Thousand Word Thursday

Neighborhood in Tegucigalpa, Honduras (photo by William). Click on photo to enlarge.

An Update on the Story of "The Girl"

I have written a number of posts about a young women in Honduras who I referred to as the "the Girl." I told the story of our meeting and subsequent relationship, her struggles growing up in various orphanages, and her current struggles as she begins a new chapter of life in Tegucigalpa.

The Girl gave birth to a son in January. His name is Jarvin Gabriel. Although we have been unable to speak her directly, both her brother and our missionary friends at The Micah Project (www.micahcentral.blogspot.com) report that mother and baby are doing well.

Honduras can be a tough place to grow up. The country is very poor, and the current world economic downtown is only making a bad situation worse. There are few jobs, food shortages, and widespread malnutrition.

If you are a praying person, please take a moment to offer a prayer for Daisy and Jarvin. I appreciate it, and I know they would too.

Empty Pockets and the American Dream

"I wish a buck was still silver, it was back when the country was strong. Back before Elvis and the Vietnam War came along. Before the Beatles and "Yesterday" when a man could still work, and still would. The best of the free life's behind us now, and are the good times really over for good?" Merle Haggard, "Are the Good Times Really Over."

America's a big place. I can't speak for what's going on in other parts of the country--only about what I see and hear in my little corner of Alabama. The overall mood here is gloomy.

I live in the Auburn/Opelika area. These two cities have experienced tremendous growth in the last twenty years. So much so that we are in the top three fastest growing cities in Alabama. Families have moved here for opportunities and the quality of life afforded by the area: a major university, good medical care, light industry, and great location. Hundreds of homes have been constructed, along with new shopping centers, restaraunts, and other amenities. Churches and schools have expanded. And there were ambitious plans for more--much more. A multi-million dollar KIA automobile plant, which recently opened, would bring thousands of jobs to the area. Just two years ago, I heard more than one person brag that our area was "recession proof."

What a difference two years can make.

I heard one man's story today. He owned a small "mom and pop" auto parts store in a nearby town. It was a thriving business several years ago. Then the franchise stores moved in. He struggled to keep his customers but began to lose them one by one to volume pricing. He tried to adapt, changed direction--converted his parts inventory to big rig trucks and heavy machinery. Then logging and construction declined as the economy faltered. What was a successful family business is now closed. His wife lost her job, they lost their house, and are now looking for a small plot of land in the country to put a mobile home on to start over. As I tried to encourage him with "Well, I hope the economy starts to turn around soon", he responded with "It ain't gonna get better no time soon."

"It ain't gonna get better no time soon." I hear this in variations everywhere I go. From preachers, bankers, farmers, and workers of all stripes. From a friend who made his living in real estate, who now works low-wage manual labor and is struggling to keep his home. From a friend in his mid-fifties who was an executive at a plant that closed, and who confessed he would take "any job he could find." From recent college graduates waiting tables and cooking fast food.

Our country has been through at least a couple of economic recessions in my life time. But I don't recall the level of fear that I see in people's eyes these days. Homes and jobs continue to be lost, and most people I talk to think the country's on the wrong path--that recovery isn't likely anytime in the near future.

I must confess that I'm not immune to the pessimism. But I have been fortunate enough to stay afloat thus far. I was able to find another job, and for that I am very thankful. Like most folks in the U.S., I am incredibly blessed. I have way too much "stuff", and can get by on much less.

Perhaps the "American Dream" we've all been chasing the last thirty years has been the wrong dream. Maybe we haven't been thankful enough for the abundance we've been blessed with. Maybe we've bought in to a lie. I don't know the answers. But I do believe that America is too great a country to lose hope. The "good times" don't have to be over. The days, weeks, months, and maybe even years ahead will be the true test of our resolve.

May God bless America.

My Favorite Hippie Chic

We had some good friends visit last weekend. Still a little cool here in central Alabama for porch sitting and grilling, but good company and conversation can usually overcome any setting. Our guests included Steve and Jeanne, Neal and Jennifer Vinson, and the Vinson children: Ivey, Clay, Baylie, and Zach. I want to tell you a little about Ivey, who recently turned fourteen. I call her "my favorite hippie chick."

