Brandon Bartholomew was dressed in a dark-gray wool suit,

white starched shirt, and purple tie, making it hard to tell he was

a thin man. His tortoiseshell glasses accented the ebony color of

his skin, eyes, and close-cropped graying hair. His demeanor was

serious—until he smiled like a morning sunrise.

Not readily apparent from his façade was what he had

overcome. As I later learned, Brandon’s father had died when he

was eight. His mother raised him on her nurse’s salary, but she also

died early in his life.

Brandon was fortunate to find activities such as science,

academics, and business that bolstered his spirit. He’d preferred

sports but grew to accept his limitations as an athlete. His backup

plan was to become highly educated and use his practical

knowledge to adopt nontraditional alternatives.

The week following Brandon’s presentation, the panel granted

his request for funding, and he was informed by email. After the

long Veterans Day weekend, I went in my office to catch up on a

stack of unread mail that had arrived before the holiday. Among

the credit-card offers, bills, and advertisements was a handwritten

note on personal stationery from Brandon Reddox Bartholomew.

“Thank you very much,” he wrote, “for giving financial support to

improve the way physicians serve impoverished patients in central

Mississippi.” He closed the letter with an invitation to visit him at

his home in Starkville, Mississippi.

The letter struck me as unusual. Most responses of gratitude

are staged and rather superfluous. They arrive on letterheads of the

receiving entity, addressed collectively to the entire panel. Why

had this man reached out with thanks in such a way?

 

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