I don't say it often enough, I know, but your recent EM to me describing your experience in the ER has moved me today to let you know what you've meant to me, and to my family.
When my children were killed by a drunk driver more than four years ago, I had alot of question, and very few good answers. You were nearly my first call, having been referred to me by MADD. For nearly all the hard questions I had, you had good answers. "We" spent nearly two years trying to define justice for my children, and with every step, you were there, on the other end of the phone to hear me rant, and cry, and generally sound like a crazy person. LOL I'm glad you have a toll-free number.
Often we survivors of tragedy feel a sense of "alone-ness"...nobody can possibly feel or understand what we're going thru. We get over it eventually, but it takes alot of time, and alot of prayer, and ALOT of understanding from those folks who love us best. It's not easy living life with us. We can be emotionally difficult to bear. We're just not pleasant people to be around sometimes. But you never let me feel alone.
I've heard your voice in the many communications we've had, over the telephone and by EMail, and all those words live as a journal of sorts on my laptop so that when I have moments of dis-clarity, and need to redefine my path, I can pull them up, reread them, and find solace in yours words. It's cathartic to me. I remember where I was then, and can pull it up and forward and remember where I'm headed down this long and arduous path. It ain't easy being green!!! LOL You make it easier.
Recently I was doing a bit of volunteer work at the local MADD office and came across a copy of your book. I've never been able to afford a copy for myself. I ganked it! Well, not really, but I DID put it back somewhere safe within the office so that I know where to find it when I need it. It's almost like a reference book for me now. I "work" for MADD in several different capacities, none of which produce income!!!, but find that your book makes a good go-to for me when I'm interacting with other survivors of tragedy. I still have alot of questions sometimes..and you're STILL there, giving me good answers.
God bless you, Ivy Scarborough.
Your Forever Fan,
Dani Forbes
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Monday, May 2, 2011
The days of my life......
...and no, I've not gotten so desperate for human interaction that I've returned to watching soap operas. LOL I'm thinking about the days of MY life...the poignant moments that I can pull forward and say, "I remember where I was".
John F. Kennedy, November 22, 1963: I don't remember that day, particularly. I was five...I don't remember much of being that age anyway. What I DO remember, is that three days later, on Jody's birthday, they buried him.
The capture of Saigon by the North Vietnamese army in April 1975 marked the end of the Vietnam War: Yep, remember that one too. My first thought on hearing that it was finally over, "now the troops can come home..right?!" We all know now how that turned out.
The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster occurred on Tuesday, January 28, 1986: I remember being off of work that morning because I had worked into the wee hours of the morning from the day before. Hubby was home too, for some reason...maybe he was working nights, I don't remember. We, like nearly the rest of the nation, were watching the shuttle liftoff that morning to see "the teacher" finally get into space. As I went from one room to the next, I saw the shuttle explode on TV, and nearly immediately thought..."they can't be alive"...I remembered just enough of missile dynamics to know that no one could survive that explosion well.
The September 11 attacks, 2001: I remember Walker was just short of six months old and David Godfrey was home from one of the road-dog jobs for the moment. Enron went tits up just before that and the job he was on went with it. So, he was up with Walker that AM and I was still sleeping when he came into the bedroom and told me he needed me to get up, something had hit one of the towers. Half awake and stumbling into the living room I saw the second plane hit, and then, within about thirty minutes, word was that a third plane was hijacked and head back east from Ohio, destination unknown. A fourth plane was reported hijacked, and headed toward the White House, maybe. It was a horrible few hours, watching it all happen, and then more horrible weeks as it unfolded to the disaster and tragedy that it became.
May 1st, 2011: I was in bed last night reading when my iPhone kept pinging me to let me know I had new mail. I had forgotten to turn off that thingy that does that. One of the mails was an update from the local news saying that bin Laden was dead, killed by US forces. I had already shut the house down for the night but got back up, fired the computer back up and started trying to find out if any of it was true. It seemed a lifetime ago our nation started hunting this guy for his part in the atrocities of September 11th, 2001...can it only be less than ten years?!
Ten years.....really!?! Was it only ten years ago that life starting falling apart? Only ten years ago when fear became the middle name for our nation? Really?!?! Wow, it seems like longer than that.
John F. Kennedy, November 22, 1963: I don't remember that day, particularly. I was five...I don't remember much of being that age anyway. What I DO remember, is that three days later, on Jody's birthday, they buried him.
The capture of Saigon by the North Vietnamese army in April 1975 marked the end of the Vietnam War: Yep, remember that one too. My first thought on hearing that it was finally over, "now the troops can come home..right?!" We all know now how that turned out.
The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster occurred on Tuesday, January 28, 1986: I remember being off of work that morning because I had worked into the wee hours of the morning from the day before. Hubby was home too, for some reason...maybe he was working nights, I don't remember. We, like nearly the rest of the nation, were watching the shuttle liftoff that morning to see "the teacher" finally get into space. As I went from one room to the next, I saw the shuttle explode on TV, and nearly immediately thought..."they can't be alive"...I remembered just enough of missile dynamics to know that no one could survive that explosion well.
The September 11 attacks, 2001: I remember Walker was just short of six months old and David Godfrey was home from one of the road-dog jobs for the moment. Enron went tits up just before that and the job he was on went with it. So, he was up with Walker that AM and I was still sleeping when he came into the bedroom and told me he needed me to get up, something had hit one of the towers. Half awake and stumbling into the living room I saw the second plane hit, and then, within about thirty minutes, word was that a third plane was hijacked and head back east from Ohio, destination unknown. A fourth plane was reported hijacked, and headed toward the White House, maybe. It was a horrible few hours, watching it all happen, and then more horrible weeks as it unfolded to the disaster and tragedy that it became.
May 1st, 2011: I was in bed last night reading when my iPhone kept pinging me to let me know I had new mail. I had forgotten to turn off that thingy that does that. One of the mails was an update from the local news saying that bin Laden was dead, killed by US forces. I had already shut the house down for the night but got back up, fired the computer back up and started trying to find out if any of it was true. It seemed a lifetime ago our nation started hunting this guy for his part in the atrocities of September 11th, 2001...can it only be less than ten years?!
Ten years.....really!?! Was it only ten years ago that life starting falling apart? Only ten years ago when fear became the middle name for our nation? Really?!?! Wow, it seems like longer than that.
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