Now THIS is the spirit of this Olympus List!
Clay, I won't give you some sad story to acquire your equipment--I've been
blessed by the generosity of others on this list with equipment I dared not
even dream about owning. I lack nothing and use everything.
It has been a wonderful thing to not only receive, but to give. Through the
lessons learned about giving and receiving, this past year my wife and I
gave a perfectly good Jeep Grand Cherokee to a family in need even though we
financially had no business doing so. We have been richly blessed many
times over, both before and since. We've always given things of value away,
but a $7000 vehicle was something that made us pause. Never a regret about
it, though, and the impact on the lives of those we affected made it
worthwhile.
But had it not been for the unheard of generosity of fellow list-members,
I'd not been sufficiently humbled enough to have given the vehicle away.
Sometimes, it takes a mental shakeup to recognize that life is about others,
not yourself. I say this not to toot horns or get sympathy--I say this
because gifting has ramifications--when the giver and the recipient both
understand the sacrifice as well as the responsibility that goes with it.
Good luck with your contest.
AG
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