A Gift at Christmas Time

My friends we are blessed; many of us are now enjoying the fruits of our labor and are fortunate enough to be able to spend quality time enjoying ourselves by pursuing a love of boating. We are privileged in that many of us have led productive lives, raised children, pursued satisfying careers and have born witness to some amazing events that have marked the milestones of our lives. Our bodies have carried us through time and we have accumulated a wealth of experiences into our collective memories. My friends, the gift of life bestowed on us by our creator may bring you pause - when you consider that there are amongst us, a segment of our human condition that is not so fortunate and indeed, live their lives in shadow, screened from view and who rely on the compassion and charity of others. For them, time has stood still, some are said to have the awareness of a three-year-old child yet their bodies, which surround them, are aging. The reasons for their condition vary, perhaps as a result of an accident or a circumstance at birth. Their bodies like yours, surround a life in a journey through time. Yet unlike you, while their body may age and decay, their life force is as a child who thrills at the touch, the taste and the smell of the world around them. Many have damage to areas of the brain that control their motor skills, speech, hearing and sight. The damage has left them helpless. Yet, inside their body is a human life. A life that yearns for what little pleasures that fate will allow, be it but a brief whisper of motion felt through the confines of a wheelchair, or the sights and sound of their surroundings. I’ve been told many times by experienced Cargivers that no other event in the lives of a Special Person has made more of an impression or provides the pleasure and sensations that can be found on a vessel at sea. For those who know and care for them, it is without question the highlight of their entire year, a moment each year when they are gathered together and transported away from the daily routines of their lives and taken to a magical event at Christmas time. If you were to take the time and allow yourself to feel the collective energy of what a truly wonderful event this is, you would be amazed. For me personally no event that I have ever witnessed has been more humbling than when faced with the staggering realization of how so very fortunate I am to have been able to have lived a life so blessed. These Special People ask nothing but two hours, two hours of your kindness, for were you to give to another human being a brief moment of your time to those who glory in the simplest thing as a kind word, or a human embrace, it would mean so much more than you can imagine. The two hours spent on your boat means more to them than any kind of wealth, be it land, jewels or gold. This Christmas Season give a gift of two hours to a Special Person. For after all, we are all recipients of the kindnesses of our fellow countrymen who have answered the call and gave all, in order that we, who remain, enjoy the fruits of their sacrifice. I’m sure that when the time comes to face our Creator and answer the question “my child what did you do with the life I gave you?” What will you reply? Donald Hardgrove Commodore B.Y.C. November 5th 2007