Windy and cold it was as my wife and I approached the old Kansas Coliseum. Though not a long walk from the parking area, it was sufficiently long to make us both wish it was shorter. Can't tell you how many fun nights I've spent in that old building watching the Wichita Wings go so efficiently about the enterprise of indoor soccer. We watched the likes of Preki, Chico Borja, and Eric Rasmussen exhibit their more than mediocre talents on the pitch on many a cold winter night with the house full of rowdy soccer fans. Good times indeed. Soccer eventually became my favourite sport, though I now prefer the outdoor game. Preki played for the San Diego Soccers and every time he had the ball at his feet I remember thinking, "gosh, I wish he didn't have the ball at his feet". Of course he had a tremendous career with the Kansas City Wizards in the outdoor game and has now proven to be a formidable tactician as coach of the Chivas USA team of the MLS. Anyway, back to the main story here. So we found our way inside the coliseum where the temperature was eerily similar to what it was outside. The wind was noticeably weaker however and we waited there for our friends to appear. After the time had passed when we expected they would be there we ventured on down the long, wide, concrete hallway to the point where it opened up into the main floor of the building. It looked quite different now then the last time I had seen it. There were no real indications that so many activities had taken place there. Soccer, hockey, concerts, basketball, etc, etc. After visiting with a nice lady we decided to go ahead and register our presence so as to have one less thing to do when our friends arrived. This took little time and we were back at the cold, less windy waiting area in no time. Once our friends arrived and we were all registered we were given our plastic aprons and hair nets and asked to stand in a line. Shortly we were joined by others who were likewise outfitted. What I observed there was a very encouraging sight. One that warmed my heart immensely. We were a small part of an effort to package a million meals to be sent to Haiti. 150 folding tables formed 50 work stations with 8 or 10 people at each station. The effort was drawing to a close on this Sunday evening but the room was still filled with people, and music that seemed to me to have a Reggae sort of sound to it. Surely this is something truly American that we can take pride in. Surely a room full of people, who could have chosen so many different destinations on this night, coming here to try to help a needy people so very far away is a notable thing. At a time when money is a bit tight by our standards, jobs are harder to find and many are struggling financially, we still have our time to give. And give we do. The really remarkable thing about this party is that it is not some kind of odd occurrence. As a people, we have always been generous when tragedy strikes, whether here, or abroad. They had hit their goal of 1,000,000 meals at around 4:30 and when we left they were well over 1,171,000. When I hear how many Americans were there in Haiti when the earthquake hit, and I see how we are responding to try and help, I have trouble believing we are hated by the world. There are likely those who are jealous of our prosperity, and there are those who focus on and amplify our faults, but they, by and large, are not in position to help as extensively as we can because many of them are not a free people. Or their freedom is throttled and manipulated by a top heavy, if not corrupt, government bureaucracy. I hope we always choose to use our freedom as a tool to help others. And I hope our politicians realize that tool is so much more effective in the hands of the citizenry than in the hands of a government.
