An inspiring girl... no doubt.
If you ever want to feel real joy in your heart, work with mentally handicapped kids, people with Downs Syndrome, or physically handicapped kids.
What they give to you will be far greater than what you give to them. If you don't know what it is that youw ill get from them, there is no way for me to explain it..... other than to say an unbridled joy for life.
One thing to remember........ most people feel a little uncomfortable around the handicapped. Please do not feel this way. Approach these folks pretty much as you would anyone else.
I have a friend named Sammy. Sammy is 27 years old and has Downs Syndrome. He's a great guy and in any conversation we have I never understand more than one or two words that he says...... but i understand everything he is trying to tell me. He's a great guy with a simple zest for life that I've seen in so few people during my life.
A couple of years ago i was at a birthday party for Sammy's 7 year old niece. It was a roller skating party. Even at my ripe old age I can still roller skate pretty damn good.
Well when Sammy saw me skating he wanted to try it out. He had never skated in his life and his Mom said no since she was afraid he would get hurt.
So i grabbed one of Sammy's shoes and went off to get him a pair of skates. I sat him down next to his Mom and had him take off his shoes. As i was strapping on his skates I told his Mom i would never let go of him. I asked her to think of how great he would feel doing this.
She softly said "OK" and we helped Sammy to the edge of the rink.
Sammy is about 5 foot 6 and built like a fire plug...... probably about 250 pounds. He's as strong as any man Ive ever met in my life.
We edged out on to the floor and Sammy was holding tight to me and me to him. We stayed along the wall and he gripped the beginners board that was on the wall with one hand, and my arm with his other hand. His sister followed closely behind us... with no skates.
Kids and adults alike were whizzing by...... and we just kept inching along. It probably took us ten minutes to make a single lap. As we approached his Mom at the end of that lap she had a huge smile on her face.
But Sammy wasn't ready to stop. He looked at me and yelled "GO!"..... so we went again. But this time as we went kids started slowing down and yelling "Go Sammy!"......... and we laughed and laughed.
The second lap ended and we were both exhusted but he looked at me and said "GO!".... so we went again.... and this time we didn't hold onto each other quite so tightly. Everybody was cheering Sammy on!
Finally at the end of that third lap we limped off the floor exhausted and sat on a little bench. We were gasping for air and just looked at each other and laughed..... and laughed..... and gave each other "high five" after "high five".
Eventually Sammy got up to go with his Mom to get a drink and i just sat there worn out from toting this huge man around that rink.
I guy I didn't know, about 30 years old, sat down next to me and said, "You know, i couldn't take my eyes off of you and your brother out there. It reminded me of a when I was a boy. I had an Uncle with Downs and he was the coolest guy. I loved him because he always did everything with me. He died a few years back. Seeing you with your brother reminded me of that. Thank you."
Then he stood, patted me on the back and walked off.
I never told him that i wasn't Sammy's brother.... that would have been way too disappointing for me.......
