Sad News

The Gulf Coast Sur-Realist sadly reports that Wes Teel, the Gulf Coast Realist, suffered a heart attack in the prison camp the night of January 1st. Fortunately, when he reported his symptoms, the unit clerk responded promptly and called an ambulance. The paramedics gave him sublingual nitro tablets, quickly got him to a very good Atlanta hospital where excellent physicians successfully performed a triple bypass. I believe thereis more blockage but, for the life of me, I can't remember what was said would be done about it. Wes is doing fairly well but is quite weak and still in a lot of pain from the surgery. The doctors say his blood pressure is low and his cholesterol was only slightly elevated. It appeared that his heart attack was brought on by STRESS! Go figure.

This compassionate heart that held love for all and forgiveness for those who tortured him was damaged by The Evil One who could not be bothered to rule on a simple motion the week before Wes self-reported to the prison. That last week was filled with tremendous tension, waiting, hoping against hope for the reprieve of being allowed to stay out pending his appeal. Considering that The Evil One had allowed another public official that courtesy -- one convicted of a far more serious crime. And then Wes' hopes were dashed when The Evil One cancelled the long-standing appointment with George Lucas and continued to dodge him all week until the Courthouse closed for Christmas. No doubt The Evil One spent the week out looking for his balls. That was a tremendously high level of stress under which he was living during that period, never mind all that had come before it. So, congratulations, Judge! You have hurt his body. But guess what. No matter what you do to this man, you, like your original namesake, cannot break this man's faith or his indomitable spirit. Wes' faith in God is strong and unwavering no matter what trials (no pun intended) and tribulations he has to endure. As a matter of fact, as a scientist, I have studied him like a bug under a microscope and still could not figure out how he endured the emotional torments he has faced. Finally, I was forced to ask and Wes explained to me that:
(1) he relies on his faith in God;
(2) he uses a chest of drawers analogy and compartmentalizes his negative feelings and emotions in the bottom drawer for the moment. He says he keeps them there for future reference in case he has to revisit them, but for the most part he keeps his mind in positive drawers. That didn't sound quite right, did it.
(3) And most importantly, he literally does not harbor negative feelings/energy against other people. He strongly believes that hate hurts the hater, not the hate-ee. Wes feels that having any negativity within himself is toxic, so he discourages it by putting it in the bottom drawer, by praying to have it removed. He did let me know that it takes more than one prayer to remove it.

Please pray for the full and speedy recovery of this wonderful man. He is always grateful for your love and prayers. Also, send him cards, letters, cartoons, cheerful things. You might include a stamped, self-addressed envelope so he won't have to buy the supplies himself, just in case he is out of money. (My idea, not his -- just a suggestion. It wouldn't hurt to send a few bucks to his account, either.)
P.S. If someone has Scott Horton's email address, please send it to me via a comment at this blog.