By Shawntese Winder and Lakieben Brown
Your home is where your feet may rest,
A pile of books on a desk,
A place so warm to lay in bed,
A table of nourishment where you are fed.
Your home is where you chill or relax,
A living room wall full of plaques,
A place of laughter and some tears,
A place you called home through the years.
My home is in a cardboard box,
No pile of books, just dirty socks,
No place of warmth to lay in bed,
Just a prayer not to be smashed in the head.
No table of nourishment, just the trash,
That bologna sandwich was a blast,
No place of which to chill or relax,
I go from corner to corner begging for snacks.
And although this may sound pretty strange,
I have no problem begging for your change,
Society calls me homeless or a bum,
I believe that I'm neither one.
I am one with just bad luck,
To tell the truth, it really sucks,
I have a home, it's not complete,
My home sweet home are the streets.
Look into the eyes of a homeless person.
What do you see? What do you think?
Is there fear? Is there anger? Is there loneliness? Is there happiness?
Do people really choose to live this way?
Would you let a homeless person sleep on your front porch?
Would you take them in, give them food, shelter, and love as you would a stray cat?
Would you give food to a hungry child on the street?
Would you drop spare change into the hand of a homeless man?
Would you stop to help a homeless woman or would you just walk on by?
Take a step back and take a look at reality.
The next time you walk down the street and see a homeless person, stop and think twice.
Put yourself in their shoes; think of yourself living their life.
Homelessness is a reality.
It could happen to anyone.
It could happen to you.
Kim Harries
Jenny Hollis
Kim Thomas
On February 28, 1996 a program came to the University of Delaware which demonstrated a way of life unbeknown to many. This was the Waterman's Program. When our professor suggested we attend this program we weren't quite sure how it related to cultural diversity. Once there we realized this was a part of culture, our culture. Although both men partake in different activities, they both do so for the same reason, pleasure.
Al Dager is a professional bird caller in the state of Delaware. He has a collection of 500 different calls and competes in national conventions. After putting in a full night's work at the local Chrysler Corporation he engages in guiding hunts. A few hours before he takes a party out, he sets up thousands of decoys. He demonstrated a lot of these types of decoys and their methods for luring in the birds. Then he began to exhibit his calls and all the different sounds that these calls can make. It was remarkable that these simple pieces of wood can make such elaborate sounds. The price of each call varies up to a couple of hundred dollars. Al is very talented and competes in National Competitions. We realized that playing a call takes more talent than we ever could have imagined. By working around the clock, it is shown that he not only does this for money, but for the love of the sport!
Bob Krajewski, a professional trapper, exemplifies a piece of American history. Many years ago, people in the United States made their living by trapping animals and selling the furs. Today, Bob is one of the few trappers left. Although he does not make much money, he goes out every day to set and check his traps. He has passes this tradition on to his son. He displayed several furs which he had trapped and skinned by himself. Although many people believe trapping to be inhumane, what Ralph is doing is actually helping to preserve the marshes. Without trapping, the marshes would become overpopulated and therefore, the animals would eat the marsh away.
These two men participate in activities which are not common for most people. Neither makes a large profit, but they do it because they enjoy it. Many professionals, such as teaching, are similar to trapping, bird calling, and hunting. Even though something is done for enjoyment and pleasure it does not necessarily mean that large sums of money will be made. The greatest triumph in life is to be happy, which does not require millions of dollars. Although both Al and Bob lead lives which are different from most peoples', their goals in life resemble those of any of us. They simply want to enjoy life to its fullest. back