Reflections

Slowly I entered the cholera ward. Stories I had read of the disease wiping out entire populations did not comfort me. Knowing that cholera, if caught in time, was quite treatable did not alleviate my fears. However, to adequately assess the hospital's needs, the visit was necessary. Two months have passed, and of all my experiences of our January visit to Nicaragua, the most memorable was my visit to that cholera ward and the old man I saw there.

"I can take it down now," he said with chainsaw in hand, "or you can let the wind do it, in which case, it'll probably end up on your house!" The tree in question was a beautiful maple which was packed full of eighteen year of fond memories of my children playing in and around it.

Distinguished? Can’t say that it was. Rare? Not at all: they were popping up all over the city. Exceptional? Again, not really. Beautiful? It’s small size and pale color did not compare to the beauty of those around it. But to me, it was the most distinguished, exceptional, and beautiful of them all.

“Call the Bomb Squad!” screamed the woman after coming across a strange looking package. Ever so carefully the package was carried away to be blown up. Then it made a noise, but not the “ticking” noise you might expect. 

I came to the intersection of University and Bethesda. Waiting for the light I noticed a sign posted on a utility pole. Hoping that someone special would see it and respond, the sign maker posted this message ...

I unfolded the morning newspaper and placed it next to my bowl of cereal teeming with fresh fruit. It was supposed to be a quiet breakfast and a few moments with the morning news: a check on the weather, a few headline stories, a comic or two and then off to work. Instead I found myself unable to take my eyes off of the photograph before me.