Category Archives: The Journey

Oliver and Adam are your guides…

The Journey, Eleventh Overlook: Dignity

Posted on January 26, 2012 by

He would have been thirty-three next month; and though his back never left his sheets, he died with no bedsores. He outlived at least two of the doctors who said that he would surely die before he was five, and … Continue reading →

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The Journey, Tenth Overlook: Heart

Posted on January 13, 2012 by

“Oliver was always a ‘hopeless’ case, yet he was such a precious gift for our family. ‘God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God has chosen the weak things of the world to … Continue reading →

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The Journey, Ninth Overlook: Mundane

Posted on June 22, 2011 by

On the contrary, Elizabeth Seton was a symbol to him, and should be to all of us. Of the many saints around us, doing without a cry or whimper the ordinary and indeed, the extraordinary tasks of the day, unsung and … Continue reading →

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The Journey, Eighth Overlook: Of Course

Posted on May 25, 2011 by

After learning that Oliver could not be cured and being told by the doctor that Oliver could be put in an institution, your parents replied, “But he is our son. We will take Oliver home, of course.” Maybe it’s because … Continue reading →

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The Journey, Seventh Overlook: Too

Posted on April 26, 2011 by

A true writer is a teacher, first, last and always a teacher. I have come to believe there is a joy, a something which I can bring up from my typewriter which might make a difference in the world. We … Continue reading →

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The Journey, Sixth Overlook: 11,680 days

Posted on April 23, 2011 by

“It was not thirty-two years,” he said. “I just asked myself, ‘Can I feed Oliver today?’ And the answer was always, ‘Yes I can’ ” (POTP, p. 13) For roughly 11,680 days, Oliver’s parents fed him 35,040 meals. Love keeps … Continue reading →

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The Journey, Fifth Overlook: Power

Posted on April 20, 2011 by

Oliver still remains the most hopeless human being I ever met, the weakest human being I ever met, and yet he was on of the most powerful human beings I ever met. (POTP, P12) Dictionary.com had 32 definitions for the … Continue reading →

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The Journey, Fourth Overlook: Human

Posted on April 14, 2011 by

“Well, I guess you could call him a vegetable. I called him Oliver, my brother. You would have loved him.” (POTP, p. 9) De Vinck was teaching English with his class about to study Helen Keller. In an attempt to allow … Continue reading →

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The Journey, Third Overlook: Choose

Posted on April 11, 2011 by

We have the power to choose. The first chapter concludes with those six powerful words. De Vinck previously shared a story about being in the garden with his son, admiring a beetle when their impulsive neighbor crushed it. Later that evening, … Continue reading →

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The Journey, Second Overlook: Paradox

Posted on April 8, 2011 by

We are sacrificing the nobility of suffering to the immediate gods of pleasure. We are leaning towards the arrogance of our present comforts, and reeling away from the slightest hinderance to our genteel lives. -POTP, Chapter 1, page 3 The … Continue reading →

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