A Special Tribute : To Daniela Ordnung

Many tributes are posted here on Gather. Usually the tributees are well known and often they receive more than one offering. Tributes are good because they represent rewards for achievements in writing or in life.

However, please bear in mind that there are some wonderful people who perhaps never (or very seldom) are so praised. Daniela is one such person.

First of all let me tell you that you can't get to know her without getting to know her soul and without getting to know her passion for creativity. She's not a prolific writer on Gather because English is not her first language. Perhaps not even her second.

When you are with her, you're aware that you're in the presence of a full person. Why full? Because Daniela has an earthiness, a magic, a willingness to laugh or cry with you, a full life experience with devastating traumas and friends in the most amazing fields all over the globe.

Life has taught her that empty words and empty souls are unworthy of her attention and she treats falseness with a dismissive disdain. But give her a needy child and she'll move mountains to help.

I don't think that there is anything that I can't discuss with her. Whether it's the secrets of human nature, the source of creativity, the trials of minority groups, the caring for the troubled children and also the teaching of children...Daniela has a thought provoking opinion on most things and it is often based on real experience.

Ask her about the joys of folk dancing and folk music, riding horses, ancient history or mythology. Just know that she'll be able to discuss it with you and give you thoughts to ponder over. She is, in addition, the master of many languages and in some mysterious way, familiar with the customs of many countries.

Isn't it amazing that such a knowledgeable and insightful person can pass almost totally unnoticed between us?

Not that we don't clash! Ha! We've never met but I'm very aware of how her eyes can blaze at times. I know that she can, when inadvertently provoked, faintly resemble a trapped puma. Forgive me for saying this Daniela, but I'm sure that you could, at times, consider throwing a plate at me. If you ever did, I know that you'd have full reason for doing so.

But we are friends. Friends with some kind of special bond. A bond that makes sure that a smile is never far away. You see, she's all heart and she has a depth. That's what makes her Daniela.

I simply can't let anyone but her read my stories and poems. After she did it once, how could I possibly let anyone else read them. You see that what I had written was merely a vehicle for Daniela to tell the world what was in her heart and soul.

She added another dimension to my work. So much so that when I heard her speak, I lost track of time and even my ownership. I heard in her words treasures made up of nuances, hints of laughter and pauses that seemed to add to the excitement of the message.

To you Daniela. Thank you for what you've done for me by opening my eyes, by seeing the light and telling me about it and for seeing value in my writing. Yes that's it. Thank you for making me feel like a writer.

I pray that your heavy burdens are changed by the God that loves you and that they become wings to carry you to that world that you are searching for. Where you will sit with many children at your feet, all listening to you in amazed awe.

If any reader is interested, please go to My Videos and click on Down Where The Crickets Play. There you will hear a sample of Daniela's voice.

Bravo Daniela. God be with you.