others just by her presence in their world, by being in an abusive home, then an abusive marriage, and in dealing with health issues none of us should have to deal with. What happens to all of us in the hereafter is certainly not anyone's business. It is between them and God. This is also why I do not believe in "organized religion." Look at what is happening to the altar servers, the children in youth camps, the YMCA programs, even Penn State! Yes people like that will pay at some point, but for us to sit in judgment now is not our duty. as for alcoholics, isn't it time that SOMEONE stood up for the ones who are too weak to stand on their own? I only wish Rev Baum was here with my ma....I don't know if ma would have quit her addictions, but I am sure that Rev would have at least cared that others were hurting, such as myself. It is too late now, after the fact. My mom has died. So now I take solace in Rev's words. She lives a good life. Maybe you should examine your own life, Ed.
DeleteHmmm..foolishness. Seems to me that this Ed is the foolish one. Let me tell you MY story. Then you decide if I ought to be judged. And by the way, "little girl lost"...you hit that nail on the head! I got rheumatoid arthritis very badly 17 years ago. Back then they didn't have the medicines that they now have to treat it – but it didn't help that they took so long to recognise it.
DeleteI wasn't diagnosed for a year, and my feet grew so swollen I had to wear my then husband's trainers. When I first went to see a doctor, he said I was being vain and told me to wear larger shoes.
It got so bad I couldn't move my head and I was always feeling ill. Another doctor took a blood test and discovered what it was. He started me on a cocktail of drugs, which didn't arrest the disease but allowed me to walk a little. I still couldn't climb the stairs or hold a pen, fork or spoon, though.
Doctors told me I'd be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life. I replied, 'No, that won't do – I only know of one or two acting roles for people in wheelchairs.' But having arthritis helped me to get a sense of perspective.
Suddenly, all that stuff about having good looks and being sexy took secondary position to just being able to walk without pain.
I was eventually prescribed steroids, which helped a little, but they made me look so puffy and bloated that rumours began to circulate that I was an alcoholic or a drug addict. I thought it might be safer to let people believe whatever they wanted. Hollywood hires addicts and drunks – they are familiar with those – but if you have an unfamiliar disease you definitely don't want people to know about it, because it can kill your career.
Seven years later I really did become a drunk. I discovered that vodka kills pain, and I used it to find oblivion. I never missed a performance or showed up drunk to work, but on my days off I would drink myself blind. But then one night in 2002, I blacked out in a restaurant. I was in The Graduate on Broadway, and I was so ashamed that the next day I got some pills that make you violently ill if you drink. I confessed everything to the cast and gave the pills to the stage manager to make sure I took them. It was the hardest thing I've ever done, but it was the right thing.
Thankfully, I'm now in remission from my arthritis – I just have an annual operation to replace whichever of my joints has been destroyed.Dealing with the pain over the years altered my outlook. When I was 20 I was a lot more insecure and looked for approval from everyone, but my illness made all that seem insignificant. Now, at the age of 55, I no longer feel I need approval from anyone.
Rev Baum, I see that you also have severe pain issues. Hold your head HIGH girl, do you understand!? Let no one dictate to you how to live your life. As I see it you have been doing a wonderful job! Thank you for sticking up for us "lowlifes." I chuckle at this.....makes me wonder what people like Ed are.....
Think of the price you shall pay, Mr. Valiente, for stepping into "His" shoes and judging others on your own mis-guided beliefs! Perhaps we shall meet in hell and discuss this then?
DeleteThank you Little Girl and K. Turner. Love You Both.