Month: February 2015

James Robertson, “The 21-Mile Man”

Up until just recently, James Robertson was an average guy from Detroit, Michigan who was doing something on a regular basis that was most definitely anything other than average. What was it? He was walking to and from work, except it wasn’t just any walk. It was approximately a 21-mile walk that he did for almost 10 years, regardless of whatever the elements were outside. But even more impressive was the work ethic he maintained and impeccable attendance he kept throughout it all.

It all began back in 2005, when Robertson’s last vehicle, a Honda, died on him. Given the wage he was earning then, (now $10.55/hour) he realized he wasn’t going to be able to afford the cost of owning another vehicle. Unfortunately public transportation wasn’t necessarily his saving grace either. After repeated cutbacks to the local bus service, the walking portions of his daily hike to and from his factory job in Rochester Hills continued to grow to an eventual 21-mile long trek.

Yet Robertson never wavered through any of it.

He’d even show up to work soaked to the bone on days when it was a wet commute, still on time, and with a positive and upbeat attitude. Now that really says something doesn’t it?

Day in and day out, Robertson did this implausible journey to work for almost 10 years until just recently when his story became national news. Since then, something even more inspirational has transpired. A student from Wayne State University, 19-year old Evan Leedy, used GoFundMe, an Internet crowd-funding site, to raise money to help Robertson, which at the moment of me writing this had already reached an astonishing amount of $140,000. (Update 2/4/2015 – The amount is now over $230,000.)

So it appears Robertson’s days of taking those long arduous 21-mile walking commutes are over now. Yet he has remained humble through it all and even said on a Good Morning American segment he needs to be careful how he acts now because God’s blessings could be taken away at any time. That’s pretty incredible if you ask me.

It’s made me think of my many ego-filled days years ago when I once sat in my own warm vehicle commuting similar distances to work during torrential downpours or intense blizzards complaining about how long it was taking. Thankfully, it’s stories like this that have continued to help smash my ego and show me how others in this world have endured far greater than I ever have.

Thus I’m truly grateful for learning of this inspiring story about James Robertson from Detroit, Michigan. I’m grateful to know how dedicated he was for all those years to getting to work on time regardless of his unfortunate circumstances. I’m grateful there were so many people who came to his aid and offered him their love by donating some money to him. And I’m grateful to see the level of humility he’s been able to maintain through it all.

So James, I want to personally thank you for being such an inspiration to me and for your dedication to God. You are “The 21-Mile Man” who has shown me that even in life’s most frustrating moments, I should keep on going, one step at a time, and smile knowing in the long run that God will always see me through them all…

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

“Honor Your Mother And Father”

While I may not like how the Bible continues to be used to condemn people in this day and age, there are still some words and passages from it that I try to live by. One of which that’s been resonating with me lately are the multiple occurrences of the phrase “honor your mother and father”. I think that’s because I spent years doing the exact opposite.

It’s no secret that my family was quite dysfunctional. In fact, I’ve written about it a number of times in here. My father had bi-polar manic depression and went untreated with his disease for years. He also was an alcoholic who never fully utilized the benefits of the 12 Steps and instead did his best to remain clean and sober on his own. My mother on the other hand suffered from depression as well, was overly codependent, and too battled alcoholism. It made for a very rough childhood for both my sister and myself.

I was very bitter about this once I left home and went off to college. When I became an active alcoholic and drug addict myself while there I took every opportunity to verbally trash the way my parents raised me. You might say that I used it to my advantage, often with the sole reason to seek pity and comfort from others. It also helped me to justify why I drank and drugged to excess every single time I did. Unfortunately, that behavior didn’t cease within me once I found sobriety from both. And what made matters worse were my father’s suicide and my mother’s tragic drunken fall down the stairs during my sober years. These incidents only became even more of a catalyst to harboring my anger and resentments towards them. I rarely had anything good to say about them and was usually on the opposite end of the spectrum in doing what those words said in the Bible.

Through the help of therapy, the ManKind Project, the 12 Steps, meditation, and prayer, I eventually was able to release all the ill will I had felt for so long towards my mother and father. And once it left me, I saw the both of them in a vastly different light. It really is interesting how much my anger and resentment towards them consistently blocked my ability to see the love they had for me, but thankfully, I can today. I’m able to honor my mother and father now with the respect they deserve, because if it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be who I am today and I wouldn’t have learned as many of the spiritual lessons as I have.

