A Remarkable Irish Blessing

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I am passing along these lovely and perceptive words of Irish wisdom to all my reader friends.

I wish you not a path devoid of clouds

nor a life on a bed of roses.

Not that you might never need regret

nor that you should never feel pain.

No, that is not my wish for you.

My wish for you is:

That you might be brave in times of trial

when others lay crosses upon your shoulders,

when mountains must be climbed 

and chasms are to be crossed,

When hope can scarce shine through.

That every gift God gave you might grow with you

And let you give your gift of joy 

to all who care for you.

That you may always have a friend 

who is worth that name,

whom you can trust 

and who helps you in times of sadness and

who will defy the storms of daily life at your side.

One more wish I have for you...

That in every hour of joy and pain 

you may feel God close to you.

This is my wish for you and for all who care for you

This is my hope for you...now and forever.

                                                        unknown Irish author

Sphere: Related Content

What Kind of Tipper Are You?

Did you hear about the Japanese steakhouse in Winston Salem, North Carolina that banned a regular customer from ever eating there again because she was a notoriously bad tipper? What kind of tipper are you?

• Inglorious bastard: no tip at all
• Cheapskate and proud of it: 5-10%
• Fiscally conservative with good intentions: 15%
• Class act: 20% and more

The word tips is commonly thought to be an acronym for: To Insure Prompt Service. But linguistic experts who study the origin of words, debunk that derivation...claiming it has no historical authenticity. Nonetheless, tipping is generally defined as a 'reward' for good service rendered. In restaurants throughout the United States, tipping is not legally required. However, it's socially expected lest you're thought to be a stingy old coot. Many eating establishments embed a pre-set gratuity on the bill and frequently add an 18% service charge for large groups. Restaurant patrons usually base their tip assessment on the performance of the server. Yet  very often a server provides excellent service and only receives a nominal tip. Good service does not necessarily beget great tips.

Although tipping is at the discretion of the patron being served, in the United States it's customary to leave 15 to 20 percent of the total bill as a tip. Critics of tipping complain that it's not right for restaurants to pay waitstaff low wages and then expect customers to supplement the server's salary with tips. Restaurant owners argue that the cost of meals would significantly increase if their staff was paid more. It's an old conflict that is unlikely to soon change. The custom of tipping is what it is.  People who eat out recognize that fact. 

Personally, I leave a 20% tip...even if the service is inferior. If the service is exceptional, I will leave a larger percentage. I base my tipping philosophy on the fact that waiting on strangers, serving food to them and catering to their impetuous, belligerent and capricious culinary whims is not a very enjoyable occupation. Waiting on tables can often provide a fairly decent income and it's not always possible for servers to get other jobs. I am not in the restaurant business. But years ago in high school, I spent one summer waiting tables in a popular local eatery. I have never forgotten the experience nor do I ever wish to repeat it. Many of my customers were pleasant but a lot of them were uppity, obnoxious and rude. I saw the ugly side of humanity from behind my mustard-stained waitress apron. Most patrons left lousy tips to all of us servers even though we worked our butts off.  Back then, I even had to prepare some of the food. A popular item on the menu was a moo sandwich. I'm not talking hamburger here. Have you ever shoved a hunk of cow tongue through a slicing machine to make a tongue sandwich? I usually served it with a side order of gagging. Need I say more?

So that's why I have some empathy for those stalwart men and women, young and old, who work in restaurants. Speaking of old...I was having dinner with a friend at a very popular seaside resort restaurant last week and we couldn't help but notice that our server was an extremely elderly woman. I swear she had to be 85 years old. She was thin as a knife edge, wrinkled as a used napkin and was hoisting heavy serving platters loaded with dinner plates. Each platter probably weighed more than she did. Yet she whipped the plates off like they were frisbees, served her tables quickly and raced back to the kitchen for more. I never once saw her smile but she did a commendable job. My guess is that this lady did not enjoy working as a waitress in her golden years but had no other options to make ends meet. And yes, she got a hefty tip from my friend and me even though she screwed up our drink orders...twice. My friend called it the: There but for the grace of God, go us...tip.

