Last week, I was sitting in my doctor's office reading magazines that were about a year old when I stumbled across that old saying, "I cried because I had no shoes...until I met a man who had no feet." I've never seen anyone to whom that was attributed. Most say it is anonymous and others have said it was from Helen Keller. I have no idea. But, it brought a special meaning to me in one of the lowest points of my life.

Back in April of 2005, I was going through a divorce. I was having a tough time coming to terms with that event. I thought I was living with a woman whom I would stay married for the rest of my life. It was not to be for a variety of reasons that I have gone over before in this blog. But, until the divorce was final, we were living in separate parts of the house until it could be sold. It was extremely uncomfortable.

One day, my soon to be ex-wife and I had to ride together to return some items to her sister, which was about a 25 minute drive from our home. We did not speak much, which only added to the discomfort. I was not only in mental pain, but physical pain as well. I was suffering with pain in my left leg due to a sciatic nerve that has a long memory. I underwent lumbar disc surgery back in July of '95. The pain only left temporarily. So, as I drove, I was in considerable pain. We came to a four-way stop and I noticed this man in a wheelchair in the parking lot of a boardered up convenience store. He had on a U.S. Army uniform and held a sign that simply said, "Please Help Me." I looked at him as my wife asked me what I was waiting for at the four-way stop. I turned into the parking lot and got out with the yelling of my soon to be ex-wife ringing in my ears. I walked over to this man, he told he was a disabled veteran and had only a small veteran's pension to try and make a living. It could have been a setup, as my shrieking ex-wife was making known to me. But, I didn't think so. I gave the man $10.00 and he cried. I cried too because it was all I could spare him at that time. I cried for both of us and the depths of dispair we both must have felt at that point in our lives. I patted him on the shoulder and wished him the best.

As I got back in the car, the pain of a divorce and the pain in my leg seemed totally insignificant to me. I cried again as I drove off. My tears were not from the pain I was suffering from my leg. My tears were due to meeting a man who had no legs.