Aging Capriciously

She does it for the “Love of It.”

This just might be the most remarkable comment that anyone can make today about anyone else.  It is more than a comment.  It is adulation.  It is respect.  It is devotion.  It is a singularly exemplary behavior when you think about it.  I am not going to say that there are not lots of people who warrant such a compliment.  But in many respects, they are unsung heroes and heroines.

We are surrounded by people who only do things because they get paid for it or because they will be rewarded by power, fame, or fortune.  If the highest calling we can have in the world is to love others, then the next highest calling must be to perform some task or effort simply for the “Love of It.”  Not because we are going to receive any payment for it.  Not because we expect to get a promotion for it.  Not even because we expect to get a pat on the back for it.  Simply because we do it for the “Love of It.”

I would like to see an evening news report which starts off by honoring people who perform many thankless tasks simply for the “Love of It.”  The world is full of such people.  While I await such a news program, I would like to share a few of the stories and thankless tasks friends I know perform that have touched my life.  I would love to hear about stories or such efforts that you are familiar with in my comments section.

Evelia Zajac

We first met Evelia through a mutual friend in Arizona City.  Evelia then told us about a good dentist she went to in Sonoita, Mexico.  Evelia is a Mexican citizen who has lived in the USA for over 60 years now.  Like many Americans, we now go down to Mexico for good dental service that is affordable.  We decided that since Evelia and Karen were both needing more dental service that we would carpool with Evelia to the dentist.  It is about a three-hour drive from our home to the dentist’s office.

Over time we discovered that Evelia did not only go to the dentist in Sonoita, but she also took supplies and food to an orphanage in the town.  Furthermore, she organized “caravans” at least twice a year to go down to Puerto Penasco in Mexico.  Puerto Penasco or Rocky Point has been called the Arizona Riviera.  Beautiful beaches, beautiful town, and a beautiful ocean.  It is a favorite destination point for USA tourists with a nice selection of waterfront hotels.

Evelia would stockpile clothes, food, and other materials during the year for both the orphanage in Sonoita and a St. Vincent DePaul charity center in Puerto Penasco.   Through her church and word of mouth many people learned of her charity trips.  Twice a year ten or more cars will show up at Evelia’s house on a Friday morning.  We will load all our trunks with her goods and other products that we all contribute and proceed together across the border in Lukeville and on first to the orphanage in Sonoita.  We will unload lots of food and sundries at the orphanage and then spend a little time visiting with the young children that live there.  Next, it is on to the St. Vincent DePaul in Puerto Penasco.  The remainder of our goods will be deposited at the donation center.  Often the people there will have a big pot of stew and we will sit around for some time talking to them before going on to our destination.

Our destination is most often the Hotel Playa Bonita.  Evelia will take care of reservations.  This is a beautiful hotel right on the beach with a very nice restaurant.  Most of the caravanners will spend the weekend eating, dancing, and listening to nightly music on the patio.  Some will go back on Sunday and some of us will stay until Monday.  Karen and I always like to go visit the old town section of Puerto Penasco with its many markets and tourist goods.  We never fail to help contribute to the Mexican economy.  We look forward to these trips every year.

If you are asking what Evelia does this for and why she does this, I will tell you.  It is simply for the “Love of It.”  We have known Evalia for over 12 years now and she is one of the most charitable and caring people you will ever meet.  She has no thoughts of remuneration or rewards for her efforts.  No matter where she sees anyone needing help, she extends her effort to help them.  Karen and I have been blessed to meet such a wonderful woman who always steps up when help is needed.

S. Kwame Rice

Sylvester Kwame Rice is one of my best friends.  Kwame and I met when we were undergraduates together at Rhode Island College in 1971.  I was 25 and Kwame was 27.  We were both veterans, both in our first year of college and both attending on the GI Bill.  Kwame was a Navy veteran, and I was an Air Force veteran.

We had both signed up for one of the mandatory electives required for a B.S. degree.  I will never forget the class.  I do not remember the instructors name, but it was an intro 101 class in sociology.  The instructor had wanted to have a class with lots of discussion (or so he said.)  Well, we had quite a diverse group of students.  Gay students, African American students, White students, and Latino students.  We anxiously awaited the group discussion topic.  During the second class, the instructor announced that we would discuss Anti-Semitism.  We were astounded and appalled.  To the best of our knowledge, there were no Jewish students in the class.  We challenged our Professor but to no avail.

