The Last Handshake: Episode 7 Principle 7: Hero Saves the Day
A story about stories
Stories, the tapestry of our lives.
What makes a story real, relatable and memorable? I believe there are 7 principles in play that comprise a great story.
Please join me as I weave these principles into The Last Handshake: A story about stories
Episode 7
Principle 7: Hero Saves the Day At some point in your story, the hero needs to emerge and save the day. Sometimes in the most unexpected way.
I went to encourage Jim but I’m the one who ended up being encouraged.
I had just given Dorothy the T-shirt when Jim did the most amazing thing. The one thing only he was capable of doing.
After telling Jim how much he had meant to me, I really hadn’t thought about what else I was going to say to him. In a light-hearted kind of way, I said my boys don’t know about your famous handshake. People always talk about Jim’s handshake. And that’s when it happened.
Unable to really speak, Jim raised his hand to me. It wasn’t as firm as it used to be but I told him, “You’ve still got it!”
Here I was, trying to encourage my dying friend and he was the one encouraging me. Dorothy asked if I would say a prayer and then it was time to leave. Our visit didn’t last more than 10 minutes.
As she was walking us to the door, I heard Jim try to say something. Dorothy understood him and told us, “Jim says, Thank You.”
Those were the last words Jim said to me. The next morning he passed.
Looking back, I’m so glad I went and thankful the boys were with me. I’ll never forget my last handshake with Jim.
Final thoughts: What an experience! But it almost didn’t happen. If there’s one thing I would like to leave with you it’s this. Never leave anything unsaid! Tell the people in your life what they mean to you and tell them while you still can.
Thank you for reading, The Last Handshake: A story about stories
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I’m Author, Storyteller, and Template Architect, Tim Maudlin. This story about stories was brought to you by the ACRONYM template.
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This article was originally published on my website at DoWhatYouCanNow.com
