Haiti Revisited

So last summer (2010) we went on a cruise. We had a great time.

One of the places we stopped was in Labadee, Haiti. It's a private beach where the ship comes in and everyone from the biggest boat in the world (yes, really) gets off the ship to enjoy the beauty and splendor that is Haiti. Luxury. Extravagance.

Wait.

Haiti. Yeah. There was a tremendous earthquake there early in 2010. Shortly after the cruise line anticipated the questions and concerns of people who were planning vacations including a stop on the island later in the year. I did not keep the email we received but the gist of it was that we need not worry. In the months after the earthquake the cruise line would be helping the people of Haiti to recover. They said the cruise line played an important part in helping the nation recover to where it was before. As a matter of fact, every ship that stopped on the island would be delivering needed supplies and equipment.

That all sounds good, right?

Maybe. But then today I read this article about Peanut Butter Medicine and realize that it's a bunch of baloney.

Every day there are kids and families suffering on that island because they don't have what they need. Not because they don't get to join the soccer team, or because they don't have an iPod or the right shoes. They are dying because they don't have a place to live. They don't have food. It makes me sick to my stomach.

The area where the ship lands is on the far opposite side of the island from where the earthquake hit. There was no damage there. Other than the wounded spirits of the people.

While we were in Haiti we took a tour of the area with a local guide. He KNEW his country's history. He KNEW more about Haiti than Jon and I probably knew together about US history. It was amazing to listen to him talk about his country and hear the obvious pride in his nation and it's people.

He told us about his family and where he sleeps at night. He told us how he and the men of his family live away from the women. The women stay in the city so the kids can go to school. The men live close to the area where the ship lands so that they can work and send money back to the city so the kids can go to school.

This is the part that really got me. The cruise line gives the men a loan in the beginning of the season (or school year) so that they have enough to pay for school. Then, get this, the men work to pay off the loan. Think about that a minute.

Sounds like indentured servitude to me.

Again, while we were on the island, we contributed significantly to the local economy. If you've ever been on a trip like this you know it's hard not to. The people in the market will literally grab you to pull you into their stand to look at what they are selling. They literally competed for our dollars. I don't find it fun.

I bought a necklace. The one I really wanted broke when I picked it up. So I bought another I thought Sarah would like.

I bought a couple small pieces of art. They've since gone to Goodwill.

I bought Sarah a small doll. Because it was cute and I wanted to spend some money with the guy in that vendor space. He was nice and didn't grab me.

Ya know, I'm not really sure how to wrap up this rant, other than to say that I know God is at work in Haiti. I know God is at work in the lives of everyone working at the cruise line. I know God is at work in the lives of everyone traveling on cruises.

I would really love to see the cruise lines pay the workers appropriately. They should pay a wage that would allow the people to live well and to pay for school. They shouldn't pay in a way so that the people are indebted to them. That sucks all around.

And - I really would love to know that things were getting better in Haiti almost two years after the horrible earthquake that killed hundreds of thousands of people. I'm sure there are pockets of improvement.

If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go look for those articles now. I'll find some and post them later this week.

Our food is killing us

I'm on a food rant this week folks. Above we have Robyn O'Brien talking about the food industry in America.

Below we have Jack Lalanne talking about Sugarholics.




Why are we doing this to ourselves?

Profit. Listen to Robin talk about the business models. "They make perfect sense."

We're sacrificing our nation's health and wellness for profitability of our largest corporations.

What will it take to make us stop? I have no idea.

What am I going to do about it? Not sure yet but I'm working on it. One meal choice at a time.

Who are "working families?"

I'm tired. I'm tired of wondering when the Democrats will return to Indiana.

I'm tired of trying to figure out what the real issues are, since to really understand it all you have to read the actual proposed legislation and those are confusing at best.

I'm tired of reading articles in the newspapers that don't make sense. I'm tired of reading articles about the Democrats being referred to as "exiled." Please. Look up that word if you don't understand why that's a problem for me. They've not been forced to leave. As a matter of fact, many people will be quite pleased when they return.

Today, I'm mostly tired of not being included in the term "working family."

So, when the Democrats say they are fighting for "working families" does that mean that they are fighting only for working union families? Because our family isn't a member of any union.

Jon goes to work five days a week most weeks. He's been at his current job ten years this month. I own my own business. We work. Don't we count?

Language is important. The way we use our words matters. I'm tired of being ignored.

What would you do with $100M?

