Here’s a good one, if you like weird coincidences:
A man named Randy
A man named Randy had picked up a digital recorder in Goodwill, brought it home, realized the battery compartment needed cleaning, put new batteries in and played it to see if it worked and he heard a man talking about the Illinois nights and what kind of day it was and whom he had met that day and such. He then realized that it was a journal of a person who was walking a lot, a very tired person in pain. He listened to it, story after story and said to himself, as he is want to do, “I need to find this person. He set about trying to locate the man and managed to get a name from the tape and the name “National Pain Foundation.”
He searched Google and found some newspaper stories about a man walking Rt. 66 for pain awareness, but the NPF was out of business and Randy thought he had hit a dead end. He kept searching and later found the man’s name again on a site called “Heroes of Healing” so he wrote a message to him.
Now the man, Dennis Kinch, me, had given up on these tapes, some of which are still missing. They were my journals from Chicago to Oklahoma City where I finally got a video recorder to finish the trip to LA. The digital recorder was the big one though, because it had about 6 hours of audio on it. I couldn’t believe that this man had found it in Goodwill, 2 years after it went missing, 7 years after it was recorded and still managed to get it working!
Randy Smith, as it turns out is a chronic pain sufferer and was amazed to find a journal of a man who was traveling around the country teaching and counseling about chronic pain. Randy’s pain, and the subsequent “run through the medical mill” that goes along with pain disease, was suffering from a malady called Paget’s, a rare bone fracturing illness that causes deep, immense bone pain and nerve damage that causes radicular pain in his feet and hands. His left leg is filled with multiple fractures and he can hardly get around. Why do I know so much about this? Because that’s my disease too!
Imagine this coincidence, 2 people who suffer from a very rare disease find each other by accident an audio journal. Imagine Randy’s surprise when he looked up my current address and found out that 3 years ago I had moved to Boulder, CO…2 streets away from where he lived! Imagine his shock and awe to find out that I had been through the pain ringer too ad had been playing music to express my anger and frustration, Randy’s main hobby! We will meet each other before him and his wife, Linda go on vacation to Hawaii next week. He has already committed to being a soldier in the army, a pain warrior for PEAR and US Pain. Absolutely amazing! I hope and pray I’m up for this! I will be because, just like the Walk, He, (and we all know who He is) is guiding this bus!
Meeting Randy and Linda
Well, I met Randy Smith and his wife Linda today. It was truly an auspicious meeting and beginning; and another Godwink. It turns out he used to live in my apartment, 40 years ago!
We went to his house and talked a lot. It was great! It was two Paget’s patients meeting each other, sharing war stories about doctors with hidden agendas and regaining our spirits and our faith. Like two astronauts who were the only ones to walk on the moon at separate times we hugged a lot. Hearing him tell his stories was like me telling the same stories.
He now has Parkinson’s to go along with his Paget’s and Spine and nerve problems. He, and Linda, have been through a lot. God loves them and they love each other after 30 years of tragic medical stuff. They share their love of music and complement each other well. They seem to be at peace with the tragedies, they have forgiven but haven’t forgotten. No bitterness or resignation could be detected, just a sense of frustration and some fatigue, and rightly so. Their house is a project of their love of each other and life itself. Very homey with a sense that a lot of creativity lives here.
They have a daughter who is estranged, a story we’ll get to at some point. He has an affinity to “Angels with a broken wing”, a song Randy wrote. He doesn’t know about the connection of my oldest daughter, estranged from me, with “broken angels.” Another Godwink I’m sure.
Here’s the original message from “Heroes of Healing”
At 7:02am on May 2, 2013, Randy Smith said…
Dennis,
I live in Boulder....up by North Boulder Park. I have been in chronic pain for many years (20 or so) I too had Paget's Disease of the Bone for 10 years! My leg would fracture about every 3 months. I know the pain. And I remember the dull pain when it first started. I know have Peripheral Neuropathy and Parkinson's Disease. I am a bit of a mess! My days have many tears but as the years pass by I have found that I have a good life! I write music from my place in pain to comfort others! How about you my friend? How are you doing ? I would like to get together some time and share if you have time. I feel like I already know you. I went to the Goodwill the other day and bought a little digital recorder. I cleaned out the battery compartment and replaced the batteries. I found your journal of your 2400 mile, Route 66 WALK! I tried to find the face to the voice and finally came here! Feels like I belong ! I will gladly give back your recorder! It's not really mine. God Bless and Take care, Randy
I thought it was another pain patient and I was amazed to find someone with Paget’s. It’s extremely rare. When I got to the bottom, it didn’t quite register. What did he mean? How did he get my journals to record the audio? Maybe he was reading them into the recorder. Then I remembered the missing recorder. It was midnight by then and my daughter and I were sitting in shock. Could it be? How could it be? It’s not. I don’t know. I still can’t believe it.
