Powen Shiah - the space between

Really touching Obama story...but is it really true?

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 kind man who helped out a stranger-in-need over twenty years ago, years before he had even thought about running for high office.

Brunch at Carman's Country Kitchen

Way back in June (June 22nd, 2008 to be precise), Val was in town visiting from San Francisco, and I'd been itching to have brunch at Carman's, whose awesomeness I had only heard about.

Carman's is at 11th & Wharton in South Philly... specifically at 1301 S 11th Street if you're looking for it on Google Maps or whatever. It's a really small place and generally busy on the weekend, so call ahead (215-339-9613) to see make sure it's open and to see when Carman will have room for you. She answers the phone herself, so... From the various reviews I've read on the web though, if you don't show up at the time you work out with her, she'll seat someone else (and probably be disappointed with you).

It's a pretty simple menu: there's a board with the daily specials on it, and you basically have to choose one of them (there were four when we were there). Supposedly Carman makes up the menu depending on what's available seasonally/locally, and there can sometimes be some pretty adventurous combinations, so it's not for the picky. The server we had was really nice, asked our names, and explained the menu in detail to us.

Thank God You're a Man?

I haven't posted in a while, so here's something inane, a little funny, and a little sexist. I do like to drink beer, but also other stuff. I haven't gone so far yet as to coordinate my outfit with my drink of choice. I can barely make sure my shoes are grossly inappropriate for whatever I'm wearing.

Moral of the story is, "women" have more fun drink choices!

Falling For New York

Wednesday night I took the Chinatown bus to New York to meet with Matthias from Jimdo, Malte from iliketotallyloveit.com, and hang out with Charles (who needs to update his photoblog). Over the course of the weekend, I also got to see David and Adrien, friends from when I went to high school at Lincoln in Portland. It's almost been 10 years since I've seen David...


The last few times I've been to New York, it's made me really thankful that I live in Philadelphia. There's so much going on, the crowds of people, the running around, and the sheer enormity of it all (not to mention the time spent on the subway getting from one place to another)... well, let's just say I would breathe a sigh of relief as I stepped off the bus in Philly.


This trip was different. For one, I stayed from Wednesday to Sunday with Charles, who moved about six months ago to a place by himself in Harlem around 145th St. That meant I had a lot more time to just wander around (hello Central Park on a sunny Thursday afternoon!), explore, and just enjoy everything.

The weather also made a difference. Fall is hands-down my favorite season. New York in the sweltering summer is sweaty, stinky, and smelly. It's all much more pleasant when the air is crisp and breeze is brisk.

David, Charles, and I embarked on a tour of Flushing street food, inspired by an article in the New York Times this summer on Chinese food in Queens. We had dumplings (the soupy & the fried kind), grilled meat on a skewer, scallion pancakes fresh off the skillet, and of course bubble tea. There's a handy map + food PDF that we printed out and used to guide us in our explorations. I'd definitely recommend it if you have some time in New York, and in case you're not up for taking the 7 all the way out to Flushing, there are some shuttles from Chinatown in Manhattan for something like $2.

Entry from July 11, 2008

The Journal of Falling Dream

It's as if I'm dissociating, that little tiny pieces are going outward. But thinking about them brings them back in.

Like being held by a thousand strings of glitter.

Dissolving

Unraveling

disastrously gloriating disappating...

[link] The Cab Ride I'll Never Forget

So this guy Kent Nerburn used to be a cab driver... here's a story about one of his passengers:

Twenty years ago, I drove a cab for a living.

It was a cowboy's life, a life for someone who wanted no boss.

What I didn't realize was that it was also a ministry.

Because I drove the night shift, my cab became a moving confessional. Passengers climbed in, sat behind me in total anonymity, and told me about their lives. I encountered people whose lives amazed me, ennobled me, and made me laugh and weep.