So Meg Whitman spent well over $100,000,000 of her own fortune to try to win the California governor's race. She lost. I guess it's nice to have millions of dollars to just throw away, eh? Perhaps she doesn't see it as having thrown it away. Maybe she feels there's still value in having run. Maybe she's right. I really don't know.

Here are some of my thoughts on how I would have preferred to invest over $100,000,000.

• Give one million dollars each to one hundred school systems.
• Sponsor a whole bunch of kids through Compassion International.
• Fund some food pantries.
• Support some literacy programs.
• Offer bonuses to the highest performing teachers in the state.
• Send some kids to college who can't go otherwise. (Name a scholarship after yourself)
• Finance The Rhema Project.

Yeah, that's what I would do. There would certainly be books involved in my plans. If you had over $100,000,000 to spend or invest or throw away however you chose, what would you do with it?

You know, maybe Meg has done some of these things or similar. I really don't know. I just heard the sound bite as to how much she had spent and had this very visceral reaction to how much money she had spent on a losing campaign. I wonder what's next? Now that she's not going to be spending her time as governor of California, how will she be spending her time? And how will she spend her next $100,000,000?

The Great Lakes Cyclone

Whatever you want to call it,

The Great Lakes Cyclone

#Windpocalypse

#ChiClone

lots of wind and fury signifying . . .

not much of anything.

We did not get blown away today.

I remember 1978.

And the snow that weather system left across the midwest.

Comparing today to that storm is silly.

Did you see this article? 

There was some tornado damage in Illinois but as far as I've heard no injuries, thank goodness.

The weather men cried wolf today.

Will we pay attention next time?

all men are created equal

I'm sure there are many things I don't know. And I'm sure that this is a subject I am not at all qualified to address. But I'm going to anyway. At least a little bit.

I don't understand why everything has to be such a big bad argument. Take for example, moving the prisoners from Guantanamo Bay. Yes, I understand that they are really bad guys. Yes, I understand that nobody wants them to be near where they live. But honestly, don't we have people imprisoned within the United States already that are at least as bad as these guys? And doesn't it seem to make sense that if our elected officials decided that bringing them here was the best option that they would find a way to do it so that the rest of us would remain safe?

A long time ago in my history class I memorized part of the Declaration of Independence of the United States. We hold these truths to be self evident . . that all men are created equal. Yes, it's out of context. And yes, there's more to it than that. But here's the bottom line for me as I see it today.

I believe in God.
I believe my safety and security is in Him alone.
I believe every person is valuable.
I believe that all men are created equal.
I believe that includes these people nobody wants.
I believe we owe them the same human dignity I would expect to be given myself.
I believe we would be outraged if another government held our citizens without trial indefinitely.
I believe we make decisions harder than they have to be.
I believe sometimes you just have to make the decision and let it play out the way it will.
I believe we have to make the decision based on the best info we can get and trust the results to work themselves out.
I believe we can't know what WILL happen, we can only know what IS happening, and must act accordingly.
I believe we need to do unto others as we would have done unto ourselves.

Not my usual topic of conversation but hey, there it is. Take it or leave it, it's up to you. There are sooo many things we make harder than they have to be, both on a personal level and a national level. Maybe just for today, we should practice making things easier for ourselves and for those around us.

Because they're so darned cute

We wear helmets when we ride our bikes. I'm positive that Sarah is cuter in hers than any of the rest of us are.














Although J is pretty cute, too. He got a new helmet because his other one was too small. He really was happy about it even if he doesn't look like it in this photo.














And who is this huge child in my backyard? Fifth grade? Are you kidding me? And he likes to start fires. Wonder where he got that from?

Knock Knock. Who's There?

Here it is. The end of my rope. I found it ironic that there was a letter in the Voice of the People today about these people from the telephone, cable and natural gas companies who continuously knock on our doors to try to upsell us on services we are already using. The nice young man I glared at while trying to find the right words suggested I might want to get a "no soliciting" sign.

Really?

Never in a billion years did I think that we would want one of those signs in our door. Yet, I wrote it down on my list for the store tonight. Jon, Evan and I came up with a compromise. What do you think?

Please Ring the Bell or Knock if:
You are friends of someone who lives here
You are our neighbors
You are our family
You are long lost friends we haven’t seen since High School
You go to school with the kids who live here
You are a co-worker of someone who lives here
You’re selling Girl Scout Cookies
You’re here to tell us that we’ve won the Million Dollar Sweepstakes
You’re here to inform us of a mandatory evacuation due to unsafe conditions

Otherwise:
We hope you find someone else to purchase whatever it is you’re selling

Have a Nice Day