A man named Randy
A man named Randy had picked up a digital recorder in Goodwill, brought it home, realized the battery compartment needed cleaning, put new batteries in and played it to see if it worked and he heard a man talking about the Illinois nights and what kind of day it was and whom he had met that day and such. He then realized that it was a journal of a person who was walking a lot, a very tired person in pain. He listened to it, story after story and said to himself, as he is want to do, “I need to find this person. He set about trying to locate the man and managed to get a name from the tape and the name “National Pain Foundation.”
He searched Google and found some newspaper stories about a man walking Rt. 66 for pain awareness, but the NPF was out of business and Randy thought he had hit a dead end. He kept searching and later found the man’s name again on a site called “Heroes of Healing” so he wrote a message to him.
Now the man, Dennis Kinch, me, had given up on these tapes, some of which are still missing. They were my journals from Chicago to Oklahoma City where I finally got a video recorder to finish the trip to LA. The digital recorder was the big one though, because it had about 6 hours of audio on it. I couldn’t believe that this man had found it in Goodwill, 2 years after it went missing, 7 years after it was recorded and still managed to get it working!
Randy Smith, as it turns out is a chronic pain sufferer and was amazed to find a journal of a man who was traveling around the country teaching and counseling about chronic pain. Randy’s pain, and the subsequent “run through the medical mill” that goes along with pain disease, was suffering from a malady called Paget’s, a rare bone fracturing illness that causes deep, immense bone pain and nerve damage that causes radicular pain in his feet and hands. His left leg is filled with multiple fractures and he can hardly get around. Why do I know so much about this? Because that’s my disease too!
Imagine this coincidence, 2 people who suffer from a very rare disease find each other by accident an audio journal. Imagine Randy’s surprise when he looked up my current address and found out that 3 years ago I had moved to Boulder, CO…2 streets away from where he lived! Imagine his shock and awe to find out that I had been through the pain ringer too ad had been playing music to express my anger and frustration, Randy’s main hobby! We will meet each other before him and his wife, Linda go on vacation to Hawaii next week. He has already committed to being a soldier in the army, a pain warrior for PEAR and US Pain. Absolutely amazing! I hope and pray I’m up for this! I will be because, just like the Walk, He, (and we all know who He is) is guiding this bus!
Meeting Randy and Linda
Well, I met Randy Smith and his wife Linda today. It was truly an auspicious meeting and beginning; and another Godwink. It turns out he used to live in my apartment, 40 years ago!
We went to his house and talked a lot. It was great! It was two Paget’s patients meeting each other, sharing war stories about doctors with hidden agendas and regaining our spirits and our faith. Like two astronauts who were the only ones to walk on the moon at separate times we hugged a lot. Hearing him tell his stories was like me telling the same stories.
He now has Parkinson’s to go along with his Paget’s and Spine and nerve problems. He, and Linda, have been through a lot. God loves them and they love each other after 30 years of tragic medical stuff. They share their love of music and complement each other well. They seem to be at peace with the tragedies, they have forgiven but haven’t forgotten. No bitterness or resignation could be detected, just a sense of frustration and some fatigue, and rightly so. Their house is a project of their love of each other and life itself. Very homey with a sense that a lot of creativity lives here.
They have a daughter who is estranged, a story we’ll get to at some point. He has an affinity to “Angels with a broken wing”, a song Randy wrote. He doesn’t know about the connection of my oldest daughter, estranged from me, with “broken angels.” Another Godwink I’m sure.
Here’s the original message from “Heroes of Healing”
At 7:02am on May 2, 2013, Randy Smith said…
Dennis,
I live in Boulder....up by North Boulder Park. I have been in chronic pain for many years (20 or so) I too had Paget's Disease of the Bone for 10 years! My leg would fracture about every 3 months. I know the pain. And I remember the dull pain when it first started. I know have Peripheral Neuropathy and Parkinson's Disease. I am a bit of a mess! My days have many tears but as the years pass by I have found that I have a good life! I write music from my place in pain to comfort others! How about you my friend? How are you doing ? I would like to get together some time and share if you have time. I feel like I already know you. I went to the Goodwill the other day and bought a little digital recorder. I cleaned out the battery compartment and replaced the batteries. I found your journal of your 2400 mile, Route 66 WALK! I tried to find the face to the voice and finally came here! Feels like I belong ! I will gladly give back your recorder! It's not really mine. God Bless and Take care, Randy
I thought it was another pain patient and I was amazed to find someone with Paget’s. It’s extremely rare. When I got to the bottom, it didn’t quite register. What did he mean? How did he get my journals to record the audio? Maybe he was reading them into the recorder. Then I remembered the missing recorder. It was midnight by then and my daughter and I were sitting in shock. Could it be? How could it be? It’s not. I don’t know. I still can’t believe it.