Essence

When I lived in Southern California I had the most wonderful dentist. Loved going each and every time. I wouldn’t be lying if I said it felt like I was visiting family. Everyone always asking about the kids. Even asking about Thumper the dog. The staff had been the same for years. Never any new faces. That’s very telling.

She was actually my neighbor -lived about five doors up from us. But I never saw her in the neighborhood so we caught up during my appointments.

Kind, funny, smart, beautiful on the inside and outside.

And she was a refugee.

When she was just five years old her parents, four siblings and a ton of other family members boarded a boat to escape Vietnam. No idea where they were going but the Dad knew they had to flee.

She told me she could remember being in a sack and thumping her head on the bottom of the boat.

They were rescued at sea, after floating for days amidst bombs, by a ship and soon found refuge in the United States. A Catholic Church in the Midwest sponsored them.

Sadly, her mom died from cancer some time after they arrived in the U.S.

Dad, a physician, ended up doing a fine job raising his children.

My dentist originally was pre-Med but once completed decided on dentistry. Her father had five children. All chose medicine or dentistry.  That’s a bunch of Drs. in just one family.

That is truly a success story. Against many odds.

Being a doctor might not necessarily be everyone’s idea of the pinnacle of success. We all know a profession is not the whole person. Doesn’t make you a better person or a person who is better than anyone else. But it is a wonderful accomplishment, an honorable profession and requires tremendous hard work. For anyone but especially for folks who start off fighting the odds without the usual support systems in place.

During the recent elections I read that a woman said her candidate would win if only the people whose four grandparents were born in the U.S. would vote.

I pondered that one. And I’d say she was probably right on the money.

But what she missed with that statement was that we all should be reminded that America has always been a nation of immigrants and refugees. Always. Even folks whose four grandparents (or great grandparents) were born in the U.S. have immigrant blood coursing through their veins.

 

My dentist arrived in a boat. Fleeing murder and mayhem. No papers. No nothing.

It was only through the goodness and generosity of the American people and a church community that allowed her family to not just survive the ordeal but to flourish. To serve the greater community. To become respectable, outstanding, tax paying citizens.

This story just reminds me of why I always loved my country. Her essence. The goodness, generosity and community of the people. Candidates and politicians come and go but I have every hope that the essence of America will and should remain the same.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Wonderful Kids

Here’s a touching story. All true, of course, because Mary is not writing fiction at the moment.

We always hear all the horrible stories. So much bad press. But there’s so much goodness. I will always believe that there is more good than bad. How could we exist if that were not the case?

There was a middle school social a few months back. Some dancing, snacks, and other activities.

A thirteen year old boy approaches a nice young lady and asks her to dance. She eagerly accepts but then he says, “Oh no, that’s right, you’re too fat and ugly.” Or something despicable like that.

Anyway, a bunch of other thirteen year old boys lit into this kid. They didn’t physically hurt him but by the time they were through with him he was whimpering. They let him know that it was unacceptable. 

And then these same boys, about five of them, did something really kind. They all asked the young lady to dance. She was most likely the envy of every girl in the gym that night since these fellas were quite popular among their peers.

I heard about it from another parent. Because Annie tells me nothing!

So I asked Annie about it. She told me that her respect for each of the boys soared. She asked, “What do you think?”

I replied, “I feel exactly the same. It makes me happy to hear something like that. I would also say that it is a pretty strong indicator of what type of men these boys will become.”

We constantly hear about how cruel young people can be-whether bullying a classmate or a bus monitor. But we always need to remember how many really wonderful kids are out there. They are so incredibly awesome.

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Goodness

Here’s a quick little story. I love it.

A friend that I grew up with in Rhode Island said that it was raining hard there yesterday.

She was about to enter a shop to purchase a cup of coffee when she spied a woman at the bus stop standing in the rain.

So she gave the woman her umbrella.

Entered the place, got into line and ordered her coffee. When she tried to pay the bill she was informed that the man in front of her had already paid for it.

So, there you have it.

Goodness has that boomerang thingy. It’s going to come back to you. Maybe right away. Or maybe it will take awhile.

But that is not the reason to be good. For the benefit.

Be good because it’s right. And you will benefit. One way or the other. From the act itself or down the road.

Note: It probably works exactly the same if you are bad. So go for the good.

 

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