Oct 05, 2008
The Norwegian newspaper VG has reported a truly amazing story about a newly-wed trying to get to Norway to be with her husband, and the stranger who helped pay an unexpected luggage surcharge. The blog 'Leisha's Random Thoughts' has translated the story.
It was 1988, and Mary Andersen was at the Miami airport checking in for a long flight to Norway to be with her husband when the airline representative informed her that she wouldn't be able to check her luggage without paying a 100 surcharge:
When it was finally Mary's turn, she got the message that would crush her bubbling feeling of happiness.
-You'll have to pay a 103 dollar surcharge if you want to bring both those suitcases to Norway , the man behind the counter said.
Mary had no money. Her new husband had travelled ahead of her to Norway , and she had no one else to call.
-I was completely desperate and tried to think which of my things I could manage without. But I had already made such a careful selection of my most prized possessions, says Mary.
As tears streamed down her face, she heard a 'gentle and friendly voice' behind her saying, 'That's okay, I'll pay for her.'
Mary turned around to see a tall man whom she had never seen before.
-He had a gentle and kind voice that was still firm and decisive. The first thing I thought was, Who is this man?Although this happened 20 years ago, Mary still remembers the authority that radiated from the man.
-He was nicely dressed, fashionably dressed with brown leather shoes, a cotton shirt open at the throat and khaki pants, says Mary.
She was thrilled to be able to bring both her suitcases to Norway and assured the stranger that he would get his money back. The man wrote his name and address on a piece of paper that he gave to Mary. She thanked him repeatedly. When she finally walked off towards the security checkpoint, he waved goodbye to her.
Who was the man?
Barack Obama.
Twenty years later, she is thrilled that the friendly stranger at the airport may be the next President and has voted for him already and donated 100 dollars to his campaign:
-He was my knight in shining armor, says Mary, smiling.
She paid the 103 dollars back to Obama the day after she arrived in Norway . At that time he had just finished his job as a poorly paid community worker* in Chicago , and had started his law studies at prestigious Harvard university.
Mary even convinced her parents to vote for him:
In the spring of 2006 Mary's parents had heard that Obama was considering a run for president, but that he had still not decided. They chose to write a letter in which they told him that he would receive their votes. At the same time, they thanked Obama for helping their daughter 18 years earlier.
And Obama replied:
In a letter to Mary's parents dated May 4th, 2006 and stamped 'United States Senate,
Washington DC ', Barack Obama writes:
'I want to thank you for the lovely things you wrote about me and for reminding me of what happened at Miami airport. I'm happy I could help back then, and I'm delighted to hear that your daughter is happy in Norway . Please send her my best wishes. Sincerely, Barack Obama , United States Senator'.
The parents sent the letter on to Mary.
Mary says that when her friends and associates talk about the election, especially when race relations is the heated subject, she relates the story of the k ind man who helped out a stranger-in-need over twenty years ago, years before he had even thought about running for high office.
Truly a wonderful story, and something that needs to be passed along in the maelstorm of fear-and-smear politics we are being subjected to right now.
SPEECH & the AD family
A cool Story!
Oct 05, 2008
The Norwegian newspaper VG has reported a truly amazing story about a newly-wed trying to get to Norway to be with her husband, and the stranger who helped pay an unexpected luggage surcharge. The blog 'Leisha's Random Thoughts' has translated the story.
It was 1988, and Mary Andersen was at the Miami airport checking in for a long flight to Norway to be with her husband when the airline representative informed her that she wouldn't be able to check her luggage without paying a 100 surcharge:
When it was finally Mary's turn, she got the message that would crush her bubbling feeling of happiness.
-You'll have to pay a 103 dollar surcharge if you want to bring both those suitcases to Norway , the man behind the counter said.
Mary had no money. Her new husband had travelled ahead of her to Norway , and she had no one else to call.
