Am I a fireman yet...?

In Phoenix , Arizona , a 26 year-old mother stared down at her 6 year-old son, who was dying of terminal leukemia..

Although her heart was filled with sadness,
She also had a strong feeling of determination.
Like any parent, she wanted her son to grow up &
Fulfill all his dreams. Now, that was no longer possible..

The leukemia would see to that. But she still wanted her son's dream to come true..

She took her son' s hand and asked, 'Billy, did you ever think about what you wanted to be once you grew up? Did you ever dream and wish what you would do with your life?'

Mommy, 'I always wanted to be a fireman when I grew up.'

Mom smiled back and said, 'Let's see if we can make your wish come true.'

Later that day she went to her local fire Department in Phoenix , Arizona , where she met Fireman Bob, who had a heart as big as Phoenix !

She explained her son's final wish and asked if it might be possible to give her 6 year-old son a ride around the block on a fire engine.

Fireman Bob said, 'Look, we can do better than that. If you'll have your son ready at seven o'clock Wednesday morning, we'll make him an honorary Fireman for the whole day. He can come down to the fire station, eat with us, go out on all the fire calls, the whole nine yards!

And if you'll give us his sizes, we'll get a real fire uniform for him, with a real fire hat - not a toy -- one-with the emblem of the Phoenix Fire Department on it, a yellow slicker like we wear and rubber boots.'

'They're all manufactured right here in Phoenix , so we can get them fast.'

Three days later Fireman Bob picked up Billy, dressed him in his uniform and escorted him from his hospital bed to the waiting hook and ladder truck.

Billy got to sit on the back of the truck and help steer it back to the fire station. He was in heaven.

There were three fire calls in Phoenix that day and Billy got to go out on all three calls.

He rode in the different fire engines, the Paramedic's' van,
And even the fire chief's car.

He was also videotaped for the
Local news program.

Having his dream come true,
With all the love and attention that was lavished upon him, so deeply touched Billy, that he lived three months longer than any doctor thought possible.

One night all of his vital signs began to drop dramatically and the head nurse, who believed in the hospice concept - that no one should die alone - began to call the family members to the hospital.

Then she remembered the day Billy had spent as a Fireman, so she called the Fire Chief and
Asked if it would be possible to send a fireman in uniform to the hospital to be with Billy as he made his transition.

The chief replied, 'We can do better than that. We'll be there in five minutes. Will you please do me a favor?

When you hear the sirens screaming and see the lights flashing, will you announce over the PA system that there is not a fire?'

'It's the department coming to see one of its finest members one more time. And will you open the window to his room?'

About five minutes later a hook and ladder truck arrived at the hospital and extended its ladder up to Billy's third floor open window--------
16 fire-fighters climbed up the ladder into Billy's room.

With his mother's permission, they hugged him and held him and told him how much they loved him.
With his dying breath, Billy looked up at the fire chief and said,

'Chief, am I really a fireman now?'

'Billy, you are, and the Head Chief, Jesus, is holding your hand,' the chief said.


With those words, Billy smiled and said, 'I know, He's been holding my hand all day, and
The angels have been singing.'


He closed his eyes one last time.

Far beyond the sun....

Yngwiee Malsteem with the Japan philharmonic

Bach 's Chaconne

I.



II.


Bach's Chaconne from Partita 02 in D for solo violin by Itzhak Perlman

Είσαι όμορφος, γιατί δεν το καταλαβαίνεις...;

Πήγαινε σε ένα καθρέφτη μπροστά.
Κοίτα ευθεία.
Κοίτα καλά το είδωλό σου.
Πιο προσεκτικά.
Τι βλέπεις;
Είσαι σίγουρος για το τι πραγματικά βλέπεις;
Για ξανασκέψου...

Σπυράκια, κοκκινίλες, ουλές, περιττά κιλά, μικρό στήθος, έλλειψη τρυχοφυίας, αραιά μαλλιά, στραβά δόντια, πεταχτά αυτιά, προγούλι....

Μα καλά, μόνο αυτά βλέπεις;

Και όμως ναι. Δυστυχώς οι άνθρωποι έχουμε την τάση να εστιάζουμε σε πολύ μεγάλο βαθμό στα αρνητικά, στις ελλείψεις μας, στις αποτυχίες.... Και όλο αυτό έχει αντίκρυσμα στον ίδιο μας τον εαυτό. Λίγες είναι εκείνες οι φορές που θα επικροτήσουμε τις πράξεις μας, θα παραδεχτούμε την ομορφιά μας, θα πούμε... ναι είμαι καλός/η σε αυτό που κάνω, ναι έχω πολλές δυνατότητες μέσα μου που μπορώ να τις βγάλω προς τα έξω ενεργοποιώντας τες, ναι είμαι εμφανίσιμος/η...

