I’m running straight at it: My diamond anniversary on this planet. Come July 9th, that’s what it will be and I’m truly blessed. And each day I’m on earth I see more and more for which I need to be grateful.
I owe you a list:
At the top of my list of blessings is the love of my life, Betty Olmstead. I found her at West End Neighborhood House where she headed up Tiny Steps, an outreach program helping at-risk ladies who needed encouragement to find prenatal care. That program was so effective that it raised the average birth weight in the state of Delaware. This was sorely needed at the time, since Delaware was 49th in infant mortality, low birthweight and extra-low birthweight. I am proud to say I had a small part in starting that program and, for that reason, they had placed me on the board of directors overseeing the endeavor. That’s how we met.
Our first date happened because she, as a widow, wasn’t seeking a relationship and I, in the throes of a nasty divorce, didn’t want to get involved with anybody. So when I asked her to accompany me to my masonic lodge’s ladies night, we were doing it for the same reason.
She was wonderful. I knew that before we dated. I watched her at Tiny Steps and saw how she treated people who offered her no personal gain. She was calm, patient and caring. But on April 26, 1997 she was so much more. She was comfortable to be with. She was tolerant of me putting her into a bunch of octogenarian with whom one would think she had nothing in common. But she fit right in, could speak with anyone and make them feel important. She did the same for me. We left the Ladies Night and went looking for something more contemporary and found a street party with a live band. We danced, talked and enjoyed ourselves. Then I drove her to her house in Brandywine Hundred, dropped her of and went my house on 22nd Street in the city of Wilmington, DE. Oh, I left out the kiss. It was the first one Betty had in 26 years, other than from her late husband Tony. Neither of us got sleep, even though we were in separate locations.
Life with Betty only gets better. When Tony was alive, she’d participated with him and his road running friends but let that go in her mourning process. When she joined the Girls on the Run “Couch to 5k” she encouraged me to come along. I did. Now that’s a shared experience with both of us having 5ks, 1/2 marathons and marathons in our history. Betty does more of all three as well as some trail runs and 10ks mixed in. She is a hero to the running community in Wilmington and I heard one race announcer say, as he was giving her the “First in her age group — 70 and over” medal, “It wouldn’t be a race without Betty Olmstead.
Betty is a wonderful mother as well as an incredible wife.
I have an unbelievable number of friends who have come out of the woodwork since I have had my vocal fold challenges. They encourage me. They pray for me. They support me in countless ways. They have helped me deal with difficult times and uphill battles and laugh with me at successes and victories. They are truly a blessing.
In 1983 a friend approached me with a proposition. He reminded me of how good this community has been to me. Didn’t I think it was time to give something back? I was invited to go to a Kiwanis Club membership round-up. I went to that round-up and joined. What an incredible blessing that has been. The things I have been blessed to be part of that have made this community better and stronger, the people I’ve worked with in community service and the people I’ve met worldwide with whom I share Kiwanis values are all unbelievable gifts. They are true blessings.
When I was a teenager, my father brought home a 78 RPM record. It was something he’d shared with men whom he supervised as a Regional Manager for Sun Oil. It was “The Stangest Secret,” by Earl Nightingale, a record with which the self-help recording industry was founded. I was forced to listen several times. It had a profound effect on me, despite the fact that I resented it. The lesson was biblical: As a man thinketh, so is he. What you think about you can become — without limit. I think it gave me another blessing — my career of 45 years in financial services. I was hired as a runner in the mailroom and now I’m Senior Vice President, Branch Manager and a principal of my firm. Incredibly blessed? Any success I have comes entirely from the trust people have invested in me. It’s been privilege for me to know and work with them, some of them for the entire time I’ve been in the business.
There is a litany of additional blessing: I was born in the United States of America and have grown up here, in various states — mostly in the Mid-west and Northeast. I found my faith in the Supreme Architect of the Universe and have tried to observe his mitzvot. I’ve been blessed to be a Free Mason for almost 40 years and have served my lodge as its master. I’ve been privileged to travel outside of these United States, first in North America and later Europe and South America. It make me love my native land more but also has taught me respect for other cultures. I enjoy abiding and unshakable friendships. I’ve been present at the birth of all three of my children. I’ve been accepted and welcomed by the children of my spouse and their children. I am in awe of the beauty that surrounds me. Now that I’ve had half of my cataract operations, I’m rediscovering the brightness and color of planet earth. I somehow found the ability to compose sonnets and fell in love with the art form.
Ok, it is a decent list. I expect it will see additions and maybe amplifications.