Ivey is the kind of young lady who can give you hope for the future. In this era of the short attention span, video game/MTV/pop music youth culture, she's a kind of a throwback to another era. A time when kids read books, rode bicycles and played outdoors, and basically had to think up their own fun. For me, she's a treasure, like finding a diamond when you're walking on the beach. I always enjoy the time spent with her and her family.

Ivey has an eclectic intellect. Some of this likely comes from good genes, and some from the freedom of being home schooled. While the smaller children played, Ivey sat with the adults on our back porch as we talked in rambling fashion about various subjects. She had picked up my copy of "Alice in Wonderland", which I had been re-reading before the upcoming release of Tim Burton's film of the same name. I mentioned that I was interested to see what Johnny Depp did in his portrayal of the "mad hatter." Ivey explained that the term "mad hatter" actually came from a time in England when hat-makers used mercury in their process. Mercury poisoning often led to their strange behavior, which coined the phrase "mad as a hatter." Now knowing something like that won't save the world in the next generation, but it will probably come a lot closer to it than knowing what Lady Gaga wore to the Grammys.

Ivey has the soul of an artist. When my wife commented on her purse (which was the size of a grocery bag), Ivey revealed the contents. Among the items: various sewing projects (contents contained within ziplock bags); a very nice Anthology of Poetry; sketch pencils (she noted that she had nine different shades of orange, showing and describing each one to alleviate any skepticism), and other art and craft supplies. This girl can sketch, draw, paint, act, and sing. She makes and sells jewelry. And she might even entertain you with a song if you ask her nicely. My personal favorite is a rendition of Carmen Miranda's "Chiquita Banana" commercial from the late 50's or early 60's.

Ivey is also a natural beauty. Her dad, a former Auburn football player, will likely have to put the fear of God in some young gentlemen callers in a few years. But I don't think he will have too much to worry about. I tried to tickle her at one point during the visit. She reflexively hit me with a straight left hand that vibrated through my bones all the way to my toes. I'm glad she wasn't mad--she might have knocked me out.

I look forward to see where the road will take Ivey. I'm glad I'll be able to say "I knew her when she was just a kid."

She Takes a Hike

A walk in the woods is what I need.
Nature's charms to clear my mind and relieve the stress of modern life.
Happiness is found in the glimpse of a fleeing deer,
white tail waving 'goodbye' as she bounces over the hill top.
God's voice in the shrill of a red-tailed hawk.
Peace in the gurgle of the stream.
I'll follow the direction of the deer,
Hopefully get another glimpse.
What a glorious day for a walk.
Minutes fly by like hours.

I should have bought one of those GPS thingys
that "Outdoor Life" said every hiker needs.
There's that white oak in the hollow.
Isn't that where the deer jumped up?
Maybe I'll just follow the creek downhill to a river,
The river all the way to the Gulf of Mexico.
The beach will be at the Gulf.
That would be nice,
Not as many trees and a better breeze.
Doesn't moss grow only on the north side of the tree,
or does it grow thicker on the north side of the tree?
Maybe it's just the rolling stone that has relevance to moss.
Why do I need to know which way north is anyway?
I'm not going to Canada.
Is there a view of civilization from the top of the ridge,
Or only a view of the next ridge?
Is it safe to drink from this stream?
I'm not really thirsty but I should probably stay hydrated.
Are the bright red berries edible or poisonous?
Am I really hungry enough to eat berries?
Have I been gone long enough to be hungry at all?
I wonder if there are snakes in these woods?
I think it goes "red touch yellow, kill a fellow."
Or maybe it goes "red touch black, you better stay back."
Do squirrels get rabies, and if so, will they attack?
If I'm bit by a rabid squirrel, how long before I start to foam at the mouth?
Do bees hibernate?
If I get stung will I swell like a balloon?
Can't I start a fire by rubbing two sticks together?
What kind of sticks should I use,
pine or hardwood?
Is it really cold enough for a fire, anyway?
Isn't that one of the symptoms of hypothermia,
to not feel cold even though you are cold?
Is it 'Stage One' or 'Stage Two' hypothermia,
this falsehood of warmness?
How many stages before I die?
Maybe I should start that fire now.
If I start a fire will it escape my control and become a forest fire?
That would be embarrassing.
But at least some men would have to come and put it out.
I should have dressed in layers.
Multiple layers--cotton, wool, and Gortex.
What kind of name is Gortex, anyway?
Is it an acronym or simply some inventor's name?

