Today's Hero and Little Kindnesses

Her bio says she is a lifeguard and a swim coach. I have already given her trouble for being a fan of the Brewers. I am not sure who Tammy Ecklund is or who she will become in the next 20 years, but today she escalated herself for a slightly oversized tall guy. After 3 different battles, it looked like I would be sitting in an aisle row, but not the more coveted bulkhead. It was going to be an uncomfortable 8.5 hours, but I figure I could stand for that long, and I had to remember the big prize. This trip was not about JFK--Heathrow or Heathrow--Entebbe, it was going to be about what I could bring to fellow teachers and students of Northern Uganda.

Immediately upon seeing that her seat was the most coveted John Magee seat, Tammy stood up and asked if I wanted to switch. Those seats are more comfortable for almost everyone, but Tammy was willing to give it up in less than 10 seconds. TAMMY ECKLUND you are my hero. The more I know about Tammy the more I like her, but nothing this whole trip can be greater than giving me a seat I could be okay with. When I thanked her later, she told me it was not that big of deal, she considered it a small favor. To Me it was HHHHHuggge!

So what a great way to start this trip, do you ever wonder how often small acts of kindness have great impacts on other lives. In fact, I think we should all think about this---the time you let someone go ahead of you in line in the grocery store. Could it have been that she was tired, harried, and frustrated, and near the end of her rope, when you gave her that small act of kindness that got her through that tough time.

So today, startb thinking about a small sacrifice you can undertake to make someone's life (often a lot diffferent from you) a lot easier. You do it in America, I will enedavor to do it in Africa. Thanks to Tammy Ecklund who did it for me today. And keep me in your thoughts and good prayers, Gulu is tomorrow. Soon after the days at Atanga will start.

thanks Tammy,

John

Year 3 Begins

So somewhere last night around 930 pm....I realized I was way behind schedule. Luckily , I have a true friend in Frank Hellwig, who helped me clean up my house and organize materials for packing. Frank and I worked diligently like I always do when I clean, (some of us were just born with the neatness gene).. I finally started packing around 1 am...I was delayed a little by two well wishers named Rusty and Rader. But eventually it was time to pack, I brought to my parents 130 lbs. worth of different sundry items, only 61.2 lbs. would make the cut. Which cost me $50 in St. Louis, but nothing at JFK, as I did my best to schmooze and tell the agent that most of my bag was going to end up with the children of Africa. New items this year, a wiffle ball and since I am at a camp, I brought along a portable shower (okay a five gallon black bag and a nozzle), but still it is something. Packing would have been easy but the Jane and Jack Magee house lost power about 2 am, right when I was hitting my stride. So this trip began with a real Africa moment, packing by candlelight, just like in Gulu. Unfortunately, there were many chairs in my way, before I found the candles and so Jesus and a couple of the saints were extolled to help my path through the darkness. Some might argue with my inflection when I yelled, "Jesus.", but I assure you it was a plaintive cry for help.

A couple of plain rides later I found myself arguing baseball with my friend from last year Matt. He is a Cubs fan so it is not really an argument. Soon Lisa and Sharon and Kate were here. Tammy, a sweet young women, with an amazing propensity to laugh at silly things, she has some Wisconsin ties, so I talked slower and dumbed down my vocabulary. Kate is much more trouble than Tammy, so I felt right at home as Matt and I were soon surrounded by intelligent, committed females.... much like Biloxi last week. Soon, less than a hour, I will be on a plane, with some great old friends, and some great new ones.

Although the challenges this year might be tougher, I am ready. I am ready because I have an amazing family and some really amazing friends, thanks for the shower fix Tim and Terri. But most of all, I am ready because I spent the first week of June with an incredible 62 young women. Who showed me that kindness can win, compassion and laughing are not mutually exclusive, who showed me that when we think of our world with hope and have the courage to ACT, lives can be changed. Maybe just a little bit, maybe a lot, but I will do more in Uganda this year, because it is impossible to leave Biloxi and our group and not feel the energy of the Class of 2009, 2010, and 2011 (shout out DePolo and Jole Blon). Any time, one of you old farts starts talking pessimistic or are blind to the possibilites of our world. Give me a call, because I have seen the future and you need to see it too.

You will enjoy it.


So now it is time for me to shift suddenly, an see the promise of an African nation, and the kindness they welcome me with, and the friendliness of each and every Acholi person I meet. Because I have been blessed to see the commonalities and the talents of young girls from Webster Groves, and soon will see the talents of our Atanga students. Young girls and boys that have had so much despair thrown in their paths, yet wake up every morning ready to work, ready to learn, ready to grow.

Humbled and Honored that I can be known as your son, your friend, your teacher, your brother,

John Magee

Rescue -- St. Louis Style

I just want to thank all the young people I spent the night with under the Arch. You are truly amazing, and the words of encouragement I shared with you seemed more superfluous over the weekend as your amazing talents and personalities become more evident. Keep fighting for the smallest, the unheard, and the unseen. It is in our combined humanity to these forgotten folk that I think measures as a society and a generation.

I have high hopes for your generation, because each morning from Monday through Friday I am blessed to see your intelligence, kindness, and compassion. So share your kindness with the world and do not listen to the words of our cynics.

