This Sunday's service at our church was dedicated to Godparents and their Godchildren.
Naturally, I thought of my Goddaughter, who lives far away in sunny Orlando, Florida.
We had brilliant sunshine today, which reminded me of Orlando and combined with the snow still on the ground, made it necessary to wear sunglasses when driving. That is where our similarities ended however, as our high temperature will struggle to get to 25F (-4C), while in Orlando the high is expected to reach 60F (16C).
I also thought of my childrens' Godparents - one lost her life in a car accident many years ago and the other lives in faraway Cyprus. Godparents have a special bond with their Godchildren and are tasked with stepping-in to perform parental duties should their Godchildren need them.
Godparents are like an insurance policy for their Godchildren and those who have them are lucky indeed.
Thoughts also turn to all the children orphaned from the recent devastating earthquake in Haiti. There are reports in the news media of young children surviving on their own, of gangs trafficking in children and of orphanages being overwhelmed with the sheer numbers of orphaned children. One hopes these children had Godparents and somehow these surrogate parents may have survived and can assist them in this hour of dire need.
My dearest Goddaughter, I love you and am here for you, should you ever need me.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Moving
Monday was Martin Luther King Day, during which government offices, Banks, the Post Office and the schools were closed (but of course most people, myself included, were working).
Tuesday, Jan. 19 -- this morning we learned that a plane-load of orphans from Haiti arrived at the Pittsburgh airport, where they were greeted by various politicos (who were working today).
The orphans had been transported from Haiti in the pre-dawn hours on a military flight, which took them to Homestead AFB in Florida and from there a chartered plane brought them to Pittsburgh.
From the airport they were whisked to Children's Hospital (downtown), where after undergoing physical exams, several were picked-up by various adopting families that came from all over the U.S. to pick them up, while the remainder were placed in foster care.
These were 53 orphans whose adoption process had begun months, or for some, even years ago and whose adoption was accelerated by the earthquake in Haiti, which resulted in the collapse of their orphanage. A happy ending to cap the sadness they experienced up to now in their young lives and the misery and terror they experienced the last few days.
The news reports indicate there are approximately 900 such pending adoptions of orphans from Haiti, which are at some stage of the adoption process.
One only wonders however, how many more children were added to the ranks of the orphans in Haiti by the earthquake from a week ago and when they might experience their own happy ending to the nightmare they now find themselves trapped in.
Tuesday, Jan. 19 -- this morning we learned that a plane-load of orphans from Haiti arrived at the Pittsburgh airport, where they were greeted by various politicos (who were working today).
The orphans had been transported from Haiti in the pre-dawn hours on a military flight, which took them to Homestead AFB in Florida and from there a chartered plane brought them to Pittsburgh.
From the airport they were whisked to Children's Hospital (downtown), where after undergoing physical exams, several were picked-up by various adopting families that came from all over the U.S. to pick them up, while the remainder were placed in foster care.
These were 53 orphans whose adoption process had begun months, or for some, even years ago and whose adoption was accelerated by the earthquake in Haiti, which resulted in the collapse of their orphanage. A happy ending to cap the sadness they experienced up to now in their young lives and the misery and terror they experienced the last few days.
The news reports indicate there are approximately 900 such pending adoptions of orphans from Haiti, which are at some stage of the adoption process.
One only wonders however, how many more children were added to the ranks of the orphans in Haiti by the earthquake from a week ago and when they might experience their own happy ending to the nightmare they now find themselves trapped in.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Catalyst
The last few days the attention of the world has been riveted on the impoverished island of Haiti and the unimaginable degree of death and destruction caused by the earthquake there.
Shocking as it might seem, it was reported that the initial emergency responders could hardly land on the single strip of the airport that no longer had any air traffic control tower - and once they landed, they found it very hard to maneuver in the streets, which were clogged with debris and bodies, further complicating their rescue efforts.
I heard one appeal that asked not for emergency relief supplies, but for cash donations, as the island's infrastructure was so badly damaged and the logistics for moving materiel so complicated, that the relief agencies preferred not to have to sort and distribute donations "in kind".
The relief agency donation mechanisms also seem to have entered the 21st century, with widespread adoption of $10 donations performed by sending a text message to a special number. The Red Cross was reporting that they were receiving millions of dollars in donations daily through this mechanism.
The mind starts to wonder why a nation sitting on a major tectonic fault did not have a more robust engineering standard for their building construction. The counterargument I heard was that this is the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere and demanding such building codes was a bit too much to ask for.
I can understand the poor trying to skirt any potential building codes that might have existed as they attempted to create a roof over their heads any way they could. When I see the symbols of government, such as the presidential palace, and of the church, such as the national cathedral, when I see hospitals and the UN offices destroyed by the earthquake however, I wonder why these important buildings were not built to a higher standard.
As the days grind on and the relief supplies slowly arrive and get distributed to the survivors, as the medical care slowly reaches the injured, as the people of Haiti absorb another massive catastrophe and begin rebuilding their lives, I hope the rest of us take a moment to reflect.
The lives of every one of us are in a balance more delicate than we care to admit. It might be a violent act of nature, or an act of man, and we could find ourselves facing the same, or worse, fate as the people of Haiti. Maybe the events we witnessed over the last few days will act as a catalyst to make us ask the important questions:
- Are we proud of the way we have lived our lives?
- Have we made a difference?
If we do not like the answers to these questions, we should strive to improve ourselves.
