Where You Are

Summer weather usually propels us toward pools. When the temperatures rose this week, our family visited a water park. Since I’m not a fan of pools, you’ll understand how uncomfortable I felt when you read what happened next. While waiting for the next fake wave to wash over us, a thin slice of banana floated past. Why? We were disturbed and confused. People notice when something or someone’s out of place. Watch these reactions: 

                                         https://youtu.be/TrON1jkvfBQ    

 Don’t the video’s bystanders look bewildered? If you’re familiar with the city, you expect to see all levels of wealth and poverty. The only out of place situation is when opposite ends of the spectrum merge right before your eyes. For some reason, people like to dictate who’s out of place. Where do you feel most comfortable?

Three Little Words

Three little words, when spoken by a female, can strike fear in the heart of her male companion. During the first stage of fear, the male will exhibit a vacant stare. He wants to be somewhere else, anywhere that’s not within hearing distance of those three little words. These next three “words”  may shock you because they should not be coming from this mouth:

                                         http://youtu.be/qXo3NFqkaRM

 How did the dog owners determine that Mishka had human speaking abilities and what will Mishka say next? There’s something about a “talking” dog that makes me uncomfortable. It’s probably the same uncomfortable feeling males get when they hear their female companions say the three little words—hold my purse.   

 Every day we get a barrage of information that makes us feel uncomfortable. We’re flooded with environmental, social, financial and political problems with each news story. Does it feel like we're waiting for someone to say the magic words to fix everything? When you’re in the middle of a situation, what three little words help keep you steady?    

The Gift of Giving

I enjoy hearing about the charitable giving that happens during this time of the year. Up north, a man decided to give away hundreds of dollars to various individuals he met on the street; one mother of six children received six hundred dollars.  Another news story told how several people put solid gold bars and diamond rings in the Salvation Army buckets. Don’t we all feel more charitable at Christmas? Watch this little boy get into the spirit of giving:

Ooops, I hope that wasn’t a tear-jerker for you—it was for me. I remember seeing scenes similar to that while riding through Mexico on a bus tour to the ancient ruins and the beach. We didn’t stop—poverty wasn’t on the agenda that day.  I’m not suggesting that we give away all of our Christmas gifts, we can plan to do that next year.  I am suggesting that we play Santa. Small gestures don’t go unnoticed. How about paying the toll for the person behind you or tipping the harried waiter who didn’t serve your food, but dealt with a demanding customer? I know you’ll think up some really special ways to play Santa this season. Share with us what you would like to do.          

Giving up the Blame Game

Several years ago, I think there was a story about a wealthy man who promised a class of impoverished students free college tuition if they graduated from high school.  You're probably thinking that this deal was “money in the bank” for those students—problems solved.   Not really.  A majority of the scholarships went unused.  I was shocked by this outcome, but it shows that money doesn’t fix everything.  Apparently, the students faced some obstacles that were just too large to conquer. 

This situation reminded me of a book I read.  It’s a riveting memoir about a dysfunctional couple whose children grew up to lead relatively normal lives.  Check out the book video featuring the author and a piece of her story:

I often wonder why some kids make it through difficult circumstances and others flounder.  Despite growing up in extreme poverty, Ms. Walls (from the book video) had one critical element going for her—encouragement.  Although her father lived a risky and eccentric lifestyle, she often heard him say something like, “I knew you could do it, Mountain Goat!”  They shared a unique father-daughter relationship and the various family members seemed to love one another. 

While we may live in the world’s greatest country, I believe we can do a better job of preparing our young people for the future.  In your opinion, what’s the most important trait, quality or skill we need to instill in the next generation?