I got up yesterday, went on-line to check out the local news. The first thing that caught my eye was the story about a boy by the name of Colin Pierce, a seventeen year old with Down Syndrome who was elected homecoming king by the students at Nevada Union, the same high school my kids graduated from.
This was more than just a feel good story for me. For nearly fifteen years I’ve been an art instructor at a center for developmentally disabled adults. I’ve learned to see people for their abilities, not their dis-abilities. Some of my absolute favorite people in this world have Down Syndrome. Or Autism. Or one or more of any combination of DNA screw ups. People either through accident of birth or accident of man are not the same as everyone else.
So for me, this story went beyond Colin. Because Down kids accept themselves just fine. This story spoke volumes about how far we’ve come from a society which not too long ago institutionalized people who are different as a matter of policy. Make no mistake, we still have a long way to go. But this is a start. You can read about Colin here.
And then I read about three year old Davyn Wilkison. He’d wandered away from his home in the mountains not far from here. Wandered away the day before and was still missing. My heart went out to the family as I thought about the child’s odds. Night time temperatures weren’t too cold yet, he’d most likely survive that. But there’s a river, wild and dangerous. Bears. Mountain lions. Coyotes. Mine shafts. I wouldn’t want to be out there alone at night, I couldn’t imagine a child.
My heart went out to the little boy. To his family. But there was nothing I could do besides send up a prayer.
A little while later I was told Davyn is related to a man I know through work. Which meant he wasn’t a stranger to me anymore. He wasn’t just a story that I could walk away from. I sat there after the call ended and let the news sink in. Let myself feel. And then I said to the universe, please–let this child be found safe. And unharmed.
And lo and behold, a short while later, he was. His story is here.
Starting off the morning with good news–no, make that GREAT news set the tone for the day. And then around noon came the icing on the cake. The broken pipe that had left us without water for three days was finally fixed. We were back in the world of indoor plumbing. Showers….Flush toilets….
Good news indeed.