-I was completely desperate and tried to think which of my things I could manage without. But I had already made such a careful selection of my most prized possessions, says Mary.
As tears streamed down her face, she heard a 'gentle and friendly voice' behind her saying, 'That's okay, I'll pay for her.'
Mary turned around to see a tall man whom she had never seen before.
-He had a gentle and kind voice that was still firm and decisive. The first thing I thought was, Who is this man?Although this happened 20 years ago, Mary still remembers the authority that radiated from the man.
-He was nicely dressed, fashionably dressed with brown leather shoes, a cotton shirt open at the throat and khaki pants, says Mary.
She was thrilled to be able to bring both her suitcases to Norway and assured the stranger that he would get his money back. The man wrote his name and address on a piece of paper that he gave to Mary. She thanked him repeatedly. When she finally walked off towards the security checkpoint, he waved goodbye to her.
Who was the man?
Barack Obama.
Twenty years later, she is thrilled that the friendly stranger at the airport may be the next President and has voted for him already and donated 100 dollars to his campaign:
-He was my knight in shining armor, says Mary, smiling.
She paid the 103 dollars back to Obama the day after she arrived in Norway . At that time he had just finished his job as a poorly paid community worker* in Chicago , and had started his law studies at prestigious Harvard university.
Mary even convinced her parents to vote for him:
In the spring of 2006 Mary's parents had heard that Obama was considering a run for president, but that he had still not decided. They chose to write a letter in which they told him that he would receive their votes. At the same time, they thanked Obama for helping their daughter 18 years earlier.
And Obama replied:
In a letter to Mary's parents dated May 4th, 2006 and stamped 'United States Senate,
Washington DC ', Barack Obama writes:
'I want to thank you for the lovely things you wrote about me and for reminding me of what happened at Miami airport. I'm happy I could help back then, and I'm delighted to hear that your daughter is happy in Norway . Please send her my best wishes. Sincerely, Barack Obama , United States Senator'.
The parents sent the letter on to Mary.
Mary says that when her friends and associates talk about the election, especially when race relations is the heated subject, she relates the story of the k ind man who helped out a stranger-in-need over twenty years ago, years before he had even thought about running for high office.
Truly a wonderful story, and something that needs to be passed along in the maelstorm of fear-and-smear politics we are being subjected to right now.
SPEECH & the AD family
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17 comments:
Well no wonder that story showed up in a Norwegian paper , they' re all socialists over there! ( Kidding) In all seriousness, though, most Americans, if they could afford to, would eagerly pay a hundred
dollars to ease the distress of a stranger under going unforseen hardship (especially if it short ens the time they spend waiting in a line at the airport! ) -- if you look at how America responds to natural disasters around the world you can see we're a generous
people! Being generous with money and with material posessions is good, but it's so easy!
Being stingy with money is a bad habit that it's easy to break one' sself of. But being stingy and ungenerous in spirit is much more difficult to stop, and yes, I speak from experience . True generosity means exercising tolerance,
forgiveness, patience, perseverence and in some cases , contrition . If it's generous to sacrifice money for the sake of seeing a fellow human being's pain abate , isn't it more generous to choose hard work and suffering to ease the comfo rt of all those around you? Not that Senat or Obama hasn' t done these thing s -- I know he is working very hard for all our sakes and enduring insults and even death threats on behal f the vast numbe r of Americans who yearn despe rately for a restoration of our country's promise. But in my life I know generosity of spirit is a quality worth developing .
Generosity with money , especially when it comes with the immediate gratification of seeing a desired result take place , is no more difficult than spending money on a book, a sandwich, a piece of jewel ry. :)
I like the it we need Barack for president Baba
I knew right from the start that he's good people; this is a great story to have to back it up! Peace ~ M
nice story . be blessed, ron
thanks for such a heart warming story! happy halloween!
Do we give credit to the man, or do we give credit to The Son of MAN? Obama is not the Saveor of man! Jesus Christ is the Only Way ! ! ! ! ! Give Credit where credit is due! ! ! !
