Letter to Oprah...THOR

****Erin, my "Niece" said so... *****

Oprah,                                                                                                 Oct 22, 2012

 

“Be Encouraged!”

 

I remember just one of your shows well and it had this statement within the context of you speaking to your “Grandma?” about the troubles that you were having at one time in your personal life and she told you “To be encouraged” and she spoke about the spirit and how during time of great difficulties we must be encouraged in our life with our spirit guiding the way. Yesterday those words came to me in thought when my “Niece”, Erin said I should write you a letter for help. It was a good though and needed, remembering that I am blessed. I am also very ill, but let me get to that in a moment: for I would like to tell you a little about my family, and who I am to set the template for where I am today.

I grew up in Takoma Park Maryland, adopted son of Jerome Ernst. (A man who walked with King in Selma Alabama, won a journalism award for his story “The Significance of Selma” in the “The Extension” a Catholic magazine, and has spent his whole life helping others, even now.) My little sister is Amy Ernst. (She has spent the last year and a half in the Congo working with the suffering women, hearing the words of rebels, and writing a book about life in a third world nation. I have to give her props for she is quite amazing young lady, to recognize suffering is a noble thing. Her Blog “The King Effect, (blogspot), and her few New York Times blog publications show a journey of heart and courage for such a young lady.)She’s 18 years younger than I. (She is working on her Graduate degree and writing a book in Chicago.)

My story… Well I said my “Niece” in quotes for she adopted me many years ago with several other kids on the street, the troubled and many homeless kids, she said to write this letter, and she’s got the right to mother me (on rare occasions). They all call me “Uncle Thor” and now 8 years later their kids call me “Uncle Thor”. The way you become a street uncle is being that one adult who looks after them, doesn’t judge them and they are able to talk to about trouble. That’s when my story really starts. I was a homeless addict living on the streets of Eugene Oregon six years ago. I got accepted into the Culinary Program at Lane Community College in 2006 and began going to school while homeless, waking mornings to dust the frost off my sleeping bag, wake up the cat that waited for me every night and crawled into the bag to keep my feet warm, put on my Culinary Uniform, stash my “Roll’ and go to school. I would study at nights at the library or the park if it was a nice day. I soon got a home but I had other battles still to over come. I entered and graduated the Drug Court Program in 2007. It was during my time in Drug Court an idea came to me. (I had already got the bug for volunteering at the “Whiteaker Dinner” 2,000 turkey dinners every Thanksgiving with most of the help done by students at Lane, I had to help, give back, and then the telling of my story to “KEZI 9” news as did an interview about how I had been homeless just a few weeks before, and now was a student.) My idea was this, to create a memorial for deaths, due to homelessness, alcohol, and addiction in our local area. I contacted the Mayor Kitty Piercy (She’s an amazing lady got inspired and wrote her a theme song little while ago.) and she passed me to Johnny Medlin head of Parks and Recreation. I met with him and got the guidelines down for my next steps, after doing research on deaths in Lane County for above said reasons, I created memorial with my own money got friends from Drug Court involved, and paid for all materials, getting the memorial in the ground on January 7^th about 5 pm on a Friday. I made the front page of the “City Region” the first line reads, “If only one person shows for the launching of your memorial—for those lives lost due homelessness, alcoholism, and drug addiction you could do worse than that one person be the Mayor. I created it again a year later. I told real stories about some of the 63 names on the 1st memorial, turning them into lovers, mothers’ missed, and young lives taken too soon. I knew many of them. I guess in this spirit I humbly write this letter. I called my dad before the interview and asked him advice, for Dad had been giving speeches as long I can remember. He said, “Don’t talk about yourself. Talk about the memorial.” which became very tricky as the reporter asked me questions then Kitty tugs on my arm and says, “Tell him what your ideas are.” (She calls me Thor.)

I asked my Chef Instructor later, why did they keep asking me questions? He replied, “Your story inspires people.”