Several of us met after class and with Kwame and I as ringleaders we decided we were not going to stick with only discussions of Anti-Semitism.  We would bring up discussions of racism, sexism, homophobia, and any other type of discrimination we could think of.  We had not spent four years in the military to simply lay down and ignore what was happening in our own country.  Our discussions over the next semester proved quite enlightening and challenging.  Kwame and I became best friends and have remained so ever since.  I do not know what became of our instructor, but I think he might have decided to change career fields. 😊

Now if you do not know how Kwame received his middle name and the name he goes by, I want you to think about who Kwame Nkrumah was:

“Francis Kwame Nkrumah (21 September 1909 – 27 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He was the first Prime Minister and President of Ghana, having led the Gold Coast to independence from Britain in 1957.[1] An influential advocate of Pan-Africanism, Nkrumah was a founding member of the Organization of African Unity and winner of the Lenin Peace Prize from the Soviet Union in 1962.” —- Wikipedia

My friend Kwame is also a fighter for freedom and justice.  He became a teacher, principal and is now a minister.  Kwame has spent the better part of his life trying to help make the message of Dr. Martin Luther King a reality.  An America where racism and prejudice does not exist.  Kwame could have made a great deal of money in many other career fields, but he never backs down from a challenge or speaking out when he thinks he should.  Now retired he still preaches regularly, and he serves as a minister at a Veterans Center in Rhode Island.  He is not paid for these efforts.  He does them for the “Love of It.”

Karen Yvonne Persico

Karen is my wife and my best friend.  Karen spent fifty-five years as a nurse and 40 of those years as a Home Health Care nurse.  Fifty years ago, you did not go into nursing for the money.  Karen is one of the most frugal people I know.  Even if we have the money, she would rather shop at Goodwill than a Norstrand or Macys.  I have a hard time convincing her to buy herself anything.  While she may be frugal when it comes to spending money on herself, she is the opposite when it comes to spending it on other people.  Whenever I ask her about a donation to a charity, she is always ready to share what we can.  Not once in our thirty-three years of marriage, has she ever said that we could not afford a donation to help other people or causes.  She is always ready to help someone in need with time or money.

About fifteen years ago, while we were on a motorcycle trip to Arkansas from Minnesota, we stopped in a small town in Arkansas called Mountain View.  Upon arriving we found that the town was known as the Folk Music Capital of the World.  The middle of the town is organized around a park known as the Pick’in Place.  Every weekend, people from all over the countryside gather here to play mountain music together on guitars, violins, mandolins, and a rather interesting instrument called the Mountain Dulcimer.

The Dulcimer is a four or three stringed instrument somewhat like a guitar that you play on your lap.  It is relatively easy to make one and inexpensive to purchase.  It is a small lightweight instrument.  While watching the various groups that self-organize to jam together at the park, Karen immediately recognized the value of such an instrument.  Light weight, good sound quality, and relatively inexpensive, it would make an excellent instrument to take on our many trips together.  No problem to store it or carry it.

Karen spent some time trying to teach herself to play but finally found an instructor back home in Minnesota.  Since then, we have been to many music festivals together and the highlight for Karen is learning and playing with other Dulcimer people.

The costs to date for Karen’s musical hobby have included travel, instruction, dulcimer strings, tuners and of course the few dulcimers that Karen has acquired over the years.  You must have at least a baritone and a standard if you are going to play in a group.  I used to ask Karen when we were going to get our money back.  But you see, money was never the issue.  Karen plays for the “Love of It.”  She loves music and with being in a choir and playing with a Tucson Dulcimer Ensemble, she has the best of two worlds.  She plays music and helps others enjoy the music.

About every few months, the Tucson Dulcimer Ensemble plays at venues that include churches, assisted living centers, nursing homes, senior centers, hospitals. Many of these venues do not have a budget for music but that is no concern for Karen and her friends in the Tucson Dulcimer Ensemble.  You see they don’t play for money.  You guessed it, they play for the “Love of It.”

Now just for a second what if politicians, lawyers, auto salespeople and real estate developers worked for the “Love of It?”  Can you imagine what a different world it would be?

If you liked this blog and it evoked memories of someone whom you really admire for their ability to do things for the “Love of It”, I would really appreciate your leaving a short story or message about this person and why you feel they warrant this description.