If the service at a restaurant is deplorable, I blame it on the restaurant owner or management. They are responsible for the quality of their product and their staff. I readily admit there are some elements of society who simply should not be employed in the restaurant industry bringing food to people. We've all been served by the lazy jerk who acts like he despises mankind and we worry about what he sprinkled on our soup. My question is: Why was he hired in the first place? There are some really incompetent servers out there. For the most part, though, I think these workers do try their best to please the customer.

If a server is sloppy, inattentive or even surly...they might just be having a bad day. Maybe waiting tables is their second or third job. Maybe they got a sick kid at home or they have marital issues or their home is in foreclosure or their car broke down or the chef threw pasta at them. There's a lot of backstage drama at a restaurant...so I'm told. Maybe they are doing the best they can at a job they hate because there is no other work out there. Who's to say? But I try to give even the less-than-illustrious servers the benefit of the doubt along with a decent tip. As for those servers who are capable, courteous and efficient, my appreciation is duly expressed. And I never ever ask for a tongue sandwich. Sphere: Related Content

Payback for Mr. Can't-Be-Bothered

Be careful how you behave toward others because paybacks can be brutal. A couple months ago I reported the true story about our neighbor who shares the other half of our attached condo villa. While we were away over Christmas, he heard a water pipe break on our side of the unit but never bothered to notify  anyone or seek help. Instead, he listened to the water run throughout our home for nearly five days...which caused a devastating flood in our house. You can link here to read about the entire catastrophy.
http://www.boomerpie.com/2010/01/story-of-mr-cant-be-bothered.html 

Well my friends, crazy karma has smacked old Mr. Can't-Be-Bothered where he lives. Two days ago, a giant 40 foot tall, dead, oak tree crashed down on his house and smashed a hole in his roof. Before I go any farther, two things to note about the incident: 1. Nobody got hurt.   2. I didn't do it. 

My husband called and told me the news. I'm down in Florida visiting with daughter and her family. Turns out, our side of the condo unit did not completely escape the tree's wrath. One of the branches scraped our part of the roof, causing slight damage to the gutters. When I heard the news about the tree landing on our neighbor's roof...being a good Christian and all...I felt like jumping up and down with righteous glee and laughing my head off: Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Serves you right you contemptuous old bastard! 

Truth be told, I did not jump up and down nor laugh myself silly. But in my heart of hearts, I must admit that for a few minutes...well...maybe it was more like a couple days...I felt a luxurious elation that occurs every so often when you discover that what goes around does indeed come around.  Some people call that concept, karma...a belief which suggests that your beneficial actions result in positive effects and your negative actions result in harmful effects. Others refer to it as just desserts. You sow what you reap. The law of the universe. You get what you deserve. Whosoever diggest a pit, shall fall within. I'm not sure whether I believe in all that stuff or not. But I do know that a once mighty oak smote Mr. Can't-Be-Bothered. The only thing I'm sorry about is we didn't get any photos.

P.S. For an account of the real-life flood that deluged our home, read my post:
http://www.boomerpie.com/2009/12/christmas-tsunamiin-family-room.html Sphere: Related Content

If the Ground Zero Memorial Were Up to Me.

Have you heard what's been happening at Ground Zero lately? New Yorkers have undoubtedly known this for years. But now the rest of us are learning that after nearly 9 years, Ground Zero remains basically an empty pit. The site of the horrific 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City was supposed to be transformed into a towering cluster of colossal architectural landmarks and monuments. But construction has been stalled from the very beginning. Plans called for 5 skyscrapers, a memorial, a museum, a theater and a transit hub. As of today, very little work has been done even though billions of dollars have already been spent. The site languishes as a giant hole in the ground...an enormous dirty, dusty ditch. It's become an epic boondoggle that disgraces the memory of those who died there and highlights the shameful egotistical behavior, conflicts, disagreements, bureaucratic bungling, incompetence and political wrangling of the project coordinators. Turns out the various parties involved are currently not even speaking to each other. Sounds like Congress, doesn't it?

