I gotchu

"I gotchu," he said. I was leaving Anthony's Pizza. He was holding the door open for me.

"Music to my ears," I slurred excitedly, but I could tell he didn't understand as he smiled.

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"What did you want to hear when you first received your diagnosis?" the Harley student asked. I thought in silence for seconds, struck by the student's thoughtful question...

"I gotchu," I finally replied, cutting the silence like a knife.

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Nothing seems to resonate like hearing the words "I gotchu." "I gotchu bro!" Those reassuring, burden-taking, let-me-take-it, whatever you need, I'm here for you, as long as it takes, those "you are the priority in this moment" words...From perfect strangers or best friends, nothing hits me like hearing those words.

I fight the relentless contraction of my world.

My soul, my spirit, my heart, is injected with that miracle medicine, that magical potion-- yes, HOPE-- by that all-in commitment..."I gotchu!."

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STOP ASIAN HATE

BLACK LIVES MATTER

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