My Sunday Thought: Revisiting 'How Are You Today?'

“With determination, it is possible to block out the negative things and enjoy the positive ones, despite the cons. Most importantly, it is possible to dance through everything pernicious.”

-- Sarah Todd Hammer, author

The year is 2013, mid-June.

So, I'm in the supermarket buying a few groceries prior to stopping by customer service to get a couple of lottery tickets.  In front of me, at checkout, is a girl of about 20 years of age, lying almost prone, in a motorized wheel chair.  Her upper body was raised just enough so she could look forward to maneuver the chair with controls located at the end of the arms.  Her hands were slightly gnarled, her voice slightly slurred, and I can only assume what malady might be affecting her.  I had to roughly estimate her age at around 20 because whatever she suffered from made it difficult to get any more specific.  After years of disuse the body undergoes ravages beyond my knowledge or imagination; it is the hell of being a prisoner in your own body, when the body seems to be shutting down and the mind is helpless to stop it.

“Even the littlest things were now a challenge, one I didn't understand.”

-- Sarah Todd Hammer

She opened her small purse, preparing to put away her charge car and receipt as the checker set them on the counter - flat.  She gave the checker a quick accusatory glance which seemed to say, "Really?"  The checker was either oblivious to the fact that the young woman would have to struggle to pick them up from her position, or was afraid to hand the to her for fear of contracting whatever nightmare was going through her pea sized brain.  I'll be charitable and assume she was oblivious.

As the woman reached out with her crippled hand I could see she was working the mechanics of this exercise the rest of us take for granted.  I thought, "Well, this isn't going to work."  How was she going to easily pick these flat items from the flat surface when she can barely raise her arm and the surface is almost above her eyesight?

“I often wished that more people understood the invisible side of things. Even the people who seemed to understand, didn't really.”

-- Jennifer Starzec

I moved forward and offered, "May I?"  She smiled as I gathered up her items and handed them to her.  She cocked her head toward me and thanked me asking, "How are you today?"  How am I?  Today?  Really?  How bad could my day be?  I found my voice which had retreated behind the wall of sympathy where I store my tears.  I told her that I was fine and thanked her for asking.  She smiled - again.  With her small bag in her lap she raised her fingers enough to wave as she rolled toward the exit.

I was pulling out of the parking lot when I saw her maneuvering the chair across the parking lot entrance and onto the sidewalk along the main avenue.  She was alone, self-sufficient, and possessing of a kind word, a smile, and a life.  I forgot to purchase the lottery tickets.  How am I today?  Her question would stay with me for the rest of my life, a memory of someone stricken in youth, yet possessed of an ability to affect the lives of others in a positive way.  God bless her.    I was crying as I drove home. 

How are you today? 

How, truly bad, is your day today?  I may never have another bad day again without thinking of this young lady and realizing my concerns and woes are nothing except proof of life; a task to be surmounted with a smile, a kind word, character and, just perhaps, the occasional charity of a stranger.

“To banish imperfection is to destroy expression, to check exertion, to paralyze vitality.”

-- John Ruskin (1819-1900), social thinker, art critic

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider another viewpoint.

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience, and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 23 years with United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. He spent 17 years, following his service career, working with an Institutional Review Board helping to protect the rights of human subjects in pharmaceutical research. Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As the weapon for his war on intolerance he chose the pen, to wage his "battle" in the guise of the Congregation's official online blog, The Path, of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He currently resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteers as Chaplain Program Liaison, at a regional medical center.