Dear Pals,
Today many millions around the world are celebrating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. That's true in our home too. By all accounts, His world changing birth took place in pretty humble surroundings. Far from home in Nazareth, Mary gave birth to Jesus in an animal shelter in Bethlehem, the city of King David's birth.
Starting life among animals with a manager for a crib seems like about as inauspicious a beginning as possible.
Humble beginnings and lowly births can often set a tone for life. This was true even in Jesus' case for besides being born in a manger in Bethlehem, later life, Jesus was publicly derided with comments like, "What good can come out of Nazareth?"
Apparently Nazareth was not a great town to "hail from."
Well, today I want to share the true story of another child's humble beginning with you. I did not write it. It was written by one of my former bosses and old friend whose name is George. I lifted it verbatim, with his blessing, directly from his usually hysterically funny Annual Christmas Letter.
It is a story that touched our family's heart and we think it will touch yours too.
Here is the story of The Inauspicious Birth of "Oscar de la Hoya."
Seasonal Howdies:
On a chilly evening last May, with rain in the forecast, a man in the Central West
End of St. Louis contemplated mowing his lawn. Even though almost dark, the
threatening weather moved him to tackle the job.
Once done, he was going to leave the collected clipppings till the next morning
for disposal, but, again, the prospect of rain, now imminent, caused him to carry
the cut grass to a nearby dumpster.
When he started to raise the lid, he heard faint cries inside. Thinking that
someone had placed a puppy in the bin, he called to a neighbor to indicate
that one of them might have to take the animal to the Humane Society.
Opening the dumpster, all he saw was trash but then the cries started
again. Digging into the mess his hands closed, not on a puppy, but on
a new-born baby struggling for life. A plastic bag, which had
been placed over the child’s face to smother him, had slipped aside
just enough for him to breathe.
When the emergency team arrived, it found the baby in serious trouble.
He was so cold that telling his true color was impossible as was finding
a temperature. Dehydration was so severe that his skin, when pulled
and pinched would not return to its natural shape. Rushed to the hospital,
he was worked on furiously by a medical team.
A nurse in attendance said she had never seen a child fight so hard for life.
She swears that when he finally turned the corner and rose beyond the
hypothermia which had embraced him, she saw him smile.
That child, Ben, is now our grandson. He has devoted parents,
a loving older brother and an entire family which dotes on him.
Ben is the happiest of infants. His constant smile and wonderful nature
bring a light to all of us when with him.
Our son and his wife had been seeking a foster child when the
adoption agency indicated they felt they would be a perfect fit for Ben.
They immediately fell in love with him as did their son. I make this break
from my usual inane prattle at this time of year as I think this truly is sort
of a Christmas story as Ben is sort of a miracle.
So many ifs can be applied to Ben’s survival.
What if the man waited to cut his grass?
What if he had decided not to dump the clippings?
What if the plastic sheet had not slipped from Ben’s face?
What if it had been just a bit colder?
The fact that Ben is alive almost defies logic.
He and we are truly blessed.
George's story about Ben ended here. From that point on George adroitly segued and then proceeeded, using his Saharan-dry wit, to regale us with stories about his golfing misadventures for a few more paragraphs.
I wrote to him and asked if I could share Ben's story on the blog. When he wrote back, he told me that the nurses in the hospital had nicknamed the newborn baby "Oscar de la Hoya" because they never saw a baby fight so hard to live.
This nickname seemed very appropriate to me, because in the boxing world, the legendary champion prizefighter, the real Oscar de la Hoya is known as "The Golden Boy."
We wept tears of saddness and joy when we first read Ben's story. It made me realize once again how precious really life is. It made me wonder if any soul is ever really alone - even in a dumpster on a rainy night?
The notion that "one man's trash is another man's treasure" also crossed my mind as I contemplated this story. I wondered how many other lives that have been trashed would have been treasured by another family.
It made me wonder if I was truly treasuring the relationships of all those around me.
It caused me to revisit all of my assumptions about Guardian Angels.
I wondered, "What good can come out of a dumpster?"
Perhaps "a child shall lead the way."
It made me think about many things...
In the end, it made me feel - and know - that we are all safe in bigger hands than we can ever imagine.
If one newborn child can have that much fight in him...I also concluded that I should permanently quit my unbecoming belly-aching about life's little ups and downs and really start living.
But, it won't be easy, because Ben has set the bar very high.
Merry Christmas!! And Warmest wishes for health, happiness and love in 2009!
Birk, Commonsensetarian and Citizen of the Republic
PS: Thank you! George and family for letting me share Ben's story.
