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Jester’s Life is Inspiring, not Comedic
It is a rare writer who makes one think of the great Ernest Hemingway, but Stephen Michael Jester, II is such an exception. Specifically, he brings to mind Hemingway’s observation: “The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.”
The world did not take long to break Stephen. In just his 23rd hour of life, in the hospital nursery following a birth with complications, his heart stopped beating and he was recorded clinically dead.
Stephen Jester at a book signing at Mrs. Figs’ Bookworm.
Miraculously, Stephen was resuscitated. Doctors, however, expressed no hope for his long-term survival. They were wrong.
But the world was not finished trying to break Stephen. At age 18 months he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, a neurological disorder permanently affecting muscle strength and coordination.
Asked about his difficult entry into the world, and being strong at the broken places, Stephen, now 28, replies: “If I have a special calling or reason to still be here today, I feel that it is to show others that anything you set your mind to is possible.”
His entire life, Stephen has been told a big list of things that are impossible for him to do. The native-born Camarillo resident thrives on proving small-minded naysayers wrong. This includes making those who said he would never become a published author eat their words.
“A Jester’s Life: Sometimes It’s Just Not Funny” was published in 2012 followed earlier this year by his second book, “Ode to Legend & Myth.” Both collections of poems are available at Mrs. Figs’ Bookworm in Camarillo, as well as through Amazon.
“It was a very emotional moment for me,” Stephen says, recalling the moment he saw “A Jester’s Life” in print for the first time.
Seeing his name stitched on a pro sports uniform would not have been more thrilling because instead of dreaming of dunking in the NBA or throwing NFL touchdowns passes, as a small boy Stephen had literary aspirations.
Stephen’s dream as a 5-year-old came true with the publication of his first book in 2012.
“At the age of five, my goal was to someday write and publish a book,” he recalls. “I was always fascinated by language, writers and their books.”
As a sixth-grader, Stephen began writing seriously. And laboriously. Cerebral palsy not only makes typing on his laptop difficult, if he sits in one position very long painful cramps beset his back and legs. Indeed, “writer’s block” is the least of his challenges.
Classified as “spastic quadriplegia,” Stephen’s cerebral palsy affects muscular tone and movement in all four extremities. He cannot walk and requires an electric wheelchair to get around – except in his dreams.
“In every dream that I have,” Stephen shares, “I am not in a wheelchair. In my dreams I do anything and everything.”
In his waking hours he writes about anything and everything. About life and death; love and loss; nature and religion; and much more. Here is a sampling from three poems in “A Jester’s Life”:
First from “Dreams” – “It was a time of belief / That all things were possible.”
From “Wishes” – “I wish that my legs were strong and able / So I might simply walk away.”
And from “The Prodigal Returns” – “Even at the grimmest of times / Life is still a gift.”
During his own grimmest times, in fact especially then, Stephen sees writing as his gift.
“Writing is my favorite thing in the world,” he says. “If there’s only one thing that really makes sense about why I am who I am, it is that I know writing is what I’m meant to be doing.”
He is now pouring his soul into his third book, a collection of 365 haikus with the working title “Journal Entries of an Addict.”
“Basically ‘Addict’ refers to the idea of writing as an addiction,” Stephen explains. “In one form or another, I feel compelled to write daily. My advice for any young aspiring writer: don’t be afraid to dream, don’t be afraid to pursue your dreams, and never allow anyone to dictate your dreams.”
Wise advice for everyone, not just writers, and exemplified in this Jester’s life.
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Woody Woodburn writes a weekly column for The Ventura County Star and can be contacted at WoodyWriter@gmail.com.
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