change of plans

so in the fall of 1970 we lived in a duplex that was just the right size for the 2 of us. neighbors in the house were a young couple & their little girl. as i said in a prior post, Deb was cordial but only if Dave wasn't with her.

during this time David was working at a furniture company & i was the stay-at-home mama to be. we were sooo happy...our first real place together that seemed stable, secure even.

the mood was occasionally interupted by the pesky angry note in our mailbox in a printed hand saying such as : 'n----- go home', 'this is a white neighborhood', or 'white woman you are a ----- to be with him'.

the area, Poly, was somewhat mixed, race-wise, but most folks on our street were white. so it could have been anyone though no one had confronted us openly.

[aside FYI: it IS a federal offense to put anything in a

personal mailbox unless you are an official postal worker.]

we had, of course, been dealing with this sort of thing since the beginning of our relationship, so it was not a surprise - more of a disappointment that people can be so full of hate. and for no reason that we knew.

well one fine day while the spouses were at work Deb came over - she said she needed to tell me something. in tears, she apologized for her husband, saying it was he who had written those hate notes. the shame she felt was palpable. she did not want us to think that she had anything to do with it, that her views were not as narrow.

i assured her that i did not mistake the beliefs, feelings & behaior of her spouse for hers.

we had a good chat but both knew it would need to be a secret one.

a few weeks later, a 'dark and stormy night'...David and i stood on the porch wondering what we could do to keep the old oak from falling down in the heavy wind. poor tree was struggling to stand already.

we feared there might be a leafy addition to our apartment that evening.

as we stood, Dave and Deb came out & this time the man could not avoid a brief, somewhat terse conversation with us as the danger was very real & something had to be done.

so the plan was that the HERO guys would somehow secure the tree while the women & baby waited in the back of the house. ok then. they did manage to tie the oak; i don't recall how.

and soon as they were done, so was the storm...

the air quiet, the night still & the giant oak stood.
Dave then said to us as we all surveyed the situation, "i have to apologize. i am so sorry. i wrote those letters. i don't even know why; and i AM sorry." David and i accepted the apology and told him we were glad he had changed his mind. and though we did not become close, we did manage to live peacefully side by side after that.

What a difference of perception a brush with disaster can bring.

Life is put into right order & priorities become clearer.

How good is this universe that allows such change?
i know that my life has been & continues to be one of reaching out by just 'being'. my life with David has put us into that same position time and again ~ of being able to help change minds and hearts. it's a GOOD thing.