A Life of Gratitude

Luck - When Preparation Meets Opportunity

I, like many across our country, have been captivated this week by the story of Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, the pilot who was able to crash a plane gently enough in the Hudson River that all of his passengers stepped off the plane-turned-boat, full of life, that for at least a moment, they couldn't have expected to have.

Seneca, a Roman philosopher born sometime just before or after the life of Christ, once said that "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity."  I've heard that saying many times before in my life, but it never made as much sense as it did this week when the details of this man, now simply referred to as "Sully", became public knowledge.  I find it comforting when miracles like those surrounding this crash can't quickly be explained away to luck.  

What we discovered this week was a man who had prepared his whole life to save the lives of 150 strangers with a sense of obligation that couldn't have been stronger if his own family had been on board.  We've learned that if these passengers had somehow known ahead of time that they were on a plane destined to crash, but were granted an opportunity to choose a pilot for their ill-fated flight, Sully would have stuck out like Air force One at a rural,Virginia county air show as the man for the job.  So the fact that this plane crashes and everyone lives, historically an unlikely scenario, was not luck. 

I suppose it could be suggested as luck that the right man ends up paired with a sick plane in need of medicine that quite possibly, only he possessed.  Others might call it fate.  I tend to explain it as part of God's plan.  Like so many of God's moves, I can't explain them, but I frequently enjoy taking a stab at it, if even in my own mind.  Sometimes I sense him saying close, but not really.  Other times, he leaves me in a silence that somehow says that even if I'm not exactly right, it's a worthy thought.  This is one of those times I've been met with that silence.

I've found it less than coincidental that this incident happened within a week of tomorrow's presidential inauguration.  An inauguration that is expected to have upwards of 2.5 million people in attendance, cost 150 million dollars to host, and require nearly 30,000 police officers and military troops to provide security.  The enormity of the event portrays the hope so many have that Barack Obama signifies the end of so much ugly in our country, and the beginning of brighter days ahead, the likes of which many hope we have never seen. 

I am a Republican. I have been since I was old enough to understand exactly what the difference was between a donkey and an elephant.  But it is for reasons beyond my own political beliefs that I fear so many people's hopes are misguided.  I think it is dangerous when people start looking to one person to provide the answers to so many problems.  When people start looking tothe top for answers to problems that start at the bottom, I get worried.  I believe President Elect Obama is a good man - in many eyes - a great man.  But some days I get the impression there is a significant group of people who feel this one man will preclude the need for each of us to live responsibly; to live in a manner that best prepares us for our own opportunities.

As the stories continue to come out about the first moments after that plane became a large, floating dock in the middle of the Hudson River, you hear about people putting others before themselves.  Ladies and children exiting the plane before others.  A man volunteers to hold a lady's baby as the plane is going down.  Grown men holding hands and praying together.  A flight attendant manning the back exit of the plane where water was rising the quickest, making sure panicked passengers didn't mistakingly escape to tragedy.  

I've been left to wonder if God wasn't just reminding us that the only individual with the power to change our collective lives left this earth a long time ago.  But before he did, he left a message that will always supersede all others, one that will always be a simple answer to problems we tend to complicate.  He said to simply treat others like we want to be treated.  To live a life in service to that notion.  I have no doubt that Barack Obama will encourage us all to do that, but in the end, for our country to change, we'll all have to prepare as individuals to meet our own opportunities.  As a father, it has been a welcomed reminder. 

Pictures have been added to Elliott and Ian's albums.   

Changing the World

I finished a book this weekend that outlines the very simple solution to changing the world. Appropriately, the book is titled Leaving Microsoft to Change the World - An Entrepreneur's Odyssey to Educate the World's Children - by John Wood.

John Wood was a key figure in the rise of Microsoft in the early 1990's. He worked a non-stop schedule all over the world and made good money doing it. In the late 1990's, he took a break from his fast paced life to spend 21 days trekking through the Himalayas. Fate would have it that he visited a school in Nepal before embarking on his rugged journey to 18,000 feet, the highest climb of his life. To his dismay, he was shown the school's library. A tiny locker with about 40 books in it. The locker was locked. When he asked why, he was told it was because there were so few books and they were in such demand there was fear they would be stolen. When the locker was unlocked it uncovered books ranging from cheap romance novels to field guides left behind by previous backpackers.

