A Double Thank You

I have 2 reasons to thank you today.  First one is that this is my 100th post from my blog, which I couldn’t have gotten to this point without the support of some great people I have met in the industry who have taken the time to comment and meet me outside of the web either in person or on the phone.  Thank you very much, I appreciate the opportunity to touch base with you and to be welcomed into the community.

The second reason is all about last night.  Yes the election.  Now before you think “oh great, more blabber about the election”, please hear me out.  It has a very personal connection to my life.

My father was born in 1930, September 11th to be exact, in a run down little house in Norfolk Virginia.  He was born into the Great Depression, grew up in it, watched his father go to war, his mother stay at home to take care of him and his brother and sister.  He served in the Korean Conflict and got a medical discharge after being diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy.  A few years later he became a Presbyterian preacher in Southeastern Virginia and found himself drawn to a very enigmatic and compelling character who had visited his church;  Dr. Martin Luther King.  Interestingly enough, these 2 men had a number of conversations with one another in terms of Christian theology, civil rights, and a focus of bringing equality for all through community efforts in the church and local political process.

On a hot August day in 1963, my father put his crutches under his arms and walked with Dr. King and hundreds of thousands others to watch him deliver his “I have a dream” speech.  My fathers life was changed by the sheer power of the whole event, and thankfully, the message stayed with him for the remainder of his life.  My father passed away from heart failure due to Muscular Dystrophy in 1987, a week away from my 11th birthday.

Before he passed away, he had a talk with me that has forever shaped who I am in my beliefs and approach to my fellow human beings.  Tolerance, belief in their ability, forgiveness in their errs, and to never stop demanding we all elevate to higher levels through positive communication and community.  Everyday is a challenge to meet those standards… I often find myself losing faith in the people I share the world with after thumbing through the headlines.  But I keep steady in my beliefs regardless;  it’s what my father wanted for me, it’s what I want for my children.

My family has been riddled with tragedy and diversity, and I stand at the end of it all to be alive to see last night’s history.  My father had been born into the Great Depression, fought in a war and was taken by Muscular Dystrophy.  My older brother is wheelchair bound with severe cerebral palsy unable to feed or change himself, unable to speak, and has limited control over his basic motor skills and yet multiple IQ tests reveal that he is near genius.  My other brother passed away from HIV/AIDS in 1999 after a 7 year battle but would still get up every day as he began to fade away and keep faith in science to stop the disease for himself and everyone around the world.  My mother passed was diagnosed with Hodgkins Disease in the 1990’s, beat it into remission only to get diagnosed with lung cancer in 2004;  she fought with every fiber of her being but unfortunately lost that battle 2 years later.  My first born son was born at 35 weeks, 3lb 12oz, and is border line autistic but he has progressed so much in school that his pre-kindergarten teacher has had to change the class curriculum to keep up with him.

This all happened within my life by the age of 30.  It’s been a lot to take in and live with, but in retrospect when I think of each of these people, all I ever see is strength and determination.  That is the Webb tradition.

And that’s what last night was for me.  Validation.  Something my father would have loved to have seen had finally happened.  Something that Dr. King dreamed of, came to fruition in front of the whole world.  My children have been handed what I believe will be the foundations for a better future.

This election is for you Dad.  This election is for me, you and even the people who don’t believe in the change.  And I thank all of you for taking part on both sides of the argument.  This is our time now.

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