Out of The Big Top

Author © Scott D. Zachary

       On October 22, 2016, I wrote a story titled, “...and I Am an Alcoholic.” At that point, I thought I had reached the pinnacle of my life. My wife Bobbie and I were staying in the Millennium Broadway Hotel, 36 stories above Times Square in New York City. I had been sober for more than seven years, during which time I had run a dozen half-marathons; skydived repeatedly; became an EMT attending to emergency patients; remarried the love of my life; became a nurse aide lifting the spirits of the elderly; traveled to Nicaragua and Honduras on eight Christian medical missions helping provide prescription eyeglasses, readers, and adorable stuffed animals to thousands of impoverished people; rode a 2000-pound Brahma bull; and, taught myself Spanish before leading numerous people to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior in their language.

       How much more exciting could my life become? I thought that I had accomplished some variation of everything imaginable. To what higher level could I aspire? It seemed to me that I had stepped onto the downhill slope of my life. Everything to come would be a repetition of some previous experience.

       I couldn’t have been more wrong.

       You may have heard about my new heights. Hundreds of people were lining the banks of the Ohio River. I had built a catapult that flung me high above the river, and when I began to descend like a rock out of the sky, I pulled the ripcord on my base-jumping parachute and floated back to where I had started. My phone didn’t stop ringing after that. One of those calls was from The Ringling Brothers, who offered me a job. Now, the top of the main circus tent opens nightly, and they fling me on a vertical catapult up and through the hole in the canvas. Moments later, I come gliding back into the center ring. And the crowd goes wild! Yes, I am the star attraction in my own imaginary circus.

       In all seriousness, I do often talk about building a catapult and flinging myself across the Ohio River, but that will have to wait. As I began this story, I thought I was on top of the world hanging out in that elite hotel. Nope. I think my life has become even more thrilling than my fanciful catapult act. You will have to judge for yourself.

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       I want to start by thanking my gracious wife, Honey Bunny, for supporting us financially so I could take a year off to write my memoirs. That year evolved into a 16-month sabbatical from May 2018 through August 2020. What a treat! Bobbie earned her wings when she funded all the missions she and I went on during that time. What a gal!

       Not only did I write ten short-story memoirs (93 pages composed of 22,584 words) during my sixteen months of playtime, I did whatever I felt like doing with Bobbie’s complete support and encouragement...

o   Bobbie and I went with WaterStep to Costa Rica to install water treatment systems and distributed eyeglasses in three villages (read memoir titled, “H₂Oh!”).

o   We funded the drilling of four water wells, two in Africa through Life Outreach and two in India through Alpha Ministries.

o   My wonderful wife and I went to Isla Mujeres, Mexico, to celebrate our second fifth wedding anniversary (read memoir titled, “Buctzotz”), where we unknowingly toppled the domino that would lead to our helping Pastor José build his church in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico (read memoir titled, “Building the House of God”).

o   I went on a disaster relief mission with IDES (International Disaster Emergency Services) to the Bahamas, where our team restored electricity in many homes after Hurricane Dorian’s surge filled the houses with ten feet of saltwater (read memoir titled, “A Billion Dollars”).

o   Bobbie and I sponsored Thanksgiving and Christmas festivities for four impoverished children. This led to my doing back-to-back half marathons and becoming a high school teacher mentoring two super-sharp, voracious-for-knowledge teenagers—Jeremiah and Adrianna—for three months (read memoir titled, “Jeremiah”).

o   We provided funds to secure the escape of dozens of young girls from sexual slavery in Thailand.

o   I went to Haiti with Missions of Love on a dental/optical/maintenance mission and worked with Ralph Porter, the godliest man I’ve ever known (read memoir titled, “Bonjour!”).

o   Bobbie and I purchased and delivered hundreds of reader eyeglasses, dozens of work boots, and winter clothing for all the residents of St. Benedict’s Homeless Shelter.

o   We supplied water treatment equipment to Pastor Genada in Gonaives, Haiti, to chlorinate water for his missionary school, orphanage, and school for the deaf. Three of the oldest orphans are now operating their water treatment systems, and those young men are distributing the safe-to-drink water.

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       In my usual “all or nothing” approach, I slammed the door on sixteen months of waking up each morning to say, “What do I want to do today?” to working 100-hour workweeks developing software for three corporations simultaneously. Yeah, I’m a nutcase. I was in super shape to pull it off, though, after completing two back-to-back half marathons a few days before grabbing this ordeal by its jugular.

