Start With One, Ready Or Not

    

            

Yesterday I finished my installment by telling everyone to enjoy the ride.  Since sometimes we attract fate when we say things like that, I managed to have a small accident with the bike in Port Washington yesterday afternoon, and I have road burn all of my elbow and the left side of my body is very sore.  I will be fine, but this is certainly another sign of the vulnerability of the aging body.  This is the cleaned off picture.

This afternoon I limped myself into the car and went to Pick N Save.  I have a rather rocky relationship with my Pick and my community, which  I won't go into today, other than to say that I don't think either the store or the community does a good job with the mandate that we should love one another and God loves us.

When I came out, slightly unable to see because of my mask andThere was a little bit more,  my glasses, a woman and three children were ight by the exit door, with a sign.  The sign said "Fallen On Hard Times, Every Bit Helps."  There was a little bit more, but this will give you the idea.  This small family was neatly dressed and clean, but the woman has quite a bit of wear on her.  And, perhaps I should add that they are LatinX.  

I walked to the car and put my stuff in, and then, perhaps because it is supposed to be a day of some sort of celebration, even if we don't live up to it, I got out my wallet and got five dollars--I don's usually have cash at all--and went back.  Children and mother were very appreciative and blessed me, which I did to them in return.

For so many of us, one way that white fragility rears its head is that we absolutely don't want to have substantive contact with those Not Like Us.  That includes race, developmental disability, physical disability, and mental illness--and more, but you get my point.  Some of you will say, Why are they allowed to be there by the door?  Some will say, But they don't LOOK like they are in readlly bad shape!  and some will say, I think they took advantage of you!  Today I don't relaly care.  We have to practice authentic interaction, and all I can worry about is my part in this.

I got in the car and started home, and I was thinking about the life of our kids, in this season of the virus, sitting on the hot pavement next to their mom.  There isn't a lot that I can do, other than be as authentic as possible in a very unequal world, but I came in the house and got some of our good peaches from the fruit truck and put them in a bag with napkins and went back.  

This time I said, "It's hot.  You need something good to eat."  The kids immediately opend the bag.  I asked mom if they have a safe place that they are living.  She told me a street name that I don't recognize and said that it is really expensive.  I don't have a solution to that today, but we had a conversation and right now they have somewhere safe.  

I wasn't planning on all this today, but I think that is one of the keys to living.  We are never going to be ready.  Mother Teresa says that we start with one.  I would add that we need to do that whether we are ready or not.