I was in my 4^th year completing one A.A. in General studies, a class away from my A.A in Culinary Arts, and well into the first steps to open my own Restaurant when my spine and neck began moving, and I was hit by a car. I began getting help, but I just got worse. I am a natural athlete even at 44, and ironically my last class needed for my AA in General was PE in the winter of 2010, so I took track n field. I was running on my own 3-5 miles a few times a week by the time term ended in mid December. All the while I had begun having “Seizure/Spasm’s” down my left side. I went from wearing a coat and tie, or other business dress and being in the front of the class, the leader, to hiding myself and “them’ under my hoddie. The Dr. Lin looked for a bleed in my brain no results. Everything changes fast. December 18, 2010’ my spine shifts, and I began to lose mobility. December 21, 2010 I was struggling down the road close to home when my leg gave out and so did my whole body. I had my first full body “Spasm/Seizure”. I was transported to the Hospital.  Erin and her man Devin came and took me home, carrying me up the stairs. 3 weeks later while trying to get to school my neck let go in a gravel drive. As the electric shock hit after the loud snap hit me; I hit the ground. I lay there for a couple minuets and called Dad. School was done. I pulled out of all my classes.

I learned to walk again in my parking lot limping, chasing a small ball and had a PT that could me back together. I finally jogged my first block after a several weeks of working up to it. The money had long run out and the PT. I was on my own fighting a broken medical system. I am poor.

I got inspired by one doctor, Dr. Macha of the Slocum Center who provided me with free medical treament. So I ran, every day, and by August I could run 5-6 miles. I got this idea March 13^th 2012 to enter the ½ 13.2 mile Marathon, then to run in the Butte to Butte 10K July 4th, and the all comes track meet winning the 100 and 200 yard dash in August. I wrote to KVAL 13 news thanking them for hosting the event and how the staff treated me during my episodes. I didn’t feel like a spectacle but an athlete. They wanted to do an interview, and we met at my house august 13^th of this year, and I talked a little about my self, showed then my ribbons, and said  how maybe my story could inspire others who were struggling or suffering. I went for a run right after this, and got hit by a car in crosswalk. They never ran that interview, producer wanted confirmation by my PCP, and he was not willing to be interviewed. They did cover my next endeavor which all things considered is a better reason to be interviewed, and a better cause with the same message, just this one lay in action. I was contacted on FB by a mother who son Chris of “Team Chris Simmons”. This little boy needed brain surgery and the family needed funds to help with travel expenses, a yard/bake sale was the idea. I offered my help. I used my contacts to get other local businesses, Lane C.C. Events and Culinary Center, the Hilton Eugene, and other local business to give donations, and then arranged an interview with KVAL 13 news. Other Chef’s stepped forward after seeing me on T.V. and lend their expertise, and baked goods. The benefit was a success earning 1300$ in the first 2 days with five more to go. I told the father to expect 2,000-3,000 if his story aired on Sunday a week before the yard/bake sale. The producer at KVAL and his team did a great job on reporting and following up on this community event.

 My PCP doctor is in this broken system and bound by its decrees. Last thing my PCP said to me was, “You’re just going to have to live with it, and get some mental health help for the transition.” I felt like looking around the room like “I know your not talking to this man.”

I am a very humble man. I am not one to ask for help, but as in the way I said in “Divine Address Requested” TheEyeofThor.blogspot, (and my book’ name) if you were to be my “Angel” sent by my prayers, who would I, be to argue. Suffering and recognizing suffering, realizing how precious every moment is, and not fighting just plain being thankful day to day, happy, and to be encouraged is where I am. Giving what I can, full in-depth, and debt paid the way I traveled to make it here, now, resting gently on this cliff of life in broken body but triumphant spirit, heart, and faith transformed into better man for the road finished or ahead. One more thing and the most important, for if one person reads this and is inspired by it will have done it’s job.

Thor

Chef John Arthur Ernst

541-653-5332

 

    

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BpLIRAI9zc&feature=plcp