I am away from home again. I think it become easier to be reflective when isolated from loved ones for two or more weeks at a time. I know that with the free time I find myself more aware of things that under other circumstances I might not "see". OK, literally I would see them, but would I be aware? Maybe not.
I was just transiting Equatorial Quinea. An airport called Malabo. On the airport, just next to the transcient line, there is a small stream. In years past I have witnessed young mothers doing laundry in that stream. From the ramp you can see enormous trees. This is a stretch of rain forest that has been cleared. The majority here are poor. The country has a great deal of new oil wealth, but whether that will ever "trickle down" is questionable. The airport has seen much improvement, but the poverty is still evident. Just across the creek, and still within the airport boundary is a garden. It is well tended, but the clothing of the persons doing the tending leads one to suspect that the garden is critical to their continued existance. Just beyond the garden are the rusting remains of old aircraft left to decompose. Sitting at weird angles, and body parts stacked atop one another, it looks like a junkyard for aircraft. Just past them, the roofs of what can best be described as shantys.
In the creek bed where I saw the youg mothers doing laundry, this day we watched as four young barefoot boys (not more than 8 years old and younger) came running across the end of the runway (makes one wonder about airport security) and approaching the creek stripped naked and ran down the embankment and launched themselves into the water. This was pure unabounded enthusiasm. They were no more concerned about anything (especially that an entire airport might see them naked) than most of us are about the possibility of us being invaded by martians. They were happy, and watching them made anyone with a heart happy.
It was then that I noticed our Operations and Maintenance representatives walking toward the boys. They had no responsibilities for this stop as we were not loading or unloading any cargo, and the airplane was performing perfectly. They had spent the last 15 or 20 minutes out in front of the airplane satisfying nicotine cravings. I wondered why they would be walking toward the boys. My initial responce was one where I hoped they were not in anyway going to scold them (as this would have somehow been somehow sinful). I should not have worried. They carried cans of soda from the airplane. In Africa, it is surprising what one can accomplish with what we take for granted in our cooler. The airplane is always stocked full of soft drinks. If it is required that we expidite loading or unloading, or fueling..... whatever, a simple offering of cold soft drinks almost always gets things done. There is always enough.
Watching the boys run from the water and accepting the offered drinks was a gift. They danced naked, holding up the cans. They celebrated their bounty. They shook their butts, they jumped for joy. They were joyful, and we who watched were blessed. A simple reminder that it is not that difficult to make a difference.
I do not remember the names of the representatives of my company that walked over and shared a little joy with those boys. I am not good at names. I did not tell them I had observed their actions, nor did I ever share the gift I got from seeing the joy they created. I will not remember much from that day, nor this months flying............. but I will always remember the simple and total joy they caused. I would wish them special Gods blessings........ but I suspect they are already aware.
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