A Recent Missive From Jamey

The following is a message I received back in November from my great pal, Jamey:

Just an hour ago, as I walked into my back yard to
throw cantaloupe scraps into the compost pile, I came
upon a small square of paper bearing a neatly written
note. It must have blown over the fence with the
maple leaves in last night’'s wind. By the way, I’m
not making this up.

At the end of my block is Walter Reed Army Medical
Center, which includes a best-of-class amputee center
and major medical facility. Many of the injured
soldiers from the current war wind up there. Just two
doors down from our house is a barracks for outpatient
soldiers who have mostly healed physically. I’'ve met
people staying there who, miraculously, though with
grave injuries, survived instances in which their
friends and fellows beside them were lost.

Of course, I can’t say for sure where the note came
from. And you can make your own sense of what it says.

For me, it is a reminder that there are people
suffering right now and struggling to make sense of
things – not only out there in the world somewhere,
but right next door. Though I'’m loathe to insert a
political tilt to this story, it is hard not to
remember what Ronald Reagan said in his 1980
presidential campaign: “Before you vote, ask yourself,
‘Am I better off today than I was 4 years ago?’”

And how about your neighbor? Here'’s the note, copied
as written:
“”
Wed Sept. 27, 2006 131pm
* Be Honorable, never lie to hurt someone, and only
under circumstances do you do so to protect feelings
* respect wishes of other
* Do not cheat myself
* Be more Discipline
* Seek Vast knowledge and wisdom
* accept the way of this world as is
* honor and remember those you knew know and love