Heart and Soul

There is a main road that winds its way like a vein through the heart of Augusta; Walton Way. I have traveled this road more times than I could ever estimate. When new houses are born or trees have come crashing down, when renovations and roadwork block my path, I notice. A few years ago I noticed a new fixture on the lawn of a middle school. An ominous picture. A lonely little figure. On a bench sat a bronze little boy holding a ball and staring off into an imaginary play land.

It's haunting and well it should be. That is why memorials are placed. This year is the first time in all my travels I stopped to get out and look at the little boy. I knew there couldn't be a happy story there. Maybe that is why I never took the time to stop.
In passing this little figure spoke to me of missed opportunities. In person, I could almost swear he actually spoke because the story...his story seemed to scream through the metal. On the plaque was his name: Daniel. On the plaque was his birthday...and date of death. Fourteen years. That's such a short time on this earth.
I stood there for a moment choking back tears. I have a daughter of my own now and I shuddered at the thought of losing her. My heart wrenched for Daniel's parents and so I had to find the story. Daniel's story. It was a very easy search. It wasn't the newspaper or the television page where I found it. It was on his father's business website. This event that was so defining was displayed for the world to see...no shame...just pure and utter reality that this man had lost something so precious that he had to let everyone know. I copied the story from his webpage because remarkable people don't have to live a long time to really make a difference to their world. I wanted all of you to read about his courageous albeit short journey on this earth.
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Daniel Joseph Ginn Moretz, 14, died on Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Fourteen-year-old Daniel Moretz handled his death as he did his life.

• Photos

"He was feeling horrible, but he never complained," said his mom, Julie Moretz.
Daniel, who survived 11 heart surgeries - including a transplant six years ago - died Wednesday at Medical College of Georgia Children's Medical Center.
Dr. Bill Strong, the former chief of pediatric cardiology at MCG, was with Daniel when he came into the world with the major vessels of his heart reversed, and the right ventricle not fully formed.
And Dr. Strong was there Wednesday when Daniel's transplanted heart gave out.
"He was the most remarkable young man," Dr. Strong said. "He had courage, and he had a spirit that he was able to transmit to others.
"He was a wonderful human being."
And Daniel was an accomplished one.
Daniel had been befriended by former Vice President Al Gore, and Daniel had been President of the United States, too.
Well, he was for a week, with help from the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
"We were in Washington and he got to do a lot of things the president got to do," Mrs. Moretz said.
Daniel was an advocate and a gifted public speaker. He'd addressed the Georgia Transplant Foundation and Make-A-Wish. He even spoke to the Georgia Bulldog Association.
He loved to volunteer, Mrs. Moretz and Dr. Strong said, and was out wearing a bright orange vest during a recent charity walk, helping to direct human traffic.
He particularly loved working with the Children's Heart Program at the medical center, and Dr. Strong gives him much of the credit for the creation of it.
But most of all, Daniel was thrilled by those things that just made him a normal kid.
Having missed so much school over the years because of doctors visits, he was overjoyed when he received an award for attendance for the first nine weeks at Langford Middle School.
"He did not want to miss school," his mom said. "We worked so hard to make his life normal."
He cherished Saturday morning breakfast with his dad, David, and fierce battles on the PlayStation2.
He always wanted to play football, but couldn't because of his condition. Instead, he cheered on his beloved Dawgs on television and went to every Academy of Richmond County game he could.
Sundays were church days for the Moretz family, which includes sister, Morgan, who attends John S. Davidson Fine Arts Magnet High School, and brother, Lee, who is away at college. Daniel was active in the bell choir at the Lutheran Church of the Resurrection.
And then the boy who didn't learn to walk until age 4, the one who had more than 150 blood transfusions, the one who lived every moment of his life will be laid to rest.
"He has made his mark here," his mom said.
(http://www.moretzrealty.com/default.asp?content=custom&menu_id=225875)
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As I finished the article, my cheeks were streaked as I thought about the boy who just wanted to be like everyone else. But it served as a stark reminder that we have this one life. To love, to live, to be something to someone. Some waste it and squander it and never make the impact that this little boy did in his brief 14 years. And although the goal seems complicated, let's face it, even a boy with a broken heart could do it.