(This post is dedicated to all the beautiful, remarkable people in the world who have Down syndrome, as well as to the families and friends who love them.)October is National Down Syndrome Awareness Month. With me being the very sporadic and infrequent blogger that I've been so far, it probably doesn't surprise anyone that it's taken me until the month is nearly over to write a post reminding people about it. But as one who is too-often running late and is an expert at procrastinating, I've come to learn that in most things, the old saying "better late than never" really DOES apply.
In that spirit, I present the following two-part documentary, which I discovered much to my joy on YouTube. It's about the very special Core Family, two loving parents and four big sisters who weren't about to let a little Down syndrome get in the way of loving and caring for their son/brother.
It's a beautifully filmed little piece of work (with kudos to Papa Core, who captured his children's 1960s childhoods so beautifully and poetically on his no-doubt quite primitive video equipment. The moving footage, combined with his eloquent, poignant commentary, brought tears to my eyes more than once while viewing this. The credit goes to filmmaker Roger M. Richards for the evocative synchronization of Core's audio commentary with his video images. Richards--Core's grandson, and the son of one of the sisters featured in the film--found his grandfather's audiotapes and home movies among boxes of tangled film spools he inherited upon his death, and edited them together to create this incredibly moving documentary.)
I think this "small" film says just about everything there is to say about the sacred bonds of family, and the incredible, abiding, unconditional love of four sisters for their baby brother. And--perhaps most important of all in these times when the prevalence of amniocentesis is leading to an alarming increase in the rate of abortions of fetuses revealed to have Down syndrome--it shows us the sweetness, purity and beauty (maybe not apparent to some on the surface, but there all the same) of people with Down syndrome. I think it shows quite clearly just what the world would lose if people like Dwight Core Jr. (and my son Daniel) ever became an extinct "species."
Think of Me First As A Person--Pt. 1
Think of Me First As A Person--Pt. 2
7 comments:
Julie,
I really enjoyed your post on your son daniel. what a special guy he surly is. keep on postin as you are a great writer. i look forward to your next post.
Julie,
Think of Me First As a Person has reached so many. I am glad you enjoyed the two-part documentary about the film my son, George made. Roger Richards did a wonderful job of telling our story.
Patricia,
Dwight's sister
Hi Patricia,
What a lovely surprise to hear from you! Thanks for visiting my blog and commenting.
Yes, George and Roger did an incredibly beautiful job on the film. I was deeply touched by your family's story, and by the amazing depth of unconditional love your parents had (and you sisters continue to have) for Dwight.
The scene of Dwight and one of you standing beside your parents' graves in the cemetery, with Dwight telling his mommy and daddy he loves them, caused a real lump in my throat, I have to admit, as did a few others.
Such beautiful footage your dad shot of all of you when you were little. I found his commentary deeply moving too.
I hope that you, your sisters and Dwight are all doing well.
Take care, and thanks again for writing.
Julie
Hi Julie,
Thanks for your kind words. You have a very good way with words. It makes me feel so good when moms share their incredible stories. I would like to offer you my email address: patriciaingmire@cox.net Take care,
Patricia
Dwight's sister
Hi again Patricia,
I apologize for taking awhile to get back to you. But I firmly believe in "better late than never" (and I hope you do too. :)
I just wanted to be sure to thank you for your very kind words. It's really nice to know someone out there is actually reading and enjoying what I'm writing. (I promise you I'll put up another post any day now, give you something new to read. I haven't given up on this thing yet, even though I probably should due to lack of time to devote to it.)
Thank you too for your friendly gesture of giving me your e-mail address. I'll be sure to drop you a line soon, see how things are going with you, Dwight and the rest of your lovely family.
Can you refresh my memory? Are you the sister who Dwight is living with now? I'll bet he continues to thrive in your loving care, and is so happy to be at home among family. He sure looks content in the movie just sitting in his comfortable arm chair coloring away. So sweet! :)
I have three sisters myself (and three brothers too!) There sure is solidarity in sisterhood, isn't there? I think the close bond you all share comes through very clearly in George's documentary. It's truly a thing of beauty. :)
Hope you're all doing well!
Julie,
Dwight lives with my sister Cindy. And you are right, he is so very happy to be at home with family. His health completely turned around when Cindy started caring for him. Dwight is the youngest of 5. Four older sisters and him. So you know he was spoiled but in a good way.
Take care,
Patricia
Thanks for writing about this film. If I may, I'd like to clarify that the videos on this blog are "My Favorite Child" parts one and two - this is a video about the film "Think of Me First as a Person."
For those interested in learning more about the film, you can visit http://www.thinkofmefirstasaperson.com/
Thanks again,
George Ingmire
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