Daily Mood Quote
Day 98 – August 9, 2011
It is an endless procession of surprises. The expected rarely occurs and never in the expected manner.
~Vernon A. Walters
Yesterday was surprising. I had stressed over something that was a waste of time. First, I did not run into any of the two-faced phoneys I know. For me, this was the first time in many, many school registrations, timing was on my side. Well almost. Second, I stopped and paid attention to the subtle things that were going on around me. I was taken back when I realized that many local people are struggling in this economy.
Here's what happened. It was registration day at the school, time for school pictures, books and clubs. However, the only pictures being taken were ones for the yearbook and school IDs, I noticed the large stack of blank photo-order forms that were on the requisite student ID/photo table. Still...so few orders, so late in the afternoon? Under the table there were boxes of blank photo-order forms as well, untouched and unopened. Then, there were the boxes and boxes full of school spirit apparel for sale; they were not selling either. I remembered last years apparel sale and they were sold out of many items by mid-morning. In fact, the entire time we were there (almost two hours), nobody even went to the school spirit apparel table. Last year, it was staffed by three people who never seemed to stop moving and doing at that table. This year, one person was sitting down behind the table, looking rather bored and disgusted. Lastly, I noticed the number of people who were passing on the purchase of the other ancillary things, like the school yearbook, the PSAT and ACT practice tests, etc. Along with the throng of parents simply passing by the tables for donations to the school's booster programs, there was a large number of men working the tables this year. There was also an inordinate number of fathers at registration with their families. This was the middle of the afternoon, during working hours. A sign of the times, I guess. I doubt seriously they all “took off” on purpose for school registration.
It was kind of bleak, but then again material presents itself. You know the old saying, “There's always one” and she just happened be right behind us. I said to my husband, “I wish I had ear plugs.” She began talking to the woman standing next to her (thankfully, it wasn't me), apparently oblivious to the hard times around her and began an endless litany of bragging, and bragging and oh-my-gosh bragging some more. At five-foot tall and four foot wide, she put her considerable weight into her tone and timber. Everyone heard about their many vacations this summer, the many vacations their daughter took this summer, the trip to a major amusement park this week, the second home they have, the third home they want to purchase. Seriously, how many houses can you live in at one time? Oh my goodness, then she began to talk about all of the shopping they were planning to do this week. For me and my family, minutes dragged on like hours, which seemed to turn into days. Was there no end to this woman's diatribe of decadence? Again, there is always one that makes you roll your eyes, take a deep breath and shake your head. A few years ago, I may have “cut loose” on her, but I suspect that she was so disconnected, she wouldn't have understood anyway.
At the end of the day, I listened to Scott Pelley deliver the CBS Evening News from a refugee camp in Kenya, just outside the Somalian border, where it hasn't rained in three years. Children are dying of starvation everyday and they parents are forced to leave them where they drop, because they themselves are too weak from their own starvation, to carry or bury them. It brought tears to my eyes; not just for the sadness of this situation, but because the bragging woman was so completely ignorant of the hard times in her own community. How could she and those like her, possibly begin to grasp the scope and breadth of unnecessary, daily human suffering on the planet. I don't even have the words...
However, I do have words that apply to today's quote. I never expected to witness such a broad contrast in the human condition within the scope of a few short hours. I never expected to feel total distain and unnerving sympathy all at once, while I pondered the events that had unfolded before me. And because of this, I made a resolution to not take anything for granted, because I clearly see that for the lowly darkness that it is. Plus, I will be thankful for what I do have, because we have no real control of when it might be taken away by circumstance and/or time. I do expect to take every day as a gift and not squander the gifts, with which I have been blessed and to share when I can. This, I can control.
In the movie, Dead Poet Society, John Keating (played by Robin Williams) said, “No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world.” The words I heard yesterday, changed my world. From the clearly over-the-top selfishness (there really isn't anything else you can call that?) to the painful description of the desolation and suffering on Africa's East Coast; how I viewed the world, the people in it, and my connection to them has forever changed. It's a bittersweet thing. As Loretta Lynn said, “I've been around a long time, and life still has a whole lot of surprises for me.”
What “words” will change your world today?
Tune in tomorrow to read the daily mood quote
Thank you for reading.
