Black Labs in Kettle pond
Greetings and salutations from the sand, sun and surf of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and the great island of Nantucket! It is so good to be with you on this blustery day here in Osterville, a football toss away from what was once known, and in my heart, still is, Camelot, the home to the late, great Thirty-fifth President of the United States of America, and his beautiful wife, Jack and Jackie Kennedy, who made a real mark in this nation, along with his siblings, Bobby, Teddy, Eunice, and all of the other members of that wonderful family, including the Shriver’s, notably the late, great Sargent Shriver, who created and championed the PEACE CORP, perhaps the greatest achievement this country has ever attained, taken up now, by his son, Robert Shriver, who also is a champion in his efforts to bring Light to the mentally challenged, the ‘other’ people who are left out of the society we all live in, much like the homeless, the addicted, and those who have lost all faith. This country would not be the country it is today if it were not for people like these, whom I feel so grateful to live only that football toss away from, on the hallowed grounds that represent Hyannis Port, my adopted home, even though I live in Osterville. In the words of an old “Eagles” song, where Don Henley spoke of a girl from Providence, Rhode Island, the lyrics ring true for me everyday, for if, as history dictates, we don’t know where we are going, unless we know where we have been… and I quote Mr. Henley…”she came from Providence, the one in Rhode Island, where the old world shadows hang, heavy in the air…” That is Hyannis Port, and most of New England, and it is something that we must somehow find the strength in our collective arms to embrace once again, for this country, with all of it’s beauty and grace, has seemed to have lost it’s way, for the time being, and found itself embroiled in a world of greed and hate, of fear and mistrust–as it, temporarily falls from grace that was bestowed upon it through a power much greater than mortal man can comprehend. We have found ourselves in a mountain of debt, 14.2 trillion dollars worth, and today’s “blog” is not going to go into the specifics of why or who is to blame, for I think we all know the answer to that one. This “raising of the debt ceiling” is a political football now, and thus, will be the possible undoing of what was once a great nation, that had manners, civility and a touch of grace that could not be tainted by those lesser elements of the human spirit, elements that I don’t believe are actually part of our collective soul, nor ever will be. There seems to be a sickness that resides now in this country as the voices of reason and common sense are drowned out by the short term sightedness of politicians whose only goal is that ‘15 minutes of fame’, a phenomenon that has now gripped the country from “Real Housewives of Orange County”, to the the shenanigans of self promoters like Donald Duck Trump, p.s. “you’re fired!” So, instead of talking politics this day of yet another miracle on this little planet spinning in a small solar system that will come into direct alignment with the Milky Way Galaxy, of which we are a part of, on December 21, 2012, I want to share a simple story of my introduction to a great sports writer, author and humanitarian, Mitch Albom, who still works for a real newspaper called the Detroit Free Press, a town I called home for two years, when I was married to a wonderful girl from a wonderful family from the town of Sterling Heights, Michigan. Before I was married, I read an article in that paper about a black man, a boxer, who struggled to make it in the world of sports. His story inspired me to write Mitch at the paper, and when I received a letter back from him thanking me for my kind words, it, in turn, planted the seed to write myself. It took many years for that to come into fruition, as I too, followed the corporate dream of ‘making it big’, in the “insurance industry”, “acting”, as an insurance executive, when all I really wanted to do was to write…to write stories that meant something to the human condition, the human heart. Mitch appeared, briefly, on “Morning Joe” recently, and, I might add, I was sad that Joe and the crew only gave him perhaps 10 minutes or so on that very important topic, a topic, if people LISTENED, might learn a thing or two…but to see his face again, bright and cheerful as ever, made my heart soar with HOPE again. He was there promoting his new book, “Have a Little Faith”, a eulogy about a 84 year old Rabbi. He spoke about FAITH and the FACT that we are, the lucky one’s, being brought back into the fold, into the care of GOD himself. It speaks to the former Rabbi of Mitch, who grew up in Detroit, Albert L. Lewis, who asked Mitch to give the eulogy at his funeral. Mitch, the author of great books such as “Tuesday’s with Morrie”, and “The Five People You Meet in Heaven”, agreed to do so, under the caveat that he would come to know the man, not just the rabbi, through the unlikely auspices of a protestant preacher from the tough streets of Detroit, Pastor Henry Covington, an African American preacher at “I am my brother’s keeper’s church” in downtown Detroit. A man who stuggled with drug addiction and pain. Two men, from two different Faiths, being brought together in the words of the great Mitch Albom, who deserved a whole lot more coverage than old “Joe” could give him–probably not his fault, as he was being pushed by the “powers that be” in the control room. I am sorry for that comment, but I believe that Mitch Albom deserves a whole lot more the 15 second ’sound byte” that he got. Albom writes about the difference FAITH can make in the world. Albom, “This is a story about believing in something and the two very different men who taught me how. It took a long time to write. It took me to churches and synagogues, to the suburbs and the city, to the “US” versus “THEM”–that divides FAITH around the world. And finally, it took me home, to a sanctuary filled with people, to a casket made of pine, to a pulpit that was empty. In the beginning, there was a question. It became a last request. “Will you do my eulogy?” And, as often is the case with faith, I thought I was being asked a favor, when in fact, I was being given one.” Albom included a number of Lewis’ many stories, which were used as mini-sermons for his congregation in his book. One example is this story in 1981. “A soldier’s little girl, whose father was being moved to a different post, was sitting at the airport, among her family’s meager belongings. The girl was sleepy. She leaned against the packs and duffel bags. A lady came by, stopped, and patted her on the head. “Poor child”, she said, “you haven’t a home.” The child looked up in surprise. “But we do have a home”, she said, “we just don’t have a house to put it in.” When we look around at all the wealth, and the insane “need” for more of it, at the expense of others, some of us, who do have a bed to sleep in tonight, may think twice, and, as Mitch said so well, REALIZE that our HOME is in our hearts–for that is where the real GOD lives, a living GOD, who will never forsake us, even in our darkest hour of need, a place where only the eternal resides. I wish to extend that LOVE to the people of Japan and to the friends I have met along the way, especially those in Michigan, whom I miss and wish the very best. Mostly, I want to thank a man who gave me the courage to write my work, for if it were not for those kind words he offered me, in a simple thank you letter for a letter I wrote him back in 1989, seacapecod.net would not be a reality, and nor would my FAITH in something far greater than “myself”. Thank you Mitch Albom, and thank you ALL, all of you wonderful people from all over the world who have written your kind words to me, regarding this humble “blog” with no Madison Avenue advertisements whatsoever. I will respond to each and every one, I PROMISE. I just have to get this book out, coming in May, “Taking Fog to Nantucket”– before I can tackle that most enjoyable of gifts of meeting new people who still believe this world is worth saving! Blessings and Peace to all. PRESERVE THE WILDERNESS! Peace~M
