[stylist] Fw: attachments: Neil Diamond I Am I Said.mp3

Fri Nov 21 20:05:07 UTC 2008

Hi Angela,

As I get older, this line seems more real.  I'm not old, old, yet, but 2 of
my classmates from the school for the blind class of 26 have died.  We were
quite close, even after all these nearly 40 years.

Music and poetry can pack a lot of feelings in a small space.  It is really
amazing when you think about it.

Keep on writing.

Warm Regards,

Fred

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Angela fowler
Sent: Friday, November 21, 2008 11:07 AM
To: 'NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [stylist] Fw: attachments: Neil Diamond I Am I Said.mp3

Having a grave yard as a friend. Man, what a sad concept. Seems forlorn,
crushingly lonely.  

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Fred Wurtzel
Sent: Friday, November 21, 2008 7:43 AM
To: 'NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [stylist] Fw: attachments: Neil Diamond I Am I Said.mp3

Hi Judith,

Well, I realized that I made a mistake.  "You can never Go Home, Again" is
Thomas Wolf, not John Dunn.  Anyway, your post got me thinking about songs
with that theme.

Here are a few I listened to last night.

"She's Leaving Home" Beatles
"My Back Pages" Bob Dylan
"Talking Old Soldiers" Elton John
"My Little Town" Simon and Garfunkel

The Elton John has the most poignant line.  It is, "I know what is like to
have a graveyard as a friend."

The theme of home, growth, loss and change are powerful emotive topics for
writers.  Most everyone can identify with them since they are universal
experiences for humans.  Listening to these songs last night was a moving
experience.  I hadn't done that before.

Thanks for the idea.

Warm Regards,

Fred
-----Original Message-----
From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Judith Bron
Sent: Friday, November 21, 2008 8:14 AM
To: NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List
Subject: Re: [stylist] Fw: attachments: Neil Diamond I Am I Said.mp3

Thanks, Fred.  I love the song and the Chicken Soup series has to be one of
the best!  Judith
----- Original Message -----
From: "Fred Wurtzel" <f.wurtzel at comcast.net>
To: "'NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2008 11:54 PM
Subject: Re: [stylist] Fw: attachments: Neil Diamond I Am I Said.mp3