Shocking as it might seem, it was reported that the initial emergency responders could hardly land on the single strip of the airport that no longer had any air traffic control tower - and once they landed, they found it very hard to maneuver in the streets, which were clogged with debris and bodies, further complicating their rescue efforts.
I heard one appeal that asked not for emergency relief supplies, but for cash donations, as the island's infrastructure was so badly damaged and the logistics for moving materiel so complicated, that the relief agencies preferred not to have to sort and distribute donations "in kind".
The relief agency donation mechanisms also seem to have entered the 21st century, with widespread adoption of $10 donations performed by sending a text message to a special number. The Red Cross was reporting that they were receiving millions of dollars in donations daily through this mechanism.
The mind starts to wonder why a nation sitting on a major tectonic fault did not have a more robust engineering standard for their building construction. The counterargument I heard was that this is the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere and demanding such building codes was a bit too much to ask for.
I can understand the poor trying to skirt any potential building codes that might have existed as they attempted to create a roof over their heads any way they could. When I see the symbols of government, such as the presidential palace, and of the church, such as the national cathedral, when I see hospitals and the UN offices destroyed by the earthquake however, I wonder why these important buildings were not built to a higher standard.
As the days grind on and the relief supplies slowly arrive and get distributed to the survivors, as the medical care slowly reaches the injured, as the people of Haiti absorb another massive catastrophe and begin rebuilding their lives, I hope the rest of us take a moment to reflect.
The lives of every one of us are in a balance more delicate than we care to admit. It might be a violent act of nature, or an act of man, and we could find ourselves facing the same, or worse, fate as the people of Haiti. Maybe the events we witnessed over the last few days will act as a catalyst to make us ask the important questions:
- Are we proud of the way we have lived our lives?
- Have we made a difference?
If we do not like the answers to these questions, we should strive to improve ourselves.
Friday, January 1, 2010
DIY Fun
I bought the house we are living in in 2000 when we moved to Pittsburgh. It was a new construction.
Now after 9 years, certain things need to gradually be repaired.
An example was the shower in our bathroom, which had started to drip. The obvious fix for this would be to replace the O-rings.
All the faucets and bathroom fixtures in the house are Moen brand - the reason I mention this is that when installed in a new home construction, Moen provides a warranty for as long as the original home purchaser owns the home.
Therefore I called Moen customer service and described the problem - they mailed me the necessary parts and instructions on how to change the O-rings.
Now it was time to "play plumber" - something I've done before, but which I'm not very good at.
After shutting off the water supply, I took apart the shower assembly (not a trivial task) and replaced the various O-rings on the shower cartridge.
While attempting to re-assemble the shower however, I found that I could not quite get the cartridge pushed in all the way into the receptacle.
I repeated the steps over and over again, however the same frustrating result was obtained.
In desperation, I used my trusted hammer to try to hammer the cartridge back into the assembly. This did not work either, so dejectedly I called Moen's customer service number and talked with a representative. He pointed-out that if there was any residual water in the receptacle it would prevent the cartridge from seating fully. Too bad the instructions did not mention this ...
Once the receptacle was dry, the cartridge body did indeed seat fully and I was able to secure it in place and restore water service.
The shower now worked as it was supposed to and did not drip or leak. All I had to do was install the handle and it would be good as new.
The handle however would not install over the tip of the cartridge. It seems that while trying to force the cartridge into the receptacle, I had managed to deform the tip enough that the precisely machined handle would no longer fit. More calls to the customer service number followed, more replacement parts were sent out and the repair was finally completed but with significant delay.
The lesson from all this -- while DIY may be possible by the average person and might even be perceived as fun by some, I think I need much more practice before I can be counted in the ranks of the latter group.
Now after 9 years, certain things need to gradually be repaired.
An example was the shower in our bathroom, which had started to drip. The obvious fix for this would be to replace the O-rings.
All the faucets and bathroom fixtures in the house are Moen brand - the reason I mention this is that when installed in a new home construction, Moen provides a warranty for as long as the original home purchaser owns the home.
Therefore I called Moen customer service and described the problem - they mailed me the necessary parts and instructions on how to change the O-rings.
Now it was time to "play plumber" - something I've done before, but which I'm not very good at.
After shutting off the water supply, I took apart the shower assembly (not a trivial task) and replaced the various O-rings on the shower cartridge.
While attempting to re-assemble the shower however, I found that I could not quite get the cartridge pushed in all the way into the receptacle.
I repeated the steps over and over again, however the same frustrating result was obtained.
In desperation, I used my trusted hammer to try to hammer the cartridge back into the assembly. This did not work either, so dejectedly I called Moen's customer service number and talked with a representative. He pointed-out that if there was any residual water in the receptacle it would prevent the cartridge from seating fully. Too bad the instructions did not mention this ...
Once the receptacle was dry, the cartridge body did indeed seat fully and I was able to secure it in place and restore water service.
The shower now worked as it was supposed to and did not drip or leak. All I had to do was install the handle and it would be good as new.
The handle however would not install over the tip of the cartridge. It seems that while trying to force the cartridge into the receptacle, I had managed to deform the tip enough that the precisely machined handle would no longer fit. More calls to the customer service number followed, more replacement parts were sent out and the repair was finally completed but with significant delay.
The lesson from all this -- while DIY may be possible by the average person and might even be perceived as fun by some, I think I need much more practice before I can be counted in the ranks of the latter group.
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