just as i am.

ginny owens has an album of hymns that i must purchase before day's end. i think my two faves are "just as i am" (below) & "it is well."

http://www.ilike.com/artist/Ginny+Owens/track/Just+As+I+Am

also, diving bell & butterfly update. there's a raw quality to the way bauby relays his experiences at berck in france, the hospital he lives in after stroke. but not so raw that he comes across as completely callous. medical professionals & old friends treat him differently b/c of his new appearance, his confinement & inability to speak. but what's more hurtful to him than uncomfortable looks, or the awkward conversations that whirl around him, is what's said behind his back. he refers to the gossipers as vultures looking to pounce on him the moment tragedy has hit. they call him a vegetable. they express disdain for his new condition. they strip him of his humanity.

motivated in part by hearing about some of these comments, he begins to write a monthly update on his life at berck. in response, numerous letters pour in. letters from new admirers, & from old friends breaking their silence. the deluge of support afforded by the correspondence heartens bauby & seems to revive him as often as they're re-read. "i hoard all of these letters," he writes. "one day i hope to fasten them end to end in a half-mile streamer, to float in the wind like a banner raised to the glory of friendship.

it will keep the vultures at bay."