Obama rocks ! That' s why he's got such a beautiful famil y -- they all need to be in the ' white ' house in Jan (we'll have to change that!)
well put
Thanks Speech!
Always love to get reminders such as this that when I cast my vote, I did the right thing.
Not just for myself, or all of American. For all human life.
For anyone who who has lost faith that there is still good in this world.
Keep the faith.
Kate
This is Phenomenal! Inspiring! What great foreshadow of what/who "we" can become as a people!
This makes me proud and has been a great end to a week of trials and soul stirring moments. A great message before I go to bed.
Thanks!
I live in Seoul, South Korea
Forever a fan of yours,
-
http://socialistworker. org/2008/10/31/is-obama-really-a-radical
Column: Lance Selfa [1]
Is Obama really a radical at heart?
If Obama is acting like a centrist now, it's most likely because he is a centrist--rather than a radical posing as one to get elected.
October 31, 2008
WITH LITTLE else to offer on its own behalf, the McCain-Palin ticket has built an entire campaign on ridiculing and demonizing Barack Obama. First, Obama was a neophyte. Then, he was a celebrity. Now, he's a dangerous radical, even a friend to terrorists.
This caricature of Obama reached its lowest point October 27, when a local Florida television anchor, Barbara West, interviewing Obama's running mate Joe Biden, quoted The Communist Manifesto and asked Biden to comment.
Biden responded, "Are you joking? Is this a joke?" Of course, Biden went on to explain that Obama isn't a socialist, but that his plans aimed to provide the "middle class" with a tax cut.
In the fevered imaginations of the right wing, Obama is a dangerous radical who is hiding behind a mask of cool "centrism." Once in office--and with a Democratic majority at his back--Obama will pull off the mask to reveal his true, radical agenda.
But in the camp of Obama supporters, a similar--if less crazed--analysis holds.
It goes this way: Obama is a genuine progressive who is dedicated to affecting major political and social changes. But because he's running in a generally conservative country, with the Republicans ready to pounce on his every misstep, he can't really lay out his full aspirations. So he has to reassure people, using the language of market-friendly "centrism." Once Obama is in office, goes the reasoning, progressives will have an ally who will work with them to produce the social change that they all want.
Given the crises facing the country, the widespread discredit that the Bush administration has brought on Republicans, and the poll-affirmed desire of the electorate for a clean break with policies of the past generation, an incoming Obama administration could be planning huge changes to the political economy of the U.S., akin to those of the 1930s New Deal.
Indeed, many liberal and left commentators have urged precisely this, with some calling for a "new New Deal" and others advocating measures to take advantage of a "social democratic moment."
Yet despite Obama's soaring rhetoric, he has actually advocated few policies that break with any of the accepted orthodoxy in Washington today.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
DURING THE primary campaign against Hillary Clinton and John Edwards, Obama often took stands on economic issues that placed him to right of Clinton's fake populism. As the scale of the housing crisis began to force its way into the primary campaign, Obama held back from support for a moratorium on foreclosures and government aid to strapped homeowners, when Edwards and Clinton advocated both.
By the summer of 2008, after clinching the nomination, Obama had recognized that it was untenable to maintain this "above the fray" attitude to the housing crisis. He (and free-market champion John McCain, for that matter) voted for the multibillion-dollar housing bill that passed the Congress. But it was telling that his first inclination on addressing the crisis was to take the position least offensive to financial interests and neoliberal dogma.
However the political season influences the emphasis or spin that Obama puts on different economic issues, we shouldn't forget that he's the one who hired "centrist," pro-free market economists like the University of Chicago's Austan Goolsbee and Wal-Mart defender Jason Furman as his top economic advisers.
While serving as Obama's chief economic adviser, Goolsbee was (and still is) the senior economist of the right-wing, pro-corporate Democratic Leadership Council. Other informal Obama advisers include such mainstream figures as billionaire investor Warren Buffett, former Federal Reserve Chair Paul Volcker and former Bush Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill.
