Here is a true story by Paul Harvey. Pass it to anyone who you

think would find it interesting and inspiring. You will be surprised

who this young man turns out to be. (Do not look at the bottom

of this letter until you have read it fully) Years ago a hardworking

man took his family from New York State to Australia to take

advantage of a work opportunity there. Part of this man's family

was a handsome young son who had aspirations of joining the

circus as a trapeze artist or an actor. This young fellow, biding

his time until a circus job or even one as a stagehand came along,

worked at the local shipyards which bordered on the worse section of

town. Walking home from work one evening this young man was attacked

by five thugs who wanted to rob him. Instead of just giving up his

money the young fellow resisted. However they bested him easily and

proceeded to beat him to a pulp. They mashed his face with their boots

, and kicked and beat his body brutally with clubs, leaving him for

dead.

When the police happened to find him lying in the road they assumed he

was dead and called for the Morgue Wagon. On the way to the morgue

a policeman heard him gasp for air, and they immediately took him to

the emergency unit at the hospital. When he was placed on a gurney a nurse

remarked to her horror, that this young man no longer had a face. Each

eye socket was smashed, his skull, legs, and arms fractured, his nose

literally hanging from his face, all is teeth were gone, and his jaw

was almost completely torn from his skull. Although his life was spared, he spent

over a year in the hospital. When he finally left, his body may have healed

but his face was disgusting to look at. He was no longer the handsome youth

that everyone admired. When the young man started to look for work

again he was turned down by everyone just on account of the way he looked.

One potential employer suggested to him that he join the freak show at

the circus as The Man Who Had No Face. And he did this for a while.

He was still rejected by everyone and no one wanted to be seen in his

company. He had thoughts of suicide. This went on for five years.

One day he passed a church and sought some solace there. Entering

the church he encountered a priest who had seen him sobbing while

kneeling in a pew. The priest took pity on him and took him to the

rectory where they talked at length. The priest was impressed with him

to such a degree that he said that he would do everything possible for him

that could be done to restore his dignity and life, if the young man

would promise to be the best Catholic he could be, and trust in God's

mercy to free him from his torturous life. The young man went to Mass

and communion every day, and after thanking God for saving his life,

asked God to only give him peace of mind and the grace to be the best

man he could ever be in His eyes. The priest, through his personal

contacts was able to secure the services of the best plastic surgeon

in Australia. There would be no cost to the young man, as the doctor

was the priest's best friend. The doctor too was so impressed by the

young man, whose outlook now on life, even though he had experienced

the worst, was filled with good humor and love. The surgery was a

miraculous success. All the best dental work was also done for him. The young

man became everything he promised God he would be. He was also

blessed with a wonderful, beautiful wife, many children, and success

in an industry which would have been the furthest thing from his mind

as a career, if not for the goodness of God and the love of the

people who cared for him. This he acknowledges publicly.

The young man---Mel Gibson.

His life was the inspiration for his production of the movie

"The Man Without A Face."