WE ARE BOTH FROM FORMOSA (BUT ONLY JUST RECENTLY MET) Pt. 3

It occurs to me that each and every one of us have come along on our own personal Formosa, and that our personalities were shaped by our own proverbial Formosa’s. We are products of our nature and our nurture. Our environment, and the people with whom Providence saw fit to surround us.

In my own professional role I think I have been exposed to every conceivable type of person and personality. The good, the bad, and the ugly among us. The rich, the poor, the educated, the uneducated, the excellent and the mediocre. 

As I have traveled life’s highways and byways, and as they have passed by, I have wondered who they were, where they originated, where they were going, where they lived, what they did. And, (perhaps you will find it strange) I have filed a few away in the recesses of my memory. 

The teenaged girl in a wheelchair who rolled past my childhood family and me; as we visited the Indian Reservation in Cherokee, North Carolina. The middle-aged woman who took time to express her thanks and embrace me, as I served as a reservist in south Florida; in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew. The young mental patient who expressed to me that no one ever came to visit the facility in which he was confined, not his family, not his friends, and might I see my way clear to hug him? (I did). The woman who walked across the pedestrian pathway, as my automobile paused at a Tampa red light. And a similar occurrence, when another entered an Eglin Air Force Base hotel. 

Yes, I have often wondered who they were, where they were from, what they did, and where they were going. People who, in this life, will never cross my pathway again. But I pray for them.

Yes, my friends, amongst the almost 8 billion people who inhabit God’s green earth, each and every one of us have our own personal and proverbial Formosa’s. Our own nature and nurture. Products of our environment and the people Providence has seen fit to place in our pathways. 

And it occurs to me that another has been added to the long list of those who have somehow caught my attention and who has left an indelible impact on my life.

She and I were both raised on Formosa, but only just recently met. And I can tell you,

…She has the most wonderful personality, the most amazing smile, and she makes the fastest, ‘meanest’ sandwich in the business!

By William McDonald, PhD. Excerpt from "(Mc)Donald's Daily Diary" Vol. 51. Copyright pending

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