You Made a Difference Friend, May You Inspire Others:

I sent this to 3 newspapers and not one had time to write a story on friendship.  So, here I will publish this tribute to an amazing woman.   

North Augusta, SC, September 19, 2016:  Today Miriam Culbertson will be remembered at Posey Funeral Home in North Augusta.  She has been my friend since I moved next door to her.  In 2003, I woke up in my home and thought it was filled with gas, I could hear the media outside calling me a witch, and I was sure someone was trying to poison me.  I fled to my car with my dog.  Miriam saw me and tried to give me a hug.  I told her to stay away, as I thought she had ill intentions.  I ended up driving up ad down the East Coast in fear of an entity I couldn’t find.  Then 4 hospitalizations later, I came home and Miriam was still there.  She stayed by my side when illness struck in a way that the younger people in my life just did not.  She was a rock, always there for me even when my career that evolved in peer support took me to Nebraska.  She always was on the other end of the phone till now.  I miss my friend dearly, but want to encourage people in the community to continue to reach out to people with mental illness in the community.  You can make a difference just by a conversation and being there.  Sharing her faith and love was such a precious gift and I am stronger because of her love.  Reach out and be a friend to someone struggling.  A friend makes the difference.  Miriam speaks at the end of this video I made for a “What a difference a friend makes” video contest years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--zGp7rpWuY&app=desktop

Miriam Culbertson and Carol Coussons de Reyes, 2004, North Augusta