Gosh Alice Jones


	I was at work daydreaming of a better place and of a better me. Bits and pieces of the song “Superman.” by Five for Fighting interrupted my fantasies. I realized that I wanted more from life; I wanted more from me. I wanted to be “more than some pretty face beside a train.” I think that people dream of one day becoming more than who they are in the here and now. I often thought that if I met enough people and had enough friends I would be happy. I thought that if I bought enough “stuff” I would be content. I thought if I did enough of all the right things that I would finally measure up for myself and for my world. I thought I too could be a super hero if I just made that final step. And then...
I did... I stepped right off a curb and broke my foot. Once again I had been out with friends and thought that if I drank enough I could have fun and be OK with me. I could transform from a plain old me to a successful and happy version of myself. After my accident, I understood, “It’s not easy to be me.” Somewhere along my new path with my broken foot I became aware of a startling truth, “Even heroes have the right to bleed.” I had forgotten in my search for success that a superhero’s secret is their humanity. No matter how much I drank, or whom I partied with, or what I bought, or what I achieved, it would never be enough to erase the fact that I too am human. I was recovering from my injury when I returned to work at my full time job. I had come back early because I couldn’t wait for the healing process to complete. In a rush to get to the phone, I tripped on a “safety” mat and caught my full weight on my injured foot. I didn’t hurt the break but instead moved an extra bone. I argued with my doctor but finally ended up having surgery to fix the damage from my rush to succeed. In the months that followed I had three angels that befriended me. Many times when I could not help myself, they were there to help. They prepared food, watched movies and TV shows with me. They listened to me when I was crazy on Vicodin. They showed me love in action and I am eternally grateful to each of them. Boys, big thanks to each of you. Somewhere along the way I learned that the things I valued in my former life meant little to me. I knew from my experiences that love was the ultimate truth in my life. When my friends were there for me when I could not even be there for myself I saw love in action. Sometimes all we need to achieve the impossible is a little help from our friends and ourselves. We need to be our own best friend and make our own best choices. When we finally love ourselves we can make the decisions that will insure our own greatest success. When I have the love in my heart that I need I will have the strength to reach out and help others find their own true inner strength. Imagine life as a clear dark night. When we understand that we are OK, it is as if we turn on our inner lights. As we get turned on, we are able to turn others on. In a way, we are all like stars that can illuminate even the darkest night. One such light is my sister Ms. Teri Cloth Jones. Repeatedly when my light goes dim, she helps to turn that inner light back on (wink wink, nudge nudge). She may not know, but she is the wind beneath my wings... Or did I just fart? In this super year, be a super you! As always, Love,