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Troubled Tribute

FROM
Break Out: Finding Freedom
When You Don't Quite Fit The Mold
James R. Hasse

"Life is a continual struggle
to justify the discrepancy
between our own perceptions
and those of others about who we are."

Anonymous

I saw my mother-in-law rise to her feet at the table right in front of the podium as soon as the applause began. She stood there alone, a smile on her face, looking at me and clapping for a long three seconds – out of love and pride – before others, here and there in the large banquet hall, began to pop up to their feet. Then, the whole banquet hall gave me a standing ovation.

Until then, I was comfortable receiving the Co-op Builder Award during the 25th annual meeting of the Wisconsin Federation of Cooperatives in Madison.

But, as I gingerly stabbed each of the steps leading off the riser with my crutches to get a sure footing for my return to my family's banquet table, my stomach became queasy. Otto and Marian Christopherson, two other Co-op Builder recipients who accepted their awards before I came on stage, hadn't received a standing ovation. Why should I?

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