[AKidsRight.Org] A New Year for Reform / To start: Your Movie & "Slow Dance"

webmaster@AKidsRight.org

Good People & People of Faith,

How to begin the New Year?  Perhaps the poem that follows has some
sound advice.  It certainly made me stop what I was doing, get up, and
take a slow walk outside -- maybe you will also.

In addition -- are we making progress for Family Law reform?  Maybe
not.  Laying the foundation for future progress?  I think so.  How do
we know when real progress occurs?  We start to see News reports daily
that talk about Civil Rights, that talk about the sacrifices loving
parents are making to fix the system for themselves and their kids.

The sames signs that were present when people knew the days of
segregation were over (http://www.AKidsRight.Org/civil_back.htm).

Before a nice poem, a final thought, a Hollywood moment: "If it can't
happen in a movie, it sure won't happen in real life."

Let's use the imagery again of watching a movie about parents
denigrated and stripped of the ability to see their children.  Not
only this, but alienated and hated by their child.  Watch four parents
respond to this gross injustice.  Watch their response and their
struggle and their heartache:

* ONE - begins a descent into bitterness and hatred.  They can't
even look at another parent  of the opposite sex -- "They get
all the breaks -- dirty scum!"  They attend a few 'protests'
and their sign says "Down with Judges!" ...

* TWO - gets involved with someone else and a new family.
They come to accept what happened and slowly start to forget...

* THREE - they manage to keep Faith and start taking dramatic 
public actions, NonViolent actions. Their sign says, "I love my
kids!". Gets arrested and jailed ...

* FOUR - devotes time visiting legislators, organizing coalitions,
and challenging unjust laws ....

What happens next to each of them as the movie comes to a close?
What about us?

--- Submitted by iamjahlul@aim.com       "A Poem - Slow Dance"

[ If you had to imagine the sound track to the movie above, this
poem might be it.  An ode to the moments missed and that can never
be 'made up'. - Ed.]

> This poem was written by a terminally ill young girl in a New York
> Hospital.  It was sent by a medical doctor - Make sure to read what
> is in the closing statement AFTER THE POEM.

                Slow Dance

Have you ever watched kids on a merry-go-round,
or listened to rain slapping the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight,
or gazed at the sun into the fading night?

You'd better slow down, don't dance so fast,
time is short, the music won't last.

Do you run through each day on the fly,
when you ask "How are"? Do you hear the reply?
When the day is done, do you lie in your bed,
with the next hundred chores running through your head?

You'd better slow down, don't dance so fast,
time is short, the music won't last.

Ever told your child, we'll do it tomorrow, and in your haste, 
not seen his sorrow? Ever lost touch, let a good friendship 
die, 'cause you never had time to call and say "hi".

You'd better slow down, don't dance so fast,
time is short, the music won't last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere,
you miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day,
it is like an unopened gift ... thrown away.

Life is not a race, so take it slower,
hear the music before the song is over.

------------

> PLEASE pass this mail on to everyone you know - even to those you
> don't know!  It is the request of a special girl who will soon leave
> this world due to cancer.  This young girl has 6 months left to
> live, and as her dying wish, She wanted to send a letter telling
> everyone to live their life to the fullest, since she never will.
> She'll never make it to prom, graduate from high school, or get
> married and have a family of her own....

------------

[ We researched this a bit. This poem is most likely a fraud and was
not written by a terminally ill child. A lot of people have sent it
around. 

It still expresses some beautiful and true sentiments.  See:
http://www.chainletters.net/index.cgi?item=356 - Ed.]

-- 
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webmaster@AKidsRight.Org             "A Kid's Right to BOTH parents"
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