Fighting Poverty

Hmmm....

Don't get me wrong, I believe with all my heart that poverty is a bad thing and that "extreme poverty" is hard to even fully comprehend.  I also think it is great that so many people and organizations are helping those who are trapped in poverty and looking for away to get out.

What bothers me is Christian groups or Christians who have decided it is their mission in life to "end" poverty.  Apparently they don't read the bible.

"The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me" Matthew 26:11

I am all for trying to ease the burden of poverty and providing programs to help people achieve a better financial future for themselves.  However, even Jesus knew we couldn't eliminate poverty altogether.  What makes these people think they know better than Christ?  It is especially entertaining when the same God who said that it cannot be eliminated gets credit for making it their "destiny" to eliminate poverty.

I think at times we spend too much money (that never really gets into the hands of people it is intended to help anyway) on poverty and the poor.  There is only so much we can do to help eliminate some elements of poverty.  The bottom line is that it will always be here.

However, best of luck to those who do it....let me know how hitting your head against the wall feels in 20 years :)

That is all.

My First Blog...

My mother sent me this picture this morning.  The girl on the right (not the bus driver silly) is Christa Adelman.  She works with my mother at the elementary school in my hometown and gave her a copy of the photo and scanned it for me.

So this is me in Kindergarten or possibly first grade but I am 90% sure its Kindergarten.  For those of you who like to count (i.e. make fun of me) that was probably 1981 or 1982.  Yes I don't look happy.  Many people would say I have that same look on my face as I write this blog.  Whatever.

I have no idea why I have a large sticker hanging around my neck.  All I can really recall about the bus rides home were that we all had stickers/signs around our little necks so we knew which bus to get on.  I think we had different animals that matched up with the particular bus we were supposed to get on.  That didn't prevent them from putting me on the wrong bus the first day of school lol.

It is one of the stories as a child that makes my mother the most upset even 30 years later (gosh that statement makes me feel old now).  The fact I had to ride a bus at all was ridiculous anyway, we lived less than one mile from the school (.7 to be exact).  Which in my small town was about 7-8 blocks away.  Should have been able to walk home from school...mom wasn't cool with her little boy all alone walking home from school.  Yes I was a serious wuss growing up (no comments please).

The short version of this story is that while I was supposed to be riding in a small "van" that took all the local kids home, some well minded and insane teacher thought my address (which was stapled on the front of my shirt) was located out by the high school (not even close).  Despite my protestations I was put on the wrong bus.  Well it was no surprise that I never got off the bus then since it never stopped by my home.  The bus driver was very confused and insisted we must have passed my house at some point but I told her no that didn't happen.  Anyway, what should have been about a 5 minute bus ride home ended up being a two hour ordeal.  When the bus finally found my home (man if only we had google maps back then!) my mom read her the riot act.  Turns out my mother had been calling the school all afternoon yelling at people and ripping them a new one because I wasn't home and no one seemed to know what bus I was on.  Momma bear...always uber protective!  Needless to say I made it home safely.  Hated the bus after that but loved the little van I was able to ride home in.

I tried to link the map to indicate how stupid it was that the bus driver couldn't get me home but can't figure out how to do it on this blog.  The link won't work.  Anyway it was a straight shot from my school right down 5th Street to my house.

Now here I am 30 years later living in New York City.  I have been wanting to start a blog for sometime but always found it to be narcisstic and self serving.  However, after reading a number of my friends self serving and narcissitic posts I thought what the hell?  Kidding friends...your kids, wives, husbands, pets and observations on life are all...ummm...cute...yes that is it...cute.

Too bad I am starting this blog now as you dear reader have missed out on all kinds of whacky drama since I moved to New York in May of 2007.  The highlights include:

• My town car driver getting into a "fight" with another town car driver on the side of the highway in New Jersey
• Numerous dating dramas including a woman who drank too much at a party and then threw up all over my couch, it was only the third date.  Yea that didn't work out.  That is only one of the many obsurd dating stories I have.
• Getting spit upon for wearing a Patriots jersey the night of the Super Bowl (before the Giants won)
• Almost getting into a fist fight last summer with 4 drunk New York Yankee (read: douche bags) fans who of course were just leaving a "classy" strip club when they decided to pick a fight with the guy wearing a Boston Red Sox shirt.

Thus I am starting this blog to try and capture the essence which is my New York Life.  I currently have a new dating drama that I will be sharing with you all shortly.  I will do my best to keep it postive and to also share with you all some of the great things God is doing in my life.  As I write my last sentences of this blog I have exactly zero followers and have yet to tell anyone about the blog.  We will see what happens.

Until next time, go Red Sox!

Drew