> Hi Judith,
>
> I liked the essay from Chicken Soup.  I am a Neil Diamond fan.  I have 
> always interpreted this song as a restatement of John Dunn's "you can 
> never go home again."  It is also about America's restlessness.  Our 
> separation from the extended family, etc.
>
> The Title and refrain make it an optimistic song.  As the essay says, 
> we define ourselves and cannot give that definition up to others and 
> keep our dignity and self-worth.
>
> Sorry for the running on.  I enjoyed both the song and the essay and 
> feel better for reading, listening and responding.  Thank you.
>
> Warm Regards,
>
> Fred
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] 
> On Behalf Of Judith Bron
> Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2008 9:12 AM
> To: Stylist
> Subject: [stylist] Fw: attachments: Neil Diamond I Am I Said.mp3
>
> I think you will enjoy this "Chicken Soup for the Soul" column.  The 
> song by
>
> Neil Diamond could be called a downer, but if you look at it as a 
> positive you realize that what he is warning against is allowing 
> yourself to be a has
>
> been.  Give a listen, Judith
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Nancy J. Lynn" <freespirit.stl at gmail.com>
> To: <Undisclosed-Recipient:;>
> Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2008 2:18 AM
> Subject: attachments: Neil Diamond I Am I Said.mp3
>
>
>>I found this little story in yesterday's Chicken Soup for the Soul 
>>column,  so I'm sending it along with this song. Enjoy both.
>> I Am I Said
>> The young physical-therapy aide at the rehabilitation center 
>>chattered  endlessly while we prepared for my session. I'm embarrassed 
>>to admit I  was  too caught up in my troubles to listen to her. As I 
>>watched the other  patients struggling with their crutches and 
>>wheelchairs, my spirit was  overcome by a sense of loss.
>>
>> So much had changed. Only weeks had passed since bone cancer stole my 
>> left leg.
>>
>>
>> Recently healed from surgery, I could barely sit in a chair for an hour 
>> at
>
>> a
>> time. Now I faced the difficult task of learning to walk with a 
>> prosthetic
>> limb, a process complicated by an old back injury. The slightest activity
>> sent scalding "phantom" pain into my nonexistent foot. As if that weren't
>> enough, chemotherapy had robbed me of my hair and my strength. A wide
>> range
>> of emotions drained my remaining energy: fear, anger and grief, topped 
>> off
>> by a huge dollop of self-pity. Worst, though, I was unable to care for my
>> father who had Alzheimer's disease. I had no choice but to place him in a
>> nursing facility and leave with a load of guilt.
>>
>> When faced with overwhelming problems, we often escape by focusing on
>> minor
>> ones.
>>
>> People are funny in that way. In this instance, I fretted over the loss 
>> of
>> my nursing career and the income it provided. Thankfully, my husband
>> handled
>> the finances. Every time the huge bills arrived, we thanked God that our
>> insurance was adequate. Nevertheless, I missed the rapport with my
>> patients
>> and my colleagues. I'd always enjoyed the teaching aspect of nursing and
>> loved seeing the glow of relief when a patient was able to understand his
>> or
>> her illness. It was such fun when the couples in my childbirth classes
>> proudly showed me their new babies, gushing, "Shirley, it happened just
>> like
>> you said it would."
>>
>> How I longed to believe I would someday return to nursing. The yearning
>> left
>> me feeling ashamed of my selfishness.
>>
>> I argued, first with myself, then with God. There were so many reasons 
>> for
>> gratitude.
>>
>> Countless people had prayed for me. I was still alive, still a child of
>> God,
>> a wife, a mother and a grandmother. I tried to keep a sense of 
>> perspective
>> by telling myself that nursing was only a career; it wasn't my identity.
>> "But, Lord, you led me into nursing and gave me a love for it. It's my
>> calling, and I feel the loss deeply. Why have you taken it from me?"
>>
>> I paid scant attention to the aide's words as I watched an elderly stroke
>> victim attempting to operate a can opener. Nearby, a middle-aged man
>> recovering from knee surgery drooped in despair. Across the room, a
>> handsome
>> airline pilot practiced walking again, following a severe spinal-cord
>> injury. His cheerfulness puzzled me. I wondered what determined a
> patient's
>> response to loss. What spurred some on when others were easily defeated?
>> Was
>> it merely an inborn character trait, like a strong personality or a
>> deep-seated tenacity? Was it faith? Whatever it was, I wanted it myself.
>>
>> I'd like to think I fashioned a prayer that touched God's heart. But in
>> truth, I muddled through a jumble of emotions and came up with nothing 
>> but
>
>> a
>> scrambled plea that meant, "Lord, I need help." I expected no reply.
>>
>> The aide, still valiantly trying to cheer me up, said, "I understand you
>> used to be a nurse."
>>
>> A fresh load of anger welled up inside my chest. Used to be? I felt like
>> asking her what she thought I was now. Before my mind could form a
>> sarcastic
>> response, words came from my mouth. "Yes, I am a nurse." Somehow I felt
>> different, stronger, but I wasn't sure why.
>>
>> Later, still feeling insulted, I mentally conducted a one-sided quarrel
>> with
>> the aide who had reminded me of who I "used to be." Wait a minute. I'm
>> everything I've ever been. I have one less leg, but I still have my brain
>> and my heart. I'm not a has-been! God doesn't have any has-beens.
>>
>> I carried that thought in my head until the day a familiar scripture came
>> to
>> mind. I located it in my Bible concordance, then turned to Acts 17:28 and
>> read aloud. "In him we live, and move, and have our being." Three words
>> stood out from the rest: "live," "move" and "have." It didn't say that we
>> had our being; we have it. My life isn't in past tense. I still am. I am!
>>
>> No sudden or dramatic change occurred, but gradually that passage
>> influenced
>> my attitude. It fanned a tiny ember of faith that lay buried under my
>> negative emotions. Over a period of months, that faith grew to the flame
>> it
>> had once been. I gained strength, and with it a sense of my own 
>> potential.
>>
>> A year and a half after my surgery, I returned to the hospital where I 
>> had
>> worked for eighteen years. Physically unable to resume my previous role, 
>> I
>> became the manager of the hospital's new home-health agency. Though I
>> could
>> work at my own pace, I found that making home visits was painful and
>> difficult. In our rural area, many homes have no sidewalks or handrails 
>> at
>> the steep doorsteps. Carrying a heavy bag while walking with a prosthetic
>> leg was not easy, even with a cane. Once inside, I struggled to keep my
>> balance as I bent over low beds to perform sterile procedures. And I 
>> loved
>> it.
>>
>> Though nothing lessened the joy of being a nurse again, I often doubted
>> whether I could continue this work while we waited for the census to grow
>> enough to hire more staff. But the growth was rapid and steady. Soon I
>> hired
>> other nurses to visit the patients while I managed the office. Once 
>> again,
>
>> I
>> was teaching patients, this time by phone. Friendships developed between
>> us,
>> though many of us never met in person. The nurses, aides and therapists
>> formed a great team, and when I retired, the agency was thriving.
>>
>> At my retirement party, a doctor and colleague of many years announced,
> "I'm
>> astonished at Shirley's accomplishment in this community." I'm sure he
>> knows, as I do, that God had a hand in making the agency the blessing it
>> is
>> to this day. Isn't it strange how God uses the things we focus on, 
>> rightly
>> or wrongly, to get our attention? In my case, he used my anger and my 
>> love
>> of nursing to draw me closer to him. Now, when I hear Neil Diamond sing
>> that
>> song titled, "I Am. I Said," I smile inside. It was God who brought me
>> from
>> "I Was," to "I Am." Who but he could know the value of one little word?
>>
>
>
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