Futures?

     The little boy had left his wheel chair and it was obvious that he was unable to walk.  There was an ebullience in his spirit that seemed unfazed by the limitations of his circumstance.  He had drawn two, parallel lines about 15 feet apart in the dust beside the sidewalk.  His game was to see how close he could toss his flip flops to the distant line.  Then, he'd scoot over to where the flip flops had landed and throw them back.  His parents sat on a nearby park bench watching the river flow past.
     This scene I observed from the window of the Foreign Correspondents Club (doesn't that sound exotic) in Pnom Penh many years ago was so poignant I still think about it.  What became of the boy, now a man?  What did his future hold?
      Every year I say goodbye to a class of 6th graders and I have to assume I will never see them again.  The faces and names of many from previous years are still clear in my memory.  Were I to meet some of them on street today I could instantly call them by name.  I wish I knew their continuing story.  Living in hope I trust I made some difference for them...that a seed was planted that bore fruit.
   With the ubiquitous Facebook a few former students have "friended" me.  That has some limited value but their posting are almost all in Thai.  On occasion I've been able to do some limited messaging with them in English.
    It seemed that some of my childhood contemporaries were destined for success.  Everything came easy to them.  Others appeared to have limited prospects.  The reality has often surprised me with early high fliers not doing well and others, for whom I held little hope, doing well.  One of the rewards of a long life is the opportunity for observation over extended time.

Mew & Nadeam posing (grade 5). 

5th grade.

Bananas on the branch.

Indergarten girl between Aroonsee and Da.