The Visitor

By Gary Haun

As the old man lay dying, he told the visitor, I always wondered if my life made a difference in the life of another person. I also wondered what life meant to others if I had not ever lived. Did I just live or did I really love life.

The Visitor is a book about the importance of life. It tells how one persons life touches the life of another person. There have been many times you have had a positive effect upon someone, and directly (or indirectly) influenced the outcome of their life.

After reading The Visitor you will think about life (and death) differently. You will understand how your life has purpose, and just as important, has purpose in the life of another person.

The Visitor is not about death and dying it is about life and living.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Oct 28, 2013
• ISBN: 9781491828663

Gary Haun

As the Amazing Haundini, Gary Haun has performed magic for audiences, both young and old, throughout the world. Although blind for most of his life, Gary has not let his limitations limit him from living life to its fullest. He has stood on the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro and has been shark diving in the Bahamas and with the Great White sharks in South Africa. The Amazing Haundini makes an appearance in the full length documentary film, Jane’s Journey (2010) which is about his good friend, Dr. Jane Goodall. Angelina Jolie and Pierce Brosnan are also in the film. As an Ordained Minister in the Universal Life Church, Gary has performed wedding ceremonies, both traditional and non-traditional. In his capacity as the former Chaplain of the local detachment of the Marine Corps League, Gary has conducted funerals for fellow veterans. Gary’s message of hope has been carried to over 150 countries through the travels of Dr. Jane Goodall. Her mascot, Mr. H was given to her by Gary when they first met. Mr. H has been touched by over three million people.

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© 2013 by Gary Haun. All rights reserved.

Cover concept and design by William Haun.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 10/17/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4918-2864-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-2865-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-2866-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013918973

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Dedication

Chapter One What will you miss the most when you’re gone?

Chapter Two Did you live life to its fullest?

Chapter Three Was life more difficult because you were blind?

Chapter Four Did you ever take anything in life for granted?

Chapter Five What meant the most to you?

Chapter Six Do you have any regrets about your life?

Chapter Seven Is there a God, and do you think there is a Heaven?

Chapter Eight Do you think you made a difference?

Chapter Nine What is the meaning of life?

Chapter Ten Are you afraid to die?

The Last Chapter

Epilogue

Sources and References

About the Author

About the Author’s Other Books

Dedication

This book is dedicated to old folks everywhere.

When I was fifteen I worked in a nursing home. Eventually, I would work in three different nursing homes located in my hometown.

Most of the residents were in their nineties, and a few were over one hundred years old. The residents really liked us kids, and it seemed to make them happy to have us around. I never thought much about it until I got older myself. Having young people around makes us feel young.

I liked talking to the old people, as they had so many memories to share. One of my favorites was the man everyone called ‘Captain’, because he had been a captain in the U.S. Army in World War I. He was a living history lesson. I also liked having conversations with some of the people who would share their stories about the history of the town in which we lived. I really learned a lot, and I thank them all for it.

It seemed they really liked telling me about their children, grandchildren, or great grandchildren. They also told me in such loving terms about their wives or husbands. They would speak from the heart as they reminisced about friends they’d lost over the years.

I tried to spend as much time as I could with them. It seemed sad that many had no one to visit them. Some had children who might visit once or twice a year. I never understood that. If only they knew how much their mom or dad talked about them and how they would recall with pride all their children’s achievements.

When I became a magician, I always tried to do as many magic shows at nursing homes as I could. I guess it was my way of paying my respects to all those people at the nursing homes where I had worked. I suppose the price of living a long life is growing old.

I hope that after reading this book, you would visit someone in a nursing home. It doesn’t matter if you know the person. It will make you both feel good.

You know old trees just grow stronger,

And old rivers grow wilder every day.

Old people just grow lonesome,

Waiting for someone to say, Hello in there, Hello.

John Prine, from the song Hello In There

Chapter One

What will you miss the most when you’re gone?

Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential and fight for your dreams.—Ashley Smith

The first snowfall of each year was always a magical time for the old man. Although he couldn’t see the snow, he could hear it quite well. The many years without his sight had sharpened his other senses in a rather amazing way. His window was left open a tiny bit so he could hear the beauty outside. Just yesterday, he had heard the last geese on their way south. He could hear the wind whistle over the opening in the window. He could hear the snow playing a melody when it fell against the window.

The old man drifted back, recalling his days as a youngster, and remembering the magic of the first snow.

When he was a child, he would stick out his tongue to catch a snowflake. He had learned in school that all snowflakes are unique. This meant that the snowflake on his tongue was special, and that made it special to him.

Through the opening in the window, the old man listened to the snow and visualized how pretty it would be as it stuck to the trees and bushes. His thoughts drifted back to the days when he could see. He remembered how pretty Christmas cards were, especially one that showed snow falling upon a Christmas tree. The tree was decorated for the holidays and surrounded by white doves. There was a snowman next to it, with coal eyes, a carrot nose, and a red and white scarf around its neck.

The old man thought about how much fun it had been to ride a sled down the hill not far from his childhood home. He remembered the smell of hot chocolate and the sound of children laughing as they threw snowballs at each other. Yes indeed, the snow had a magic of its own.

It was so peaceful. He closed his eyes and…

There was a knock on the door.

The nurse always knocked before she came in. She knew that many of the patients in the nursing home went to bed rather early. Some of the patients needed to take their medicine just before bedtime.

She loved working at night. It was quiet, and she loved the people in her care. She knew that the patients in the nursing home would spend their last days of life there, so she made their last days as special as possible. She had seen so many spend their last few days there and could remember all their names. Many whose minds were still sharp had thanked her for her kindness. It was their way of saying goodbye to a friend.

However, she had a special concern about the old man in 3C. He had only been in the nursing home for a few days. His wife had died a few days earlier, and his health had gotten worse since his arrival. She felt sad for him. He was blind, and it seemed he had given up on life.

He was lying in bed. Next to him on a table were pictures of his son and wife, a braille watch, and a small pebble. The old man had told someone earlier that the pebble was a tiny piece of lava rock from the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. There was also a pair of dark sunglasses on the table. The old man had worn sunglasses ever since he’d become blind, but this pair had been given to him by his recently deceased wife.

You have a visitor, said the nurse. There is a young man here who wants to ask you some questions. He seems very nice and said that it would help him greatly.

The old man didn’t say anything, but the nurse figured it might be good for him to talk to someone. As usual, the nurse wrote down the time at which she had checked in on him—9:36 P.M.

The young man politely held open the door for the nurse as she left the room and told her, Thank you. Then he took a seat next to the bed.

The old man turned his head toward the young man, thinking that he recognized the voice from somewhere. He remembered when he was young and how wonderful it was to be just starting life.

The visitor looked at the old man. His face had the lines of time written in many wrinkles around his eyes. He had a white beard that conveyed character and the wisdom of the ages. Although he was blind, he had beautiful brown eyes. The young man couldn’t imagine what the old man had seen—and after losing his sight, what he had experienced.

The young man began without hesitation, I wanted to talk to someone who has lived a long life, to help me in mine.

The old man had always been quick to help someone if he could, so he simply looked at the young man and spoke in a faint voice, Yeah, sure, what can I help you with?

"When did you really start feeling… well… old?"

The old man didn’t have to think too much about the question, "Well, I’m ninety-two now. You would think I started feeling old in my fifties, sixties, seventies, or eighties. But actually, I didn’t start feeling old until a few days ago. I don’t know if the nurse told you, but I lost my wife recently. I feel lost without her, and don’t really see the point of going on. I don’t think ‘old’ is a number. Some people feel old when they are young like you. I’ve never been able to figure that out. No, as long as I felt loved, I never felt old. I wonder how old some people would think they were if they didn’t know how old they really were? Some people make themselves older because of their attitude. Maybe I just had too much to do to think about whether I was growing