What's That You Say?

My dad used to tell me that I needed to listen when other people talked to me. More specifically, Daddy used to say the following words to me quite often ... "Sam, listen to me when I'm talking to you." In a nice way, of course ... well, except for the times that I was being a brat and he might have been just a slight bit ticked off at me (and rightfully so, I might add). Looking back, I wish I would have listened a lot more to my dad ... I wish I would have listened a whole, whole, whole lot more to what Daddy had to say. I wish I would have realized how important those conversations with him really were ... I wish I would have appreciated and understood the enormous wisdom that my dad was trying so hard to impart to me.

My collaborative post on August 30, "Not One More Mile" has generated a ton ... and I do mean a ton ... of messages and emails addressing various components of the post. In fact, there are still a ton of messages and emails coming in concerning that particular blog entry. I've been reading as many of them as I can, and I've shared several of the comments with the two awesome gals who graciously contributed to the post. With their permission, tonight I'm going to share a few of those comments (unedited, by the way) with you as well ... comments that I hope will touch you as much as they have the three of us.

"My mom sent me this to read at collage. I’m not a good reader or writer so collage is hard for me but I keep going to classes and study as much as I could. Mom wanted me to read your storys because my brother john was gay and killed himself two years ago when he was 16 and 2 months old. I have had a lot of troubles with him doing that because I think it was my fault because I made fun of him when he told me he was gay. I think the lady who heard you say you are gay did say lots of good things. I should have not made fun of my little brother and just tried to love him and not care what the other jocks said about John. I wish he didn’t die and I could tell him I love him every day. You are a smart writer and I hope this makes sense. Love, Thomas”

“Though you didn't mention the identity of the second guest poster, I believe I may possess an educated guess. Obviously someone of high intelligence and well-educated, possessing rich insight into the darkness of depression and the inherent danger that accompanies a lack of honesty regarding one's inner self. Complete genius to include the description of authenticity and the in-depth explanation of disconnection from the true self.”

“My supervisor sent along your blog posting for me to read today. He came to my desk later and gave me the number for our employee assistance program and asked me to call and speak with someone there. I called and I’ll be meeting with a counselor next week. Thank you to you and your friends who wrote with you. The honesty of the three of you and the concern from my supervisor convinced me that I can’t do this without help.”

"I wish I had a friend like your friend who was with you last year. Somebody to listen to me and really care like she did for you. What you said about getting up that day and staring at the mirror and thinking how long could you pretend is how I feel and what I do every day. I'm 57 years old and I don't think people at my work would care if I didn't show up one day. I sometimes think they know there's something bothering me but none of them ever ask and more and more no one tries to talk to me. I really do wish I had a friend like yours."

"The writing about authenticity and disconnecting with yourself was great. That person nailed it when he/she talked about how trying to keep your secret was exhausting and overwhelming so much that it was killing you. Been there myself, still there sometimes but every day is a little better I think. My advice to people reading this is to don't be to proud to ask someone for help when you need it. And to other people to pay attention to the signs and get in the person's face. It's better to piss someone off than to go to their funeral."

“Just when I thought you had written the best words you could ever write, you have the fantastic idea for this collaborative post!! You need to write another book and soon! Way to hit a homerun!!”

“Love that the friend who heard you speak your truth last year is still a part of your ongoing story and truth telling today! All of us can learn from her about commitment and dedication. What a world it would be if we were all as kind as she is. She talked about her pre-teen children and teaching them about kindness and that gives me hope for future generations! Much love to you from Australia Terrie!"

"Can't begin to tell you what this post meant to me and my husband. The portion about authenticity and separating from yourself was just what we needed to read. Our daughter told us six months ago that she is gay. I'm sorry to say that we were not accepting of her and haven't heard from her since. A friend sent your blog to me and asked me and my husband to read it. I'm glad we did. Thank you to the three of you for your honesty and bravery."

And I simply couldn't resist including this one:

"So I heard you want to be on The Ellen Show. I think this post could get you there if we all flood her website with it and start a facebook campaign Get Terrie on Ellen. She likes that kind of thing and twitter.”