Is your Club or Group looking for an inspiring guest speaker or do you want to host a book signing? . . . Contact Woody today!
* * *
For a Personalized Autographed copy of “STRAWBERRIES IN WINTERTIME” or “WOODEN & ME” mail a check for $25 to:
Woody Woodburn
400 Roosevelt Court
Ventura, CA 93003
* * *
Healer Finds His Own Healing Takes Time
“I think you’re further along than you realize.”
Those were the encouraging words Dr. Moustapha Abou-Samra, a neurosurgeon in Ventura, offered when I bemoaned my slow recovery from disc fusion surgery after I was rear-ended by a speeding drunk driver.
Fifteen years later, I returned the sentiment to “Dr. Moose” after he wrote me in response to my column “Rose Rises From Thomas Fire’s Ashes.” He confessed he was not yet feeling what I termed “the gravitation pull of healing” after losing his ocean-view hillside home of 34 years.
Indeed, a handful of essays he also shared made me believe his healing over the loss of his home at address “557” was further along than he realized. Too, I believe excerpts may serve as a salve for others.
*
“Yesterday morning was a typically beautiful Ventura day with some storm clouds that reflected the calm before the actual storm. I decided to watch the sunrise at 557 for the first time since our home burned. I had not been there for more than three weeks. The debris has not yet been removed and the neighborhood as it stands is, to put simply, depressing.
“I am glad I decided to go!
“There is no denying that our beautiful home is still gone. And there is no denying that my treasured jasmine that usually covers the backyard this time of the year is still missing. Gone is the heavenly smell that reminds me of Damascus.
“But I was in for a treat. The sunrise was as beautiful as it has always been. I could visualize the many, many times I stood on our front porch to take pictures and send them to my family.
“You had to have lived at 557 to appreciate the changing hues and colors, from light pink to almost purple, and to enjoy the sun peeking through various cloud formations. I always felt as if it is giving me my own personal ‘good morning.’ ”
*
“One might say that the Grace of God is evident all around us, but I’d like to concentrate here on the Grace of God as manifested by people who act in a Godly way; people who are kind, generous, empathetic and loving. People who are simply ‘good.’
“Since our house burned down on December 5, 2017, we have been the recipients of such kindness and generosity many, many times; family members, friends, acquaintances and perfect strangers have taken the time to show us that they care, and in doing so, they made us feel that we are special to them and that they feel for us.”
*
“Losing 557 was like losing a member of our family.
“A dear friend trying to soften the blow, very early after the fire, told me: ‘Remember, you didn’t lose your home – you lost your house.”
“Is there a difference between a house and a home? Someone said it best: ‘A house is made by hands, but a home is made by hearts.’ ”
*
“I caught myself saying good riddance to 2017. December brought us fire and destruction.”
After stinging together a memory necklace of pearls from 2017, including the birth of three grandchildren, Dr. Moose concluded: “I look back at all the wonderment and I smile!”
*
“Since December 5, 2017, my wife and I have experienced impromptu trips down memory lane as we remember fondly a particular object, a painting, a photo or a knick-knack.
“There is no debating the fact that we lost a lot of material possessions, but we did not lose our precious memories. They will always sustain us.”
* * *
Woody Woodburn writes a weekly column for The Ventura County Star and can be contacted at WoodyWriter@gmail.com.
Check out my memoir WOODEN & ME: Life Lessons from My Two-Decade Friendship with the Legendary Coach and Humanitarian to Help “Make Each Day Your Masterpiece” and my essay collection “Strawberries in Wintertime: Essays on Life, Love, and Laughter” …
- Personalized signed copies are available at WoodyWoodburn.com
- Unsigned paperbacks or Kindle ebook can be purchased here at Amazon