Everybody’s Talking About…Wicked Good People (Special People We Know and Love)
By Joanne Lewis
I have never met Michelangelo Buonarroti. I have never had a conversation with him nor heard his voice. I have learned about his life from his artwork, his poetry and his letters. I feel as if I know him better than I know many of my closest friends.
As a writer, I yearn for creative talent to equal his. As a student of the Italian renaissance, I am fascinated by one of its geniuses. From a spiritual perspective, there is a deep connection between Michelangelo and me.
Why? When I look at David, his famous sculpture, I feel powerful. When I see his Pieta, the sculpture of Mary mourning the loss of her son, I know unconditional love. And when I look at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, his magnificent portrayal of life’s creation, I am certain his gift of creativity comes from a higher power. And therein lies the origin of my obsession. He is not of this earth. There is no equal to his creative prowess. That he can continue to touch me and others after 500 years is nothing short of amazing.
Although I can only admire him through his works and through the ages, his power of creativity motivates me every day.
By Amy Lewis Faircloth
I have been thinking about this for days. It shouldn’t be this hard for me to write of someone I admire. Frankly, there are a lot of people I admire; a lot of sincere souls who make the difficult choices on a daily basis. There are friends and family and teachers and co-workers whom I admire. How can I pick just one? I can’t. For that reason I will write about a group of folks I admire.
To the parents of special needs children. This isn’t what you expected. This wasn’t your dream, but you adjusted. You learned and you listened and you loved. And while learning and listening and loving, you cried and you fought for your child and you went without sleep. You have lost friends, spouses and jobs. But you keep learning and listening and loving. This is what you do. I hope you take the time to laugh. To the parents of special needs children. I wish you a lifetime of learning, listening, loving and laughter.
Joanne Lewis and Amy Lewis Faircloth’s award winning debut novel Wicked Good was released on August 7, 2011 by Telemachus Press, LLC. Their essays above are part of a very special event on The Muffin—Everybody’s Talking About Wicked Good People. Visit the blogs participating in this event and you can enter to win a copy of Wicked Good.
Amy is the older sister who loves her 2 sons and nephew, dogs, volunteering at the Bangor Humane Society, running, hiking, snowshoeing, surfing the web, her brown poodle Teddy, Lola, writing, reading, cycling, going to bed early, spending time with her friends and family, being outdoors when it’s nice outside and indoors when it’s not, and editing Joanne’s writing. She is a pescatarian and a lawyer in Maine.
Joanne is the younger sister who loves her 3 nephews, her grey poodle Frisco, writing, hiking, snowshoeing, kayaking, cooking, traveling, Florence, Italy, anything to do with the Italian Renaissance, Michelangelo, spending time with her friends and family, and being edited by Amy. She is a vegetarian and a lawyer in Florida.
Find out more about Amy and Joanne by visiting their website: http://www.amyandjoanne.com/
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| Portrait of Michelangelo by Jacopino del Conte |
I have never met Michelangelo Buonarroti. I have never had a conversation with him nor heard his voice. I have learned about his life from his artwork, his poetry and his letters. I feel as if I know him better than I know many of my closest friends.
As a writer, I yearn for creative talent to equal his. As a student of the Italian renaissance, I am fascinated by one of its geniuses. From a spiritual perspective, there is a deep connection between Michelangelo and me.
Why? When I look at David, his famous sculpture, I feel powerful. When I see his Pieta, the sculpture of Mary mourning the loss of her son, I know unconditional love. And when I look at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, his magnificent portrayal of life’s creation, I am certain his gift of creativity comes from a higher power. And therein lies the origin of my obsession. He is not of this earth. There is no equal to his creative prowess. That he can continue to touch me and others after 500 years is nothing short of amazing.
Although I can only admire him through his works and through the ages, his power of creativity motivates me every day.
***
I have been thinking about this for days. It shouldn’t be this hard for me to write of someone I admire. Frankly, there are a lot of people I admire; a lot of sincere souls who make the difficult choices on a daily basis. There are friends and family and teachers and co-workers whom I admire. How can I pick just one? I can’t. For that reason I will write about a group of folks I admire.
To the parents of special needs children. This isn’t what you expected. This wasn’t your dream, but you adjusted. You learned and you listened and you loved. And while learning and listening and loving, you cried and you fought for your child and you went without sleep. You have lost friends, spouses and jobs. But you keep learning and listening and loving. This is what you do. I hope you take the time to laugh. To the parents of special needs children. I wish you a lifetime of learning, listening, loving and laughter.
***
Joanne Lewis and Amy Lewis Faircloth’s award winning debut novel Wicked Good was released on August 7, 2011 by Telemachus Press, LLC. Their essays above are part of a very special event on The Muffin—Everybody’s Talking About Wicked Good People. Visit the blogs participating in this event and you can enter to win a copy of Wicked Good.
Amy is the older sister who loves her 2 sons and nephew, dogs, volunteering at the Bangor Humane Society, running, hiking, snowshoeing, surfing the web, her brown poodle Teddy, Lola, writing, reading, cycling, going to bed early, spending time with her friends and family, being outdoors when it’s nice outside and indoors when it’s not, and editing Joanne’s writing. She is a pescatarian and a lawyer in Maine.
Joanne is the younger sister who loves her 3 nephews, her grey poodle Frisco, writing, hiking, snowshoeing, kayaking, cooking, traveling, Florence, Italy, anything to do with the Italian Renaissance, Michelangelo, spending time with her friends and family, and being edited by Amy. She is a vegetarian and a lawyer in Florida.
Find out more about Amy and Joanne by visiting their website: http://www.amyandjoanne.com/
3 comments:
Great blog! I have to say that I feel like you're a bit of a kindred spirit, Joanne, because I also love everything having to do with the Italian Renaissance - more specifically, Florence during the early 16th century. It's such an interesting topic to study and I love the costuming possibilities, the recipes, the perfumes and cosmetics, the art and architecture, the social nuances...
Haha, I could go on forever.
Joanne,
I enjoyed your reflection because I don't think I've ever felt such a strong connection with someone whom I have never met. Your post makes me hope that I do someday!
Amy,
I agree that it was difficult to pick one wicked good person to write about (ended up choosing my dogs of all "people"). The words of your dedication are simple, but reflect such an awesome love and the power of the parent-child bond.
Thanks Joanne and Amy! I'm a little over half way done with Wicked Good and can't wait to see what happens! J.C.
I just finished reading Wicked Good today.
I have a son with Asperger's and bipolar disorder. He's sixteen, and the light of my life - and the bane of my parental existence, all rolled in one.
Of my three children, he is probably my favorite (though I would deny it if I were ever asked to name one).
My son has made some bad choices, and had worse outcomes than Rory. I guess it would have been in our best interest for me to have become a lawyer and made friends with policemen - because my son has not been able to avoid legal consequences of his actions.
Also, after eight admissions to a psych unit, there's no way he could ever escape. Even I could not escape during a vist - everyone is locked in, tight as can be.
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