Dreaming

Over the past 4 months, I've been traveling to Westerly two days a week to reach out to flood victims, administering thousands of dollars in Catholic Charities donations. The relief money comes from the hearts and hearths of fellow Rhode Islanders who deeply empathize with their compatriots.



After spending time down there, I can easily say I have never been more touched by the warmth and connectivity of a community. The tightly knit family that populates Westerly perpetually - incessantly - continually - AMAZES me. People in this town have each others' backs. I'm constantly fighting back little bursts of water at the corners of my eyes. This town loves each other. And - as the sticker slapped on the bathroom sink at my office down there reads - "Love Conquers All" - even flood ravaged homes and piles of water logged memories.



One of my clients, a single mother (I'll call her Abbey) and mother of three, was struggling far before the waters entered her house. Several close friends and relatives that live in Westerly referred her over, because the community cares and knows she needs the aid.



Even though Abbey's on a fixed income and barely keeping the lights on, she makes sure her children have a normal childhood - at least a childhood where you're concerned about how to obtain ice cream...or building forts in the woods...NOT where you're going to find dinner.



Her son's (I'll call him Victor) BMX bike currently sports a rusted out frame and parts from big two-wheelers that make the thing virtually un-rideable. Since a kid's bike has to be up to snuff to properly ride in the Westerly skate park, Victor is currently unable to cruise around during the morning rides with his friends.



When Victor and Abbey came in to meet me, I could tell the 12-year old was a little embarrassed his mom was asking for help. I also observed he was antsy, and I heard him express under his breath a desire to get home and put on new pedals.



Since I'm a little cycle-crazy, my ears perked and I immediately starting questioning him. I soon discovered all the details above about his bike's state of disrepair. In an divinely inspired moment of creativity, I recalled that my friend Warren works at the Red Shed bike shop in Olneyville, empowering the neighborhood kids to be young bike mechanics. It's a great program sponsored by the Woonasquatucket Watershed Council. The youth can access tools and parts for their bikes simply by volunteering. I contacted Warren...and then my friend Emerson donated a frame. The end of this long story is that Victor, in just under two weeks, will be riding a brand new bike at the Westerly skate park.

Photo cred: http://www.wrwc.org/gwyRedShed.php

You should check out the website for the RED SHED, up there.

Thanks to the generosity of Catholics across the state, Abbey no longer hesitates to flip the light switch...fearing that her electricity service has at last been terminated. And thanks to the tight knit community that exists in Westerly and Rhode Island at large, Victor's summer...and his childhood...are a happy one.



Here's a poem I found in the Rhode Island KIDS COUNT Factbook about living the happy life. These few words remind me to be a kid...ALWAYS...and to NEVER stop dreaming.

From: I'll Be You and You Be Me

by Ruth Krauss Harper

I love the sun

I love a house

I love a river

and a hill where I watch

and a song I heard

and a dream I made