February 4th, 2013
strange and beautiful
I HAVE BECOME AWARE OF YOUR SITUATION
PLEASE USE THESE FUNDS AS YOU PLEASE
ALL THE BEST
The return address on the envelope was my own. Very clever. The first name was just an initial, and the second name I didn’t recognize. A strange and beautiful piece of correspondence.
There has been bread from a baker friend in NH.
There has been Whiskey from all over creation. I am not joking. Whether delivered by hand or sent in the mail, we have not had to buy bourbon around here for months! Which is impressive considering the rate at which it is consumed. An embarrassment of bourbon. (say that out loud.. it’s really satisfying.)
My great friend and riding partner Saint Georges recently sold one of his paintings and had the buyer paypal me the money so that the raw materials for the UTA would not come out of my pocket. It was important to him that the bike be entirely payed for.
A gigantic check from my cousins with the instructions that Hill and I should be spending some vacation time on the massage table.
A family discount and memory upgrade on a new laptop from another cousin.
I can do this all day, I swear. There have even been donations through a donation button that Megan Ann set up on the blog 4 years ago, when I was first diagnosed and we were feeling the pinch.. (we have now disabled it.. my gratitude, however, to those of you who sleuth-ed it out!).
I stopped at the desk to talk with the manager the last time I went to the pool hall to gamble some one pocket with John Smith (his real name).
“Hey.. I just wanted to clear something up. The last bunch of times I’ve come in, I haven’t paid for table time..”
“yup”
“So that’s the deal? I just don’t pay here?”
“Yup.. That’s right. Enjoy it!”
I have never been particularly good at asking for help or accepting it even, really. Lately you’re not giving me much choice. It is a strange feeling to be the focus of so much generosity. I’m at a bit of a loss for words. Thank you all.
big LOVE to you Ez! from Chicago…
I think this blog should be called ‘teaching Doug to cry’. It’s clear you have many, many friends out there. Peace and love to you.
There’s good reason for all the love. Those of us who don’t know you personally are blessed to have gotten to know you through your writing and photography. Your openness and vulnerability have been great lessons and inspiration for me, personally. Thank YOU, Ezra.
and some more love coming in from Chicago!
Not surprised…you are soooooo Alive you inspire people.
You truly are loved from afar (San Francisco) by someone you don’t even know.
My thought is that you have probably given all of us much more then you have received.
we reap what we sow. it is that simple.
You give then when you need you receive.
enjoy it.
Beautiful gifts of love. Beautiful.
HOLA EZRA!!!!! ESPERO Q ESTES MEJORANDO TU SALUD AMIGO,EZRA QUIERO HACERTE UN DONATIVO PERO NO SE CUAL ES LA MANERA SEGURA DE HACERLO,SE Q HAY UN PAYPAL PERO NO SE SI ES SEGURA ,OSI PUEDO MANDARTELO POR CORREO PERO NECESITO TU DIRECCION,ME LA PUEDES EMBIAR, CUIDATE Q SIGAS MEJORANSO MUCHOS ABRASOS MI CAPITAN.
Thats so wonderful, the generosity of people is beautiful.
Big loves from Western Australia from someone you dont know but who wishes you all the best!
Ezra, apparently you have a karmic surplus. Spend it wildly.
What you put out into the world will one day come back to you multiplied.
Warm thoughts from Canada.
Keep on westward and you’ll have love from Minneapolis as well!
when you survive all this? man you owe us!!!
to the penny.
ok? hahaha!!
for real.
Don’t forget to order your hat!!!
And Indiana – Much love and appreciation for all you share…
Aw I always love seeing these mail surprises:)
Big Love!
Big love and hugs from Vancouver. Thanks for continuing to share your journey, insight and humo(u)r with us all. You deserve every last drop of that bourbon and much more.
true story: you are beloved.
It is much deserved. Love to you & Hil!
I am not surprised. You haven’t any idea just how special you are and how many people who have been affected for the better, by knowing you, if not close up, even from afar!
Much love from Michigan.
Ezra, it’s been a very long time since we last communicated, but I wanted to thank you for this, for all you’ve made and done. I’ve been following for a while, off and on. There’s nothing I could give you that would ever make up for what I’ve received and learned from you. You’re wonderful and the way you live is exactly how life is meant to be lived. Thank you for showing the rest of us how it should be done and how we can do it. You’ve changed the way I look at life in a profound way. All of these things people give you have been earned and deserved!
Sending you much love and the warmest of wishes and blessings from China!
I am not making light of your situation, however I think that people look at making a career as a bicycle messenger also as a sort of terminal situation, so bike messengers get a lot of free coffee and people pay for everything.
Hang in there and thank you for sharing this process.
You have always inspired me to live a more beautiful life. I am a stranger to you, yet you have touched my life in a big way for some time now. If I knew some way to repay you for that, I would.
Warms my heart when good things to good people after bad things have happened to those same good people.