The Window
by
, 03-13-2009 at 12:24 AM (3529 Views)
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.was the most celebrated troublemaker in his town. The man in the other bed began to live for those one-hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside.Teachers literally cringed when they saw his name posted on their classroom lists for the next semester. The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake.He wasn't very talkative, didn't answer questions and got into lots of fights. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats.He had flunked almost every class by the time he entered his senior year, yet was being passed on each year to a higher grade level. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.Teachers didn't want to have him again the following year. 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.T. One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by.J. Although the other man couldn't hear the band - he could see it.was moving on, but definitely not moving up. In his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words.I met T. Days and weeks passed.J. 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.for the first time at a weekend leadership retreat. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.All the students at school had been invited to sign up for ACE training, a program designed to have students become more involved in their communities. As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window.T. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.J. Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside.was one of 405 students who signed up. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed.When I showed up to lead their first retreat, the community leaders gave me this overview of the attending students: ""We have a total spectrum represented today, from the student body president to T. It faced a blank wall.J. The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window.Ware, the boy with the longest arrest record in the history of town."" Somehow, I knew that I wasn't the first to hear about T. The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall.J.'s darker side as the first words of introduction. At the start of the retreat, T. She said, ""Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you.J. "" Epilogue: There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations.was literally standing outside the circle of students, against the back wall, with that ""go ahead, impress me"" look on his face. mp3 player Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled.He didn't readily join the discussion groups, didn't seem to have much to say. If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have that money can't buy.But slowly, the interactive games drew him in. world of warcraft gold ""Today is a gift, that's why it is called the present.The ice really melted when the groups started building a list of positive and negative things that had occurred at school that year. "" " .T. wow J. had some definite thoughts on those situations. wow gold The other students in T. J.'s group welcomed his comments. wow gold All of a sudden T. J. wow gold felt like a part of the group, and before long he was being treated like a leader. He was saying things that made a lot of sense, and everyone was listening. T. J. was a smart guy and he had some great ideas. The next day, T. J. was very active in all the sessions.