Sunday, April 20, 2008
12 Year Anniversary for a Heart Transplant Recipient
I just read the April 2008 Change of Heart newsletter. Change of Heart is a support group for heart transplant recipients (see link on the right to go to their website). On April 26, 1996, my father had a successful heart transplant. A self-less and loving gift to him, and to my entire family.
I am so proud of my father and how he gives back. He is Chaplain of the Heart Transplant Unit at University of Cincinnati Hospital; until only recently, he served for many years as President of Change of Heart; he is very involved with patients waiting for heart transplants by supporting and counseling them, & their families, as well as recipients; he assists in fundraising and obtaining sponsors for Change of Heart; and is an advocate for waiting patients and recipients to the transplant unit. People reach out to him from all over the US for his counsel.
I am also so very proud of my mother who supports my father, is extremely active in my father's servicing of others, and is also very active in supporting patients, recipients, and their families. It takes a very special, and very strong, person to walk the transplant and recipient journey with someone. My mother is an angel.
Dad was asked to write his profile and it was shared in the newsletter. In honor of his 'birthday', I'd like to share it with you...
I am so proud of my father and how he gives back. He is Chaplain of the Heart Transplant Unit at University of Cincinnati Hospital; until only recently, he served for many years as President of Change of Heart; he is very involved with patients waiting for heart transplants by supporting and counseling them, & their families, as well as recipients; he assists in fundraising and obtaining sponsors for Change of Heart; and is an advocate for waiting patients and recipients to the transplant unit. People reach out to him from all over the US for his counsel.
I am also so very proud of my mother who supports my father, is extremely active in my father's servicing of others, and is also very active in supporting patients, recipients, and their families. It takes a very special, and very strong, person to walk the transplant and recipient journey with someone. My mother is an angel.
Dad was asked to write his profile and it was shared in the newsletter. In honor of his 'birthday', I'd like to share it with you...
"On August 4, 1933, I became the sixth son of Dolphus and Hazel Dunigan Burke who lived in a small coal mining town at the head of Cabin Creek called Wevaco, WV, about 30 miles south of Charleston, WV. It was one of the worst years of The Great Depression. My mother said I was her five dollar baby, two for doctor and three for material to make diapers for me.
Mom and Dad later had four more children for a total of eight boys and two girls. In 1944, my parents bought a 164 acre farm in Southern Ohio near Athens, OH. In September of that year, we moved there and I later learned that the reason they bought the farm was that they did not want any of their children working in the coal mines.
It was after we moved to Ohio that I met a remarkable man and neighbor, John Sheppard, who was 79 years of age. As I remember the story, his parents left the Athens, OH area and headed west. John become an orphan on the Oregon Trail, and was put in an orphanage in Oregon. As a young teenager, he ran away and rode a bicycle from Oregon back to Ohio. The bike was the kind that had a very large front wheel and a small rear wheel.
Later, John went to Alaska to dig gold around Dawson Creek in the Yukon Territory. I later found John listed in the "1896-1899 Family Chronicle -- Alaska-Yukon Gold Rush Participants." John returned to Ohio a wealthy man. He married, bought large farms and planted an apple orchard. (I include John in this profile because he played such a great role in my life as a young boy and as a teenager.)
From the year 1944 til 1952, I worked for John as a neighbor along side of grown man who were being paid. However, I was never paid for my efforts. I would complain to Mom and Dad, but their answer was always "Son, we are John's neighbor and neighbors help one another." Dad would then add, "it will come back to you."
In spring of 1951, I was driving John to the city of Athens when he asked me if I'd like to have 75 acres of brush. I told him yes I would, but he knew I didn't have any money to purchase the land. John then slapped me on the leg and said, "Son, it's yours. Don't tell anyone except your Mom and Dad." I then remembered what Dad had said -- "it will come back to you." Little did I know what John had planned for me the last six years. On the day of title transfer I was working for John without pay.
As I write this, I am sitting in my cabin looking out across the deck into the woods. I come here to relax, write, meditate, hunt, and visit family and friends. My family and I built this five room cabin in 1974 and it is setting on the above mentioned 75 acres.
I came to Cincinnati in 1952, went to work for Procter & Gamble, and enlisted in the Navy in 1953. After basic training and two different aviation schools, I was assigned to an Experimental Squadron VX3 in New Jersey, just outside Atlantic City. While there in 1955, I had the privilege of flying in the right seat of an AD5 plane and on a return trip from Rhode Island, the pilot asked if I'd like to have some fun. I said I would.