New Favorite Bumper Sticker: "Those who have abandoned their dreams, will discourage yours."

or a little Shel Silverstein,

Listen to the Mustn’ts

Listen to the MUSTN’TS, child,
Listen to the DON’TS
Listen to the SHOULDN’TS
The IMPOSSIBLES, the WON’TS
Listen to the NEVER HAVES.
Then listen close to me -
Anything can happen, child,
ANYTHING can be.

-Shel Silverstein

p.s. It might be more enjoyable to read this blog, by going back to 2007 and reading it chronologically.

Info for New IC Teachers

My name is John Magee, I will be going to Gulu for the third straight summer. This is a blog I started two summers ago. If you are a new teacher, it might be more informative to go back to 2007 and start reading from the beginning.

These blogs are a nice way to keep everyone you leave behind informed. They are free, and can be updated somewhat easily.

My email address is johnmagee412@yahoo.com and I can be reached at 314-503-0147 and I will not tire about talking about Uganda or answering questions about Uganda.

Casino Simba and the Nile

First, remember last year when I bragged about not getting tossed into the Nile. Well, this year the Nile kicked my butt. We had 8 people on our boat, and ended up with 17 people in the drink. I got tossed two times, including a massive spill where onlookers said our raft looked like a popcorn maker, with all of us being tossed in the air separately. The first spill, I think Trish P. who was four rows behind me on the raft, sailed above me to exit the boat over my head. Everyone is fine, but I am still a little banged up. One of the raft guides was an Aussie, and when he heard me tell someone about my trip said from the comfort of the outhouse, "The river has a soul and remembers, and she is a woman."

Much better today, I worked hard to get a good seat on Emirates, I also purposely got a big Cubs fan next to me, what was I thinking.

We stopped at Garden City to exchange money, I had nothing left to buy, so I wandered up to Casino Simba. I think I was the only one there, the table games were all locked up, so I sat down to play at a 16-player electronic roulette table with real ball and wheel. There was no place to put money in so an attendant came over and took my 50000/= shilling bill. I figured, worse case, that is a hard bill to break so if I lost 20000/= or 3000/= at least I had change. I lost a lot of my credits early when I wanted to bet 5 credits on black and mistakenly put 50 credits, but soon I hit 3 straight numbers and walked out of the Casino Simba with 250000/=..... you will have to look that up to see how much I won.....

Tomorrow morning, we go to Chimp Island, and then begin the journey home......


Can't wait to see you all,

John


Congrats to a Biloxi girl who just e-mailed me to tell me she rocked a 4 on the AP Stats Exam......Way to go Z-b0ne

Last Day in Gulu

It has once again, been a good trip, just a little bit different than last year. CSC member Ben Bocher sent me an e-mail that said, "There is no one you could not love, if you knew their story." So as I told the Gulu SS teachers the other night, I am gathering more stories.

This morning woke up to a Rooster at 7 am, on the day we could all sleep in. I staggered to the bathroom, and of course, Obibi the goat had pooped in 3 different locations. This morning is the last day, I will ever have to sweep up goat poop. I cannot wait until I have heard news back from Gulu, that Obibi the goat, is now sitting comfortably next to ample servings of rice and potatoes on a dinner platter. I can also sympathesize with all parents who allowed their kids to buy a pet, and then never took the responsibility for cleaning up after the pet.

Odong Collins Otika, the S2 student from Awere, showed up at the gate this morning with a clean Awere SS shirt, and a nice tie. He was off to take his English midterm or final early this morning. I hope that he can have a successful end of this term, and end the year in style. I wonder if I do come back next year will he be in the same city I am. The transient nature of small friendships makes those so few minutes great. But it also forces us to be better friends and better people, because we have to work at making these short times work.

Collins was worried that he might not see me as I left Gulu. I tried to explain to him that I believe life is a movie and not a snapshot. It does not matter if we missed the last opportunity for a picture, it is the movie we have created over the years. If I took time to lament missing the last snapshot of seeing my friend at Mardi Gras this year, I would not be watching the movie of our great times together, and the incredible friendship that he gave me over the past 9 years.

I will probably write something reflective next week, but again I may not post again until I hit New York (of course there is a chance that I will post 3 more times)....

John

Final Day at Gulu SS

Last night, we were given a royal and formal sendoff at Gulu SS. They cleared out the teachers' lounge and had it set up for a dinner. We processed into dinner with the five teachers as the Guests of Honor. The MC, Okoli John, was not quite sure the entire night, how we could have 5 guests of honor, but the dinner went on marvelously. Of course, being in Uganda we had a formal program complete with many speeches. They also refer to the program quite a bit, and tell you what is going to be next on the program. I told the Ugandan teachers that we are living in a smaller and smaller world, and the world will be a lot different in 2025. But after exchanges like this we can see that we have many more common interests than conflicts.

Some of the students came and did a spirited 15 minute native dance, with one young student shimmying on her knees for about 25 feet. It was amazing. The dinner consisted of fried chicken, casava chips, and slaw/salad. It was a definite attempt to have "american style" food. They had a cake that looked like a wedding cake, and of course like last year, they had lace everywhere. This place is running out of power, so I am racing to get in a few thoughts. Gulu has been without power for 2 days, and all of us Americans are trying to figure out how to charge our laptops and ipods before we leave. The dinner was so great, so I will have to talk later. The interesting thing is they were going to have a choral group sing a "sad, good-bye" song, but since one of the American teachers cried during her introduction. They thought it might be too sad for us, and cancelled the song from the program.


John