The Realization

A friend rolled his wheelchair through the main doors of the store where I worked.

"Good morning, Mark*" I said. "How are you today?"

I watched as he shrugged his shoulders under the brim of his leather "outback" hat, tilted far enough back to expose his lengthening forehead. Despite the gray pallor to his skin, his eyes held their typical light.

"I'm on the up-side" he said and smiled. "Can't complain."

As Mark rolled by I thought of the example he was to all of us standing on two feet.

I'd heard somewhere it was a work injury. You know how "small-town" talk goes. I'm sure, had I asked him, he would fill me in; explain the details. But somehow I get the impression the "how-did-you-get-there?" part of his story is not where he chooses to spend his time. I sense Mark doesn't spend much time wallowing in the "why-me?"'s either. Although he may.

As I heard him joking with the pharmacist while he waited for a prescription to be filled it became clear to me: Mark is one of those rare human beings that uses what hasn't happened to him as fuel for an attitude of gratitude.

I hear the echo of his words: "I'm on the up-side" and I wonder for just a moment: and the down-side is?....

Mark coughs as he wheels past the front counter and through the door, held open by another shopper.

"Poor guy." The customer standing before me says as his eyes move to the now-empty entrance, then back to me.

"Actually, I'm not so sure our sympathy is what he's looking for. He has a pretty amazing outlook."

I let my words hang in the air with no further explanation, and make eye contact with another man in line waiting to buy a lottery ticket and cigarettes. He's a regular, plus he's empty handed.

Just like you and me really - empty handed, that is. It's what we focus on that seems to fill our hands. Or be a burden.

This day, I choose the "Up" side. I declare to myself with noble bravado.

"How are you today sir?" I ask of the empty-handed one.

"Lousy."

"Sorry to hear that. Guess things could always be worse." It's lame, but definitely an attempt to shed light on the up-side.

He lifts an eyebrow and gives me the "are-you-done-yet?" look.

"Gimme ten one-dollar Blackjacks. And they better be winners."

Yep, as I smile and nod, Mark is definitely onto something.


* Name changed to protect the valuable.