Meg Johnson is a quadriplegic, and she is AWESOME! I don't even know her personally, but I would love to. Here is her story:
"Three days before Christmas, on Wednesday, December 22, my husband, Whit, was loading my silver Subaru Baja with boxes of Christmas gifts for our friends and neighbors. It was very cold outside so he started the car and turned the heater on high – warming it up for me because, after breaking my neck almost seven years ago in a hiking accident, I have lost the ability to control my body temperature.
As Whit loaded the car, he noticed two people walking up the street. He made three trips with boxes of gifts to the car, and with each trip he noticed the people getting closer and closer…
On his last trip inside, Whit closed the front door, almost all the way, but stayed in the entry and called for me to come. He had just grabbed the last gift off the entry table when he heard screeching tires…
Whit peeked through the blinds then suddenly threw open the door in time to see our car – gifts and all – driving away!
Time seemed to slow down as Whit shouted to me from the front door to call the police. After I hung up the phone, we both stayed at the front door, part hoping it was a mistake – or a joke – and our car would come driving back up the street at any moment.
But, as hard as we hoped, our car didn’t come back.
Away went my “independence” with its modified controls – the only car I can drive. And it is expensive. Older, but expensive. So expensive. And, most of all, I need it!
As we looked on from the front porch in the bitter December winds, we huddled together and did the only thing we could think of: we laughed.
We laughed because we were surprised.
We laughed because we were confused.
We laughed because, if we didn’t, we’d cry.
I stopped laughing long enough to worry about the neighbors’ gifts. “What are we going to do now? What should we give them instead?” I asked.
Whit shrugged and answered: “This year ‘the thought that counts’ will have to do”. And then we laughed some more.
Joseph B. Wirthlin said that “the next time you’re tempted to groan, you might try to laugh instead. It will extend your life and make the lives of all those around you more enjoyable.”
Thanks to the diligent help of the Ogden City Police, my car was returned just after midnight on Christmas day with just minor damages. All the gifts and treats were gone and we wondered if the thieves had enjoyed them – then we laughed some more.
We laughed when we found a squished marshmallow between the seats.
We laughed when we found brass knuckles on the floor.
We laughed when we started the car and rap music shook the speakers.
And our laughter shrunk this horse-pill tragedy into a sweet Skittle experience.
Of all the real-life thieves who don’t ask before they take, Life is the worst one. Life sneaks in and takes what it wants – when it wants – without even asking if you need it.
Life drives off with your health, your home, or your job. It drives off with your schedule, your clean house, your efforts. And it feels unfair. And frustrating. And no police search can recover your loss.
But as we stand in the bitter winds of experience, watching the tail lights drive off with what we thought was ours – let’s turn around and take a good look at what’s not in the car.
…and laugh - we did."
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