[Oe List ...] Fwd: Why Bother?

Sun Feb 19 17:58:45 PST 2017

Doris -- I loved this, and it brings me back to the great Loren Eisely.
Thanks for sharing it!  I shared it with a group in my UCC congregation.

Joyce Bonafield-Pierce
bonafieldcohort26 at gmail.com

On Sun, Feb 19, 2017 at 12:47 PM, Doris Hahn via OE <oe at lists.wedgeblade.net
> wrote:

>
> Dear colleagues,
> Here is an interesting email from Pat Moriarty. I thought you would
> appreciate reading it too.
> Peace,
> Doris Hahn
>
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> *From:* Just a Thought <pat at justathoughtbypat.com>
> *Date:* February 19, 2017 at 6:00:54 AM CST
> *To:* Patrick <pmoriarty at collegiateservices.org>
> *Subject:* *Why Bother?*
> *Reply-To:* Just a Thought <pat at justathoughtbypat.com>
>
>
> Why Bother?
> <http://justathoughtbypat.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=8bcd96e68f9cf897a9bd4b78b&id=46abf4257d&e=58faf1559c>
>
>
>
> <http://justathoughtbypat.us11.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=8bcd96e68f9cf897a9bd4b78b&id=ec1ffe2b7e&e=58faf1559c>
>
> Some time ago, I attended the funeral of Verdell Trice. Verdell was
> nicknamed the “Mayor of the West Side” because for more than 50 years he
> worked to make this desperately poor community in Chicago a better place to
> live.
>
> During the 1970’s I had the honor of working with Verdell on economic and
> social development programs aimed at improving the living conditions on the
> West Side. I was just one of hundreds of people that joined with West Side
> residents in working toward a better future. It was challenging work, and
> it was easy to feel discouraged at times. Verdell was always positive,
> though. He had the calm, wise spirit forged from a life of persevering in
> the midst of hardship. He lived 93 years, and I daresay not one of those
> days was lived without the belief that better days were ahead.
>
> After the funeral I took a drive through the West Side community in which
> so many of us labored. I hadn’t been there for some time and didn’t know
> what to expect. What I saw was so many vacant lots, abandoned and boarded
> up buildings, all things common to an urban ghetto. This community in which
> 50 years ago I and so many others toiled had become a virtual urban desert.
>
> Or was it?
>
>
> <http://justathoughtbypat.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=8bcd96e68f9cf897a9bd4b78b&id=332ef7e37b&e=58faf1559c>
>
> There, standing in the midst of all this urban decay was a sign that told
> an entirely different story, a story in which Verdell and so many others
> had played a critical role. The story of the 50-year history of the 5th
> City Preschool, an oasis of learning in the midst of this urban desert.
> Just as Verdell Trice had stood through the onslaught of unrelenting hard
> times on the West Side, so had the Fifth City Preschool. This little place
> of learning has nurtured generation after generation of young people in a
> bold, bright, positive, and caring environment.
>
> As I left for my home on the North Side of Chicago I was feeling blessed
> by my time on the West Side,
>
>    - Blessed for having known Verdell Tice
>    - Blessed for having worked with the 5th City Preschool
>    - Blessed for having lived in this wonderful community
>
> It was an answer to an ongoing, bedeviling question. In the midst of
> hopelessness, where some things seem to never get better, where the rich
> get richer, the poor get poorer, and the rest get drunk – WHY BOTHER?
>
> My visit to the West Side called to mind this story:
>
> *Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do
> his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his
> work.*
>
> *One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and
> saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the
> thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to
> catch up.*
>
> *As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and
> that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching
> down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the
> ocean.*
>
> *He came closer still and called out “Good morning! May I ask what it is
> that you are doing?”*
>
> *The young man paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish into the
> ocean.”*
>
> *“I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?” asked
> the somewhat startled wise man.*
>
> *To this, the young man replied, “The sun is up and the tide is going out.
> If I don’t throw them in, they’ll die.”*
>
> *Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, “But, young man, do you not
> realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all
> along every mile? You can’t possibly make a difference!”*
>
> *At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and
> threw it into the ocean. *
>
> *As it met the water, he said, **“It made a difference for that one.”*
>
> *— Loren Eiseley*
>
> WHY BOTHER?
>
> Aren’t we nothing more than lucky starfish?
>
> Just a Thought…
>
> Pat
>
> *If you would like to submit a post to *Just A Thought,* please contact
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>
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