Personally, I always wondered why the powers that be in New York City felt it necessary to build massive, towering structures as a way to memorialize the 9/11 location. If it were up to me, I'd turn the entire area into a beautiful and tranquil park...a vast green space to honor all those who perished there. I'd call it "Peace Park".  It would be a bookend to Central Park. Of course a park would not bring in zillions of real estate cash flow. But for me, I don't see the need for another cash cow, another colossal tax payer money pit. I don't see the need for another canyon of cold, concrete/steel mega-towers, constant bickering among conniving developers and scheming politicians and billions of wasted dollars. What I visualize is a solemn, simple yet elegant, dignified setting surrounded with splendid natural beauty, resounding with noble patriotic pride that pays tribute to all those fallen souls who exemplify the true American spirit.   But...that's just me.
           Ground zero photo courtesy of: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ Sphere: Related Content

Is Tiger Woods Out of the Woods Now?

Tiger Woods apologized
Publicly as advertised.
Now it's time to analyze
Speculate and scrutinize:

Did he mean it? Was he up front?
Or was it all a PR stunt?
His mommy's there but wifey's not
Did she decide to let him rot?
And who's on board his pleasure yacht? 

Sorry, sorry, I was bad with girls aplenty
Can't recall if it was 200 or twenty.
I just know it was a multitude
And now I'm back to rehab, dude.

Does he miss his sleazy skanks?
Why does Gloria Allred defend their ranks?
Will the world accept his amends?
Is Tiger's conscience really cleansed?

Tiger prowled and didn't think twice
Had his fun and paid the price
A bit more therapy
And we shall see
If Tiger's tamed his virility.

I say give the guy a mulligan break
All this in front of his mother, for goodness sake.
He's back with Buddha and maybe his wife
Trying to repair his sordid life
Yet ya gotta remember he's no poor slob
It's not like he's worried 'bout finding a job. 

I'm gonna change my tawdry ways
Get on course to better days
It's my fault and I repent.
I'll give up porn queens...at least for Lent

But will he tell Oprah one of these days
All about his cheatin' ways?
Or spill his guts to Larry King
And offer tips on the perfect swing?
When all the hype is said and done
Will he be redeemed by a hole in one?
Or if that doesn't do the trick---
Simple castration...neat and quick. Sphere: Related Content

Winter Wonderland

Bundled up in a heavy coat

I struggle to walk against the fury of the merciless wind

as the chill factor freezes my exposed skin

and my ears scream in pain for protection from the savage cold.

What strange forces have collided to wreak such frigid temperatures

upon this oasis of global warming?

Masses of humanity come from lands far, far away

for the sensation of tropical golden splendor.

I feel a twinge of pity for them as they huddle together...shocked, amazed

and angry that such epic glacial conditions have iced their well-laid plans.

But Mother Nature shows no favoritism.

She imparts her wrath with nonpartisan glee.

The sun is out but the streets are unusually quiet.

The shoreline is wind-whipped and as frothy as a caramel macchiato on steroids.

Shivering and quivering the tourists cower indoors at the bar

or watch TV in their rooms.

Even the souvenir stores are empty.

The beach is completely deserted except for a stray seagull or

a half naked couple from Pennsylvania desperately seeking tan.

Thousands of empty, blue, beach chaise-lounges stretch across the sand,

waiting in vain for sunbathers. But no one comes.

Not a single car in the vast beach parking lot. Not a one.

A bearded man, wearing a ski parka and a coon skin cap...

(I am not making this up)...stands on a street corner selling firewood.

This is the winter Florida experience...47 degrees...at high noon.

Volleyball, anyone?

Lonely cabana chairs sit idle on a deserted Florida Gulf beach. 

 
A few shivering sunbathers brave the chilly weather at the Don Cesar Hotel

on St. Pete Beach, FL.  Notice the guy on the left in a coat and blanket.

