Well, it’s nearly a year since the accident. I can do pretty much everything I did before…but I’m on notice that my leg and other bits of my body need my continuing attention…..
My leg in plaster got me into all sorts of conversations over the last year…..but I didn’t expect my ‘Churchservice for Schools’ t-shirt to get me kissed by a total stranger. Myself and 4 other volunteers from local churches have been wearing these t-shirts while touring an Easter play around local primary schools and I forgot to take it off before I walked into the gym, thereby immediately catching the attention of 55 year old Dave, who had served a 25 year sentence for murdering a child abuser and had decided that since I had something to do with the Church, I would be open to hearing his story. I could have backed away… but he sat down at my table, showed me his Rolex and new trainers, calmly explained he was a gangster and knew all the ne’er-do-wells in south London and that he really, really loved his mum, who trailed around after him to jails around the country until she told him she couldn’t afford to do it anymore…and he finally realised the impact his actions had had on her life. After his detailed descriptions of life ‘inside’, I realised he was the genuine article. I also realised that a still angry man, who vehemently hates ‘nonces’ (Nonce (slang) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) and whom I would normally avoid/have nothing to do with, deserved my time and my and society’s forgiveness, and was in his own way, actually delightful. Which is probably why he shook my hand and gave me a kiss on the cheek before departing. Do you ever wonder why some things happen? Do they maybe just happen? Maybe. Was there anything to be gained by busting my achilles tendon? No idea… but I now know I need to slow down and walk more. Was there anything to be gained by meeting Dave? No idea….but our little touring play tells children that Easter is about forgiveness….and maybe I have something to learn there…..
We perform the closing song in the Easter show (‘Sherbert Holmes and the Extraordinary Case of the Empty Tomb’) using sign language which was much appreciated, particularly in the special needs school we performed in… and if you want see how lovely it can be when a stranger unexpectedly talks to you, check this touching video of a hearing impaired young man…..https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyrnfQ9Vhk8
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Ain't we got it made? 