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On my mind....

I've had a fair bit on my mind lately. The new job, being less than exciting, does give me lots of time to think. Perhaps too much...

First off...there's a guy a work with, we'll call him "Don". He has cerebral palsy. In my former profession, I worked with many individuals with CP. In fact, the guy that got me started in my old work had CP.

Now "Don", he's pretty cool. He is very proud that he has worked there for over 20 years. When I first started there, it didn't seem like many people talked to him. He can be difficult to understand and tends to drool a bit when he talks. From my former profession, these are both things that I hardly even notice anymore. If someone is tough to understand, you just listen a bit more intently. Chances are, you'll hear something good. As for the drool...just don't get too close.

Anyhoo, I started talking to "Don" at work. He's a really nice guy, seems pretty smart, and is personable as can be. Now that I've started talking to him all the time, and hearing his tales about his former jobs, hobbies, etc., others are starting to catch on. He's becoming "Mr. Popular"! It's nice that his co-workers are realizing what a gem they have in him.

Makes me miss my former career though. A lot.

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My former boss called me out of the blue last weekend. She strongly suggest that I, being a musician, NEEDED to go see the movie "Searching For Sugar Man". Anyone that knows me, knows I don't like being told what I should or shouldn't do. By anyone. I've always made up my own mind. I'll admit, I was a tad irked at first that this woman who really never knew much about me aside from my work and related reputation...and knew about me being a musician because I would schedule myself time off to do shows on occasions....would call me and strongly suggest anything to me!

That said, I'm glad she did. I'd been wanting to see this film for a few months now. You've all probably heard about the movie (it won an Oscar for Pete's sake!) so I won't go into any detail, suffice to say that is brilliant! I thanked her for letting me know that it was playing at the tiny, arty movie house downtown. In fact, she called again on Sunday to remind me to see it...and I'd just come home from seeing it! We had a nice talk about the movie. Perhaps she's not the bitch everyone thinks she is. She could be a pain at work...but it was her job to do so. I always thought that she was an interesting person, aside from her work demeanor. She was born and raised in Africa and has a somewhat different view of the world, I think, than most of my former colleagues and myself. Maybe I should see if she wants to grab coffee sometime.

The other nice thing about seeing this film was that I got to take the young'un. I LOVE movies. Don't get me wrong, she's a movie fan herself...especially good documentaries (like this one). But it was nice taking her to an arty little theater in the city. She grew up out in the boonies and never really had a chance to experience places like this. While she enjoyed herself immensely, she hated the seats. OK...they're not as cushy as the ones at, say, Rave or Lowes...but the movie was much better than the drek we usually see at the more mainstream theaters. It was another of those instances where she and I get to grow together more. I like that!

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I've been trying to help find a friend's niece blood donors. She's a sick little girl with cancer and it breaks my heart. I wrote, in detail, about this...but I've been spending a lot of time bugging folks online, by email and the phone, trying to help out. This, to me, is normal behavior. It's something, I guess, I learned from our mother. She would always be first in line to help out someone in need...making dinner for a sick neighbor, helping out at school, anything really. She was so classy in how she did it too! She would never, for a moment, allow anyone to give her any credit for doing what she saw was, simply, the right thing to do.

I've had many people comment, positively, on what I'm doing. I don't know how to feel about or react to these comments. To me, it's just the right thing to do. Maybe my faith has something to do with it too. While we're all in need, there are others in more need...and we should, at all times, try to help anyone we can. That's my understanding of the Golden Rule. I've almost never asked for help. There have been many times when I would have gladly accepted it...but I'm not one who can ask. It's always been more important to me to help others. My life always seems to sort itself out.

OK...I'm rambling now. I have an early day tomorrow...so I guess it's time to start shutting down for the night. Until next time..........

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