"She's Like The Wind"

One of my favorite songs is Patrick Swayze's “She's Like The Wind.” Its verses include, “I'm out of her league” and “what a fool to believe I have anything to give.” In fact he has a lot to give. He has to give passion and appreciation. Whereas the men whom he believes to be in her league see her as a trophy and treat her like one.

I had a relationship very similar to the one that he was describing. The woman was out of my league; she ended up marrying a jerk. If she had stayed with me, she would have been treated much better than she was in her marriage. Maybe he was in her league; but he did not act rightfully.

Now when a love relationship breaks down, people get told to get over it. I have no intention of getting over what I had with Michelle. It is not rightful to get over something beautiful. It is rightful to see what the person would have wanted and work toward that effect.

Michelle showed me kindness, compassion, understanding. When she died of medical malpractice, my concern was what would be the way to honor her the best. What were her values? What was she striving for? She strove for better treatment of people; and honoring her means doing just that.

There is only one of me, and there is only one of Patrick Swayze. However there are billions of people around the world. And the more people like Patrick Swayze inspire other men toward better conduct, the better becomes the lot of women around the world

It is not enough, as I found, to love a person. You also need to understand their purpose in life and work toward making it happen. Michelle showed me what it means to treat people rightfully. And for this I am eternally grateful and willing to make her values count in the world.