September Compy Winner!

[Spruance]

After much deliberation, and many hours spent poring over literally thousands of posts, we have finally picked a winner.

The winning post is chickadeedeedee's (CD3) poem about the little girl going to school without her daddy in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks in New York.

CD3 wishes to point out that she didn't write the poem herself, but that wasn't a stipulation. We hadn't seen it before and it certainly brings a tear to the eye.

The original idea had been to present the lucky winner with free seeds. CD3 as you may know, lives in the USA. This presented some considerable difficulties, as the USA prohibits the importation of plant/seeds without proper documentation. Not to be thwarted, arrangements were made to source the seeds from a USA supplier, and having established that this was possible CD3 was notified of her good fortune.

In a very noble gesture, CD3 has asked that instead of the seeds, she would like a donation to be made to a charity set up to care for the 7th July 2005 victims of the London bombings.

We are happy to comply with CD3's request, and a donation of comparable value to the seeds will be made in the next few days.

The charity in question is The London Bombings Relief Charitable Fund. It is a bona fide charity, registered with the Charity Commission, and was set up by The Greater London Authority and London Mayor Ken Livingstone, specifically to help those people directly affected by the 7/7 attacks.

Anyone wanting further details should click on the following link...

www.lbrcf.org.uk/index.jsp

Admin

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Just as a reminder, this was the poem submitted by CD3, on - appropriately - 11th September.....

Her hair was up in a pony tail,
her favorite dress tied with a bow.
Today was Daddy's Day at school,
and she couldn't wait to go.

But her mommy tried to tell her,
that she probably should stay home.
Why the kids might not understand,
if she went to school alone.

But she was not afraid;
she knew just what to say.
What to tell her classmates
of why he wasn't there today.

But still her mother worried,
for her to face this day alone.
And that was why once again,
she tried to keep her daughter home.

But the little girl went to school
eager to tell them all.
About a dad she never sees
a dad who never calls.

There were daddies along the wall in back,
for everyone to meet.
Children squirming impatiently,
anxious in their seats

One by one the teacher called
a student from the class.
To introduce their daddy,
as seconds slowly passed.

At last the teacher called her name,
every child turned to stare.
Each of them was searching,
a man who wasn't there.

"Where's her daddy at?"
she heard a boy call out.
"She probably doesn't have one,"
another student dared to shout.

And from somewhere near the back,
she heard a daddy say,
"Looks like another deadbeat dad,
too busy to waste his day."

The words did not offend her,
as she smiled up at her Mom.
And looked back at her teacher,
who told her to go on.

And with hands behind her back,
slowly she began to speak.
And out from the mouth of a child,
came words incredibly unique.

"My Daddy couldn't be here,
because he lives so far away.
But I know he wishes he could be,
since this is such a special day.

And though you cannot meet him,
I wanted you to know.
All about my daddy,
and how much he loves me so.

He loved to tell me stories
he taught me to ride my bike.
He surprised me with pink roses,
and taught me to fly a kite.

We used to share fudge sundaes,
and ice cream in a cone.
And though you cannot see him.
I'm not standing here alone.

"Cause my daddy's always with me,
even though we are apart
I know because he told me,
he'll forever be in my heart"

With that, her little hand reached up,
and lay across her chest.
Feeling her own heartbeat,
beneath her favorite dress.

And from somewhere here in the crowd of dads,
her mother stood in tears.
Proudly watching her daughter,
who was wise beyond her years.

For she stood up for the love
of a man not in her life.
Doing what was best for her,
doing what was right.

And when she dropped her hand back down,
staring straight into the crowd.
She finished with a voice so soft,
but its message clear and loud.

"I love my daddy very much,
he's my shining star.
And if he could, he'd be here,
but heaven's just too far.

You see he was a policeman
and died just this past year
When airplanes hit the towers
and taught Americans to fear.

But sometimes when I close my eyes,
it's like he never went away."
And then she closed her eyes,
and saw him there that day.

And to her mother's amazement,
she witnessed with surprise.
A room full of daddies and children,
all starting to close their eyes.

Who knows what they saw before them,
who knows what they felt inside.
Perhaps for merely a second,
they saw him at her side.

"I know you're with me Daddy,"
to the silence she called out.
And what happened next made believers,
of those once filled with doubt.

Not one in that room could explain it,
for each of their eyes had been closed.
But there on the desk beside her,
was a fragrant long-stemmed pink rose.

And a child was blessed, if only for a moment,
by the love of her shining star.
And given the gift of believing,
that heaven is never too far..

They say it takes a minute to find a special
person, an hour to appreciate them,
a day to love them, but then an entire
life to forget them.

[chickadeedeedee]

spruance said:

In a very noble gesture...

There is nothing noble about my gesture. It just seems right! In some small way may the tragedies of September 11, 2001 help those who endured the London Bombings.

May no one ever have to live through such tragedies!

Thank you for the honour of being considered the winner! I am humbled beyond words.

Chickadeedeedee

[Deleted]

Congrats C3D. Wonderful gesture and timely reminder that we're only here for a visit which can be cut short at any time, so get out there and enjoy it !

;D

[JennyWrenn]

A deserving winner well done

jenny wrenn

[Plocket]

Good choice, well done ChickaDDD.

[Deleted]

I have never seen that before, That was really moving and I have tears

Fantastic choice of a winner

Sara

[Deleted]

Well done C3D

[Deleted]

Congratulations - well deserved ;D

[MamIDdau]

Congratumulations!

[Alicat]

sorry chickadeedeedee,

I forgot to say congratulations to you.

Your poem really pulled at my heart strings the first time I read it.
It is beautiful.!!!!

Alicat.

[chickadeedeedee]

Thanks everyone!

If you are able please do give a donation to The London Bombings Relief Charitable Fund. The tragedy of that event is not forgotten over the pond either!

C3D

[Deleted]

A very moving poem, I especially liked the last verse.
I have a huge lump in my throat.

A well deserved winner..congratulations

Wx

[Jonah]

I'll give the OH an extra hug tonight. He doesn't do a risky job, but I suppose I can take for granted that he is here.
Congratulations CD3, that certainly made me think.

[sweetleaf]

Hi C3D congrats! That poem made my eyes go all leaky too, my dad was a fireman who had to attend the IRA Birmingham pub bombings, so I spent a good portion of my childhood fearing the knock on the door when dad was at work even when there was no terrorist activity. It took me back in time and made me remember so clearly how helpless I felt. Whether or not you wrote it, it was well deserved that you won.

[Dutchy]

Well earned.
Dutchy

[isabella]

A very good choice - I had tears streaming down my face as I read the poem

[netherfield]

well deserved

[Deleted]

A beautiful poem.Congratulations C3D

[owainglyndwr]

If C3D's poem moved you to tears - read the poem as you listen to this:

media.putfile.com/lief-liedje

Or am I just a big soft crybaby ...

WB

ps Congratulations to C3D

[chickadeedeedee]

I'm a big soft crybaby too.

That's a lovely combination.

[owainglyndwr]

It certainly makes us count our blessing c3D and there is always someone worse off

Take care

WB