Great People

[510Meeze]

I'm 31 years old, and I've met 3 truly great people in my life. On Tuesday, at 94, one of them was on her deathbed, having broken some ribs earlier in the day, and having caught pneumonia over the weekend she was ready to call it a life. Unfortunately for her, she had already been given the antibiotics to help fight the pneumonia, but she has been in a horrible state since then. Tonight Joan Baez came to her house and sang christmas carols with her, and after she told her daughter that she indeed wanted to continue living.

The fact that this woman had a famous folk singer show up at her house may lead one to believe that runs in a circle of friends who are connected with the celebrity industry. One would be incorrect in this assumption. This woman sheltered Joan Baez before she became famous, as she has with hundreds, probably thousands of people in her time on this earth. As an example, her 90th birthday party a few years ago was attended by over 400 people who flew from around the world to celebrate the occasion (it ended up being broken up by the police late into the night). Her home is a magnet for people and she has always welcomed anyone regardless of race, social standing, or any other label you can put on a person, and has done so before it became it became politically correct.

I have personally known her since before I have conscious memory. Her home was always open to my family. She brought my father in and was a second mother to him, because his mother was manic depressive. On Thanksgiving 30-40 people cram into her living room and enjoy an array of food with influences from around the world. On Easter several dozen show up for the Easter Egg hunt for the kids, followed by the Beer hunt for the adults. Christmas the same, and the list of events continues. There is always a bed available, whether it is in her home, or a home nearby owned by the people that have been touched by her life and want to repay the debt they have towards her. It isn't a debt that is asked to be repaid, it is a debt that is willingly offered because great people bring out the best in others.

The fact that she decided it was over was taking a negative effect on my past few days. It wasn't a feeling of sadness, though i was definitely sad, it was more a feeling that there is no one that is going to take her place. You can't elect the next great person, they aren't just there for the taking. The atmosphere that has surrounded her is unlike one I have ever seen. She invokes a goodness that isn't based on anything other than being good to one another. It transcends any belief system that is out there, religious, scientific or any other.

I can't imagine a life where her home isn't bustling with people from here or there. The house will always be there, but the magnet is her, she's the one that brings the world to the house. I don't want to disrespect her daughters and son, or even my father who bought a home near hers. It just isn't the same to strive to be this loving, as it is to actually be loving by nature.

I don't know how these words will read to the readers of this forum, but I do know that I don't feel I've put into words what I want to exemplify. I love my parents, my sisters and brother, my friends etc. But great people are beyond just my feelings for them, you can see the effect they have on the others they touch. I can see why people like and dislike those around me, but it is impossible to think of a negative time I have witnessed in this woman's home (except the time one of the dogs, she doesn't just bring in humans, passed away on thanksgiving).

If you are lucky enough to have a great person or two around, I hope that you let them know before they are taken from us, I've met thousands of people in my life, and to honestly say that only 3 were truly great is a humbling revelation, especially since I know I'm not one, and none of my family members fit the bill.

[Chicomagiko]

Not your LJ etc.

[The_OG_Nelta]

inb4 not your lj

ed: FUCK

[Howard Roark]

how great can she be? she doesn't even have a name.


also, I couldn't help but think of the hundreds of fat chicks you slayed at bars as I read this whole thing.

[Tricen]

inb4 not your lj

ed: FUCK

lawlin

[Teffy]

I was almost upset at the lack of CP in your signature but the potato on a couch is too damn sexy.

[510Meeze]

how great can she be? she doesn't even have a name.


also, I couldn't help but think of the hundreds of fat chicks you slayed at bars as I read this whole thing.

I go to Sizzler for my fat chicks.

[Mizango]

Was it MC Hammer?

[Titanss]

tl;dr







He meet Elvis once?

Or the Dalai Lama?

[Yangsing]

cool story

[Tagus]

Speaking of great people...

I took my wife to a Japanese Habachi Grill last night to celebrate some various things going on at my work. Everything was going great until these two Palistinians walked in. The hostess recognized them as trouble makers and attempted to seat them at a grill by themselves. Unfortunately one of the guys, let's call him Jawad, came over to our grill and banged his hands down on the table loudly and demanded, "I want to sit over here."

After sitting down next to me and ordering a dinner plate for himself and his cousin to share, he disclosed to me that he drops "600 a week" in the restaurant, and that our chef was the best one he'd had. He then began to demand to the chef that he receive a "happy ending" after his meal. It was at this point that the hostess requested the dishwashers come out into the dining area to stand there in case shit went down.

After declaring to the table that he could tell none of us were Jewish, Jawad then decided it would be fun to tell us a selection of Hitler jokes while we ate. The punchlines all revolved around the concept that Hitler was a failure because he only killed half of the Jewish population. After convincing the chef that it was his cousin's birthday and he deserved a Japanese serenade of "happy birthday" and ice cream, mercifully the check came. On my way out the door, Jawad asked me if him and his cousin could come over to my house to smoke some weed. Instead of directly answering, I told him that it was nice to meet him and walked out into the parking lot, where there was sitting a SUV parked diagonal across three parking spaces.

I wonder who's car it was.

[Titanss]

Burt Reynolds

[Tagus]

PS- Burt Reynolds was there sitting at the bar, talking to Magnum P.I. about facial hair and stock dividends.

[Mizango]

This is why everyone should have an Ariel Sharon tattoo back piece.

[Yuri-G]