Skip to main content

Lessons From Rayna

The Readers Digest was almost a required read in my household growing up. I remember reading the jokes and funny stories that people submitted and thinking, "If only something that funny would happen to me, I might have the chance to win 250 bucks for my story." Mostly, it was a source of laughter and feel-good anecdotes. One series that I particularly liked was the "most unforgettable" character series. We all have people like that in our lives. Unforgettable folks whose voices ring clearly in our heads at the most unexpected moments. Whose faces we can trace without a blink. And whose absence leaves a void that no other can fill.



Thirteen years ago today, I lost my dear friend, Rayna. Talk about an unforgettable character. I can still see her cheeks welling up and eyes narrowing as she tried to hold back the fit of laughter, which would surely reveal the practical joke she had laid out for me. Some things were just too good to pass up, and for Rayna, laughter was one of them.

But while she could brighten up your day with a smile and a chuckle, she was serious when it came to caring for people. That is all she wanted out of life. Just barely into med school, a car accident took her life long before she could ever join Doctors Without Borders and travel the world saving lives and making each part she visited that much better.

While we tend to look towards those who have achieved that which we hope to in life as role models, I still consider Rayna one of the most golden examples of how to live this life we have been given. Here are just a few lessons I carry with me to this day.

  • Jump and splash in each and every puddle after the first rain that ends a long drought.
  • Laugh until it hurts.
  • Laugh in spite of the hurt.
  • Be your brother's keeper.
  • When in doubt, channel a Molly Shannon SNL character
  • Care because you can and because it is what God expects of you.
  • Be there.
  • Share your joy and let others share theirs.
  • Pitch in.
  • Appreciate that people are different from you.
  • See the good in everything and every one.
  • Seek ways to make things better for those who can't themselves.
In other words, appreciate the gifts you are given in life and use them to the fullest.

Popular posts from this blog

Medium Size Business Owner Wonders, "Where's the Love?"

Hal Stigler, owner of medium size business, Hal's Pal's, is feeling a little left out of the current political banter over our Nation's troubled economy. The Monee, IL entrepreneur has gainfully employed 102 local residents for the past 5 years, disqualifying his company from being classified as a small business , while bringing Hal's Pal's no where close to the same league as their big business cousins. "It's just not fair," said Mr. Stigler. "Corporations are rewarded with tax loop holes and bail outs and small businesses are constantly being heralded as job creators. Where are my loop holes? Where's my recognition for creating 102 jobs?" Mr. Stigler conceived the idea for Hal's Pal's while working to sooth his beagle's separation anxiety. Mr. Stigler's canine friend, also coincidentally named Hal, would chew his 6-year old daughter's dolls until the family returned home in the evening. The family tried everything ...
Post a Comment
Read more

An Open Letter to Politics

Dear Politics, There is no easy way to say this, so I will not try to sugar coat it. I will be blunt, but swift, so hopefully the sting will fizzle quickly. You, sir, are a bitch. I know, mean, right? I'm not sorry I said it. It is a fact and facts, necessary as they are, can hurt. The facts are indisputable. Facts are emotionless. Facts do not play favorites or lean right or left. Facts are sometimes hard to take. But facts do not lie. And the fact of the matter is that you, Politics, are a total bitch.
Read more

Overpopulaton of Punctuation Marks Threatens Message Extinction

[Because this bears repeating in such desperate times] Scientists report that a recent rise in the overuse of punctuation marks will ultimately lead to the demise of the common message. It is not known if the increasing trend of ending a sentence with multiple and in some cases, mixed, punctuation marks is the result of the natural evolution of messaging, or if human actions are speeding the process. What is clear, though, is that punctuation marks and messages are not taking their impending doom lying down. In a rare twist of bipartisanship, punctuation marks and messages came together to call for measures to halt the message crisis and return our civilization back to the days of making points in a clear, concise manner. Speaking for the punctuators, Exclamation point stated, "I'm a loner. You don't need two of me. The whole purpose of my existence is to accentuate a  point. I thought I was doing that just fine already." Mr. Question Mark had this to...
Read more