Jul27

round and round.

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 Active duty service members often carry sentimental items to help combat the challenges of war – perhaps a picture of a loved one, a handwritten letter, or a good luck charm. For Marine Cpl. Scott Harrison, that item was a music box from his sister, which he would hold close to his ear during breaks in the fighting during the Vietnam War. “I would close my eyes, and I would think of a carousel in a mountain meadow,” Harrison told CBS News. “… An image totally opposite of where people are trying to kill each other.”
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Harrison left the war in 1968, but his carousel daydream continued to help him through a different battle: post-traumatic stress disorder. He eventually decided to buy a broken-down carousel and bring his fantasy to life spending 26 years handcarving the animals himself.
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In 2010, Harrison opened the carousel to the public in Nederland, Colorado, and launched a nonprofit called Carousel of Happiness to spread smiles round and round for all. “Just to go to that carousel and see everybody having such a great time, is good medicine for me,” Harrison said. “Because I started out trying to treat myself, and then it just changed into something that I could do for others.”

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source credit: CBS News

 

”there is in the worst of fortune, the best of chances for a happy change.’

-euripides

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52 responses »

  13. This is a beautiful story. My brother was in the Army for a while, and I gave him some prayer cards before he left.
    5 years later, he took them out of his wallet, old – but still well maintained. I was shocked he still had them. He said he carries them everywhere he goes, and they don’t leave his wallet. ❤️
    He went into the Navy not too long ago and deployed overseas, and before he left, I sent him a dog chain necklace to wear with a prayer on it, and he never takes it off. 😊

    These little things mean so much to those who serve.

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  19. Oh, wow, Ned is just right up the road from Denver, more or less, and I’ve been through there dozens of times in my life … but don’t recall ever seeing a carousel. But I wouldn’t have unless it’s right by the highway headed north. (Yep, just looked it up. I’d have seen it if I ever headed south instead of north out of Ned.)

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