An incredible story

Discussions of resolutions, loosing weight, and other beginning-of-New-Year chatter surrounded me as I ate my tasty rabbit food (salad) out at lunch today. One of my colleagues made fun of my love for grapefruits. (I must have said I love them 33 times. "They're like pink teardrops sewed together. They're delicious. I would eat 33 of them if it wouldn't give me a stomachache. I love grapefruit and they're 2 for $1 - woot!) After this banter ended, one of my friends leaned over and said "I got a call from Mark Foley today." I put my fork down. "Mark Foley?" (wracking brain) "Scandal? Colorado?" No, Florida. Oh right! The Representative, young aides, gotcha. You got a call from Mark Foley? Huh?

"I sent him a letter. I told him that he did a lot of great things in his tenure and not that was he did was forgivable but that he would get thru this and move on and not to let this ruin his life." I was flabbergasted. I mean who writes letters to people who fall from grace in such horrible ways. "So he called me and thanked me for his letter and that it has really helped him during such a dark time." My friend went on to tell me other things Mark explained about what he was doing now, his thoughts for the future, etc., in his 30 minute phone conversation. Those few of us eating lunch together were all flabbergasted. And not because Mark Foley called him (though that was pretty incredible) but that our friend and colleague had this incredible compassion for someone who had been so publicly disgraced.

It made me think of a millions letters (ok, maybe only 20) that I had meant to write to people thanking them for their work (Sandra Day O'Connor), for their courage, compassion or even to express compassion for their fall in the public eye (Pres. Clinton). They were all letters worth writing. And they still are.