Chuck

Thanks for delving into this blog, dear Dianita.

I made some detailed comments in orange along the way. It was true what you wrote, and you made it a fascinating story along the way.

I was glad I could do it. Was proud of myself! And then my email program crashed. Even though I had saved my reply to you, it was nowhere to be found. Where could it go?

If I don’t come across it soon, I’ll reconstruct.

Great job, Chuck.

If it doesn’t turn up soon, I’ll get back to you.

I really like the idea of your story being “a mixed up story.” Logical, clear, nicely connected stories too easily bypass the heart. The flow of your “mixed up” stories will follow the flow of your heart and your heart’s messages to us. This will be its own reward.

This past weekend I completed the introductory first chapter for my book. It is only six pages, but it took a huge amount of time and effort. I usually don’t have a hard time telling stories, especially the ones that involve me. This chapter was somehow different. Usually I am telling stories for what I feel is their entertainment value, but this story felt like its purpose is much more demanding, setting the stage for a book with complex messages. I was trying to accomplish all this while still being entirely faithful to the facts of what happened. It would seem to be so much easier to accomplish these goals writing fiction! I am sending you an email with these pages as an attachment. I will also put it in the general stuff forum (where I placed the 7 Heavenletter ebook on grief). This will allow anyone who wants to read it to access it easily.

If I understand you right, you are also asking if telling certain of the stories of my life is like telling stories I made up. Like being an observer who is reporting on someone else? Especially stories that seem so unlikely it seems it couldn’t have been me? If I understand this right, I would most definitely have to say yes, although I never thought of this slant on things before you asked your question, above. How I ended up in medical school has this feel to it for me. It feels to me like it must feel like to you to think that you were holding workshops in Romania and at the shores of the Dead Sea. There are times in my life where it felt like powerful invisible hands were making the most unlikely things happen, lord knows it didn’t feel like I had that much to do with them. When I tell certain of these stories sometimes, a little voice is whispering: “No one will believe this, Chuck, best to just keep it to yourself.”

By the way, Gloria, about that I comment I made earlier that I could see why you didn’t think the Oleander Court story was not the right material to put on your blog. That was before I saw what you intended to say and do with them. I take back what I said there. I wish I had the time to say even a small part of the things these stories make me wish to write and comment about. But, there are only so many hours in the day and I gotta sleep sometime! Keep up the great work, I love what you do!

Chuck