       My day began sometime between 1:30 and 5:30 a.m., and I typically turned off the lights in my office well after Bobbie went to bed. I rarely slept more than five hours, and sometimes as little as one. My therapist, Joy, asked me how I did it. I told her, “Adrenaline—Go, Scott, go!” And I was ferociously effective for all those hours! Just ask my managers at Novelis, Gardens Alive, and K2 Marine. They’ll tell you.

       The driving force behind me was my knowing that this initiative was sponsoring the construction of Pastor José’s church in Mexico and Omar Barquero’s drug and alcohol rehab outreach in Nicaragua, and supporting numerous other missions worldwide. Eight solid months of being a software stormtrooper was enough, though. During that time, I took two sick days, and I snatched four other days off when Bobbie and I escaped to our favorite resort, Clifty Falls.

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       It is now August 14, 2021. I again feel as though I’m at the peak of my life, but now the pinnacle seems to graduate higher and higher. Every time I think my life couldn’t become any better, it does. I have a platoon of sweet cheerleaders looking after me and applauding my triumphs. Really, I do. Most importantly, my wife Bobbie is my angel. I could not dream of a better partner in life. She cheers me on and supports me in all my big adventures. Bobbie never, ever puts me down; she only builds me up. She is also my editor, and we have a blast reviewing my short-story memoirs. Lucky me, Bobbie is the best cook ever, and she looks after me unbelievably.

       My health coach, Rebecca, roots for me weekly. Every Friday, she calls me, and I share my accomplishments for the previous week and my goals for the next week. Rebecca is currently propelling me toward completing a 28-mile bicycle ride twice around the Greenbelt trail that skirts Owensboro, Kentucky. Before Rebecca, Gina guided me from 231 pounds and walking a mile to 195 pounds and run/walking 14 miles two weeks in a row. Both super-positive ladies have kept me accountable, and they thoroughly inflate my aspirations.

       Then there’s Tabitha and Tiffany, my therapists, who always lift my spirits sky-high. Both are all ears when I share my big adventure stories of the past and those on my horizon. Tabitha’s predecessor, Joy, once told me with gaping certitude in her voice, “I don’t think there’s anything you couldn’t do, Scott.” Can you appreciate what that did to my perspective? I used to be a virtual Sherman Tank in overtaking my aspirations before that. Those words uttered by Joy often echo in my mind. Yes, anything is possible. Just get a sparkle for it—and go, Scott, go!

       As I told Tabitha recently, “I’ve been very goal-driven throughout my entire life. What’s neat about my goals now is that they usually involve helping other people fulfill their dreams, such as Pastor José’s church. He was in tears thanking Bobbie and me in his video yesterday for helping them build their church in Buctzotz, Mexico.” Omar similarly expressed his gratitude to us for funding the Nicaragua Rehab Outreach to assist him in leading alcoholics and drug addicts throughout Nicaragua to the Lord. Maria Fernanda (Mafer) thanks me every month for helping her achieve her dream of becoming an architect so she can design low-cost housing for the poor in her homeland of Ecuador. Those are just a few of the many dreams Bobbie and I have been blessed to help others achieve around the world. How much better can it get than that? One can’t imagine. That brings to mind my favorite scripture: 1 Corinthians 2:9 – “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.”

       I celebrated my 65^th birthday last week, and my future embraces many electrifying events, including...

o   Traveling to Nicaragua next month to work with Omar and share my faith, hope, and experience with alcoholics and addicts at rehab centers throughout Nicaragua. On the last day of my two-week visit, I will celebrate twelve years of sobriety.

o   Receiving pictures of the tilapia farm that we sponsored in El Salvador when it’s finished.

o   Going to Buctzotz, Mexico, for the dedication of the beautiful “House of God” upon completion.

o   Installing water treatment systems in East Africa next year with my missionary friend Scott.

o   Running a Tough Mudder 10-mile race as soon as I’m fit enough.

o   Attending Mafer’s graduation ceremony in Ecuador when she receives her master’s degree in 2023.

o   Visiting Pastor Paul in India, whom we’ve sponsored for many years.
 

       Last spring, a beautiful orange and white cat with a peacock-like tail adopted us. Bobbie came up with the catchy name “Dandy Lion” for our adorable feline vagabond. We feed Dandy, and he comes and goes as he pleases. I recently commented to Bobbie regarding Dandy, “I wish somebody would feed me, and I could do whatever I want.” But then, I realized, “Oh yeah, that IS my life!”

       All credit goes to God who has made and makes everything possible, who gave everything.