Shine A Light

Thanksgiving greetings!

May your stuffing be tasty.

May your turkey be plump.

May your potatoes and gravy have nary a lump.

May your pies take the prize.

May your Thanksgiving dinner stay off of your thighs!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

[Click here for e-card.]

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs.

His bed was next to the room’s only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back.

The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation…

Every afternoon, when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window.

The man in the other bed began to live for those moments when his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside.

The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake, said the man by the window. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amid flowers of every color and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance…

As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene.

One warm afternoon, the man by the window described a parade passing by. Although the other man could not hear the band, he could see it in his mind’s eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words.

Days, weeks, and months passed.

One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.

As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch and, after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.

Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed.

It faced a blank wall.

The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window. The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall.

She said, “Perhaps he just wanted to give you a little encouragement.”

(Story from anonymous e-mail sources.)

OK. So I was driving in to work this morning and the sunrise was SOOOO beautiful that I actually applauded. “Well done!” I said to the sky. There it was — my favorite color combination — sky blue and pink — not unlike a Maxfield Parrish print. (This is NOT a photo of the phenomenon; who has a camera when you need one?) It was a wonderful way to start the day.

Here’s how you replicate it: You take the sky blue crayon from your Crayola Big Box, and draw horizontal streaks across a sheet of white paper. Then you take the pink, or fuchsia if you have it, and fill in wherever the blue didn’t go. Voilà! Sky blue pink. But of course, you have to fill the sky with it. And the pink is really much more glow-y kind of. But still — you’ll feel like applauding. Trust me.

For all these things and more, we are truly thankful.

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At right: Norman Rockwell’s “Freedom from Want”