Throughout our childhoods, a saying was stained on the grand canvas of our growing minds: “No one ever said life was going to be fair”. As I advanced through this fleeting experience inappropriately named “life”, I realized how unfortunate it is that of all the youthful lessons we are taught, it is the former that repeats itself in the hallows of my empathetic mind. Life in fact, is not fair. Not in any sense I don’t believe. Poetic justice sometimes served makes my lips pry open slightly. But fairness? No. A murderer sentenced to die for his heinous act. That is the poorest example of what we often consider fair. Fairness would be the reincarnation of the deceased. Reinstating the physical bond that a once living, breathing being had with his or her loved ones that were suddenly left paralyzed with pain and loss and unanswered questions. So fairness is not had in this example, yet we say it is quite often.

I look at the handicapped. Take mental retardation for example. Here you have a human being, perfectly healthy in the physical aspect, yet with a mind that can’t comprehend even this simple rambling. How sad is it to have any person - a boy, a girl, an adult, a child- Existing through a lifetime without ever understanding why it rains. Why we cry. Why we so many times fail at love. An individual, depending on the severity of his or her mental degradation, will never experience the feeling of butterflies colliding in the stomach when that special person is peering into his or her eyes. Is it fair that we should have lives to roam this great planet as we choose whenever we decide, when such people are confined to a life of such cruel simplicity? Physically handicapped individuals. Where is there fairness? I don’t speak of the paraplegic who has taken it upon himself to become an athlete, and to overcome his disability to the absolute extreme meaning of the fullest. People are afraid to look at the handicapped. I know this because I am in the twelfth week of being confined to a cervical halo after reconstructive spinal surgery. I notice the able-bodied majority staring, pointing, discreetly elbowing their partners and signaling them to look at the contraption I have been unfortunate enough to wear, yet fortunate enough to only wear temporarily. Don’t shy away from the child with Muscular Dystrophy who is forever confined to the electric wheelchair and the motorized bed. Look at him or her. Don’t feel pity. Just realize that it is not you suffering. That child’s parents spend their lives caring for their unfortunate young, a constant routine of around the clock care and maintenance. What an unfortunate way to “live” for them as well.

Life is not fair. I have realized that through the pain I have endured in the past three months. Pain residual from a surgery that saved my life from becoming one of the wheelchair confined. Or worse. In conclusion, when you arrive home tonight, tomorrow, the next day, etc., squeeze new life into your family with every hug. Reinforce your love for them with a kiss, not just words. With an empty bank account, a failed marriage, a poor career choice, whatever your case may be, you are fortunate and life has been fair to you. Do you have health? Do you write with your functional hands and walk on your functional feet? I came all too close to not being able to do either and have had my eyes pried open to the fullest extent they will travel, and I have seen how unfair life really is. I have also seen what we as healthy bodied individuals take for granted on a daily, if not momentary, basis. If you are single, lonely, or don’t work out of good fortune, I implore you to find a place in your neighborhood to volunteer your time to help those who have seen first hand and experienced themselves how unfair life is. Mother nature was blind when she handed out health and fortune, which I have learned through my recovery are synonymous. Be thankful that she handed you what she did, and give some of what you have to those who were last in line. You can mail in checks for thousands of dollars, but trust me, a smile on the face of a handicapped child is worth more than any monetary figure, and you will have created the same memory stain in that young mind that our teachers did when they first ingrained in us that “life was not meant to be fair.” Think about it. Just how bad do you have it?

Thank you for experiencing this page with me, and if you've made it to this point in my rant, another thank you for continuing to read. Enjoy the rest of my site.
Todd