Sphere: Related Content

Valentine's Day...The Superbowl of Love

It's time to celebrate Valentine's Day or as I like to call it: the Super Bowl of Love. It's the red-letter heart day that men and women alike want to score big points with someone special. The pressure is on. No fumbling allowed. Tackling is encouraged. Winning is everything. The Valentine's Day playbook revolves around matters of the heart, love, romance and doing something extra nice for someone we cherish. Flowers, candy, cards, a bottle of wine...all traditional ways to show we care. But what is it that attracts two people in the first place? And what keeps them together? Age-old questions. Is it love at first sight? Physical appearance? Social status? Muscles? Cleavage? Bedroom eyes. Sexy legs? A great smile? Personality? Intelligence?

Six pack abs or bodacious boobs might spark initial infatuation. But personally, I think lasting relationships are about much more than physical eye candy. Positive behavioral traits generally win out over superficiality. Don't get me wrong. Good looks can't hurt and a fun sense of humor is an asset. But as far as I'm concerned, one of the most important attributes in the process of falling in love and staying in love is kindness. That may sound pollyanna-ish and old-fashioned. But look around at couples who have weathered many storms and still remain blissfully together. Real, deep, satisfying love blazes with kindness, thoughtfulness, consideration, appreciation, understanding, respect...all similar characteristics that combine to create passionate, enduring and endearing, happy and successful long-term relationships. I can attest to that with my own special guy. We've been happily married (most of the time) for over 30 years. And that's what I call a winning touchdown in the crazy game of love. Sphere: Related Content

Random Super Bowl Observations by Somebody Who Could Care Less About Football

Super Bowl XLIV. Miami. First off, I readily admit I don't like football. I think it's incredibly boring. Seems like it's just a series of start, stop, start, stop with a lot of whistle blowing in between and more time-outs than a 3 year old gets in a year. The players are bunched together in a huddle and whenever they do run, inevitably somebody gets tackled. Even so, millions of people watch the big game and so I thought maybe I should too. Here are a few things about this game I observed, learned or wondered about while intermittently switching the remote between Super Bowl and HGTV.
1. One single ticket cost anywhere from $1000 to over $20,000. And we're in a recession?
2. The commercials weren't funny or memorable, except for the ETrade babies. With a price tag of $2 million per 30 second slot, I guess the advertisers didn't get stimulus money for humor and originality.
3. The coach or manager for the Saints---the gum chewing guy in the black jacket, black cap, headset and sunglasses---looks a lot like Kenney Chesney.
4. Do the players wear the same uniforms for every game? I wonder how much each suit costs. Can the winners sell them on ebay for a ton of money?
5. A lot of the players look fat...really overweight. Their bellies resemble bulging rolls of blubber and their butts shake like pudding. Two words, big fellas: Body shapers.
6. The WHO did a decent half-time performance. Several old hits, one right after another, non-stop. They must have been exhausted afterwards. Roger Daltry still looks really good. I wonder if that's his real hair.
7. Over on HGTV, a couple bought a nice house in Carmel, a burb of Indianapolis, for just under one million dollars.
8. Back at the game, did you notice how often the players spit water out of their mouths and onto the sidelines? Gross. Imagine falling into that slimey cesspool of bacteria.
9. How many of you know the real story behind Who Dat Nation? I do. Check out Wikipedia for a quick explanation.
10. The winning team is awarded a huge gleaming gold trophy called the Lombardi Trophy, in honor of legendary Green Bay Packers coach, Vince Lombardi. But in the show's opening shots, why was rapper Jay-Z hoisting the trophy like he deserved it?
11. In the end, I have to admit it was an exciting game. The underdog Nawlins Saints not only won a stunning victory but the hearts of the nation...a powerful inspiration for Katrina devastated New Orleans.
12. And finally, an interesting side note. It turns out that after Janet Jackson's infamous costume malfunction at the 2004 Super Bowl, all the half-time shows since then have featured male Baby Boomer era performers. What? Old geezer guy rockers don't have to worry about crotch constraints? Here's the list of past Super Bowl half time acts:
   2005: Paul McCartney; age 63 that year.
   2006: Rolling Stones; Mick Jagger; age 63 that year.
   2007: Prince; age 59 that year...baby of the group.
   2008: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers; age 60 that year.
   2009: Bruce Springsteen; age 60 that year.
   2010: The Who; Roger Daltry is 66 and Pete Townshend is 64.
Do Boomers still rock or what? It's not Who Dat Nation. It's Boomer Nation that rules!~!  And that's what I got out of Super Bowl XLIV. Sphere: Related Content

What Does Lady Gaga Have that I Don't?

