A quick break from hearts and flowers...

With all the sunshine and daisies I am feeling in my laugh--all due to Laughs-a-Lot, there are still many saddening events going on and people and families I would like to mention here. For those who are religious, prayers are appreciated, and for those who are not, just keeping them in your thoughts is much appreciated.

The owner of the dealership I work for two nights a week has had a rough month, and it looks only to get worse.
His wife had a heart attack, and though not fatal, she did need to have bi-pass surgery. This happened the same weekend the owner was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor. He is having radiation and chemo, but the doctors have told him that he doesn't have long. He has been to some of the best hospitals in the country; the hospitals that take lost causes, and has been told not to bother traveling there. Despite this, he still wants to go over the customer service reports my department makes. It is important to him that through this we keep up the high quality service he built his business on and that is customers are still the priority.
And that sums up his character. He is a multi-millionaire who spends a huge portion of his income for varies charities that benefit sick children, the homeless, sick veterans, abandoned animals and many others we are probably not privy to. He spends Christmas at a local children's hospital having a huge dinner with the families and their children as well as handing out presents.
When Katrina hit New Orleans, he used his connections (he has many) to get food and supplies there. No mention was ever made of him, because he was never a publicity hound. In fact, he often visits his dealerships, people have no idea he is the owner, because he shows up in old blue jeans and Hawaiian shirts. His sister-in-law, whom he looks after as a sister, said that anytime he would see a need, he became a driving force to see positive change.
I just keep thinking about him and his family. I hope his boys carry on with his philanthropy.

One of our equine participants passed away recently, too. I never had the honor to work with her, but it breaks my heart, all the same. While her syndrome was fatal, her life expectancy was late teens to mid-twenties. Sadly, at the age of 10, she passed away in her sleep after a seizure.
The room where her visitation took place was filled with her pictures, poems, stories and crafts all horse related. She loved the freedom she found on top of a horse. She appreciated the movement she regained on a horse, and the power and control she had over a horse while it was leaving her body.

Old or young, it is always sad when special people pass. While you tell yourself it is the circle of life, it still touches you. That is what makes you human.