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The True Citizen, Wednesday, December 2, 2020 — Page 5A
Michael N. Searles
The world has many unan
swered questions. The internet
lists seven of the biggest unan
swered questions in physics.
The origin of life is the biggest
unanswered question in biol
ogy. There are hundreds of
questions that can be added to
the list: When did time begin,
what are dreams, and what is
the goal of humanity?
On a less lofty plain, there
are questions that seem to defy
logic and common sense. Let’s
say a committee was consti
tuted to select the Person of the
Year, and that person’s quali
ties and achievements had to be
weighed. One of the applicants
presented his qualifications for
examination. The individual
submitted the following list for
examination:
He consistently made un
truthful statements causing
him to be labeled a pathologi
cal liar.
He used his position to en
rich himself at the expense of
the public.
He used offensive language
to describe racial and ethnic
groups.
He defamed the memory of
CIA operatives who died in the
line of duty.
He criticized war heroes.
He described nations as
(expletive) countries.
He derided the allies of the
United States.
He made disparaging and
defamatory remarks about
members of Congress.
He said that American bom
members of Congress should
go back to their own country.
He made fun of a disabled
reporter.
He labeled the free press
“Enemy of the people.”
He refused to acknowledge
the validity of findings of the
AN UNANSWERED QUESTION
scientific community.
He supported the rollback of
more than 100 environmental
rules and regulations.
He developed close personal
relations with the nation’s ad
versaries .
He repeatedly said that Chi
na was paying the tariff be
ing placed on goods sold in
America.
He advocated the mistreat
ment of those arrested by the
police.
He gave support to white
nationalists and other racists.
He acknowledged and cel
ebrated the abuse of women.
He negatively described the
bodies of women that did not
meet his standard.
He opposed asylum seekers
remaining in America while
pursuing their case.
He supported the separations
of young immigrant children
from their parents.
He accused Mexicans im
migrants of being criminals
and rapists.
He told lurid tales of duct
taped Mexican women being
smuggled into the country.
He advocated and supported
a travel ban on immigrants
from seven Muslim majority
countries.
He described his daughter as
beautiful and a possible date if
they were not kin.
He watched Americans die
without a word of personal
consolation.
He claimed to have revived
the use of the phrase, “Merry
Christmas.”
He took credit for things he
had not done.
He trafficked in conspiracy
theories of the most outrageous
nature.
If the candidate with the
above resume were a contender
for “Person of the Year,” would
you vote for him? Apparently,
73,792,443 American citizens
felt that President Trump was
more than worthy and should
be the Leader of the Free
World.
Diana Royal
RECORD BREAKING
(Editor’s note: I wrote this
last year following the Cares
For Kids Radiothon and have
to share it again as the event
takes place this week. Please,
please tune in (I listen on
WBBQ) and if you’re able,
make a donation to this life
changing and saving facility
that we are so blessed to have
in our community. Check out
the Children’s Hospital of
Georgia Facebook page for all
the details.)
I remember sitting in the
parking deck for the last time,
knowing that when I drove
away, I wouldn’t be coming
back for a visit. He was gone.
There was no more hope. There
was no more trying this or that.
Nothing could save him.
I held on to that little body,
all 1 pound, 11 ounces of him,
for the first and last time as
though I were having an out
of body experience. I can see
the moment from two angles:
my view of him and what the
nurses’ view of me must have
been. A helpless face streaked
with tears, disheveled and
wildeyed I’m sure. A face that
they see every day in a new
parent. In a grieving parent
when they have to help them
deal with the loss of a child.
These are things I always
forget to say when I talk about
Tyler and his brief life. Digging
into the details of a sad moment
just brings back that sadness
most of the time, but it’s in the
small details our stories are
most powerful. I remember
those NICU nurses swaddling
him in a blanket, taking pic
tures with a disposable camera
that they provided and then the
moment that they told me he
was gone. But I knew that; I
could feel it; I heard it; and I
wondered if I would ever get
through that night much less
the time that would follow.
That is why I speak freely
and frequently about a little
boy whom I love so dearly and
will never have the chance to
know.
I think I won’t cry, that this
year I’ll be stronger, every
single time I walk in the Chil-
dren’s Hospital of Georgia
front lobby to volunteer for the
radiothon. But I always wind
up crying; sometimes a sniffle
and a pushed away tear that
brimmed over too far, some
times ugly sobs on the way to
or from there as I’m listening
to other stories. People ask me
why I keep coming back.
I do it for Tyler. For other
preemies. For every single
child who is treated there and
every single parent who needs
a ray of hope, an empathic
heart or a simple nod of un
derstanding.
For me, I don’t get to see
Tyler’s face on Christmas
morning. I’m not sure what
color his hair would be or what
he’d want to be as a grown
up. I’ll never get to surprise
him with a fun trip or special
toy or even know his favorite
food. CHOG and the annual
Cares for Kids Radiothon is
my Christmas with him. The
beautiful tree in that lobby is
the tree that connects us under
the roof of the place that gave
him two weeks and a fighting
chance. A hospital that said his
life was worth something. A
place that miraculously saves
lives — children’s lives.
Just this year alone, CHOG
saw 75,000 kids come through
those doors. That averages out
to be more than 200 per day.
Sit back and think about that
for just a moment.
While I was there last week,
I ran into not just one friend
but three. The first one I sent a
quick text to as I saw him jump
on the elevator. I said, “Hey, I
think I see you! ” He responded
and told me how his 12-year-
old stepson has leukemia. Not
long after that, I ran into a
couple I know well, pushing
a stroller with one of their
twin boys. This one is having
surgery in January. But it’s not
new to him. At just seven days
old, the precious tiny guy had
heart surgery. He’s not even
had his first Christmas yet. Can
you imagine?
And also last week, a high
school friend of mine reported
that her gorgeous, super sweet
and talented daughter has a
condition that is causing her
brain to droop. Guess where
she’s been referred to for treat
ment?
Yep, CHOG.
I thank God every single
day for this facility, and I can
never say that enough. This
year, it really hit me even
more as I saw more and more
people I know inside those
walls — scared, nervous, de
feated. Then I watched toddlers
crawl around on the floor as
their parents tearfully shared
their stories of success and
improved health.
The 2019 radiothon was re
cord breaking as pledges came
in totaling more than $255,000.
I wanted to say thank you to
the people who made dona
tions. Every dollar that you
contributed makes a difference
that you may never realize but
is felt in the hearts of so many.
God bless you.
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