JIM

[Kay Peterson]

When I was about nine years old, we lived next door to a young man named Jim. The left side of Jim’s face and all the way down his neck was completely white. Part of his nose was missing and the ear on that side of his head was very small. Although he seemed nice, I thought he looked like some kind of monster and used to have nightmares about him.

One day his wife, Anne, was having coffee with my mother and I overheard her tell the story about her husband’s scars.

She said that when Jim was nineteen and she was eighteen, they became engaged. Soon after that, he went into the Army. It was during WWII. Just weeks before he was to be discharged, the plane in which Jim was the navigator was hit and went down in flames. The pilot was able to land the plane, but Jim and some of the others on the plane were badly burned. Jim wrote Anne and told her about what had happened. He said that he didn’t look the same as when she last saw him and never would again. He said she might not even recognize him and that if she wanted to break their engagement, he would understand. Anne’s mother urged her to call off the engagement, saying that Anne was too young to spend the rest of her life caring for a disfigured man.

Many months went by, but as soon as he was well enough, Jim was sent home. Anne said that she went to the airport to meet his plane, but because she didn’t know how she would feel when she saw him, she didn’t tell Jim that she would be there. She waited in a crowd of people gathered on the tarmac. When the door of the plane opened, the first person to come down the stairs was Jim.

“I knew it was him the minute I saw him,” said Anne. “I screamed his name and went running across the tarmac. I grabbed him and screamed, ‘You haven’t changed, you haven’t changed. You look just the same. You look just the same.’ And, you know, to me he hadn’t changed. He looked just the same as I remembered him and he still does.”

I was too young to understand what Anne meant. Why didn’t she see what was so obvious to everyone else. I asked my mother about it later. “Love is blind” she said.

[mouser]

Love is , indeed, blind and deaf and dumb too, I might add. In some cases this is a detriment to a healthy relationship, but for Jim and Anne, it seemed to have been the foundation for a wonderful marriage ; a marriage filled with inner strength and true beauty. Great story.

[anne simpson]

What a beautiful love story.God Bless these men & women who gave so much of themselves.

[Gr8fulheart]

I can relate to your story. When I was 16, my late husband (boyfriend at the time) was tackled & hit under the rib cage while playing football in his senior year. The hit stopped his heart. After several minutes, he was resusitated. The doctors explained to his parents & mine, then later relayed the conversation on to me, that he would not be the same person. They explained there had been a brain injury & recommended I forget about any future with him. What I saw was no injury, but the man I Knew he was. Like you, I stood firmly on the fact that once you're 'In Love'; nothing gets in the way. Thanx for your story & God Bless you & your family♥

[Canadianna]

Very uplifting story. True love sees beyond the superficial.

[Denise Hill Barlow]

OMG, I have tears in my eyes. This story is incredible. Jim is, indeed, a very special man.

[Nancy Paonessa/Nancymunchkin]

That was sad story with a happy ending thank you for posting it! Teaches us all a lesson too about caring and understanding, and not prejudging people about their appearance!

[NolaMar]

Oh, my, this just brought me to weeping! What a lovely story! Thank you!!

[Juliegr]

Lovely story -- especially touching in this day and age with all the injuries our young men have suffered during the hostilities we're involved in. Thanks for sharing.

[Tish Pomykal]

Oh my, this made me cry, but not from sadness. Thanks for sharing a wonderful story.

[hickifino]

What a moving story! Thank you.bb