SunFyre...words from a seated position

Meet Molly. She's a gray speckled pony who was abandoned by her owners when Katrina hit southern Louisiana , USA . She spent weeks on her own before finally being rescued and taken to a farm where abandoned animals were stockpiled. While there, she was attacked by a pit bull terrier, and almost died. Her gnawed right front leg became infected and her vet went to LSU for help. But LSU was overwhelmed, and this pony was a welfare case. You know how that goes.

But after surgeon Rustin Moore met Molly, he changed his mind. He saw how the pony was careful to lie down on different sides so she didn't seem to get sores, and how she allowed people to handle her. She protected her injured leg. She constantly shifted her weight, and didn't overload her good leg. She was a smart pony with a serious survival ethic.

Moore agreed to remove her leg below the knee and a temporary artificial limb was built. Molly walked out of the clinic and her story really! begins there.

'This was the right horse and the right owner,' Moore insists. Molly happened to be a one in a million patient. She's tough as nails, but sweet, and she was willing to cope with pain. She made it obvious she understood (that) she was in trouble. The other important factor, according to Moore , is having a truly committed and compliant owner who is dedicated to providing the daily care required over the lifetime of the horse.

Molly's story turns into a parable for life in post-Katrina Louisiana . The little pony gained weight, her mane felt a comb. A human prosthesis designer built her a leg.

The prosthetic has given Molly a whole new life, Allison Barca DVM, Molly's regular vet, reports. She asks for it! She will put her little limb out, and come to you and let you know that she wants you to put it on. Sometimes she wants you to take it off too.' Sometimes, Molly gets away from Barca. 'It can be pretty bad when you can't catch a three-legged horse', she laughs.

Most important of all, Molly has a job now.

Kay, the rescue farm owner, started taking Molly to shelters, hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers. Anywhere she thought that people needed hope. Wherever Molly went, she showed people her pluck. She inspired people. And she had a good time doing it.

'It's obvious to me that Molly had a bigger role to play in life', Moore said, 'She survived the hurricane, she survived a horrible injury, and now she is giving hope to others.'
'She's not back to normal,' Barca concluded, 'but she's going to be better. To me, she could be a symbol for New Orleans itself.'

Labels: disabled people, inspiration, pets

What happens when Mr. Right goes to Iraq?

My Sister-in-Law, Lori, has always held out for Mr. Right. She thought she might have discovered him in a Pennsylvania State Police Officer named Danny. They dated a handful of times. Things were progressing slowly, but that seemed a perfectly comfortable pace for both of them.

He was one of those guys we wish we had more of on our police forces. His integrity and sense of duty attracted him to a law enforcement career, but the feeling of power some feel in uniform while carrying a sidearm hadn't corrupted those values. He was the "Marrying Kind" according to Lori.

Their relationship continued to grow slowly. It was long distance and he worked many weekends. When he wasn't working, he spent one weekend each month serving in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. Lori and Danny talked on the phone and exchanged emails, but only saw each other every other month or so.

One day Danny called to let Lori know that his unit was being sent to Iraq for a tour of duty. She decided to share with him the feelings she had, and see if he had started thinking long term. He told her that, while she was the kind of woman he'd been searching for, he couldn't make commitments before leaving.

She talked to me, upset. "Why wouldn't he want to make commitments to her now? Wouldn't he feel better knowing he had a girl who cared deeply for him waiting at home?" Lori had a romantic idea of supporting her man while he was off to war.

I told her that my respect grew for him. The integrity that it takes to walk away, and hope she will still be around, is much higher than the guy who wants to elope the day before he ships out. He wanted what was best for Lori, not what was best for him. In Danny's normal way, he put others' needs ahead of his own.

I told her that, if it was destined, that he'd return and she would still be available. Furthermore, she'd respect and love him even more because of this sacrifice.

They started writing, real letters on real paper, a rarity today.

Several months passed. Lori was offered a blind date, which she accepted. Within a couple dates with Kevin, she had fallen in love. In August, Kevin proposed and she accepted.

She wrote to Danny almost immediately. She told him she had fallen in love, and of her happiness. She was nervous about his reaction.

A few weeks ago she received a letter. Danny was happy for her. She sensed he was genuinely happy, not putting on a face. She was relieved, and hoped that someday perhaps Kevin and Danny could meet.

Lori is getting married on Saturday, November 5th, 2005.

On October 27th, 2005, Staff Sergeant Daniel R. Lightner Jr. was killed when a home made bomb exploded along the roadside in Ramadi, Iraq. The explosion killed Danny, and injured two other soldiers from his unit.

Danny had distinct purpose in Lori's life. And hopefully, she had purpose in his. I'm further convinced by this story in a bigger plan that incorporates what may seem like senseless tragedy.

Labels: death, inspiration, integrity, Iraq, marriage

Kristen and I want to build a house. We spent New Year's weekend driving around central Pennsylvania, looking at pieces of land. We saw a wide variety, from developments to farm land to building plots along rural routes. We found one situated directly beneath massive power lines, one next to a freeway overpass and one on a hill so steep all I could do was envision Homer Simpson bouncing down it yelling "doh, doh, DOH". Needless to say, it was a frustrating weekend.

But, seven hours being a passenger gives you time to think, coincidentally one of my favorite things to do on January 1st. I had time to reflect, and time to focus on the important things in my life.

Last year I made the resolution to make fewer resolutions and more results. This year I'm just making one:

2005 will be The Year of Legacy

Most people don't think about legacy at my age, but I'm 34 now and have lived three decades past my life expectancy. I'm not planning to exit any time soon, but I have a unique understanding that time is borrowed, all time for all people. So, I think of legacy.

I'll make this The Year of Legacy in four ways:

First, I will build a magnificent house. It doesn't have to be huge, or outrageously expensive, or even bizarre. But it will be a house that when people drive by, they poke the person next to them and say "check out that house."

Second, I will create financial stability for my family like we've never had before. I intend to grow my business by 66% and double my personal income.

Third, I will create legacy within my children. I'll create memories of times that will be the things of their earliest memories. When someone asks "what is your first memory" my children will smile.

Finally, I will dedicate more time to SunFyre. This little blog has become big over the past several years. I think it has the capability to do more, and to do more good. It will be my sole philanthropy project.

As I begin my year, I encourage you to make resolutions or set goals or define your action steps. Whatever you call them, create purpose and mission for your life. Don't get bogged down by "lose weight", "pay off credit cards", or "give more to charity". While these are all easy-to-say, hard-to-do resolutions, they aren't at the heart of what you want to do. Make resolutions that are at the heart of your being. Be healthy, create goodness, create security, embrace life, or perhaps establish a legacy.

Happy New Year!

Labels: holidays, inspiration, Jason's Million, randomness