Oops. In case you missed it...last Friday, January 29th, was National Lady Gaga Day. The gagalicious event was celebrated on Facebook by 100,000 of Lady Gaga's fans. For the benefit of those who may not be familiar with this over-the-top, glam rock diva...Lady Gaga is an American pop music artist known for her outlandish costumes and outrageous antics. Think: female version of a young Elton John. She performed last night with Elton on the Grammy Awards Show. Bedazzled in a blindingly glittery costume, the glitzy Gaga made the legendary but aging rock star look like a Tweedledum tax accountant in comparison.

So what can we learn from Lady Gaga? She pushes the envelope. She is not afraid to put herself out there. She embraces the moment. She doesn't care what people think. Not such bad traits to possess. Having said all that...I must admit that I'm not a fan of Lady Gaga. She's weird, skanky and her music is cheesy-sleezy. I am bemused by her. She's bold and brazen and she'd really liven up our condo potluck parties. Lady Gaga encourages everyone to celebrate their "inner freak". I'm not certain I even have an "inner freak". But if I did have one...I'd keep it to myself. Sphere: Related Content

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

The ladies are out on the bay, sailing away in their prams today. A pram is an old-fashioned shallow draft boat with a squarish bow. Imagine rigging a sail to a row boat and you have an idea what a pram looks like. Sounds weird but these little floating dinghies are perfect for sailing in the bay off Caladesi Island near Dunedin, Florida. Caladesi, by the way, has been rated the #1 beach in the United States.

It's an all-women sailing club and most of the gals out on the water today are over fifty. Although the boats are small, they're just the right size for having fun without a whole lot of effort. Even in a diminutive vessel, sailing can be wonderful recreational therapy. It's relaxing and enjoyable exercise with the wind in your hair, sunshine, fresh air, sparkling blue water and the comarraderie of your sailing companions. Not to mention...a round or two of Margaritas for the lady salts after a dandy day out on the water.

A few Sunfish sailboats get ready to join the prams out on the bay.

Sphere: Related Content

TEN AUDACIOUS REASONS TO FAIL

Over the past year, the world has witnessed a series of colossal failures: Bank closings, real estate foreclosures, huge corporations going broke...the list goes on and on. Sometimes it seems as if failure is rewarded as in the mega-billion dollar corporate bailouts. For the rest of us average folks, failure can be ruthless and often no fault of our own. And we don't get no stinkin' bailouts. I got to pondering the merits of success and failure and I realized that even though we all would much rather succeed...it behooves the human spirit to experience failure every so often. Failure can actually be an audaciously good thing and here's why:

1. It didn't hurt Conan O'Brien. He got fired and forty million dollars.

2. Failure is empowering. We gain knowledge and insight from our blunders which provide a powerful incentive not to repeat the same mistakes. 

3. Failure builds character. If we're able to shake off disappointment, renew our determination, accept responsibility and not wallow in self-pity, we become stronger, self-reliant  and more likely to find solutions.

4. Failure can be awe-inspiring. We screwed up. So we're not perfect. Who cares? We're still alive and we've learned things that we didn't know before which makes us wiser and better off than when we started.

5. Failure offers us positive opportunities...to examine what went wrong, explore better ideas or experiment with totally different strategies.

6. Failure gives us freedom...to accept what happened and move on...or not. We can choose to discard the negative and rise above the ordinary. We can take calculated risks and learn to become fearless.

7. It's part of the creative process. We should embrace failure as one step closer to achieving our goal. Failure encourages us to think outside the box. It spurs our creativity and ignites our imagination. We should capitalize on our mistakes and not be embarrassed by them...unless we're John Edwards or Tiger Woods.


8. Failure separates our loyal friends from fair-weather ones and identifies who we can rely on for support when the going gets tough.

