The Heron…

I’m starting this week’s post as I sit at school, stewing over a Great Blue Heron that has paid our koi pond yet another visit. This guy has a voracious appetite and can devour a large number of fish in a short amount of time. This morning before our alarms went off, he was discovered on a newly installed motion-sensor security camera. I awoke to Amy checking her phone and flying out of bed to scare him off (there’s no going back to sleep after all that excitement).

We’ve made numerous efforts to discourage him, but, to no avail. Fencing, fish caves, flashing lights, and even solar-powered owls with flashing eyes and screeching – nothing deters him. Just look at those eyes – that’s a determined killer. As you can see below, he used the new camera to challenge Joey Chestnut to a fish-eating contest…

About now you’re probably wondering what does this heron have to do with ALS? Well, I’ll get to that, I promise. To tide you over, here’s a tribute song for the koi that are no longer with us. A little something from my high school days:

There’s one week of school left, and thus, one more week until my 8th (and final) retirement. I spent this week looking for the newest addition to the Neal family. And, as of this writing, I believe I have found him: Diesel. The puppy search is a big reason why this post is late and I bet it won’t be the last time he causes a delay. He’s scheduled to be picked up at noon tomorrow so expect pictures and stories to come out next week (thankfully Amy is now out of town because she would have brought home the entire litter!).

Here it is – the glue that will put the pieces together… As I look at this heron, feasting on fish we’ve worked so hard to raise, I see it as I see ALS. Just like Lou Gehrig’s disease, it seems to seek out many of the most fit and spectacular of the group. Ones who may have the most to live for, as this disease often targets athletes and veterans, those who have spent so much time caring for themselves. And, like ALS, once the heron is locked in, it’s always fatal and there is virtually nothing that can be done about it.

Each week I’m corresponding with more and more young victims suffering with an ALS diagnosis, watching their futures being extinguished. Many young families are being devastated as mom or dad fail, first leaving the family to care for them and ultimately losing them altogether. I hate to write about the dark side of this disease, but I must acknowledge that it does exist. 

As I’ve written before, life for me after my diagnosis got so much better. Sure, there have been bad moments where I’ve lost my sh#t feeling sorry for myself. But I can count those on one hand. One of the more remarkable things I’ve found, as others reach out, is that I’m not alone, giving me a feeling of peace and even joy.  It’s those who love me/us that suffer the most, and I just don’t know how to fix that.

This week I started a new book called Moving Mountains. It tells of adjusting your prayers and pleadings, being specific with your requests, and never giving up. So, as I reach the end of this week’s entry, I’m again asking for your prayers, specifically for those who love and care for us with ALS. They are the angels that keep us going.

As I’m communicating with those suffering from, or caring for, those with ALS, it is common for them to be seemingly full of despair, seeing no way forward. I often tell them to: Find joy wherever you can, then share it. I also encourage them to: Let it out, let it go, then repeat as often as necessary. No matter what our circumstances are, we are not in this alone and we can all use a little light in such a dark place.

While singing along to this song by Thomas Rhett, I like to change the chorus from “..in a world full of hate, be a light” to “…in a world full of dark, be a light.” I’ll let him sing it for you because being a good singer is not on my list of blessings.

To wrap up this week’s post, I’d just like to share a few quotes I found about joy that I find meaningful and useful in my life:

That’s all for this week. I’ve got a puppy to prepare for. I hope you can all find joy this weekend and carry it through until I post again.

Thanks for reading.

God bless.

Coach