A Single Southern Guy in America

November 27, 2003

Much Obliged

Even though there has been many times in life (including now), when I yearn for something more in my life, I am always mindful to remember all of the blessings I do have in my life. Whenever I begin any process of counting my blessings, the first thing I do is think back about my trip to Honduras. For three weeks, I served on a joint task force staff performing various humanitarian, civil-military operations all over that country, and mostly in the more rural and undeveloped portions of the country.

At the time, Honduras was the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere (after Haiti). The words poor and poverty seem inadequate to describe the way some of those folks lived. Yet, the folks there found a way to be happy. Whenever, I begin to feel a little down, I like to think back to that 10 year-old little boy who was hanging around the cinder block school in one little village we visited. He had a dirty smudge across his cheeks. He sat alone under a coconut tree with a half inflated rubber soccer ball. His clothes had clearly come from some aid agency that send clothes American children had grown out of to familes in dveloping countries. All of the other children were at their various shanties, mud hut, and other homes eating lunch. In my nascent espanol, I learned that his family didn't have any lunch. I gave him my snickers bar. He quickly devoured it.

We began to talk as much as we could with his rural Honduran dialect of Spanish and my two years from an Ecuadoran professor. It eventually led to playing soccer with that pitiful half inflated soccer ball. As it came closer to time for classes to continue for the afternoon, more and more little boys and a few girls came back to the school, on foot of course.

Soon, we had a full fledged game on--me and three other kids versus about eight others. My fellow soldiers probably thought I was nuts. I'd like to think those young Hondurans will remember the day when the Americans came by one day to look into building them a new school and water system for their little village and found a new friend over broken Spanish, a Snickers bar, and a game of soccer with a half inflated rubber soccer ball. That little boy taught me a lot that day about the difference between happiness and having.

I am thankful this Thanksgiving for the great bounty I have. It's a matter of relativity. I may not look rich if you look at my house in Monticello and then cruise through Sugarloaf Country Club. But, I've seen those who have so little that I appear as wealthy as a king. I'm not, but that knowledge alone makes me happier than many kings will ever be. And being in a free country, I have something else on my side, an opportunity to get and become more. I hope that little boy with the education we helped to develop that day has that chance as well.

Posted by Adam H at November 27, 2003 05:24 PM ~ Link Cosmos | Trackbacks (0)

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