Sharing the “Wealth”
STORYTELLING | by SHERRY STRIPLING
MY COUSIN HAS STRUGGLED WITHOUT A JOB THROUGH MOST OF THIS RECESSION. But when a man down on his luck stopped by one night looking for food, she shared her family’s sparse dinner of tuna melts.
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Just like in the movies from the Great Depression, the man came back months later in a genuine tuxedo, saying his luck had taken a turn for the better. He did not fill her bank account or give her a job, but he offered to take her family out for a nice meal.
Sometimes sharing the wealth, especially in hard times, is its own reward. And sometimes it doesn’t mean digging deeper to give away more than you afford, but can be a matter of choices.
My grandfather had a government job in the Great Depression, which required him to keep horses. He knew that most farmers had food but little cash. When he bought hay each year, he was careful to spread his government allotment among three farmers instead of giving it all to one.
For me it’s buying locally. I try to stay loyal to small businesses that I know need the boost.
Many corporations are catching on, taking on causes they know their consumers will want to support. It’s helpful as we all try to be more conscious about where we spend.
I once heard that the good people of Seattle gathered relief money to send to victims of the May 31, 1889 Johnstown Flood but had not yet sent it when The Great Seattle Fire broke out a week later. Standing in the ashes that wiped out 5,000 jobs and 25 city blocks, they voted to stick with their original intent and send the money.
Seattle prospered, doubling in size over the next year. Good choice. Good Karma.
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Sharing the wealth in Seattle. My first summer here, in 1989, I could not beleive that so much fruit was falling off the trees. A pear tree in an alley, laden with fruit. Parking strips with plums, cherries, and even figs.
After the most spectacular spring of my life, the fruits came and I felt like I was living in the garden of Eden. Blackberries grow everywhere here. And the apples, grow plump and rosy without the slightest hesitation.
Now, we have an organization that harvests otherwise wasted fruit fall, and passes it on to others who need it. I am glad for that.