Dear Friends,
"You don’t see movies
like that anymore, do you? it was amazing!"
Such was the response
from Sandy Manchella, a friend from St Louis I met several years ago at a
restaurant in Henderson Harbor, a little town a few miles from where I
spend my summers. She was working as a waitress for her brother who had just
opened the restaurant, and we became instant friends. How that happened is a
subject for another story, but now being on my Leadership Thought mailing list,
she e-mailed me the introductory words to my message above. She wanted to let
me know about the movie she had just seen.
The movie, Soul on Fire,
is about the life of John O' Leary. who as a child suffered burns over 100
percent of his body. Doctors gave him little to no chance of survival.
However, because of the encouragement of Jack Buck, a legendary play
by play broadcaster for the St Louis Cardinals, a janitor, who every day
faithfully cleaned and disinfected his room, and a nurse who wouldn't let young
John give up on himself during those darkest days of his life, John survived to
become one of the most popular speakers in the world.
Even before I had
learned about him from Sandy, I had come to know John through his writing. His
stories and his life experiences were always a source of great
inspiration and encouragement to me, so when I learned they were making a movie
about his life I was eager to see it.
So yesterday, on a cold
and blustery day, I ventured forth to see what probably will be my only movie
of the year, and how glad I was for the choice I made.
If you are anything like
me who averages one movie a year, then this is the one movie you must
see.
For those of you who
live in my area it is being shown in theaters in the Monmouth Mall and in
Hazlet.
I know this is not a
typical Leadership Thought, but I hope my message, and one of John's messages
which I share below, will provide you enough encouragement for you to
experience the movie for yourself.
Yours in faith and
friendship,
Tom
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