What a day.

I was sitting
I was sitting in this bum-shaped chair in the hallway of an old high school building, waiting my turn. Apart from the painting they were doing in the stairwell, the joint smelled like any old high school should... dingy. My right leg was man-propped (not woman-propped) atop my left leg and my arms were folded protectively around one another and hugging close my chest.

I snickered.
It struck me as fairly amusing that I saw a little flashback of a time when I was posed quite similarly.

Memories
I was seated onstage at Carnegie Hall (yes, that one). My right leg was man-propped atop my left leg and my arms were folded protectively around one another and hugging close to my chest. About 15 feet in front of me, Paul Simon (yes, that one) was rehearsing for that night's performance. I was directing the live-to-tape video. I was probably twenty... five and a half or so.

True story. You'd never know it by looking at me. But it happened.

Bittersweet Irony
So I return from my flashback, half crying and half laughing. My heart was really broken today. The tears that stayed on deck were tears of pain... not joy. They were tears of loss... not accomplishment. The laugh was just because some things are too darn funny... painful or not... to abstain from laughing at.

I was at a food bank today. My pregnant wife and I were waiting our turn in line to get 5 plastic bags of free food. Completely humiliating. Completely harsh and REAL.

What an enormous distance it is from the stage to the floor... from the lights to the shadows.

Reality Check
My stupid story is ridiculous compared to what millions of people face on this planet, every day. Here's a video that a Haitian kid shot and gave me in November of 2004. PARTS OF THIS ARE EXTREMELY GRAPHIC! Do not watch this if you have doubts about your ability to handle it.


Just know that it happened in his neighborhood. The homes were still smoking. The flesh was still wet. This is a real world we live in... with real people... needing a real voice.

I haven't known what to do with this up 'till now. To be honest, I was hesitant to even place it here, on my blog. For starters, I know this forum will do it no justice. Secondly, it must be spread further. Finally, I do not wish to cheapen its content by turning it into a "pitch" of any kind. But then, part of what FIRESIDE INTERNATIONAL wants to do is to communicate the stories of the poor to the world. That does take resources.

Please help.
Please stop by FIRESIDE INTERNATIONAL and help us help the poor. Adrian and I gave up a lot to do this, but our sacrifice alone is not enough. We need your help too. We have become beggars for the beggars. But today, at the food bank, I learned... that actually requires a little begging. Beg if I must...

We so desperately want to fill up the schedule shooting in Haiti.
We want to tell some stories. What can you do to help us?
Without help, the vision will fail.

Sorry if this pops your comfort bubble.
I really am sorry.
Luke.

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