Oh, thank God.
There's my car.

I love a good walk in the woods.
It's so relaxing.

One Cold Monday

It has been cold here for a couple of weeks now. I believe the temperature made it out of the thirties today for the first time in over a week. Night time lows have been in the teens for at least a week. A lot of low temperature records have been recorded, and we still have a lot of winter yet to go.

I've lived most of my life in central Alabama. It is a great place to live. Natural beauty and a rich diversity of landscapes, from the mountains in the north down through the coastal plain flat woods; from the black belt prairie to the sandy beaches of the Gulf. Nice folks, too, on the whole. It's a place I'm proud to be from.

But many Alabamians are not equipped for weather like this.

The cold temperatures have been the main topic of conversation everywhere I go. Mostly people complaining about it. I confess I have complained some too. I don't have the tolerance for temperatures in the twenties and thirties that I once had. But I live in a nice house with central heat and a fireplace (that I hardly ever use). I have plenty of warm clothes. And quite frankly, most of the people I hear complaining have these things too.

But in reality, most of Alabama is still largely rural. You don't have to drive far from any of our towns, even the small ones, to see poverty. Sub-standard housing occupied by people who are are probably Black or elderly (or more likely both) who have got to be cold in these temperatures. Not just "suffering" from a shiver as they walk from their nice warm house to their nice warm car--but really suffering in houses and trailers where you can feel the north wind as it blows through the walls. These are the people trying to stay warm with fireplaces, wood stoves, or little gas space heaters. People wearing their winter clothes inside their homes.

I've been fortunate enough to travel to Honduras quite a few times in the last ten years. Poverty there is widespread, almost everywhere you look. It is stunning to a North American--it grabs your attention like a slap in the face.

The poverty in my own back yard is more subtle because it is not concentrated--it is scattered across the landscape. But it is just as real and just as profound. And it is largely being ignored: by the government, by the Church, by families, and by people like me.

I wonder how I'll sleep tonight. It's supposed to go down to seventeen.

New Year's Resolutions

I just read the "Top Ten New Year's Resolutions" in my local newspaper. Although a source is not cited, I have a feeling they got most of them right for the average person. Included are things like "Start Exercising", "Quit Smoking", and "Lose Weight". These are noble aspirations, but quite frankly a little boring. Although I don't usually make resolutions I'll make a few in the spirit of the season. Here's my list for 2010:

1. I resolve to ride my motorcycle to Honduras.
I bought a motorcycle several months ago and began riding again after twenty-five years (I'll write more about that later).

I have lots of rides planned, including eventually riding south to Honduras and beyond. I'd like to ride the Pan American Highway all the way to the tip of South America. I've yet to talk to anyone who thinks this is a good idea--which makes it all the more appealing.

2. I resolve to write a poem each week; twenty short stories; and a novel.
I started writing again several months ago, also after about a twenty-five year lay off (perhaps motorcycles and writing are somehow linked in my brain). I currently write for me. I hope to eventually write something that someone else would like to read.

3. I resolve to go to Dublin to see a U2 concert.
I don't know if U2 will be playing in Dublin this year. If not, I'll call Bono--I'm sure he will schedule something if he knows I'm coming.

4. I resolve to have lunch with some of the people I'd like to talk with.
This won't be anything real formal, just a laid back lunch. I'm still working on the guest list. I think I'll invite Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Paul Simon, Cormac McCarthy, Rick Bragg, Robert DuVall, Harper Lee, and maybe the Dalai Lama (on that last one, does anybody know if he's allowed to eat barbecue?).

5. I resolve to end all war, hunger, disease.
There will be widespread sunshine and happiness. Hospitals, orphanages, and funeral homes will be closed and boarded-up. I'll admit, this idea isn't original. It's a favorite goal of contestants at beauty contests and politicians seeking votes.

Now I know what you're thinking: "He ain't gonna do all that stuff." And you may be right.

But I'll wager you won't exercise three days a week and lose twenty-five pounds, either.