Two Sentences

On August 22, the ground officially and ceremonially broke on the Bruce Oake Recovery Centre.  It simply was a great event for a great facility.  It was would have been Bruce's 34th birthday.  I never met the man, but I know he would have approved.  It was an authentic ceremony and reasonably short.  There was lots of time to mingle and focus on recovery.  In the morning, it was cool and looked like rain.  During the ceremony, there was nothing but sunshine but it wasn't too hot.  It was like having a shower when you are a guest at someone's home.  You aren't as familiar with their settings and how to adjust it, but someone you get the perfect temperature.  It was that feeling of happiness and a signal that the things are meant to be good. 

Then, the moment came when Bruce's parents and his brother were putting shovels into dirt to ceremonially break ground.  It was the moment that I had been waiting for, but, at the same time I am quite familiar with dirt and shovels.  I'm not the kind of person that calls a spade a spade, I am the kind of person who calls a spade a f***ing shovel.  While most were straining forward to get a picture, there was a group of us who migrated back.  There was more room back there and I was flooded with emotion and needed more personal space as I started crying.  There were others who had the same sentiment.  There were still others who wanted to be at the back to be as close as possible to Willy's Dogs. 

So, at the moment that the focus was on the front, a vehicle drove by and someone yelled out two sentences.  Those two sentences will never appear in any literary journal, but both of the sentences did have a noun and a verb.  They were not in support of BORC.  I don't know the intention of those two sentences but I don''t think they were intended to make people feel good. 

But, that is what happened.  I think everyone looked front to make sure those comments weren't heard there. The two sentences were so vile that I actually stopped crying and started giggling to myself.  As I looked around, everyone who had heard the yelling was grinning ear to ear.  It was actually quite beautiful.  We all made eye contact and shared this moment together.  It was recognition that despite all the opposition, the facility is going to be built.  Probably everyone who was in attendance has had a conversation about the facility with someone in opposition that has made them shake their head, yet here we all were.  The ground is broken.  It felt like a victory for the concept of redemption.  It actually made me feel more hopeful. 

As I was making eye contact with a young man in his early twenties, he said, "it is a good thing for that guy that he will never have a problem that he needs help with."  We all giggled softly.  Another sign of hope.  This young man in his early twenties was wearing a "Turning Leaf" black hoodie There were a few in attendance.  I think they were staff.  What great people.  Not only are they devoting their professional lives to helping others, they were wearing black hoodies on a hot summer day.  Anyway, this particularly handsome young man had a striking resemblance to photos I have seen of Bruce as a young adult. 

From what I know of Bruce, he had a "cheeky" side.  I'm sure he approved of the ceremony but recognized the intense emotions that people were experiencing.  I really think he sent that guy to yell those two sentences for comic relief.  It was like he was saying, "come on, get rid of those tears, this is a celebration." 

There will always be those who will try to bring you down.  Chose happiness instead.  We all have someone watching over us who has our back and will remind us to chose happiness and then pay it forward.