skins

today, at a neighborhood bbq my neighbor’s son - a 25 year old marine – dropped to the floor and started crying when one of the other guests lit off a round of firecrackers. mmt

today, my mom went to the doctor’s office at 8am for a general physical exam and left at 4pm with and appointment for chemotherapy. mmt

 today, i met a woman in the hospital with terminal cancer who has spent 12 hours a day for the last 2 years of her short life running a charity to help sick children. when i asked her why she decided to spend her final years this way, she said, “there’s nothing i can do to help myself, so i dedicate my time to helping others.” mmt

today, my whole life changed when the doctor walked into the waiting area, looked at me and my son and said, “i’m sorry. she didn’t make it.” mmt

today at 7:30am, my best friend gave both of her parents a hug before she left for school. at 7:30pm, she was asked to identify their bodies. mmt

today, in my san francisco office, i received a fedex package containing my nikon camera that i lost in key west last week. accompanying the camera was a note that read, “found your camera on the beach. looked though the pics, recognized the hotel you were staying at, saw the pic you pointing at your room number, biked to the hotel but you had already checked out, got your name from the front desk (no phone # listed), googled you, found you, biked to fedex.” mmt

today, i work fulltime as a rescue worker in africa. during one of our food deliveries this afternoon, i watched a young boy break an ear of corn in half - his only food for the entire day - and place half of it in his little sister’s hands. mmt

I applauded when reason lost the battle, and all I could do was surrender and accept that I was in love.

today, my close friend and neighbor found her 25-year-old daughter sleeping without a pulse. she died of heart failure from the many recreational drugs she has been taking for years. yesterday was her first day back home. i saw her when she arrived. she told me she came home to get clean. but i guess it was too late. mmt