But even more importantly are all the things I can see now they did for me that so many others I’ve met in life never had. So thank you Mom and Dad for always providing me with a roof over my head, with food on our table, and with clothes on my body. Thank you for the many vacations you took me on, the bountiful gifts you gave me on Christmas and birthdays, and for all the other holiday surprises I received. Thank you for all those movie nights we had, the hikes you took me on, and the many card games we played. Thank you for all those swims I had in our pool, the meals you took me out to, and the compliments you gave me in many of my life’s earliest achievements. Thank you for paying for all of my college education, for financially supporting me when I couldn’t, and for continuing to do so even now, long after you’ve been gone.

Lastly, and definitely most importantly, thank you for being the first ones to teach me about God. You see it’s because of that I’m able to honor you both now just like the Bible says to do, with the love and praise you deserve. I miss you Mom and Dad and I love you both immensely. Thank you for everything you did for me, I couldn’t have asked for better parents.

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

Coming Out To A Blast From The Past

I knew a tremendous amount of people during my college years at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). In fact, I was a regular partygoer with most of them during my drinking and drugging heydays. Sometimes I’ve wondered if that’s precisely the reason why I never was able to fortify and deep and long-lasting friendships with any of them back then. But other times I’ve questioned whether it’s due to an action I took after graduating, which was to come out of the closet. Ironically, the latter of which was confirmed recently when a former college-drinking buddy resurfaced in my life named Frank.

When I met Frank, I wasn’t out of the closet. In fact I was only dating women at the time and had no real idea about my sexuality. While there were plenty of moments I had my doubts about my sexual attractions then, I usually took them as the result of my excessive drinking and drugging, especially given the ways my brothers in Phi Kappa Psi acted when they drank as well. In all honesty, I assumed it was just being one of the guys.

It was because of Phi Kappa Psi though that I befriended Frank, as he was a friend of one of my fraternity brothers. In time, the two of us started hanging out and partied quite a bit together. For the majority of a good portion of one of my college years, things remained that way until he became more serious about his academia and I more serious about my growing addiction to alcohol and drugs. Soon, we only saw each other in passing on campus, as I was always off to the next party, while he tried to focus more on getting his degree.

Six months after graduating, I was working in Fairfax, Virginia and at the bottom of my alcoholism and drug addiction. I hadn’t spoken with Frank for at least nine months, maybe more. He was one of those I had begun to regret losing contact with at that point in my life. I started having many regrets like this as I tried to sober up, because I realized my disease had pushed many good friends away just like Frank.

After I finally got clean and sober from alcohol and drugs, I started facing my sexuality issues. In time, I came to acceptance that I was gay, and began taking steps to call various fraternity brothers and former friends of mine from college that I had lost contact with hoping they might accept me. Most didn’t go over so well. Frank was one of them. I don’t remember much of our conversation, other than it being the last one I’d have with him for almost two decades.

On and off throughout a good portion of the years that would pass after that conversation, I often wondered where Frank was, how he was doing, and hoping one day he might resurface in my life. Sadly, somehow I forgot his last name and was unable to look for him because of it. But I think that’s the way my Higher Power probably wanted it. I’m not sure if I would have had as much of an appreciation for Frank resurfacing in my life if it had been during any of my addiction-riddled years. Thankfully, I’m not in that place anymore and I truly believe that’s why my Higher Power knew I was ready to receive a spiritual gift that would come in the form of Frank finding me on Facebook.

The wonders of social media are sometimes a very beautiful thing because Frank was able to locate me on Facebook just over a week ago now. After getting a message from him there, I received a phone call from him a few nights later and an apology on how he handled my “coming out” to him all those years ago. He told me guilt had riddled him for years and wanted to say he was sorry, of which I wholeheartedly accepted.

I’m not sure if I would have had as much of an appreciation for that hour-long conversation with Frank if I were still actively engaging in the things I did during much of the 19 years that had passed since last hearing his voice. Regardless, I’m just grateful for the gift from my Higher Power and take it as a sign of the spiritual growth I’ve made in my life.

So even though I may have been a little too erratic and hasty in my coming out process with people like Frank back in the mid-90’s, it goes to show that my coming out to a blast from the past wasn’t really the end of a connection, it was only a long pause to one. I think that has to happen sometimes to allow for two people to grow enough spiritually so that they may reconnect on a much healthier level down the road. Thank you Frank for reaching out, as you really helped to bring a little more peace and serenity into my life and for that I’m truly blessed…

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson