It gets better. For a good two hours yesterday I sat in the Queensway General emergency room. It sounds worse than it is. As it turns out I have a skin infection on my face. Can’t show you pictures of that because it’s just too disgusting. I think it’s a delayed side effect of the antibiotics I was on a few weeks ago. My immune system was pretty battered by them. Then again it could just be a coincidence. All the wonderful things a person can get…isn’t it riveting?
But while I was sitting in the emergency ward, I saw a thing or two that made me feel grateful. There was a man in a hospital bed across the way from me who had no legs. When I say no legs, I mean no legs, no hips, no pelvis…no nothing. And it made me think about the human spirit; what reserves of strength and dignity lie dormant within each one of us. What can a single human being take? I say, I wouldn’t want to live with half my body missing. Or would I? Yes, it sounds right but I bet it is not that simple. After all we are programmed to want to live even when half of us is no longer there.
The loss of his limbs was obviously not new. I am certain that this was a trip among many to the emergency room since he had lost his legs. I overheard him talking to the nurse about the virtues of morphine. He said it was wonderful, it makes all the pain go away. The tone in his voice had a religious fervor when he spoke of the drug. Even when you have been chopped in half there are things to be enthusiastic about.
The doctor eventually got around to me and diagnosed me as having a very common skin infection which I promptly forgot the name of. He then wrote out a prescription for…you guessed it, antibiotics.
As for the man without legs…I am so sorry. I hope and pray that God knows what he/she/it is doing because I don’t think any of us can figure it out.
And so a new day begins…
Posted by thatmark at November 8, 2002 8:25 AMAlexandre,
Thanks for your encouraging words. It’s nice to know that there are people out there who are connecting to my writing. It’s all such a stab in the dark, but I just keep putting myself out there day after day, in the hope that there are other souls in the world who will resonate with some of the things I write about. I just want my readers to feel like…ya, I know how that feels.
As for the singing…If only the rest of the world felt as enthusiastic about my voice as you do. It would have made for a much more interesting music career. Perhaps I haven’t come into my own yet. I had better do that soon…no one is getting any younger.
I will eventually get around to posting some of my music again. Since I moved the whole website into Movabletype, I have not gotten around fleshing out other aspects of the site. Stay tuned…songs will follow soon…And thanks again for your words of encouragement; it means a lot to me. Nothing would please me more than to sing and be heard but if it doesn’t happen, I have to learn to live with that. There’s an old saying, “Many are called, but few are chosen.” And I am definitely not the Star Search kind of guy am I?
Posted by: thatmark on November 8, 2002 6:45 PMMark, you have a beautiful heart...I always knew that but being sensitive like you are writing about what you are experiencing shows a great and precious side of you which makes us want to read you everyday. It makes us forget about ourselves a little... and then... back to reality.
I can't wait to hear you say I sang today and here is a song.
I say that as one of your biggest fans.
Your voice is truly a gift of God.
He,She,It...LOL, knew that it would affect you by giving you an instrument so powerfull to express emotions which I guess makes you the voice of God
I don't mean to preach here but only that I miss hearing you sing.
Thank you for being yourself!
Posted by: Alexandre on November 8, 2002 4:14 PM