I never met Lewis Grizzard, but I loved him.  I felt I had a “homeboy” relationship with him because what he wrote in his editorial columns rang so true to me.  He and I had being raised in Georgia in common and the many good things that are a part of that experience--deep-rooted love of kin, of home cooking  (Southern barbeque and fresh vegetables in particular ),and of Protestant values, especially the value of kindness.  When I open my editorial page and his column isn’t there, I still feel the loss.  I have lost a friend.  I have lost some valuable emotional intimacy, which none of us can spare.

Lewis Grizzard died too young without getting his full three score and ten because he had a defective heart valve.  He shared his medical challenges with us and his courage in facing these.  He reported after getting a new valve from a pig, “I took a lickin’ but kept on tickin’!”  Bless his sense of humor because it gave quality to his life and added to the quality of mine.

One lesson I especially remember learning from him was how meaningful small kindnesses were to him when he was under stress from his medical problems.  He devoted an entire column to a minor event that occurred during his final illness--the difficulty finding a parking place when he had to go to Emory University Medical Center for medical tests before his last surgery.  The parking attendant went out of the way to accommodate him ,  parking his car for him when no space was available.  Such a small thing.  The kindness meant so much to Lewis, particularly then.  I have the opportunity to do something like that for someone every single day because I work at a hospital and the patients here are also often very stressed by their medical conditions.  Small acts of thoughtfulness, of going a bit beyond the job description, can mean the world to someone who feels very vulnerable and overwhelmed.  I recognize this as the opportunity to be the hand of God  reaching out to comfort.

The interview with Mr. Gillyard, the hospital’s Chief of Housekeeping, in the hospital newsletter “Spotlight” column last issue confirmed this to me.  Mr. Gillyard told of how patients will express appreciation for the clean environment , saying the good work by the housekeepers makes them feel cared for.  Every single one of us has a wonderful, meaningful opportunity throughout our day to make a positive difference through kindness and doing a good job.  It is like the true story my preacher told of the opening day morning mass for staff at a small Catholic elementary school.  For the sermon, the priest simply walked out into the congregation and handed each person a piece of a jigsaw puzzle.  Then he returned to the pulpit and said,  “Each of us holds a piece of the puzzle for the larger picture of what we want to accomplish this year.  My piece only makes sense in combination with your piece.  We need every piece to  be successful.  Let us work together to achieve the larger vision!  Only by everyone of us contributing his or her piece will we achieve the goal!” --Well said and true.  We are doing this individually and together.  Go seize an opportunity to make a difference.