“What goes around, comes around.” For years I
listened to life stories of the “greatest generation,” wrote them for their
families. My major guide was a book I wrote in 2002, Remembering Your Story A
Guide to Spiritual Autobiography. I have been sidetracked by a combination of
events, some beyond my control, like a stay in the Hospital. But two sages have
led me back to this life passion. One was Bill Denny, a resident WWII veteran,
who is blind, and has an amazing story. He survived four major invasions of
World War II, including Omaha Beach. When I asked him how he survived, he
chuckled and replied, “I ducked!” For me it was a miracle. I wrote his story,
and gave it to his son,and those precious memories are now preserved. Yesterday
I had the privilege of listening to Dorothy Manzlak, born in 1920, and became a
poet in her 70s. I sat spellbound as she recited from memory many of her poems,
written by inspiration. Her first poem, “Your Holy Light” begins this way:”Oh
my God, my Heavenly King,all day will I your praises sing.” She wrote, “I must
become like a blank piece of paper and let the Lord write what He will on my
heart and mind. ” Listening to Dorothy quote numerous poems from memory, and
reading others convinced me that the Spirit has indeed inspired her. Many of
her poems have been published by the Salesian Brothers. Bill and Dorothy remind
me of the classic words of Albert Einstein, “There are two ways to live your
life. One is not to see your life as a miracle, and the other is as if
everything is.”Dorothy and Bill have lived their lives as if they were miracles!
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