Beauty From Ugliness

My friends are remarkable people.

I was catching up with Grayson yesterday, with whom I haven't spoken in quite some time, when he dropped this casually into the conversation as his explanation for why he is now pursuing a degree in Human Services Management (quite a digression from what he's been doing up until now):

He: We adopted a (now) 17 year old who was going through hell in his life. After he was awarded to us I decided the system needs to be fixed and here I am.
Me: OMG!
He: LOL His name is Xxxx
He: It is funny telling people "hey this is my son" because he is black... You should see the shock it is great!
He: I have seen the ugly side of racism since he has come to live with us. My boss does not like him because he is black. He didn't know at the time that Xxxx was living with us and we were getting custody. That was an argument like you would not believe.
He: Still is at times.
Me Wow
Me: How did you meet this boy?
He: At the mall. He stopped in our store with a friend who told me was trying to keep him busy as he had tried to commit suicide
He: His mother is a piece of work. Alchoholic drug dealer who had never been caught. Xxxx is gay; she tried to have it beat out of him. He decided there was no reason to live if no one wanted him around
He: He does not know what a family is. Until recently he had a terrible time eating in groups.
He: He has post traumatic stress disorder from standing next to his best friend and first boyfriend when he got shot in a driveby
He: it is a story and a half
He: astounding of course and often times when I talk about it seems far fetched. But I am living with it and learning that people.... some people are truly just ugly on the inside and should never be allowed to have children

Let that sink in for just a second.

My friend Grayson met a teenage boy at the mall, realized that he was truly in mortal peril, went to court to legally adopt him, and and from that experience decided that he needs to do everything in his power to change the system that overlooked and neglected his (now) son in the first place.

Holy crap. I'm not even in a position to adopt a dog at the moment but Grayson saw someone in desperate need and up-ended his entire life to help this one young man.

This is why I say that I have little faith in humanity as a group, but every faith in the individual. A person, every person, has the power to work miracles.

Comments

[MysterHK]

Amanda,

I really enjoyed reading this post. It's a very moving story.

[Teece]

wow.

no, seriously... just... WOW.

Grayson sounds like an incredible human being.

[Grayson]

Amandarin,
I have thought about this stuff since he came to live with us. It has been an uphil battle. But, what I did not get into the other day is he is far better today than he ever was. He see's a therapist every month and is learning to talk about these issues more and more. Of course, I am the one in the house here that he talks to the most. Great kid over all who has made leaps and bounds in the believing in himself catagory. That was of course the biggest hurdle but with time he gets better every day. And again "some people should be spayed and nuetered at birth" if we only could see their futures.
Grayson

[Hilly]

Thanks for sharing that story....really awesome and it puts things into perspective.

[Tag]

Thank you for sharing this story! It is so refreshing to know there are people like Grayson out there. It makes the daily battle seem that much more doable.

You are my hero Grayson...thank you!!!!