As heard on Tamara Leigh’s TREND ON , LIVE every Wed. @ 10:00am & available archival via link at: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/linkedlocalnetwork/2013/05/15/tamara-leighs-trend-on-with-heidi-james-perdue-edd
by Tamara Leigh, Host of Tamara Leigh’s TREND ON show LIVE every Wed. at 10:00am (CST) on the Linked Local Network & Founder of Tamara Leigh, LLC, A Communications Expertise Company Follow on twitter @tamaraleighllc
THIS PAST WEEK on Tamara Leigh’s TREND ON – Engaging Your Audience to TREND ON You! I dedicated the show with guest James Perdue Ed.D. – Motivational / Keynote Speaker & Author, successful Teacher and Coach, and a Quadriplegic (blog post on Dr. Perdue & other guest, George Patterson, Insurance Specialist, to follow) to a dear friend of mine whom I’ve known since we were junior high kids running around the same neighborhood in Wonder Years glory.
(I hope he won’t mind my sharing here & I hope all who read this will do so with the good nature & tender heart, as it is intended.)
Today, we (he & I) affectionately refer to him as my “Stalker”, and he’s the one man given the “free pass” to do so, mostly because I literally go right past his house every morning on my run.
In all good humor, we have a “running” joke about the fact that ever since high school, he’s been spell bound by me and well, my boobs. Apparently it doesn’t take much to mesmerize him as they’re small by my way of thinking (or at least after 5 kids). My “Stalker” keeps trying to get me to flash him as I run by, and since we’re both Packer fans (he’s a season ticket holder), I told him if the Packers made it to the Super Bowl in New Orleans this past year – it would seem the most appropriate place to flash him—and earn some green & gold beads!
PACKER Fan Friends at Christmas Day Game at Lambeau
Thankfully, the Packers dropped the ball there, much to his disappointment. 🙁
So then I told him, once I bought new (bigger) boobs, then I would flash him. (This seemed a sure safe wager since there’s no money in the budget for my vanity.) Not to be dissuaded, “Stalker” said he would launch a kick-starter campaign for me and as the funds came in for my “improvements” a caricature of my chest could pump up the way many campaigns show a thermometer with mercury rising. Again, I told him nice try, but no.
Finally, he said he was sure that my boobs were indeed magic – that if he only rubbed them he would be able to get up out of his wheelchair and walk. After all, I am one of his few friends who remember when he was healthy. Before Muscular Dystrophy rendered him wheel chair bound. I told him no fair pulling on my heart strings. He said it was worth a shot!
All kidding aside, what I have learned from my friend is that outlook is everything. There have been many times that I’ve felt so stuck in my hometown, just like him, when my own life took a detour down a difficult path. Our friendship is not based on pity. (Or at least he tells me he doesn’t feel sorry for me, haha). I truly admire him for his enthusiasm for sports, his quick (albeit sassy) wit & humor, and his ability to accept that life dealt him circumstances out of his control, and to make the best of it. I am humbled, & humored, often by my dear “Stalker” friend.
FOR THE REST OF THE STORY, GO TO: When Life Doesn’t Go As Planned: Part 1: Persevere with Dr. James Perdue & Be Prepared on Insurance Needs with George Patterson & Part 2: Persevere with Dr. James Perdue & Be Prepared on Insurance Needs with George Patterson, VP at Robertson/Ryan and Insurance Consultant