Just the two of us ....

we can make it if we try
just the two of us
just the two of us building castles in the sky
just the two of us
you and I.

Reading the Sydney Morning Herald yesterday, and having flicked through the international news section (non-existent), my eye fell to a lift-out from the magazine section. This lift-out, titled The Two of Us is a collation of articles about two people who are in some way connected. Some merely co-exist; others are passionately in love; some are siblings; some parents and their children or adoptive children. Each couple have come across each other (often in curious and unforseen ways), and the piece asks them to talk about the other. What is clear is that the couples are not prompted in any way and there don't seem to be any limitations on discussion areas, so what evolves are very different pieces each week. Being a 'sticky beak' I love this piece and read it weekly to get my fill of 'others'. Sometimes the article is refreshing in its banality, but often the characters are quite eccentric and their view of the world regularly challenges my own.

So yesterday I stumbled upon two tales which initially made me want to weep into my boots - with joy. Both pairings featured 'normal' characters, one of whom had gone out of their way to help the other.

The first tale was of a now 96 year old lady named Isabella who at the age of 73 took over the care of her next door neighbour's 3 young girls due to the neighbour dying of cancer. Now the families were obviously close already, as the youngest girl was named Isabella after the old dear - but still! Given that the bereaved family were Lebanese, the grieving husband continued to play his role in the upbringing of his children, but it was stereotypical, i.e. he was not prepared to pick up any of the house keeping/ managing duties that are involved in rearing children, even though these girls needed it. So the old dear and her husband informally adopted the children and brought them up. The children continued to 'live' in their house, but for all intent and purpose were the children of their next door neighbour. Now 23 years later, they in turn are looking after Isabella who is still going strong!

The second tale was of an Asian immigrant to Australia who arrived at the age of 12, and with little formal schooling and virtually no English, prospered to the point whereby he owned a cafe and a deli and was able to put his two daughters through fee-paying school. As a favour to his neighbours, themselves mostly immigrants, he gave work to their children, often to 'keep them on the straight and narrow'. One of these kids started working for him at the grand age of 12 and was already behind in his school-work, speaking virtually no English despite having been born in Australia. His aspiration was to join the local boy gang. But under the constant urging of his employer, and being continually exposed to other possibilities he decided of his own accord that he wanted to become a doctor. So he learnt English, applied himself at school (even though the school he attended was the worst in the state) and gradually went from bottom of the class to top, got a finals exam worthy of entrance to university and though missing out on medicine, was accepted to study medical science. The first member of his family, both in Australia and Lebanon to gain a degree. And now, after two years, he is optimistic that he will be accepted to medicine in 2006.

the circle of life completes itself

community; compassion; common good; karma; kindness; collaboration; connectivity; the power of two over one ....

just the two of us, we can make it if we try, just the two of us, you and I
(with thanks to bill withers)