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Linda L Daly's
Success Story
Born on my mother’s twentieth birthday, I was an active baby, crawling by three months and walking by six months. Grammy--a soft- spoken, well educated immigrant, forced to work in the factory to help support her children--was also a visionary and had often told me I was full of life because I was like a butterfly fluttering about to experience everything I possibly could. Poor Mama, though she had her hands full, when at eighteen-months this butterfly had her wings crimped when I accidentally mistook Drain-o as candy and swallowed the lethal blue crystals.
Having a full recovery, which some described as a miracle, with no ill-effects, I grew up being told that our Heavenly Father, the power of prayer, and one’s own ability to believe, could make it so.
Despite several bumps in the road and many hiccups along the way, I never stopped believing. Even when I had no reason to believe that there would be a positive outcome, feeling as if my dreams had been shattered, I continued to press on because I believed.
One of those moments when all seemed lost, I turned on the television. By ‘chance’, (I prefer to view this as a sign) I became interested in a program on Oprah. The message was clear, “Be your best self”. From that day to this, I’ve made a conscious effort at doing just that. More importantly, I not only listened with my ears, I began to listen with my heart and looked for signs to guide me on this wondrous journey. Much to my delight, signs came from everywhere. The most profound was on January, 9th, 1997.
That night I was scurrying around the kitchen after working a full day at my job (as Print Coordinator for a large bank in MI) trying to prepare a meal for my family and eldest son--a fireman from Virginia Beach who was coming home for a visit. The phone rang. It was my sister. In one fleeting second, my world came to a screeching halt.
The plane that my son was to be on had just crashed. Worse, the news was reporting there were no survivors. The next several minutes were filled with anguish and heart-stopping fear until I heard my son’s voice on the phone. This memorable, blessed moment came about because one man, whom I lovingly refer to as an earth angel from the airlines, was relentless in finding my son who was still on the passenger list, but could not be verified if he had checked in before take off. This amazing man was able to track my son down in Atlanta as he was coming off a plane that had been diverted after flight 3272 went down.
Fast forward several months later when I ‘happened upon’ ( another HUGE sign) a letter from a woman named Joy who had asked for help from viewers of an angel-site. The letter caught my attention at once; you see, Joy was asking help from a printer to print off flyers that would assist those firemen that had been the first to respond to flight 3272.
I did what anyone would do -- I wrote and offered whatever help I could. After all, wasn’t I a printer by trade and had been blessed to still have my beloved son the fireman with us?
From the moment I heard back from Raphaele, the woman that ran the Question and Answer section offered on that angel site, then meeting Joy, I knew without question my path had taken a new direction. And so began my wondrous journey that has continued on through today - always evolving.
This road I now walk is of my choosing. And I feel honored and blessed to have learned the true meaning of being ‘my best self’. For me, that means assisting other storytellers while still writing myself.
Those who know me, know that although there are days that I struggle holding on to my dreams, the truth is, I can’t wait to see what is just around the bend on this magnificent excursion of life.
Above all though, no matter what tomorrow has in store, I am proud that I stayed true to my beliefs and tried to be 'my best self’ by discovering the greatest gift on earth--and that is when you can pay-it-forward.
