Last night I was watching 60 minutes. There was a segment about a show called Alive, 55+ and Kicking. It's for those seniors to have a second change to sing. The founder Vy Higgensen's mission was to preserve African music, She wanted to create a story with the individual singing.
Members started sharing their stories. An ex-convict who served 40 years in prison. A mother losing a son. An alcoholic.
A man named Matthew Burke made my heart stop. It wasn't that he spent time in jail for selling drugs. 'It wasn't that he committed a violent burglary.
It was that he never experienced unconditional love. He never felt loved.
How can that be? It is incomprehensible to me. It made me sad. It broke my heart.
He found a case file showing that he was abandoned in a hall at age 2-1/2 weeks old. A Priest named him in the first foster home he was placed.
Imagine having a life where you were only a number. An abandoned number then a prisoner number. Imagine living life thinking NO ONE loves you.
He doesn't know who his father or mother is. So he sang the song "Georgia" giving his mom a name.
How sad is this?
Most of us can't imagine how that would be. We have people in our lives who don't love us the way we want and we focus on that, rather than on those who do love us.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right Stephanie! Thanks for dropping by!
DeleteI bet after this story, he will have many people who will love him just because he's alive. And he's probably got some who worked with him to tell his story who already love him. That's what I have to believe.
ReplyDeleteLive and learn, Yes I know that but it is not like unconditional love you would get from a parent. I do agree with you though. We have to believe that he is loved my someone. I keep thinking I'll love him but still it is not the same thing. So frustrating!
DeleteWow! I never saw the show, but your description is so good, because you showed us, not told us, that I can see aND hear him in mind'sending eye.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing.
Thank you Rasheed.
DeleteCompletely heartbreaking. :(
ReplyDeletePam
Yes, it is Pam. My heart still feels heavy!
DeleteThat was the reality of what Rich went through after his parents both died when he was less than 2 years old. He had no memory of them. The foster family was mean and abusive. He once told me that he never felt truly loved until me. That made me so happy to know that I made him feel loved for the first time in his life. He was in his 40's when we married so he lived without knowing unconditional love for a long time.
ReplyDeleteWOW Barb, that is such a sad story about Rich but he did have an happy ending. He passed knowing he was loved unconditionally. Thank you for reminding me of your love story. I always admire you!
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