At a July summit involving those figures and other corporate and Republican leaders, Obama highlighted a "bipartisan" approach to the economy that, although deliberately vague, seemed to countenance limited government intervention, but put emphasis on reduction of the federal deficit and aid to the private sector--in essence, a rehash of 1990s Clintonomics.
Similarly, Obama's record on foreign policy--for example, pledging to increase the size of the military and step up the war in Afghanistan--place him inside a growing consensus among "serious" Washington foreign policy experts. In fact, Obama is so conventional and "bipartisan" on foreign policy matters that his team has openly talked about asking Bush's Defense Secretary Robert Gates to stay on in his position under an Obama administration.
In reviewing this record, we should take the approach that the simplest explanation is the best one. If Obama acts like a "centrist," it's most likely because he is a centrist--rather than a radical posing as one.
However, the real world has a way of imposing itself on politicians, no matter their intentions. In the face of the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression, the free-market ideologues of the Bush administration have embarked on the largest government intervention in the economy in three-quarters of a century.
Ironically, on the same night that Obama used his 30-minute national infomercial to showcase his concern for ordinary people--including reaffirming his call for a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures--the Bush administration announced a multibillion-dollar plan to rewrite and subsidize more than 3 million mortgages facing foreclosure.
In other words, the right-wingers in the Bush administration were proposing a more far-reaching plan than the supposed "radical" Obama.
In office, the Obama administration will face many challenges like this that will force it to confront--and possibly, abandon--its moderate centrism. If it does--and if it moves toward a more populist stance--it won't be due to Obama's hidden radicalism. It will be due to his assessment of what the system needs to right itself.
In that sense, an Obama administration would be reminiscent of the Depression-era presidency of Franklin Roosevelt.
Despite some capitalists' complaints that the New Deal represented a step toward "socialism," Roosevelt and the New Dealers had no such intention. The New Deal helped to save capitalism from itself. And Roosevelt argued to his business critics, "I am the best friend the profit system ever had."
I dunno . . . this just sound s so much like all the " Bush stopp ed and praye d for the littl e boy in the hospi tal" type hagio graph ies that circu lated durin g the '00 elect ion. Witho ut a sourc e citat ion to back it up, I'm tempt ed to call shena nigan s. . . :) Not that it I don' t belie ve Obama would do this; perha ps he would . But it just seems too Norma n Rockw ell to be 100% true. Prove me wrong though. JMS
Wow, I am truly amazed! Oba-Mao gave $103 to some woman so she could take her luggage with her...that's tough, I mean really physically/mentally painful. It puts McCain's time spent getting his body broken as a POW into perspective.... In any case, Oba-Mao donates less (as a percentage) of his income to charity than McCain while telling everyone he wants to force people to 'contribute' to 'charitable' causes which the government will administer. One thing is certain, he will make sure that he isn't subject to these Marxist taxation schemes (along with the rest of the corrupt politicians on Capitol Hill in both parties). "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13) - Oba-Mao has never shown us he is willing to live this passage out.
Oh my goodness! I cried reading this. Just shows how real and great of a person that Barack Obama is.
Oh yeah like this is really a true story!
I assume you're a McCain Supporter. ;-) I think so many of you miss the point of WHY so many favor Barack. It's because most of America is Sick of the pessimism, scare tactics and negative campaigning. I HOPE you will vote Obama tomorrow.
Speech
Obama's whole message was one of pessism! That is the democrat foundation!
If this country is so bad off as Obama touts then why do so many people come here in droves to live here? They come here to prosper! Am millions of people do! It is a testament to how great this republic is!
Obama's campaign has embodied scare tactics, pessimism & negative campaigning....as a matter of fact so has McCain's!
They both have...but then again that is just politics in the good old U.S. of A.!
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