Donald Stevens… just had his 29th birthday… a kind face… endless expressions… gestures to match… friendly…funny… thoughtful… hungry for someone to listen… hungry from someone to talk to…voiceless. We first met Donald in the pizza place on a Friday night while we were still on the hard, he was friendly and seemed to appreciate that I was trying to talk to him. He wanted me to know where he lived and how old he was… he had so much to say that he could not voice. He was very funny while trying to tell me that white guys can’t hold their liquor and that beer makes them so tired they just go to sleep. (We were all headed to Junkanoo that night.)
Most folks seem to think he can’t hear or isn’t very smart… they are wrong. Donald just can’t speak… he can make noises and say a couple of words or parts of words. He was not taught sign language but uses consistent facial expressions and gestures for his communication. The doctors here in the Bahamas don’t know why he can’t speak so they can’t help him. I wish I knew if he could be helped in the states.
I see Donald just about every time I go to town, no matter what part of town I am in. He hollers at me if I am far, he hides from me if I have not seen him but will be walking by, he always comes up to greet me with a warm hug or a kiss on the hand. I cannot help but ask myself why do I keep running into him… why do I see him everywhere…why is he so excited to see me… and what can I offer him… I am compelled to offer him something… not a “something” that is a thing or even all that tangible… but the intangible “things” that he, like the rest of us need…love… a listening ear… a kind word… friendship….
Donald seems so hungry for these basic human needs that I wonder what his world is like. I watch the awkwardness of people who don’t understand so are uncomfortable around him… I see no bitterness in Donald only openness. He is often spoken to as though he is ignorant but he is not, he can read and write… and I see no resentment in him… how has Donald stayed so innocent... I don’t know, but I pray it continues.
I hope we keep running into Donald while we are still here… he challenges me… he challenges my ability to love, to communicate and to be comfortable with the unfamiliar… I need and welcome this challenge for I know it will cause me to grow… to look past myself… and to see the needs that are before me daily, not only in Donald but every person I pass on the street. We are one family called to love one another.
Love is an action word… requiring something of us… is never passive… and a need in every one of us.
Wishing I was better at it, Lisa
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