Well, we flew around the Empire State Building three times. I could see people standing at the windows. At the time, the pilot and I did not know that in 1945 a B-52 Bomber had crashed into the Empire State Building killing several people and caused a lot of damage to the building.
Little did I know that a year later I would be flying in the B-52 Bomber (this is the plane that Jimmy Doolittle flew to invade Japan at the beginning of WWII). Some of our pilots were enlisted men as well. This was after the Korean War and there was a shortage of pilots and flight crews. I was discharged in March, 1957. I returned to work for P&G.
I met Rosemary in 1959 and we were married on July 2, 1960. God blessed us with five children -- four boys and a girl.
In 1969, Rosemary and I went to visit my brother, Hebron, and his wife, Maxine, and their family. Hebron and I went fishing. Maxine took Rosemary and the kids shopping. They shopped in antique shops and Maxine got Rosemary interested in antiques. When I returned and we came back to Cincinnati, Rosemary made me take her to some antique shops. So, I too, came down with the "fever"!
As I tend to do, I went "all the way" into it. I went to auctioneer school in Indiana after working all day at P&G. After getting my license, we started conducting auctions, mostly antique. It was a family business. After my health began to fail, I slowed down on the auctioneering part. It was a lot of physical work. Today I still buy and sell antiques and collect some.
After my parents passed, I became interested in stories they had told me about our ancestors. I have traced my ancestors back to the colonies of Virginia and Maryland, and to the countries of Ireland and England. I have printed a genealogy book about the Burke, Dunigan and Marcum families.
Rosemary and I have made several trips to Virginia, Kentucky and other places searching cemeteries, court houses, and libraries for information. I now have 16 chapters written in a book about my family, which started before my heart transplant. I hope to finish it this year at my cabin, while supervising timber cutting of my 75 acres.
I lost my father, mother, and three brothers to heart problems. I began having heart problems in my mid-forties. On April 26, 1996, I was blessed with a heart from a donor from Columbus, Ohio. Rosemary and I attended our first Change of Heart meeting in 1996, and I began serving as chaplain. I served as President for five years, and Rosemary has been serving as Treasurer for the last nine years.
Remember to do good for others for "it will come back to you." God is good, all the time."
~ written by Charles Donald Burke
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Saturday, January 19, 2008
In Search of Me ~ il Trebbiolo
Sometime during my nineteen years in Corporate America, I laid down and drifted off to sleep. It happened so slowly and quietly that I hadn't even noticed, and it took years for me to realize I was missing. When my company announced it was offering separation packages, my goal was to be the first employee to request one. Three days after I left the company, I boarded a plane for Europe to begin my sabbatical ... in search of me. In search of the place where my very essence lay waiting to be awakened from a long and deep sleep...
My friend, Natalie Bauman, joins me for my first week, which is in Italy. As we drive from Florence into the Tuscan countryside, the beauty of the landscape overwhelms us. We look at a few tattered hotels before finding ourselves near the town of Olmo and driving down a private lane lined with the tallest cypress tress I have ever seen. Tuscan trees, as I like to call them. My tuscan trees. Even before the lovely villa comes into view, I somehow know in my heart that this is a special place for me. Was it chance, or the winds, which guided us?
il Trebbiolo Hotel, "our villa" as Nat and I prefer to call it, is breathtaking. I climb out of the car and as I stand gazing, I feel I must whisper so as not to disturb her beauty. il Trebbiolo is sun-kissed yellow and has green shutters and iron rods on the windows. There are many flowers and bushes, including what appears to be a lemon bush bearing fruit and casting a slight scent of citrus into the air. A front courtyard, with her tall trees and low stone wall, provides a shaded place to sit and enjoy the view of terraced hills, olives trees, and distant towns. Two column terraces on either side of the main entrance display tables with white linen cloths enticing us to come and dine. The courtyard floor of small pebbles announce our arrival to our hosts.
