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April 04, 2008

A Truly Good Man

I met Greg Mortenson yesterday.

Surely you know who he is. You must. He's the subject/co-author of the book Three Cups of Tea. Which is currently Number One on the New York Times Bestseller list.

I'm teaching his book in one of my freshman core classes right now. We're one of ten classes that opted to read the book this semester, to tie in with his visit to Moscow. Seventeen hundred people in the community and surrounding area attended his lecture last night. I wasn't one of them, since I had a performance. But in the afternoon, after he spoke at the high school, he gave a lecture just for the students in those ten classes. To be sure they got to hear him. One of many, many generous acts on the part of this man who has done so much for so many people.

His lecture made me cry. Just like his book makes me cry. Every three to five pages, I burst into tears. Not at the stories of deprivation and sadness. No. Those things are awful, but they're not what trigger the sobbing. It's the generosity, the hope, the commitment to education and the love people have for their children, for whom they will do anything. Those are the things that start the tears. It's the fact that this supremely generous man encourages equally generous acts in other human beings. His selflessness is contaigious.

I mean, how many directors of 501(c)3 organizations do you hear making the following suggestion? One of the ways the Central Asia Institute first made money was through a fundraising drive by school children in Minnesota called "Pennies for Peace." Mortenson advocates people who want to help start their own "Pennies for Peace" drive. But then he takes it one step further, and suggests that people share the love. Don't give the proceeds to the CAI every year, he told us yesterday. Give it to your local libraries one year, some other organization the next. How many other charities would be so generous?

Standing in line afterwards, waiting for Mortenson and David Relin to sign my book, I was pleased to see several of my students waiting as well. Given that I cried in class on Monday when talking about his sacrifices and the sacrifices others have made to be sure these children have schools, I was so happy to see that his story has also touched so many of them so deeply.

One student was directly behind me in line. And as we got to the table, I told David Relin that I couldn't thank them enough for writing Three Cups of Tea because the message was so important. And she (my student) added, "Yeah. She can't cry enough when talking about it in class either," which was a lovely and funny response. And then Greg Mortenson said, "I tear up every time I hear one of these children start reading," which almost set me off again.

So there you have it. Sorrow and horror and destruction don't make me cry. Hope does. I would happily weep for the rest of my life if it meant we had more people like Greg Mortenson around.

Posted by sally at April 4, 2008 10:00 AM

Comments

I was so diappointed I missed him at our local library. I still want to read the book. I am glad to hear you are using it in the Core classes.

Posted by: inlandempiregirl [TypeKey Profile Page] at April 5, 2008 05:18 PM

My students really enjoyed the events. They talked about how much impact his stories and information had on them. It will be interesting to see what they do with what they learned.

Posted by: Sallyacious [TypeKey Profile Page] at April 6, 2008 12:07 PM

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