Morning Newspaper Antidote

Reading the morning newspaper can lead one to a feeling of sickness. The one I read yesterday is a good example. The lead stories were about the discovery of the body of a missing teen-ager. This came just days after the discovery of another one. Both from the near-by relatively small city of Escondido. Moving from local news to national was not more uplifting: “Kidnap Victim still Missing.” “Dr. and Wife Accused of Killing Dozens” “Drunk Driver Kills Teen-ager in Car Accident”. I try the international section and you know that story: “Car bombing in Baghdad, IUD Kills 12 in Kabul, Anarchy in Somalia, Starvation in Darfur”. My whole body and soul scream for for relief.

I find it. I say good-bye to visiting friends. They have with them their 50-year-old mentally retarded daughter. For 50 years they have cuddled her, taught her, nursed her, been patient with her, helped her smile. Then as I leave my apartment I see one of our neighbors entering another door. “Oh”, she tells me, “Mary has not been feeling well. I am bringing her some food.” I take my morning walk. A young father is jogging along- side his dog and is pushing a wheelchair. It holds the slumping head of his son, severely deformed, unable to walk. But the father’s stride is confident exuding care. “Beautiful day for a walk with my little one” is how he greets me. As I return to my house after the walk I see Chuck patiently, oh so patiently, walking to the dining room with his wife whom I know to have Alzheimer’s. He greets me with a cheery ,“Good morning. Isn’t this a nice day!” Jane and I have our morning prayers and at the end she says, “Just give me one more kiss. I love you so much!”

So, yes, I will continue to read the daily newspaper and more importantly, I will also look for those body and soul restoring antidotes of love, patience, care and respect.