9. Failure gives us a fresh start. It expands our horizons and emboldens us to dump the bad stuff and turn adversity into advantage.

10. Failure teaches us a valuable lesson in survival. We either succumb to the depths of our misery or we regroup, reflect, reinvent and recognize that "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new".....Albert Einstein. Sphere: Related Content

Fog Is Not My Friend

Outside my window, the fog slithers in like a boa constrictor, squeezing the light from the late afternoon. It’s sunset time where I am on the Gulf of Mexico. And on any given day in this part of Florida, the sky is aglow with a brilliant orange conflagration. But today is different. The air drips with a viscous mist. Quietly and disarmingly, the fog enchants you with its mysterious, smoky shroud. Then before you know it, you’re blindsided by its deceptively gauzy yet tenacious hold. The street lights come on…ghostly blurs of amber flickering in the haze. Some people enjoy the fog. They find it tantalizing and seductive. I for one do not like fog. It’s eerie. It conceals things. It’s scary if not downright spooky. On the road, it’s dangerous. The poet, Carl Sandburg, wrote: "The fog creeps in on little cat feet.” Fog is creepy but not like a sweet, cuddly kitty. More like a slimey, wet snake. And I don’t like snakes. The fog is cunning and conniving. It threatens with a chilling silence. It will snatch away your children if you’re not watchful. The fog will reach out its wispy, fiendish fingers and grab you by the throat and do untold harm. No, I am not a fan of fog.

Outside my window, the mist is subsiding. At last, the late afternoon sun…the glorious, golden, guiding light of mankind…peers out from the murky gray shadows. Somehow, I know everything will be alright again. Sphere: Related Content

Waiting for Knology

I've been waiting all day for the Knology guy to come. The what guy? By way of brief explanation: Knology is an internet/cable company...the only choice we have in Dunedin, Florida where I am spending a few months this winter. As far as I'm concerned, it's a really dumb name for a communications company. It's not catchy and it doesn't exactly roll off your tongue. Loosely translated, I think ology is Greek for "the study of" as in criminology, theology, biology. So what are the Knology folks trying to convey? That they specialize in the study of...knowledge? I could come up with a better name in my sleep: How about Teknology? Maybe that was already taken but if it's not, I got dibs on it. Anyway, what they really need to bone up on is how to treat their customers effectively and courteously. The fact is that their internet connection to my new laptop seldom works. For the past two weeks, my computer has been going on and off. On and off. On and off. I fully expect it to disconnect before I get through writing this post.

Two weeks ago, I called Knology and told them we had a problem. They said they'd send a technician out in two days. "Could they give us a time frame?" I asked hopefully. "Sometime during the day", was their response. "But we'll be sure to call ahead and let you know we're on the way." So I stayed inside on a perfectly beautiful day and waited for the technician to come. Finally around 4 p.m. my laptop sprang back to life. The service person never showed but I figured maybe they were able to remotely fix it.  Around 8:30 at night, the door bell rang. At 8:30 here in Florida, it's very dark. I wasn't expecting anyone so I looked out the window. I didn't see anybody. Then came another buzz on the bell. I was by myself so I cautiously opened the front door. Standing outside was a guy with a 3 day beard growth, rumpled clothes, big boots and a sloppy shirt. Not the sort you'd invite inside. I thought he had the wrong address. Then he asked: "You need service?" Not from you, if you were the last man on earth...I thought to myself. Then I noticed some words on his shirt: Knology. Turns out he was the technician although he hadn't bothered to identify himself, nor phone ahead. I debated whether to let him in because it seemed like the problem was fixed. Then I thought maybe he could take a look...just in case. So I let him inside.

All the while he was in our house, I was nervous. He wasn't friendly and looked more like he'd been out digging up sewers, than solving computer problems. He spent exactly 2 minutes at my laptop keying in some jibberish on the screen and said: "OK, all fixed." I was more than happy to show him out the door. 

