Monday, January 14, 2013

Dear Destiny, I'm Stuck.

Dear Destiny,
I'm stuck in Chicago on my way traveling east. The break from the train and the diversity of people has been refreshing but a brief encounter with a stranger today has left me feeling grounded: I stopped for a man on the street who was shaking a cup for change. I emptied my pockets for him knowing it wasn't much but still wanting to make a kind gesture. Instead though, the man barked at my pithy contribution saying "That won't help me!" Any rebuttal would be insufficient - he was right - my few coins wouldn't make things much better. I spent the day wrestling with this and handing out my spare change as I could (usually to much more welcoming persons) in a futile attempt to relieve my conscious. I suppose the hardest thing Destiny, is believing that thing that is the very underpinning of epidemiology; that even small change when multiplied across a population, really can shift the distribution.

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