Stephenson Family Ties

On the girl's brown legs there were many small white scars.
I was thinking- Do those scars cover the whole of you,
like the stars and the moons on your dress? I thought that
would be pretty too, and I ask you right here please to agree
with me that a scar is never ugly. That is what the scar makers
want us to think. But you and I, we must make an agreement to defy
them. We must see all scars as beauty. Okay? This will be our secret.
Because take it from me, a scar does not form on the dying.
A scar means, I survived.
from: Little Bee
by: Chris Cleave

This is a facebook post that my good friend Amanda wrote a few weeks ago. I felt strongly that I should share it.
This great country is full of good Americans, and its good to be reminded of this. We don't hear the positive stories near enough.
Hope springs eternal!!



So, I'm on my way to Sandoval (35 miles away from home) to take one of my work kids back to daycare. As I am driving through Odin, I see an older gentleman on rollerblades with a huge backpack. It's the middle of the day and the summer heat is miserable. I watch through my rear view mirror as this man gets smaller, smaller...and gone. I go ahead into Sandoval, drop off this baby, head back toward home when I realize my gas light is on. I stop at the local gas station and low and behold...there is the man on the rollerblades. He is fixing his skate. He smiles at me as I am walking in and of course I couldn't resist. I sat on the concrete sidewalk and talked to him for 30 minutes before offering him a ride to my town....crazy? I took him to the local newspaper where they covered his story (watch out for the paper tomorrow or the next day). I took him to dinner, introduced him to my family and offered him a place to stay for the night. Meet Mr. Yamashita. He is a 62 year old man from Japan. His journey began in California and will end in Cape Cod, MA. He is ROLLERBLADING across the USA!!! His message...."Thank you America".

The hair on my arms stood up as this man handed me a newspaper clipping of a Japanese Newspaper. I couldn't understand the writing but the picture was all too familiar. A New York City fire fighter kneeling at the rubble of the World Trade Center. As my mind journeys back to that day for the third time this week, strange enough, Mr. Yamashita says when he has a hard day he looks at this picture and he is reminded of his journey here. I was brought to tears as he spoke such little English.

His mission here is to say thank you... He remembers being a boy after WWII. He remembers fresh milk that was given to him at lunch. It came in a large drum. It was from the states. He recanted stories from that time and the "hope" that America gave him. He talked of the great Earthquake years before and the aid that came from this country. His eyes lit with every story. His passion....my home.

But this isn't the first time Mr. Yamashita has made this trip. Twenty years ago he came here with his son. He was 42 and his son 14. They took the same journey on bicycles. He dreamed of coming back. For twenty years he dreamed. He is glad to tell you he is living his dream. And part of that is letting the younger American generation know just how thankful he is for our country. He spreads the message of hope and dreams and gratitude. He is a true inspiration.

I found myself ashamed as he spoke about a lifetime of adoration for something I take for granted every single day. Not something, but rather somethings. It is so easy to forget that there are children starving as we shovel fast food down our throats and throw away that last pile of mashed potatoes on our plate from a Sunday dinner. It's easy to forget that we have choices and are blessed with family, friends and WORK. It's easy to take for granted our health...and our youth. It's easy to forget our strength and our personal missions. It's easy to let dreams go by the wayside in the fear that we are too old or too broke or too whatever. It's easy to pass that old man on rollerblades because we are too afraid to ask where he is headed. It's easy to fall into the daily hum drum of life and forget that we are part of something bigger. It's easy to give up and just wait around for whatever it is we wait around for. But Mr. Yamashita....he's living.

I'm sitting here in my living room. Chris is at work. The kids are with my mom. I am alone in my home with a complete stranger sleeping 15 feet from me. I chose to be angry for so long at an America that was selfish and falling apart by the decades. That was my focus. And here a stranger from another world is sleeping and praising God that his dream of being in America has come true. He has talked of all the hospitality and kind gestures our people...yes I said it....our people....our America has shown him. And I am reminded that I am blessed and my belief that people are good isn't so crazy afterall.

Not only does Mr. Yamashita have a love of our country, but he has a love our Christian God as well. He believes that this is his duty. He believes that this is his greatest mission before leaving this Earth. And he swallows up the people he encounters with two handed hand-shakes followed by several hugs. He believes every hug, every handshake, every kind gesture is from God and it is his strength to push on. He has crossed the deserts, the mountains and the plains living his dream. And we are all a part of it. And he pushes on for all of us, as he believes he has a duty to be a model that dreams come true. Not just for Mr. Yamashita, but for Amanda and Chris, for little Audri and Lilly, for anyone who will allow him to say thank you.

So, as I sit across my living room and I look to that very large backpack with an American Flag draped over it....I am thankful for my new friend from Japan who changed my thoughts overnight. I am glad to be a part of his dream. I am thankful to be young. And I ....yes me....I am proud to be an American. Good luck Mr. Yamashita and may ALL of your dreams come true.







Thank you Amanda for sharing this with anyone who will read it!!
I miss your face and company like crazy!!!
Come back and see us again- SOON!!!