As I was in a morning meeting, I witnessed two of the boys talking and the subject matter of their conversation really caught my attention. Ryan and Dale walked into my office and sat down. Ryan asks Dale, “Where is your father?” “My father is on vacation, Ryan.” “But Dale, he has been going a long time and I do not feel like he is coming back, I’m going to ask your mother.” So Ryan leaves the office, and goes next door. The walls are so thin, we could hear them talking. Ryan asked Dale’s mother, “Where is Dale’s dad?” Dale’s mother replied, “He is in heaven.” All the sentiments of Worldly grandeur vanish at that unavoidable moment which decides the destiny of men.  Bereavement (the loss of a friend or relative to death) can make a person feel vulnerable or worthless. It typically changes one’s views of the World and the future. Understandably, when you lose someone you love, there is a lot to work through emotionally. After I heard the conversation, I took it upon myself to interview Dale and his mother, Shannon.  The interview follows. It was a warm, joyful, day. Dale was at a birthday party, when his mother Shannon got a phone call that her husband was deadly ill and, in the hospital, and had days to live. This floored Shannon because she and her husband had not been separated that long, and they were best friends.

So she quickly grabbed Dale, they left the party and went to the hospital. When they got there, Shannon’s husband, Dale senior, was in a hospital bed, could barely speak and his female “caretaker” was there, looking extremely upset. Something was wrong, the vibe in the room was off. The doctor then comes in and lets them know that Dale’s father had maybe three days to live and that if they wanted to take him home, they could, so he could die in peace, and not in a cold government institution. Shannon was already in a new relationship, and she knew Dale wanted to take his father back to their house, but both of them also know this would make Shannon’s new man friend uncomfortable because it was a house they bought together. So they caretaker knew this and had Dale shipped off to her house.  Dale Jr. was upset and confused and worried about his father and his future, “Why did no one tell me my dad was dying, I could have spent more time with him and made sure everything was taken care of, but like a jerk, I was studying for finals?!” So Dale’s father went to the caretaker’s house, her name was Sue. Sue had Dale Sr’s hospital bed placed in the family room, and no one, but her friends and family and Dale was there. Dale’s father slipped him a note and said make sure you ask them about my CD (certificate of deposit), and let his son know that he would still financially support him with the benefits from a life insurance policy.

A few hours went by and Dale’s father could not talk and was having problems breathing. Sue’s husband came down stairs and yelled at Dale, “He (your father) is scaring the kids. And, I am your new daddy and sue is your new mother and you are not getting any money.” Then Dale turned his back, and his father started grasping for air and then suddenly died. Sue’s cousin came into the room and said, “Look, someone pulled the breathing tube out, tell them you know.” Dale went over to Sue and asked her what happened, Sue balled up her fist and got hostile and said, “My husband has money!” Then the corner came, and Dale cried as they put his father in a body bag and wheeled him out of the house. Sue’s brother replied, “Something wrong with that boy, why he cryin’ for no reason?” Little did Dale and Shannon know; their universe would be irrevocably changed. The Death or her husband and his father was like tsunami rushing in and ripping their lives apart. Dale’s father had survived the Vietnam war, agent orange and Hodgkin’s  Disease (which he was told would kill him 3-5 years after the war, and that he would never be able to have kids). Dale’s father was cut open from his throat, down his chest and to his sternum to remove the cancer, and it was successful, but he always had limitations because of the damage done to his body, but Dale Sr. never let his kids know that and kept working to support them.

So anyway, back to the death of Dale’s father. Sue would not let Dale’s son have any part of the funeral, and she even put pictures of her family in the obituary, but not Dale or his biological children. Not only that, but Sue took all the money, did not give his kids any, and added on to her house. To make matters worse, Sue even called the auto insurance company and reported that Dale was using his dead father’s policy, so the insurance company contacted him and let him know that he needed to get his own policy; no big deal. However, the father was handling the boy’s financial business, he was just supposed to go to college and get a good job. You see, because of his father’s service in the war, and the cancer, Dale was born with a birth defect, and after the doctor’s operated on him, they damaged his nerves, so the father knew his son would need a desk job, which paid well, so he could work and take care of himself, without depending on anyone. However, after his father passed, at the young age of 56, Dale’s life fell apart. He had to drop out of school and his medical conditions, because of mistakes made by some doctor’s got even worse. To top matter off, Dale has been slandered and harassed by several reporters, who have spread vicious lies about him, so even if he could find a job, which he could do, it is likely that he would not be hired because of the reputation he has.

So now Dale is stuck living somewhere would people physically attack him and make fun of him because he has a medical condition, which limits his physical activity. To make matter worse, they keep threatening to cut off his financial support, leaving him homeless, and no one is doing anything to stop these beasts from attacking the young man. The community is well aware what is going on, but authority figures pretend to have no clue as to what is happening. So this young man is stuck praying that his life gets better, he recovers and that he does not end up homeless. Dale has no one to turn to for anything and is doing the best he can. The reporters, who slandered the young man, their employers know, but will not to anything to resolve the matter, they just keep letting their employees act crazy and pretend not to know what is happening. Dale’s neighbors all talk about him and make life hard on him. Dale has not told anyone, but the community members are aware what happened to him, who did it and how he is treated, and they are all tired of it. People are very protective and supportive of Dale, but clearly, he needs to be compensated for the things these reporters and others did to him to make his medical condition worse. The devil used to say that it was better to reign in Hell, than to be a valet de chamber in Heaven. For this young man, life is a lot like being stuck in an abusive relationship with nowhere to go and no one to turn to for help. All he can do is pray and hope that God will save him before he ends up on the streets or dead.

There is no human institution, however wise and salutary in its natural effects, which the depravity of man cannot pervert to the most pernicious purposes.  Everyone is just happy that Dale has a supportive and loving mother, after what he has been through, he is lucky to be alive, and if not for her, Dale probably would not be with us today. Dale recalls his father being like, “Superman. He was always strong, loving, kind, caring and hard working. He was gentle, but intense. Always looked for the benefits in life and loved his children more than anything in the World, especially considering they were never supposed to be born and he was not supposed to live long enough to even meet them, let alone raise them. So be thankful for your parents and for your job. Some people are unemployable. He has some physical limitations that got worse.  It is rare, but people sometimes burn others, ruin their reputation so no one will want to deal with them or help them. However, remember, to deny a man the preferment which he merits, and to give it to another man who doth not, is a manifest act of injustice, and is consequently inconsistent with both honor and honesty. So here is the back story on the young man all these reporters are teasing, and it is even more complex than I can let you know. However, these reporters see nothing wrong with teasing a private citizen and airing and distorting his business. It is like the reporters are mentally disabled and lack common sense, and for some reason, their corporations keep acting like they are clueless. Maybe there will be a happy ending, maybe Dale’s father is truly on vacation and will come back to save his son?