Moved

I'm moving, for the third week in a row, this weekend but the title refers to some of the mail I've gotten that I'd like to share.

I've won a whole bunch of awards for my work in a professional sense, from all over the world and while those mean a lot to me, I value these a thousand times more. I've got a bunch more but these are some of the more recent ones and if I've left you out, trust me that I treasure it all the same.
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Dear Iain and Jon,

I wanted to take a moment out of the day to sincerely thank both of you for your work. My name is Christina, and I am a university student on Long Island, New York. At my university I hold the position of a Resident Assistant (which if you don't know: it's a student staff position.. it's my job to make sure the residents of my dorm feel at home, have someone to talk to if things get rocky in their lives, someone to advise them about their resources on campus, etc). My building, and particularly my wing of residents have had a very rough year. There have been many crisises, some small and some large. Overall though the morale of the 40 or so men and women that I am supposed to help was hurting. My spirit was hurting watching them hurt. Ever since I've found your little space on the internet, I've read it over every day. When I have a bad situation to deal with, or if I am feeling discouraged, after it is all said and done I'll usually take a scroll through please find this, and I find words that are comforting.

One of the small (and usually viewed as insignificant) parts of my job is to make bulletin boards once a month to give residents something new to read or be entertained by. Every bulletin board I have put up since September has been ripped down or otherwise destroyed, but not this month. I decided that because it we were approaching the end of the semester, and finals week.. I wanted to go the extra mile. This month I created a bulletin board devoted to your website, with 15 of my favorite posts displayed on it, along with the history, the awards and the story about your collaboration. I wanted to expose my residents to your kind and caring message, so that while they were doubting themselves, down on themselves or just overall feeling gloomy they could know that someone, somewhere is thinking about them and cares. Within hours of finishing the bulletin board, I was receiving several notes under my door saying "thank you" and "your bulletin board made my day". A few residents even group hugged me as I was coming back from the bathroom that morning. I catch them, both the men (who are some tough cookies when it comes to reaching out to them) and the women standing in the hall and reading over your words and admiring your photographs and more often than not copying down the URL of your site that I wrote across the bottom of the board in large silver sharpie letters. Your work truly has made a difference in the morale and overall sense of community in my part of the dorm. The board has been up almost a full two weeks and there has been no destruction. I found it, and I passed it on to them... and in return I would like to pass on all of the gratitude that I have received for passing on your message.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

-Christina

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My Grandmother died on April 10th, 2009, at 2am. I had been with her in the ICU for two days, watching her body struggle to breath, watching her gasp, and the machine beep. Her heart was erratic, so odd for someone who had done so much for her community.

When we were took her off the ventilator's, the doctor's said that she would only last a matter of minutes. Two hours later, we were still saying a Rosary, (she was catholic, I complied) and the hospital staff was still amazed that her body had not given up. She was a tough old bird, and she died not knowing who I was, but loving me all the same.

The first thing I saw in the morning after I had woken up and learned of her fate, was "The Nature starts to turn". It described my grandmother so vividly, that I began to cry. She would have greatly appreciated it, if she had not lost her memory. She was an high school English teacher in Spokane, Washington.

Later, my father asked me what I wanted to put on her casket. I showed him "The Nature starts to turn". His eyes teared a little. Whether it be because of the words, or the date it was posted he responded, "And it was even posted on the day she died." He was quiet, after that. We both were.

Later the funeral home told us that we couldn't place any items on her casket. I didn't ask why not, and I don't plan to. As soon as my grandmother's remains are entombed next to my grandfather, I plan to print out "The Nature starts to turn" and place it and her grave plaque. I plan to sit there, and tell her all about pleasefindthis, and read her the beauty you posted on the day she died. I plan to tell her about how pleasefindthis how made me an even more determined writer, and how it has saved me on more then one occasion, from my self.

So, thank you Iain. Thank you for writing and creating and being. I don't know what I would have done if I had not seen "The Nature starts to Turn". I don't know what the last three years of my life would have been like if I had not been able to pull up pleasefindthis and take comfort in your words, and Jon's photography.

I know that if my grandmother was still alive today, she would thank you too.

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Whoever you are. Thank you. You have no idea how much that reply meant to me, all those months ago.

-From an ex-prostitute, on her way to saving the world. =)

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the blog is really beautiful, although not entirely true at times. the writing is feverish and eloquent but usually mostly the same making the meaning kind of faded. they blend together into mush.

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The last one is just to prove that not everyone likes it and whatever you do in life, you're never going to satisfy everybody. That's just the way it is. And besides, she could be right.

I am a lucky person and I try never to forget it.