So, I'm doing this thing called Thank Where Due. The concept is simple: In order to move forward and climb up (whichever you think of doing), you look back and thank the building blocks that got you this far. Two rules: It has to be someone who you haven't contacted in a while, and it has to be about something that the other person (the recipient) doesn't know about.So, the first recipient of my TWD program is my fellow Bardian, C Matthew Johnson. I did a quick online search to see if I could find this generous Tennessee resident, and couldn't pin point him.
This is what Matt did. He gave me a shelter when I was homeless back in 1994. My first winter at Bard, I ran out of money, and couldn't pay for the two weeks of housing (a $50 cost) in January 1994 before the regular semester housing kicked in. We were both working for the Buildings & Grounds department, shoveling snow through about 13 snow storms in the holiday month. He offered me to crash on his floor for two weeks, free of charge. He also strongly argued with my security boss (Jim Lawlor) to hire me, which pretty much changed my profile on campus for the next three years.
The part he doesn't know about: The room he was staying in during winter (belonging to someone named Megan, I think) had this book by Louise Hay called "You can Heal Your Life". Since I was stuck indoors for two weeks, I read the book from cover to cover, and it pretty much guided me through difficult relationships, career disappointments, and personal demons for the past 13 years. I still own a copy of it, and it's always there when I need it, tucked away in my bookshelf. An important lesson of the book, that I believe wholeheartedly, is that you have to allow good things to come to you, and you have to consciously let go of all your past to move on to bigger and better things.
One of my favorite films, Longtime Companion, has one of the characters reading this book, and trying to make sense of AIDS, and wondering whether working on his issues will cure him of it. I'm not a believer, in general, and I don't practice a lot of the recommendations of the book. But, I found that it makes a great reference reading whenever I'm down.
So, thanks Matthew, for all your generosity and I wish you well, wherever you are.
P.S. I was looking at all the hits to my page past month, and found that over 50% have been by users looking for Mickey Mouse and Disney Characters. It baffled me until I remembered my Italian Entry. I did wonder why my page suddenly had so many visitors. It must be me, ha ha.
