Equalizers

Earthquake.

Tsunami.

Hurricane.

Monsoon.

Volcano.

And to the people of Kansas, tornado.

All destructive forces. All beyond our control.

I live in the shadow of a volcano, on the edge of a tectonic plate. I've lived in other earthquake zones and in a tornado alley.

The only place I've lived that isn't prone to any of these natural disasters is West Africa. They've go no major fault lines, no monsoons, no hurricanes or blizzards. Yet they live in a poverty so deep it seems impossible to dig them out.

I heard a bit of hope yesterday on, of all places, The Splendid Table. Nature writer Sharman Apt Russell shared the story of Ireland, a country that, 100+ years ago, epitomized famine with 1 million dead of hunger, 1 million dead of disease and another million fleeing the country for other lands. Now Ireland has the 2nd highest standard of living in the world.

We can't do anything about the disasters beyond our control, but perhaps we can learn some lessons from Ireland and find a way to free Africa of its hunger.

The More Things Change

Of the many hours of my childhood spent on the school bus, two memories keep returning to me this week.

First is the time we were bustled onto the bus early because a student with a gun was in the Principal's office threatening suicide. I can still feel my visceral reaction when I heard the kid's name, a friend whom I'd recently brushed off.

Second- and this dates me- I've been thinking about the words to a song, "Little Good News" by Anne Murray. It played on the radio as we rode home from school and I wondered about all the bad news she told about.

Wouldn't it be great, I thought, if all the bad news went away.

But the news Anne Murray sang about in 1983 is the same news we're hearing today - fighting the Middle East, the economy, arson, robbery, hostage situations, assassinations, problems in the Third World.

In light of the Virginia Tech Massacre I guess I'm disheartened, but not surprised. The world is fallen and it cannot redeem itself. My prayers are with the families of those killed, the family of the shooter, and with the many young people whose lives will be forever changed by this event.

I heard a song yesterday that recognizes hopelessness, yet ends on a note of hope. A modern companion to "Little Good News", it is "Will's Lullaby" by Josh Radin.

the rain in new orleans
forgot to end
but the mouths of the people are dry
and we watch and wait
and do nothing but sigh
and hope everything is gonna turn out right
but i don't know if it'll be alright

In the last verse of this song, Josh looks down on his sleeping son in his crib and realizes that hope lies not in the past, but in the future.

Still, misplaced hope and promises will surely leave us empty in the end, asking the same questions in another 20 years and another 20 years after that.

for lyrics to these two songs, visit Lyrics Depot and Josh Radin's site.