Notes In The Margin

I just finished reading Founding Brothers, by Joseph J Ellis. It's history as I like to read it - that is, the personal stories of the people at the center of the events. Having never attended an American high school, I never learned about the history of the early United States, and so what I know comes from books like this one and John Adams.

Founding Brothers was masterful and easy to read, giving me insight into events that were inexplicable to me before - in particular the Hamilton/Burr affair, which never made any sense to me.

Highly recommended.

Skater

This morning, there was another so-called aftershock in Haiti. Any other time, it would be called a big earthquake. 6.1 is hardly an aftershock, but more of the main event. More buildings are down, the internet is out again, and it will be a while before we know what additional damage was done.

My sister and her kids are here in the US, and her husband is still at Quisqueya, helping run a field hospital and orphanage. The kids are in school, and generous friends and strangers have provided everything for them, from clothes to a place to sit at the lunchroom tables with friendly faces. Meanwhile, their dad, and many of their friends, are still in danger, and far away.

I'm feeling very sad this morning - sad for my sister and her scattered family, sad for the enormity of suffering of a people who have known little else, sad for the children who are wounded and hungry and frightened and lonely this morning in Haiti.

I wrote this poem over the last few days, after watching Ruth's kids and my kids playing, as though everything was no different from last summer. Right after I got done with it this morning, I found out about the new quake.

If you've been thinking about giving something to help folks in Haiti, but had let it slide by because it's not in the headlines any more, please consider giving to the Red Cross, or Doctors Without Borders, as they continue to alleviate the suffering of people who are utterly without resources.

Earthquake Evacuees

January 20, 2010

The boys are comparing loose teeth
The girls are somewhere
talking American Girls and shoes.

This week, they get to worry about
small things, like why
white people are driving the buses,
and why the electricity is on
all day every day,
and why nobody has walls around their houses

instead of when the ground will shake again
and why they have to sleep outside
and why so many people are laying so quietly
in front of their Escheresque homes.

Here's the transcript of Isaiah's story that a few of you asked for.

Why the Bald Eagle is Bald

By Isaiah

Once there was Sky God. He created the animals, but made Miglo the first eagle (soon the bald eagle) to rule the mountains, and made is head gold. Miglo was very proud of his gold head. He would show off to all of the animals. Bear went to the Sky God. He told him that Miglo was showing off. Sky God said "Bear, you say that Miglo, the eagle, is showing off. Is it so." "Yes," said Bear. "Hmm," said Sky God. That night Sky God burned eagle's head till it was bald. In the morning, eagle went to a stream and screamed because he was bald. And to this day, Miglo and his children's children are all bald.

I'm missing a lot of the story. Rick Hendrick, who is a NASCAR race driver and team owner, has apparently given generously to assist in evacuations and rescue operations in Haiti. Part of that was that he flew my sister and her kids home last night. They arrived just after midnight, and his organization paid for the whole thing, and gave to the relief effort at Quisqueya.

I might suddenly become a NASCAR fan. Go Jeff Gordon!

UPDATE

So, apparently the story is even more complicated than that. Mr. Hendrick, who also loaned his plane and flight crew to Katrina relief efforts, is flying people out of Haiti as fast as he can with his plane. The other flights - the rest of the way up here - were taken care of by other generous people.

The generosity that's being shown this week is amazing. I'm sure that recriminations for mismanagement will come later, but watching folks step up and do what they can, and even more folks step and do what they didn't know they could, is very encouraging.