Haiti, The Poor and Giving Pt.1
Coming home from work tonight I was pumped that it's Friday and planned on cranking the stereo up and being cheerful and in party mode. Instead when I walked through the door, it was rather quiet for a Friday night. Even quiet with a nine and seven year old running around. My wife was planted on the couch watching television and I couldn't help but hear the somber music coming from it. It was the Hope For Haiti Telethon. She was visibly upset and deep into what was on the screen.
I got into some idle chat with her, but it was obvious she wanted to watch and wanted silence. I knew where this was going. I've seen my wife like this before. Such a caring and lovely lady. She is a Kindergarten teacher and has a soft spot for children and especially those that are less fortunate or mistreated. I predicted in thought what was coming next.......about a half an hour later she came to me and said "Honey, I would really like to bring one of those orphaned Haitian babies home" I just told her that they are in good hands now and the world spot light is on Haiti now and many of those problems will be lessened over time. What a kind heart she has, she was really serious about this.
I love that about her.
As I am getting older? I am getting softer in many aspects of my life and there is a part of me that would like to "fix" things for everybody. To adopt that poor kid, or to donate more money, to bring in all the strays, etc. etc. If I had the financial backing? I do believe that my family and I could jet off to another country and help in a hands on manner. I really wish that we could. We donate at Church and last week for Haiti and certainly more to come for them... Still one wonders "Are we doing enough"?
I did not post a heartbreaking photo above of the heartbreaking destruction in Haiti in that we have seen so much of that already. In the news for the last ten days and given the somber but necessary telethon tonight. Even given all the horrible events in Haiti? There is truly hope and Americans always come to call to make that hope a reality.
The events in Haiti, although in much different circumstances, remind me of my time in Somalia and Korea. They remind me of this because two of the most poignant memories that I will ever have involve poor children and being a young American growing up fast....seeing a world I never knew and will never forget.
I spent a few months in Somalia...in Mogadishu. We were "stationed" at what seemed to once be a beautiful resort. "The Indian Ocean Resort" It had a beautiful main building in the center, riddled with bullet holes and was a shell of it's former self. The entire resort was surrounded by an eight foot white concrete wall. The whole city of Mogadishu was riddled in bullet holes. Much of the architecture was something like you would see in those old Ali Baba and The Forty Thieves movies with Sabu...ya know?
Except it was all "shot up". Decades of occupation and "tribal" fighting. Sand blowing in your face, hot and desolate. No food or drink was ate or drank without the grit of sand in it. Yet. even in the midst of this atmosphere, there is good. Leave it to a child and a soldier to make each other happy. A tired homesick troop and a poor kid trying to make his way.
One day while posting guard duty on one of the side wrought iron gates of the "resort", a little kid no more than eight years old wearing a fedora came walking up to the gate asking me for chocolate. This little guy in his fedora was a stern faced little man, and I got a kick out of it... So I pointed to myself. As if "What do you have for me?" He pulled from his pocket a roll of Somalia cash (which was worth nothing in that country) and I faked a surprised look. He handed the roll of cash through the wrought iron fence. I picked out the most color full bills and gave him all the chocolate I had, my MRE, and about $2 in change from my pocket. He was elated. This stern faced little mean wheeler and dealer was a sweet little kid again for a moment. He hung out with me on the other side of the gate until my guard duty was over. That gate was between us, but if allowed, I know I could have opened that gate and held that little boy and he wouldn't have minded at all......... I'll never forget him.
Continued Tomorrow.... Pt.2
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