Rosemead Kiwanis Club
"Serving the Community Since 1945"
FAX OF
LIFE
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Rosemead Kiwanis Club "Serving the Community Since 1945" |
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FAX OF LIFE
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The Fax of Life
A weekly inspiration, courtesy of the Kiwanis Club of Scott's Valley
(distributed free by the Kiwanis Club of Rosemead, CA - rosemeadkiwanis.org )
December 28, 2008 Volume 14, Number xx*
Left for Dead
The weary traveler eased into his seat on the plane bound for Texas. After takeoff he opened his laptop, only to be interrupted by an obviously nervous and therefore talkative type fellow passenger.
He was tired from having delivered his inspirational message, and simply wanted to finish his notes before getting some much needed rest, but his seatmate was unrelenting. He suffered her patiently, trying to be polite, but frankly he had paid for a trip ticket, not a monologue. Then, something she said led to a unique lesson.
She mentioned that on trips of this type she would preferred to have been seated with her husband. However, due to the lateness of booking she’d had to sit in this row; her husband was back up against the rear bulkhead. In this brief statement our traveler sensed relief from the verbal barrage, and with great chivalry offered to exchange seats. She was ecstatically appreciative.
As our traveler eased into his new seat he noticed that his new row mate was a most unique person – dressed in a conservative business suit he was noticeably missing a hand, two fingers and his original nose, which had been reconstructed by plastic surgery. Obviously he had survived a great trauma. He proved no less reticent than his previous companion -- but had something to share which would impress and inspire our traveler forever.
This fellow passenger turned out to have been left for dead as part of the deadliest day in the history of Mt. Everest. He was a survivor of a violent 1996 storm that killed eight other mountain climbers and which has been the subject of several books. Rescuers found several survivors during a break in the weather, but left behind one unconscious body they presumed had already died.
The next morning Dr, Beck Weathers, an amateur mountain climber by hobby and a pathologist by profession, awoke, alone and nearly snow blind, left for dead and suffering from frostbite. Somehow, according to an account on Google, “visions of his wife and children back home pushed him to rise up and stagger back to safety.’
Today, as a motivational speaker, Dr Weathers shares the story of his Mount Everest adventure, the second chance he got, and his new outlook on his life—in which his family and loved ones are paramount over all else. He tells audiences, “For the first time in my life, I’m comfortable in my own skin. I searched all over the world for that which would fulfill me, and all along it was in my own backyard.”
His story is one of the most compelling audiences will ever hear and our weary traveler, his replacement seatmate on a plane bound for Dallas, now shares the tale as part of his lectures as well, from which it is now retold to others. The moral: It pays to keep your mind and ears open. You never know when something worth remembering and retelling will turn up.
-- based on a conversation with Michael Wyatt Paige
about his friend Ross Jutsum
* - Note: this Fax of Life written by RKC Editor Art Landing due to unexpected
emergency in household of normal editor in Scott's Valley; for this reason
no issue number has been inserted.
Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world one child and one community at a time. All of its Clubs are independently-run community service groups.
The Kiwanis Club of Scott's Valley normally meets at the Heavenly Café in Scott's Valley, CA, on Wednesdays at 7 am - see the Scott's Valley Kiwanis website @ http://svkiwanis.org for details; The Kiwanis Club of Rosemead normally meets on Thursdays at 12:10 in Rosemead, CA - see the Rosemead Kiwanis website @ http://rosemeadkiwanis.org for confirmation and directions. Visitors are welcome to join meetings of either club anytime.
There is no charge to anyone for receiving the "Fax," which today is circulated by e-mail rather than literally by FAX. If you have been encouraged in any way by the message, pass it on by saying something encouraging to someone else during the week.
Neither the Scott's Valley or Rosemead Kiwanis Clubs make any representations as to the accuracy of quotes or actions attributed to named individuals; material selected for the Fax of Life comes from a variety of sources and is chosen based solely on its presumed inspirational value to readers.