Just Jefferson

This is the story of Jefferson, who many people call “the bent over man” because he walks with a most crooked back.  Sometimes he looks like he is more crawling than walking, but this he cannot help.  If given the choice, he would walk as most others, but this is Jefferson’s way.  People stare at him because he appears to be so different, but that is the least of his troubles.  For example, a short trip to the grocery store is a planned and practiced maneuver. Jefferson must pull himself into his car while carefully keeping the door steady. When he is in the car, he can push himself into a somewhat upright position so he can safely drive the car into town. He parks so that there is no car on his driver’s side because sometimes the wind catches the car door and pulls it from his grasp.  

Jefferson walks always with his head tilted up so that he can see what is in front of him even though it is much easier for him to look at the ground. He keeps his arms extended when he pushes through the doorway of the store to keep from bumping his head. The grocery cart does help him to remain steady, but getting food over its side can be quite a challenge. He mostly chooses items from lower shelves, but, at times, he will ask a kind person to get something that is beyond his reach. When he is finished shopping, Jefferson pulls his car to the front of the grocery store to get help with loading. He is unsteady when holding the car door, stopping the cart, and moving bags from here to there.

You might think that Jefferson leads a miserable life, but he is very happy living in his part of the Land of Terra amongst the same trees that are your friends and mine. He could ask his kind neighbors to travel to town for him, but he prefers to do for himself whatever and whenever he can. Jefferson worked as a fireman for many years and injured his back while crawling from a burning building. He considers himself lucky to be mobile at all after such a close escape.  

Jefferson talks to the birds and the squirrels and the chipmunks that live near his home. He walks his dog, Buddy, at least twice each day, come rain or come shine. That is the least that he can do for his very best friend in the world - the two are most perfectly together most all of the time.  Jefferson loves to smell honeysuckle and wild onions and fallen leaves. He plants his own garden and eats fresh vegetables that he has grown. He wakes with the sun and sleeps with the moon, daylight the only clock that he needs. He loves when the wind blows in his face, feeling most a part of nature when a soft breeze connects him to this tree and the next tree and the next. Jefferson is just Jefferson. He might not love the exact same things that you love, but he does think and feel and breathe and hope. He enjoys most every day, even though he must do it with a bend in his back. We all carry things with us, some more noticeable than others. Perhaps we are more alike than we think …