I spent yesterday morning with my friend’s three-year-old daughter on my lap, eating a pancake breakfast leisurely in the sun, feeding the birds our leftover crumbs. It was such a nice, peaceful way to start the day and it certainly made me wish I had more three-day weekends on the calendar and more three-year-olds in my daily routine.
I didn’t think twice about handing her bread to throw to the birds. We’d eaten plenty and it would have otherwise gone in the trash. We sat there, watching the finches try to fly away with chunks that were way too big for their tiny bodies. Eventually a few pigeons and crows showed up to clean up the feast and help their smaller friends.
This morning I woke up to an NPR news story about hunger in Afghanistan. Bread prices are soaring and there isn’t enough naan to go around. My heart broke as I listened to a father talk about splitting the four pieces of bread he could buy each day to feed his family of six.
I’d fed more to pigeons just yesterday.
I’m leaving Saturday for Nicaragua and then off to Africa and frankly the travel couldn’t come soon enough. I’m prickly and ready to have my spirits renewed with travel. I know the theme around here lately has been very heavy-handed; I’ve been having a harder time than normal understanding global inequities and my mood has soured. I couldn’t help but look at the sample bread basket at the coffee shop this morning, full of free slices of whole wheat, nutritious bread, and think of that Afghani father. I know eating less in Tempe, Arizona may have little change on the wheat prices on the other side of the earth, but I am sure that continuing to consume at my typical American-pace isn’t helping matters. I took my cup of coffee and sat down in tears to think. How do we even things out? How do we make sure everyone gets enough food? I’m not talking about Hummers or Plasma TVs or diamond engagement rings. Just food. How do we, as a specie, figure this out?
I don’t have the answers, but I’m working on them. In the meantime, sorry pigeons — no more bread for you.
~K