Έχουμε στο μυαλό μας το πρότυπο των Mr and Mrs Perfect, λες εκείνοι πραγματικά υπάρχουν και θα υπάρχουν ες αει....
Μικρά κορίτσια, ακόμη και ώριμες γυναίκες ξεροσταλιάζουν μπροστά από περιοδικά μόδας εξωραϊζοντας την ομορφιά των μοντέλων, προσκυνούν τους τόνους μακιζιάγ που καλύπτουν τα νεανικά πρόσωπά τους και τα fancy ρούχα που έχει σχεδιάσει ο μεγάλος και τρανός Α, Β, Γ σχεδιαστής...
Νέα αγόρια και άνδρες θαυμάζουν τα μπράτσα και τους κοιλιακούς του ταδε ηθοποιού-μοντέλου-τραγουδιστή-παρουσιαστή (όλα σε ένα) με τη φοβερή lamborghini gallardo LP560-4 να στολίζει το ιδιωτικό γκαράζ της απίστευτης βίλλας του που βρίσκεται στα καλύτερα και πιο πλούσια προάστια του Beverly Hills...

Αυτό που πραγματικά θα πρέπει να αναρωτηθούμε είναι :
"Τελικά, αυτή είναι η ομορφιά;"
"Αυτή η υλική, πλαστική, προσποιητή ομορφιά που σε λίγα χρόνια θα ξεφουσκώσει από τα σχιφτά δικέφαλα και θα ριτιδιάσει στα απαλά μάγουλα ;"

Πήγαινε ξανά μπροστά στον καθρέφτη.
Μην πεις ακόμη τίποτα, μόνο σκέψου καλά.
Τι βλέπεις;
Ναι μπορείς, μπορείς να χαμογελάσεις.
Τώρα το καταλαβαίνεις;
Είσαι όμορφος/η.

Και μην αφήσεις ποτέ κανέναν να σε πείσει για το αντίθετο.

Σ' αγαπώ γιατί 'σαι ωραία . . . . . . . .

ένα κλασσικό τραγούδι, μα πάντοτε τόσο όμορφο... και αγαπώ όλον τον κόσμο, γιατί ζεις και συ μαζί...

Με μία κιμωλία στο χέρι και πολλή φαντασία και ταλέντο...

Hard to believe that these are drawn on a FLAT sidewalk surface

Street Artist's.....newest creations
Edgar Mueller Super Artist

Great Crevase Edgar Mueller. Hard work: Together with up to five assistants,
Mueller painted all day long from sunrise to sunset.

The picture appeared on the East Pier in Dun Laoghaire , Ireland ,
as part of the town's Festival of World Cultures.

He spent five days, working 12 hours a day, to create the 250 square metre
image of the crevasse, which, viewed from the correct angle, appears to be 3D.
He then persuaded passers-by to complete the illusion by pretending the
gaping hole was real.

'I wanted to play with positives and negatives to encourage people to think twice
about everything they see,' he said. 'It was a very scary scene, but when people
saw it they had great fun playing on it and pretending to fall into the earth.
'I like to think that later, when they returned home, they might reflect more on
what a frightening scenario it was and say, "Wow, that was actually pretty scary."


Mueller, who has previously painted a giant waterfall in Canada, said he was
Inspired by the British 'Pavement Picasso' Julian Beever, whose dramatic but
More gentle 3D street images have been featured in the Daily Mail.

Rise above, open your eyes to love . . .

And you said rise above
Open your eyes up
And you said rise above
But I can’t
I can’t

How long will it take
Before these feelings
Go away
How much longer do I wait
And are there any real answers
Anyway

Your silence in a crowded room
Louder than the loudest tune
I hang on every word

And you said rise above
Open your eyes up
And you said rise above
But I can’t
I can’t

I miss you in everything
I was too fast traveling
To take you in
I know, silence is no crime
Just wish I could hear you fill it up
One more time

Yes, I know what you’d say to me
Exactly what you said to me
I Still hang on every word

And you said rise above
Open your eyes up
And you said rise above
Yourself

In a time of treason
Is there time for trust
Where there’s no them
Only us
Is there time for reason?
Has your heart had enough
Is it time to let go
And rise above?

And you said rise above
Open your eyes to LOVE
And you said rise above
Yourself

Reeve Carney Ft. Bono and The Edge – Rise Above

Falling A n g e l s

Από το πρώτο album των Nightwish "Angels fall first" (1997)