Hold on to the Rope (Mile 2)

Once there were two mice that fell into a barrel of cream.  The first mouse panicked and flailed about until he ran out of energy and gave up.  The second mouse, however, slowly began swimming round and round the barrel.  The cream churned and churned until it became butter and the mouse hopped out of the barrel unharmed.

This was one of Ms. Shelia's favorite stories.  An active West Memphis High School band and athletic booster, Ms. Shelia would tell this and other stories to her "kids" to encourage them to work diligently and persevere.  She was the living example of that second little mouse who fearlessly and tirelessly lived.

Ms. Shelia lived her life to serve others.  In everything she did, she made you feel like a better person.  I know there are countless people in this world who have accomplished previously unimaginable things simply through the encouragement of Ms. Shelia.  She had the most beautiful heart you could ever know.

Ms. Shelia suffered from a rare condition that caused growths to form under her skin.  The growths would rupture, causing painful and noticeable disfigurations.   The condition eventually caused her to lose her hair, some hearing, and at the end of her life she was confined to a wheelchair.  However, this never stopped her from being a visible representative of  every group in which she was active.  She traveled on mission trips, band trips, and every Blue Devil football game.  When her condition confined her to a wheelchair, my family would go pick her up and make sure she was seated where she could see her Blue Devil team play football and hear her Blue Devil band play the fight song.  I've even heard stories of her making sacrifices at Christmas so different kids could have something special such as a Blue Devil letter jacket.  For years I watched her pour herself into the students at WMHS and our whole community.  She lived with so much fervor that just the thought of her makes me want to get off my couch right now and run 13.1 miles.


I found out recently that Ms. Shelia was a runner herself.  If Ms. Shelia were alive today, she would have been the very first person to tell me that running a half-marathon is possible.  She would have said it with so much conviction that I would have believed in myself from the very beginning.  To Ms. Shelia, nothing was impossible.  "Hold on to the Rope" as she would say.  I am running mile 2 for her.

(photo to come)