Sabrina and Roberto, our hosts, cater to us as though we are their only guests. As we dine on the most delicious fare we have ever tasted, Nat and I take in the view. Both neighbors from nearby towns and guests from surrounding hotels are patrons of the restaurant whose local chefs use their families' timeless recipes. We enjoy a carafe of local chianti, the best bruschetta I have ever enjoyed, chicken with port and almonds, and carrots with onions in balsamic vinegar. Our palates have never been so delighted! Nat and I talk for hours at our table on the terrace, finally moving to chairs beside the wall where candles cast the perfect amount of light. A hushed peacefulness abounds. This is the perfect place to breathe deeply and allow life to speak to us. The perfect place for us to absorb. We see the lights of a church on a hillside in the distance. Its bell gongs midnight. I listen hard to the late night sounds hoping to hear something that will magically guide me on my search.
There is something energizing about waking up in brisk air and sunshine! I remember spending my childhood summers in the country and waking up to the same freshness. Nat and I get an early start to our days beginning them with a delightful breakfast of yogurt and mueslix, fresh bread with prosciutto and mozzarella, and apricot tarts. And, of course, fabulous Italian cappuccino! Ahhh...Italian cappuccino. It alone is worth a trip to Italy.
We spend our days driving through the countryside to Arezzo (a small Etruscan town dating back to 4th century BC), Fiesole, and Florence. Each day we return to il Trebbiolo with time to relax before dinner. We spend the time taking a nap in the cool of the late evening, going for a run along the country roads, glancing through the many Italian books in the living room, or sitting by the wall absorbing the scenery as it looks so different with the sun in this position. The green of the rolling hills, the blue of the sky, the intense sunshine. Ahh, is it just that I'm so captivated by the beauty of Tuscany or are the colors more vibrant here? Maybe it's the peacefulness that brings so much life to the colors. I realize that the beauty of this land could heal my soul. I have found a place where I, along with time, stand still. A place where my mind and my heart meld into one allowing my soul to completely envelop me. Where my soul reaches from deep inside, wraps around my complete being, and gently folds me back into myself. I have found a special place in Tuscany, at my il Trebbiolo.
Our last night before leaving for Venice, Nat and I once again sit next to the wall, absorbing. There is something so magical about il Trebbiolo that we try to take in her serene beauty for those times when we will wish we were here. All of the stars are out tonight. The church bell strikes mezzanotte. Midnight. A small lamb is nearby and calls for its mother. So much is being said, though neither of us say a word. Natalie decides to head to our room to write in her journal. As I sit under the stars and absorb the Tuscan night one last time, I hear a faint sound coming from somewhere off in the distance. It almost sounds like someone breathing softly as they sleep...
~ June, 2001
Sunday, December 2, 2007
One Place
I never thought I would be a blogger, and I promise not to make this one of those personal whining blogs. So many friends have asked me to keep my former community updated with entries of my adventures since moving to NYC. But with every day life, creative writing & my journal, I simply haven't had the time. I thought a blog would be a great place to combine those and capture my thoughts, adventures and some of my creative writing. Bear with me as I will get this up & running smoothly soon, complete with a direct link to my former private community site (http://groups.msn.com/EuroKEuropeanSabbatical).
As I shared in my Christmas letter last year, 2006 was a year of savouring the moments and the people God brought to my life. What turned out to be the theme of my 2007 was, sticking. An element of that was thinking about what, as a child, I dreamed my life would be ... and what it is/has been. I had always envisioned being married and raising children, despite my wanderlust. While I love change and my wanderlust soul, sometimes, during those periods when life is exhausting, I think it would be nice to be one of those who can live in one place and make their entire life there. The following song lyrics seem to capture my thoughts on this topic best...
One Place
(performed by Everything But The Girl)
Happy to be home.
A summer evening; I walk past the windows
The baby cryin'; Someone's cooking dinner
There's laughter on the TV
Someone's learning the violin
And how at home, at peace
At times like this, I feel...
I would like to live like anybody else
In one place
And I could be happy and fulfilled
In one place
So I get the map out
And draw a line of where I've been
It goes through sea and sky
Twenty-five planes this year
And it's only July
This is not some Bible, like "On The Road"
It's just a song about coming home
And whether...
I could live like anybody else
In one place
And I could be happy and fulfilled
In one place
You know that I have found
I'm happiest weavin' from town to town
You know Bruce said
we should keep movin' round
Maybe we all get too tied down, I don't know
Happy to be home
In the end, if you take care
You can be happy or unhappy anywhere
I think we maybe all rely too much
On one place
Oh I never would deny the need
For one place
So I get the map out...
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