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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Hi Everyone,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">You will really enjoy this. I did.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Susie<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"">From:</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif""> Randy Phifer [mailto:rjphifer58ny@yahoo.com]
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<b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, November 23, 2011 10:16 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> Stanzel, Susan - FSA, Kansas City, MO; susan.stanzel@kccc.usda.gov; LangumSM@BV.com<br>
<b>Subject:</b> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">This oration was given a great evaluation and it won a ribbon. The delivery ended emotionally and was felt throughout. Hope you enjoy it.
Be blessed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black">Randy-<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center;background:white"><a name="OLE_LINK5"></a><a name="OLE_LINK6"></a><a name="OLE_LINK7"></a><a name="OLE_LINK8"></a><a name="OLE_LINK13"></a><a name="OLE_LINK18"></a><a name="OLE_LINK24"></a><a name="OLE_LINK30"></a><a name="OLE_LINK33"></a><a name="OLE_LINK37"></a><a name="OLE_LINK42"></a><a name="OLE_LINK47"></a><a name="OLE_LINK52"></a><a name="OLE_LINK57"></a><a name="OLE_LINK9"></a><a name="OLE_LINK10"></a><a name="OLE_LINK3"></a><a name="OLE_LINK4"></a><a name="OLE_LINK2"></a><a name="OLE_LINK1"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:black">Angels
In The Midst<o:p></o:p></span></b></a></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="text-align:right;background:white"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:black">Randy J. Phifer<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:black">Despite ourselves, sometimes we find safety or maybe safety finds us. It’s been said that God protects fools and babies. Well as you can see, I’m no big black
baby. Especially since becoming blind, I find myself literally walking by faith. As a type A macho personality and not harboring much fear, I, on occasion question my own intelligence. There must be angels in the midst.</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:black">I took a death wish walk, although I didn’t realize it at the time. For approximately 18 years now, a group of friends and I have been playing chess every Wednesday
night. On this particular night, I played miserably. So bad that I chose to resign during the middle game. Life occasionally seems extremely unfair and difficult so despair sometimes appears insurmountable. So there was no surprise that the caliber of
my chess game submerged. </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:black">It was only 11:00pm and we usually conclude around midnight. Nevertheless I just had to get out of there and leave immediately. True, it was night and very
dark,, but everything always looks dark to me. With the understanding that they would never agree to me walking 3 to 4 miles home alone, I lied and told them someone was coming to pick me up. The truth was that I just wanted to walk home unassisted, in thought
and solitude. I had driven the route hundreds of times and could visually see it in my head, but never actually walked it blind. Off I go, confidently walking and sweeping westward into the night. Everything seemed fine for maybe an hour. In crossing a
wide street that I logically assumed was Antioch, proceeded forward, but a few blocks later realized that the curb design had changed from a standard 6 inch to a residential lazy back. This was a problem. I was just navigationally unobservant and too submerged
in thought. I should have been on 87<sup>th</sup> Street, but I wasn’t. Where was I? Damn if I knew. Very few cars were passing by and I was perplexed and rapidly gaining intense concern. With my cane, I deliberately hailed and tried to stop several cars,
but nobody stopped for me. That’s when I realized who and where I was. A black man wearing attractive and stylish black mirrored shades in the black of night walking assumedly aimlessly around a non-black, Middle America white residential neighborhood.
Remember, it was not many years ago, when an innocent black man was chained and dragged torturously from the back of a racially possessed hate crime driven pickup truck. His head hit the curb and was severed viciously from the body. Did I subconsciously
want to die? It makes me think of “Lost in Space – danger, danger Will Robinson”. The potential danger of the walk now concerned me.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:black">Finally a vehicle stops, a man gets out and asks me if I’m alright? With my cane, using the KungFu grip and firmly clenched in my hands yet obviously poised
for anything, thank God, I heard his radio, he was a police officer. I responded yes Sir, I just need to get my bearings. What street am I on and in which direction am I headed? His response really astonished and surprised me. You are southbound on Lamar
approaching 89<sup>th</sup> Street. How did I get so dreadfully turned around? When I assumed I was crossing Antioch, it was indeed Metcalfe. And now I was well east of Antioch. Thank you for stopping, correcting my bearings and now I’ll walk on my way,
but he was not in agreement with that. Instead, the officer graciously insisted on taking me home. Should the wrong person have stopped, this nearly 2 hour adventure could have been fatal and very different. Angels in the midst.</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:black">When I go to the EarlyBird Toastmasters Monday morning meeting, I always have a ride there, but usually never a planned ride home. I just figure I’ll walk,
but someone always wonderfully, miraculously offers a ride (rain or shine). Whether it‘s Bill, Chet, Marty, Carol, Mary Kaye, Martha, Frank, Suzie, Joe or Debbie and each of you, I Love you.
</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:black">You are all Angels in the midst.</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:black"> ********************************</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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