CHILDHOOD...

"I'd like you to meet my friend Angelo Evans. I first saw him on a street corner in New York City flirting with a beautiful woman twice his age. I had to tell his story".
- Robert Duvall

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Admittedly, I "hit the ground running" with September as National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. As I prepare to close out the month with two more entries, I hope that each of you can stop and quietly recall something pleasant or humorous from your own childhoods. Much of my own childhood was spent making people laugh, and I paid a price for that skill with being paddled in grade school and junior high--back when corporal punishment was still politically correct. Talking back, impersonating teachers and neighbors, making crank phone calls (in the days before "Caller ID"), ringing door bells and running away, throwing snowballs at passing cars in the Winter time from hidden locations. Basically pretty lame stuff compared with the news of today. But in 1983 Actor/Director Robert Duvall spotted Angelo Evans, an 8 year-old Gypsy boy on a street corner in New York City and decided to film a movie about him called "Angelo, My Love". It was a long movie. I sat through it and loved it through the eyes of a mischievous kid, I suppose. At first glance, this entire paragraph would feel inappropriate during a month that focuses on children coping with cancer. But to those who feel this way, I would add this note of caution: "Not so fast!" Every child I have encountered who has cancer also happens to retain a sense of humor. So, in that spirit: May you always be in touch with your "inner child", and may you always have a nice sense of humor available for someone going through a rough patch in their life who could use a healthy laugh for healing. That is the power of Friendship and Supportiveness. See you tomorrow!
Michael