Shortly after he left, my laptop went down again. It's been going on and off ever since. I called again. This time, their office told me somebody would come out on Friday between 2 and 4 pm. Today is Friday. It's almost 6 o'clock in the evening. I'm still waiting. Knology never showed. They never called. Amazingly, I'm nearly at the end of this post and my laptop is still connected. But it won't be long before the connection shuts down again. And I'm waiting and I'm waiting..... Sphere: Related Content

Haiti Earthquake Survivors Teach Important Lessons

The massive earthquake that shook Haiti one week ago, did not shake the faith of the people who live in this impoverished Caribbean nation. Some estimates predict the death toll may eventually reach 200,000. The disaster buried thousands upon thousands under tons of collapsed buildings. For nearly the entire first week after the quake, Haitian survivors endured with little or no water, food or medical care in the blistering tropical heat. I can only imagine the unspeakable agony of the suffering victims as they laid helpless on the dirt ground or as they dug with their bare hands in a valiant search for loved ones.

As I watch this heartwrenching human drama unfold from the comfort of my living room, I am awed and deeply moved by the astonishing spirituality, humility and courage of the Haitian people who have survived. It is only one week into the tragedy, yet out of the chaos, several images captured by TV cameras stick in my mind:
      The rescue of a woman who was totally buried under several floors of concrete for SIX days...only to be found by the persistence of her husband. The first thing she did after rescuers finally pulled her out was sing. On the stretcher, covered in dust and debris, she lifted her voice in lyrical praise to the Lord with a song of rejoicing.
      Survivors marching in spontaneous procession down a rubble strewn street, their arms uplifted and joyously...yes, joyously, chanting and praising God.
      A young woman pulled from mountains of concrete...her leg amputated in order to save her, calmly tells relatives: "Don't cry for me. Pray for those who didn't make it."
      Signs of life: a bustling street market with vendors selling a smattering of fruits and vegetables. The first steps in returning to some semblance of normal routine.
      Sunday Mass at an undamaged church..hundreds of parishioners in their Sunday best, most of whom have lost everything in the quake...attend Mass and celebrate their survival by clapping and singing.

In this catastrophe beyond measure, the global community can learn much from the passionate resolve of the Haitian people. They are deeply religious. Their faith is woven into the fabric of their life and those threads of faith are what they cling to in this tragedy. Instead of feeling abandoned by God, many Haitians say the quake has strengthened their religious fervor. They do not blame God. Instead they seek refuge in their faith and are thankful to be alive.

I am struck by the incredible inner joy of these long-suffering and devout people. Their devotion to God, their sense of gratitude, their optimism about life in the face of extreme hardship is a testament to their resilient spirit and persevering nature. Even in their darkest hour, the people of Haiti are teaching the world the power of faith, hope and love. Sphere: Related Content

Haiti Apocalypse

The horror of Haiti. It's hard to imagine hell in the middle of paradise. But for decades, Haiti has been the scourge of the Caribbean. A forlorn, mountainous island that's been plagued by unstable and corrupt government, violent rebellions and wicked dictatorships, brutal torture, voodoo culture, scorching poverty, horrific disregard for human rights, deplorable desecration of the environment, blood-thirsty drug gangs, devastating hurricanes, mudslides, floods and now...a monstrous earthquake.

I'm sure the Haitian people are seriously questioning why God hates them so much. What did they do to deserve such miserable chaos in their lives? Is their unimaginable agony a manifestation of divine wrath? Has God totally forsaken Haiti? Indeed, if there truly is a God...why would he so systematically punish such a downtrodden little island nation? There are outsiders who assert that the Haitians themselves brought many of their troubles down upon themselves years ago.

I make no claim to answer these existential quandaries. We don't always understand why things happen. Personally, I believe these catastrophic events are a supreme test of faith. An epic test of the character and goodness of mankind...or lack thereof. The manner in which human beings react and respond when tragedy befalls others with whom we share this planet offers a profound insight into the human spirit. Do we rise to the challenge with compassion and generosity? Or do we succumb to the baser levels of disinterest and noninvolvement?  I believe that in adversity, you just can't ask "Why?" or "Who's responsible? Sometimes you just have to give of yourself in the best way you can...no questions asked. Sphere: Related Content