Amazing People Series
Rondo Hattan
Story Time He sat in the dark and listened to the ticking of the clock on the mantel. No lights were on. The house was dark and quiet. His wife had packed her bags and left. He just sat there looking at the two objects on the table: one was a gun the other a bible.
Rondo Hattan - Before I made the theme of this story about hopelessness and grace. Here's why... Sometimes life kicks you in the teeth and knocks you to the ground. It takes everything away from you, except you're still breathing. You ask yourself -- why? Why did this happen? Why did this happen to me? You consider yourself a decent person and try to do the right things and yet this terrible thing has happened. For example: the entire world was affected by a global pandemic. Yet, each and everyday, some terrible event or awful incident is happening to a person on this planet. Some tragedy, some loss, some indescribable pain. Some outside thing comes in and rips their world apart. And nothing. Absolutely nothing is the same after that moment. Yet, it's in that moment of pain that we have to make a choice. And from that choice -- comes the rest of our story. How we choose to deal with that thing is what will define us.
He realized he couldn't continue like this. Tonight he was going to make a decision. Life or death that was all he had left. He raised his malformed hands and touched his misshapen face. A brief memory of him as a happy, handsome man going off to war eager to fight for his country, flitted through his mind. He had come back a different person.
The Choice? The physical changes began almost immediately. The bones in his face grew out of proportion. His hands, legs and feet grew and grew and grew. His once handsome face transformed into the face of a monster. The condition had a name Acromegaly. He asked if it was caused by inhaling and almost dying from the poison gas the Germans used in World War I. The doctors had no answers. His face became so enlarged that he had metal implants inserted into his cheeks. All the surgeries didn't stop the pain or help his condition. The medical expenses just ate up his savings and he was in danger of losing his home. The medical expenses, the loss of money, his changed physical features led to Rondo and his first wife becoming estranged. Finally, she admitted she couldn't live with him and left.
Life or Death? He didn't realize he was crying until he felt the tears falling on his swollen hands. Sitting there in the dark, he let himself cry. He hadn't before because he was trying to put on a brave front for his wife. But, what was the point? She was gone and he didn't have to pretend any longer. He picked up his world war 1 pistol and fingered it. He thought it was funny how life could change in a moment. First, you're on top of the world with everything going for you, then something happens and you find yourself at the bottom. He had gone to war to fight for his country and came back a freak. What did he have to live for? Rondo Hattan - After