Just a Great Story
I found this on Ursula's Facebook page. A story to keep in mind when you hear someone going off on how rotten and selfish today's generation is.
The Florida Times Union
In a kingdom called Fletcher High, she defies Down label
By Mark Woods
In the grand scheme of prayer requests, theirs seemed fairly simple.
Dave and Melanie Stieglitz were asking for friends at their church to pray for the youngest of their three daughters, the one who was born with Down syndrome. Not that they wanted God to change anything about her. To the contrary, they were hoping, praying, to change those around her. Specifically to change her classmates at Fletcher High School. Not all 2,000 of them. Just one.
God, they asked, send a friend to Cara.
One friend.
Someone to sit with her at lunch.
At the time, Cara Stieglitz was 14 years old, a Fletcher freshman. And if you had wandered into the school and, just at a glance, tried to pick who was least likely to be named homecoming queen, you might have pointed at the girl who was eating by herself.
"As a parent, that pulls at your heart," Melanie Stieglitz said of picturing her daughter sitting alone.
So every Tuesday, she went to school and ate lunch with Cara. And on Sundays, they prayed that someone else would join her.
They never imagined that four years later Cara would be standing on a football field, wearing a purple dress that she and her mother picked out for homecoming. The court already had been narrowed from more than 80 nominees to 10 boys and 10 girls. One by one, the runners-up were announced. Then the king.
Jesse Hughes fits the traditional mold of a homecoming king. Star basketball player, 4.2 grade point average, good-looking, popular. He was the nominee of the senior class.
But the queen ...
Several television stations were there that night, so you may have seen video of the moment. The queen leaping up and down, her grin making the king's grin grow even bigger. Everyone in the stands on their feet. Parents dabbing their eyes. And not just Cara's parents.
The king said his mom was crying.
"And not for me," he said with a laugh.
So beyond prayer, how did this happen? How did Fletcher High become the scene of a story that feels almost too good to be true, like something straight out of a movie script? How did Cara go from sitting by herself in the lunchroom to standing by herself on the football field, the crowd cheering as the time-honored symbol of high school popularity was placed onto her head?
This is Cara's story. But it is also her classmates' story.
>Continue reading at Florida Times Union.
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Jul '10
Re: Just a Great Story
Thanks Bill, Thank you for 'adding' to the daily dialog with something that reminds us of our humanity and purpose. George Will's oldest child Jon was also born with Downs Syndrome and his stories about his son are filled with love and admiration for someone who overcomes against things in life we take for granted. These stories easily bring tears to my eyes for the simple non theatrical way these people make everyday life so much more than we do with all our 'abilities'. After all the political discourse this is a quiet reminder that it isn't politics that changes lives, its people.
Aug '10
Re: Just a Great Story
Whew. This has made my day. Whew.
Re: Just a Great Story
Just as you said, Bill, a truly great story--great as a piece of journalism, greater still as a demonstration of the fundamental goodness of American life.
Jul '10
Re: Just a Great Story
Excellent comments to an absolutely wonderful story.
And no.... I... I just got something in My eye...
Aug '10
Re: Just a Great Story
Wow. This never would have happened at my high school. If our student body had elected a girl like Cara as homecoming queen, it would have been out of pity, not friendship.
It is good to know that other places are different.