The Ripple Effect

Going through life one  can live in the calm eddies and pools or venture forth into the current and rapids. One can chose to enter  the waters stealthily without impact or as a pebble with a continually increasing fan that spreads out and sends forth a ripple effect.

Unanticipated, by us, was a repeat performance by Evan into the world of open-heart surgery. A faulty valve had developed into a severe leak that needed immediate fixing. All went great, he is mending well, currently requires a modicum of prudence in his activities until his sternum ( which was cracked stem to stern) heals completely.

The Ripple Effect has been interesting:

• A teenage neighbor has her confirmation class pray for Evan
• A neighborhood prayer circle prays for Evan
• A dear friend's 9 year old son - 1.500 miles away fasts & prays for Evan
• An antagonist becomes a friend for evan
• A school class unites in kindness for evan
• A sister leaves her own, again, watches our kids while parents are in the hospital for Evan
• A family bonds in love for Evan.

The ripple effect. 

One little heart that has opened the hearts of many.

One little heart that has softened the hearts in an ever widening circle.

One little heart the greatest gift of the season

Community Found

In a society that has become more interested in consumption than in connection it brings assurance to find an oasis of community in Zachary Elementary School.   Communities in general are becoming more fragmented and less and less physically fixed; and as they accommodate a broad range of influences, the culture in turn becomes more dilute. The growing irrelevance of time and place additionally destroy community as one can have a virtual office, virtual conversation, or a virtual store. As the fabric of community is slowly shredded we become a public - simply all the people apart from any personal responsibility or belonging. Our society leads us to become globalized individuals - depending more on large-scale markets and technologies for our lives and livelihoods than on our neighbors. A community, unlike a public, has to do with belonging, it’s a group of people who belong to one another and to their place.     Zachary Lane Elementary offers community. As a community it has its own unique but overlapping constellation of shared ideas and interactions. One such incidence manifested itself this fall in the Third Grade.   Our son Evan, a third grader with Down Syndrome, was called upon to run the mile with the rest of his grade. A daunting task for most but particularly for him in regard to the focus and perseverance required to accomplish the task. At the start of the activity, Steven Paletz, one of his fellow classmates asked him “ Do you want to be my running buddy – we can run together”. An enthusiastic “yes” was the reply and the two took off together. They finished, last, but they finished; amidst the cheers and acknowledgements of their peers. A wise teacher took Steven to the head of the class and pronounced to all that he had rendered great service as being the ‘personal trainer’ to Evan during the run.   Many publics don’t have kids like Steven who would willingly become a personal trainer for the day. Many publics don’t have schools that foster inclusion as a right of all children. Many publics don’t have a principal, teachers and staff that can create a caring and safe environment where all grow. Zachary Lane Elementary does.   Simone Weil observed in The Need for Roots: “The effective exercise of a right springs not from the individual who possesses it, but from other men who consider themselves as being under a certain obligation to him.”  It is out of a concern for the communal that morality arises, and with it virtue. Thank you to the community called Zachary Lane. Submitted by:​ Timothy M. Wilson​10/22/97