The book goes on to describe how that moment changed this man's life. Before he returned from the trip he sent emails to everyone he knew asking them to donate books for the school. He had promised the school he would get them 300 books. Upon his return home, his dad emailed him to request that he come home and get the 3000 books that had been sent to their house.

John Wood was so moved by the response and his ability to help educate these children of Nepal that shortly after this event, he quit Microsoft. He left behind what I'm sure amounted to many millions of dollars to raise far more than that to fight illiteracy in developing countries. His book outlines in great detail his journey from those first 3000 books to the 4 million books, 4,000 libraries, 400 schools and nearly 4000 long-term girls' scholarships worldwide. It is an amazing story of one man allowing the possibilities of his infinite business knowledge to be carried away by his passion to create a product that to date has impacted the lives of over a million children.

His book goes into great detail about the many people who have supported his award winning non-profit organization "Room to Read". You can learn more about his organization at www.roomtoread.org.

There will continue to be great debate the next several months of this presidential campaign about many social issues, including the war on poverty and a faltering education system. One side will continue to advocate pouring more money into a broken system; the other side will continue to convince us that it is not money, but more accountability for those systems. One side will say the other is only interested in helping the rich get richer, the other will say the rich are the ones creating opportunities for the poor.

As all of the campaign noise buzzes in the background, John Wood continues to unleash in the face of politics the real answer to fighting poverty, to fixing a broken education system. He has demonstrated a passion for those less fortunate than he and has freely given of his time. I don't believe there is an imbalance of wealth in this country; it is an imbalance of attitude. Many of those who have the wealth quite frankly like it. Their lives become devoted to getting more of it. As for the poor, they take one look at those with the means to help them looking the other way and weakly give up.

If I were campaigning, my biggest tax breaks would go to those donating time. To the person who gives their time to tutor a kid, to be an adult role model for some child who has never seen one or the person who helps serve food at the local soup kitchen. Until people develop a genuine interest in that guy next to them who doesn't have it quite as good, this world is going to struggle. No amount of change in political parties or legislation can combat that.

When I finished this book, I couldn't help but think of Jesus when he said "Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, you do unto me."

No means No - Unless of Course.....

Thank God. Just when we had reached the sporting calendar's purgatory, that time of year between the end of March Madness and the kickoff of another Notre Dame football season, our political process has stepped up to the plate and provided what could be one of the greatest spectator events of the season. I've already bought the chips and sodas so Elliott and I can settle couch-side Saturday to watch the Democratic National Committee's (DNC) Rules and Bylaws committee decide the fate of the Florida and Michigan delegates for the upcoming National Convention.

I’m not a consistent follower of this event, so I know less than the passionate season ticket holder. But what I do know is enough to make it very interesting. It seems Florida and Michigan felt like they didn’t get enough attention in the election process, so they changed their primary dates. This was after the DNC warned them against doing so. Their failure to comply would result in a substantial penalty, most likely the loss of all of their delegates at the convention.

Now all of this took place before anyone could envision the road the democratic nomination process would take to find a candidate. If Florida or Michigan could have seen this coming, the mention of changing dates would have instantly wilted the green grass on the other side of the fence.

But they did change their dates. In spite of neither Democratic candidate spending time campaigning in either state, they defiantly held their primaries, both easy victories for Mrs. Clinton, which sets the table for Saturday’s main event.

On Saturday, the rules committee for the DNC will meet to determine exactly what they meant by NO. Mrs. Clinton is hoping NO meant YES, and all the delegates will be seated. Of course if the rules committee goes for this option, without fear of reprisal Virginia might decide to hold a primary each summer for the next four years just to get ready for the 2012 election. Mr. Obama is hoping that NO meant MAYBE and a majority of the delegates will be seated, enough to offer some appeasement but not enough to derail what is an apparent clear path to the nomination. The rules committee, well I’ve never known a rules committee with egos small enough to allow NO to mean anything other than NO.

The likely compromise will be sending all the delegates, but each only counts for half a vote. This is troubling, because Elliott is sure to ask me to explain how a person counts as 1 in Ohio but a ½ in Michigan. After I assure him it had nothing to do with Ohio State’s 14-3 victory over Michigan in football last fall, I’ll gingerly introduce him to our political process. He’ll likely shake his head and ask me to change the channel to Sesame Street.

I find it unfortunate that unlike the break in the sporting calendar, there no longer appears to be one in the political process. Not long ago this process swallowed our governing bodies and many have not been seen since. Thank God we all have the power in our own families, churches and communities to do what is right and what is healthy by others each day.