Jingo and the Atoll

Must admit that I try to avoid anything too controversial or political on our blog, but every now and then, we come across something on the web or on Facebook that makes you wonder. Had read a little snippet regarding the successful raising of charitable funds for the disaster in Haiti, attempting to redirect the donations to other, more regional causes. Reminded me of a story..."Jingo and the Atoll". Jingo, his wife Xeno and their daughter lived in a small New England town. They made a decent living, but were by no means affluent. After hearing about a natural disaster that had struck a foreign land, their daughter asked about making a small contribution to the relief effort. Jingo and Xeno explained to her that there was no need to worry herself about those who were not U.S. citizens. A few months later, a hurricane ravaged the Gulf Coast, causing many deaths and leaving thousands homeless. The plea for aid was omnipresent, and the young girl again asked her parents about offering some form of help. She was told that those people chose to live in a region that could be subjected to such weather catastrophes, and with no relatives in that neck of the woods, they needed to select charitable causes closer to home. The little girl accepted their answer. Just days later, a fire swept through an apartment complex in the city that was nearest their hometown. The other kids in her class brought coats, gloves and canned goods for the families who had become displaced. Again, her attempt to do the same was met with resistance, as the vast majority of those put out in the cold were not of the same ethnicity as the little girl. Another year passed, and times grew tougher for everyone. Word was received of a terrible car accident just down the road that had claimed the life of a neighbor's wife and child, a classmate of the young girl. Certainly, she thought, if there were ever a cause to support this would be the one, as the funeral costs were an incredible burden for the sole surviving member of the tragedy. She was mistaken, as Jingo and Xeno explained that there was really only one family that mattered greatly to them, that being their own. Just prior to entering high school, the little girl was diagnosed with a severe kidney ailment, and would need a transplant. Tests were done, and luckily, Jingo was found to be a perfect match for his only child. No other family members, be they near or distant, were acceptable donors, but Xeno and her daughter were relieved that help was so near. However, Jingo informed his wife and daughter that he was unwilling to sacrifice one of his own kidneys, fearing his other might fail him years down the road. After all these years, Xeno finally saw her husband for what he really was. "I too used to care about others like our daughter does. Your selfishness was contaigous, and contaminated my generous nature." She informed Jingo that she and the girl could no longer have him as part of the family. Jingo packed his belongings and chartered a small, private boat to an uninhabited tropical archipelago. He stood on the beach and shouted the chorus from his favorite S&G tune..."I am a rock. I am an island. And a rock feels no pain. And an island never cries." Back at home, his daughter received a kidney from an organ donor who had perished in a natural disaster in the Caribbean. When she was strong enough, she ventured to the beach. It was an utterly calm day, and as she stood in the still ocean waters, she shed a tear of joy for her newfound hope. The single tear caused a magnificent ripple that grew into a tsunami that enveloped Jingo's atoll. No one mourned his passing. The end. All I'm saying is that for those who complain about assisting the Haitians (and I'm not talking about those adhering to wacko Pat Robertson) with the argument that there is hunger and poverty and other needs here in our homeland, that is all well and good if you are then doing something about those issues...but don't use those causes as excuses and then be doing nothing for nobody. I guess this would be a tough children's book to market and illustrate. Plus, people would intentionally pronounce "atoll" like what they would want to call Jingo, with the "at-ole" manner. In case you were wondering, the server was down for maintenance for an hour this afternoon, so I was a little limited on my ability to be productive in other ways. Have a great day!!