My niece had a project to do for school. They had to pick a picture and write a poem about it. Ten years ago, we had gone to the beach early on in my dad's AD battle. We had a stairway to the beach, and we were concerned he would not find his way, so my mom had a blow up beach toy that was an orange giraffe that she tied on the stairway so he could find his way if he got separated from us. My niece chose this picture to write her story about. Here is her poem

At the end of a wooden walkway, a blow-up giraffe is tied to a post. He is orange and goofy-looking, smiling at passing beachgoers, waving in the wind. The big, laughing family descends the walkway, treasuring the moment the sand touches their toes. They breathe in the scent of the salty ocean air, bid the orange giraffe “good morning”, and frolic down to the water’s edge.
Several hours later, a tall elderly man makes his way up the beach, squinting into the sun, searching for something. His face alights; he has found it. The orange giraffe. He steps onto the walkway, its boards disintegrating, like the old man’s memory. He returns to the house.
Years later, the old man looks around him, feeling lost and confused. Who are these people? Who is this big, laughing family? He jokes with them, talks with them, and cannot fight the feeling that he knows them from somewhere. They laugh about an orange giraffe, tied to a post at the end of a walkway.
Months later, the big, laughing family sits quietly in a church by the highway, silently wiping their tears. The old man is not with them now. They are lost, and there is no orange giraffe to guide them home.
At the end of a wooden walkway, a big, laughing family smiles into the sun. They breathe in the salty sea air, allow their feet to sink into the sand. And they remember the orange giraffe.

That was beautiful! Thank you for sharing.

Wow. Your niece is very talented. It brought tears to my eyes.

How lovely! Thank you so much for sharing this with us!

Good Luck.

That was so sweet! Thank you for sharing!

When ever I see a giraffe, I will remember this.

Your niece is a very talented girl. Thank her for me. She has added deepth to a illness that is so inspiring.
Please encourage her to continue to write.
Sheryl

Oh, that was so heart wrenching and heart warming - what understanding your niece could put into words. I'm wiping as I'm typing.... Deb

She really is very talented. My mom was just amazed at this story. My other niece was talking at the beach this summer that when she is rich and buys her beach house (lol) she is going to name it the Orange Giraffe after my dad. It is just amazing how many lives he has touched. You just don't realize the small things in life that make such an impact on others. These girls are not really related to my dad - their mother is my husband's sister - but they felt he was their adopted grandfather once their's died, and he felt the same way. Even went to their school on grandparent's day.

I will treasure this poem. Even if it does make me cry.

Aww, Sue -- Beautiful! Your dad truly left a wonderful legacy.

Mari