As I sat waiting to see the doctor, my eyes caught a glimpse of “The Bell”. I stared at the bell for a long time. Dammit, I’m going to ring that bell one day. The bell is for those that have beat cancer. I imagined the sound it would make as I rang it. I imagined myself standing there grinning ear to ear with my short hair slowly growing back.

Seeing the bell fueled the fire to face this beast head on, not letting it defeat me. One of my favorite movies is Fried Green Tomatoes. In the movie, Idgie channels an inner strength she calls “Tawanda.” In seeing the bell, I am summoning Tawanda, “righter of wrong.” I am also calling on Ruth and the rest of the gang at Whistlestop for their support. I’ll also look to Harper Lee and the rest of my favorite Southern authors to be cheering me on.

In reality, I’m living in a real, Southern novel. My little “knock about” place known as Demopolis has lifted me up in this fight. I will prove to be a worthy opponent against the “red devil” as the chemo is called. God’s on my side. Not today Satan (insert machine gun sounds). I am determined to help others in their fight as well so they can ring the bell.

The perceived sound of the bell echoes in my ear, pushing me forward. The felt prayers of friends and loved ones give me strength. My favorite Christmas movie is It’s a Wonderful Life. According to the film, every time a bell rings an angel gets its wings. Well, when I ring this bell, there will be multiple angels getting their wings, and God himself will hear this bell.

One of my favorite poems by Edgar Allen Poe is The Bells.

  While the stars that oversprinkle
        All the heavens, seem to twinkle
           With a crystalline delight;
         Keeping time, time, time,
         In a sort of Runic rhyme,
To the tintinabulation that so musically wells
       From the bells, bells, bells, bells,
               Bells, bells, bells—
  From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells.

I’m going to ring that bell. You just wait.