When I tried to find homes for my donation face mask, I called numerous shelters and soup kitchens. My “Buy one/Give one” face mask campaign had been a big success. I had sewn and sold more face masks than I had hoped for, but now holding up my end of the bargain was not as simple as I had thought it would be.
Today a neighbor warned us of the icecream truck, asked us to boycott it. Yesterday another panicked because kids had been playing outside, kids who live in the same house.
Now you are sitting at home, your pantry is overflowing with foods you bought for you and your family. The freezer is filled up to the rim, and the refrigerators -yes even the one in the garage- are filled with everything you could get your hands on.
The Oscars and I have broken up years ago, not sure what happened between us, I suppose we were tired of each other, had different points of views, had drifted apart over time. Yet, here I find myself being mesmerized by an Oscar acceptance speech. A voice for the voiceless.
Hiding behind a screen brings out the worst in some. How easy it is these days, to constantly offend and attack people with mean tweets and comments. I am often shocked by the brutality and coldness people can show, with just a few words.
The suffering of people, how hard it is to watch. A report of the starving children in Jemen, just a few days before Thanksgiving rattled me, a few days later our table was overflowing with food.
Sometimes, when I at least expect it, I come along a story that makes my heart overflow with joy. It’s never one of the loud headline-bait stories, it’s always a quiet story, one that hardly will make it to the front section of any newspaper -even though that’s where it should be.
Sometimes I come across an article or a story that doesn’t leave me alone. People I don’t know -and never will know- are all of a sudden on my mind for days.
I have seen a lot, I have read a lot. I wished for it a million times. I don’t pray, and if I would, it wouldn’t be for peace, but I would ask for humanity and civility for all. These words have a meaning to me, they are the core of my being.
I watched the news, “I hope they will feel it,” I thought to myself and felt ashamed right away.