Tolerance, Perserverence, and Forebearence.

[Shylina Marie]

I am struggling to put words together here for a moment so bear with me please.  This is something that is weighing heavy on my heart right now.  Once more I am reminded of how  everything that we do... everything we say can be so very very important.  My Mom called just a little while ago to let me know that a Friend and a Former School Mate of mine passed away on saturday.   So At this time I would like to introduce you all to my friend Carol.


Carol was a different sort of girl.  She was heavy set due to a serious thyroid and pituitary gland condition, and most likely Carol had a learning deficit.  They termed her as slow which is what they did back then.  We didn't have fancy names like autistic and such.  But she had such a beautiful spirit.  She could paint you a picture with words of what her mind saw when she looked at the world.  She came from a poor as dirt family and had to struggle with hand me downs from a seriously obese grannie and whatever clothes they could find that would fit her.  Kids at school were horrid to her.  I found myself in middle school standing up for her, and for the other kids in the class with her. Why?  I am still not sure I could have been just as mean but I know thats not in me to do.  So I would stand up against the bullys and the bitches that teenagers can be in school and defended someone that had given up trying to defend herself.    One day stands out in my mind right now.  and It was the day we took out senior portraits.  Carol showed up for her pictures in a brand new outfit.  Most likely one she had saved babysitting money for months to get.  But her hair wasn't done.  No makeup....and when she walked into the room and saw all of us decked out in our finest stuff you could just see it hit her like a brick wall.  My Mom and I were there and I was doing such a job to keep her spirits.  I had my curling irons and hot rollers.   mom did her hair and I did her makeup..... I remember taking off the little locket that I had been wearing and gave it to her to wear for the pictures.  The Photographer we had  changed all the backdrops and put her in the most beautiful setting.  He made her the princess at that point and she was truly beautiful.   I kinda lost track of her after high school and I joined the military.   She had a really hard and rough life from what I understand.   Learning that She has finally gone on to a place where no one will judge her ever again is very little consolation because I knew what a beautiful person she already was even when no one else wantted to see it.

I guess the thing I want to convey out to each and every one of you is just remember..... Everything you say.... Everything you do is gonna have an impact sowhere, somehow, someway.  Be it to someone you know or someone you don't.  Don't judge what you see on the outside.  Something or Someone that is more precious and more beautiful may be staring right back at you and you will never see it.

[pleasure{MTC}]

oh how right You are Mistress, pleasure is sorry for Your loss. she remembers her days in school and the reason she quit, because of people like the one You stood up to, i was bullied and treated like dirt all through school, so i quit.  i sometimes wish id finished but each thing everyone has said, weighed heavy on my heart, i was in an accellerated program unfortunately, and, i just gave up.

[prism {*RgR*1*}]

................
            angels among us..............

[Taryn]

Sis, you still have that heart of gold even now... ~wipes the tears away~ Carol was very lucky to have a friend such as you growing up... I was her when I was growing up, always picked on by others bullied to the point where I didn't want to return to school because the words hurt so bad, but I had a friend who was like you, who stood up and defended me to even this day...

Now, when you feel or hear something that reminds you of her, just remember she's now your guardian angel... as woobie said, angels among us... ~huggles~

[RAGNAR]

*huggers*

[Thalia]

I, too, was bullied throughout school -- first in a private Christian school where I was the outcast because I wasn't the rich kid of a doctor or a lawyer; then in public school, where I was too heavy and too studious to be "cool."  I am forever thankful that I had a swift mind and a smart mouth.  Eventually, the snotty girls and cruel boys contented themselves with back-stabbing, because I'd turn the tables and use their own words against them if they taunted me openly.  Ever seen George Carlin rag an idiotic audience member?  Yeah, it was like that. -grins-

But poor Carol had no such defenses.  She just had you, Mistress; you were her blessing, a guardian for an angel.

I often wonder why the world is so cruel, but I absolutely -know- why it is that I signed myself up for a lifetime of teaching in the very school from which I graduated.  I don't tolerate bullying and harassment in my own classroom; nor gay bashing; nor gender inequality; nor race intolerance.  I have to hope that I lead by example, that I promote a sense of equality in my classroom that my students can take to other classrooms and throughout life.

And besides, I need to teach the fine art of smart-assery to future generations!

Mistress, thank-you for sharing.  I am sorry for your loss, yet I am glad that Carol has found peace.

[Ayelen]

i am sorry to hear of Your loss Mistress ...

People can be quite cruel, but the deemon is quite right, You were Her Guardian Angel indeed, and such made both of Your lives richer with something that nothing else can quite compare to ...

i would bet that one of those stars winking in the sky as You look up, is Carol keeping Her eye on You now ...

[Shylina Marie]

Carols Services will be held tomorrow at  The Picayune Funeral Home In Picayune, MS.  I made sure that she at least has some flowers there.