Page 2 - MidWeek Kauai - May 24, 2023

2 KAUA‘I MIDWEEK MAY 24, 2023
CHASING THE LIGHT
The Rev. Dr. Walt Weiss
the local stadium. Encouraged by my dad,
I remember experiencing an unforgettable feeling of to- tal exhaustion and total love.
I entered the quarter-mile run. At 9, I was pretty small and had never run that far.
As years went by, my re-
It has been more than 14 years since my dad died, but I still think of him often. Al- though I haven’t forgotten all those difficult years, when- ever I remember the events of that Fourth of July, I feel
Choosing Our Memories
“Let us remember the good times in our lives.” — Michael Curtis
a tremendous closeness to him. Rather than focusing on all the times he fell short, I choose to remember the times where he rose above and beyond. Whenever I am feeling challenged and about to give up, I still hear him saying, “Come on, Walt, you can do this! Keep going!”
The Rev. Dr. Walt Weiss is a spiritual and bereavement care coordinator with Kaua‘i Hospice. He recently com- pleted his doctorate of min- istry at Claremont School of Theology and attends the Center for Spiritual Living Kaua‘i.
Chasing The Light is pro- duced by Lynne Johnson and Robin Stephens Rohr.
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A s I awoke on July 4, 1961, I excit- edly anticipated a picnic, fun games, fireworks and icy-cold watermelon at
I started out fast, but about halfway around the track, I was running out of steam. By the final curve, I was about to collapse when I heard a voice. Running alongside me was my dad shouting, “Come on, Walt, you can do this! Keep going!” He stayed with me all the way to the finish line. Then, he gave me a big hug and said, “I knew you could do it!”
lationship with my dad had its ups and downs. During my teens, we argued all the time. As I got older, we drifted even further apart as he insisted I live my life his way. After my mom’s death, and a big blowout argument, we agreed to re- spect our different opinions while still remaining a part of each other’s lives. Toward the end of his life, roles re- versed and I was taking care of him, struggling not to tell him how to live his life.
Instead of focusing on all of the times author chooses to remember his dad’s age 9.
his dad fell short and let him down, the encouragement during a race he ran at
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