Cold Spaghetti

To provide compassionate, respectful service in a place, I think it’s critically important to form a relationship with the natural environment that supports it.  So, part of understanding New Orleans in a way where you can truly make a difference within its populace means finding appreciation for the unique ecosystems that support and, in many ways, define the city.   With the disaster unfolding, the importance for our Fellows to develop a connection with our local environment was even more critical.  So, as part of their orientation retreat weekend, we went canoeing through Cane Bayou.  A private guide brought us through a mile of natural, undeveloped bayou — protected between a wildlife preserve and State Park.  We paddled out at dusk, ending up parked in the marsh along the edge of Lake Pontchartrain.  We ate boxed lunch dinners watching the sun set over the lake.  Then, as night fell, paddled back with the sounds and sights of the bayou around us.

It was pretty darn awesome.

Here are some pictures.

I’ve heard that PhDs are granted approval to graduate once their committees are satisfied that all love, inspiration, and idealism for their field of study is beaten out of them.  Largely, I find this to be true, which is why I’ve found so much enjoyment out of the job holding the largest portion of my part-time work pie.

I am program director for a small nonprofit in New Orleans where I get the pleasure of supervising and mentoring roughly a dozen graduate students who dream up, design, and implement service projects in underserved communities.  Simply put, they rock.  Yesterday, we had over 20 interviews to narrow down our finalists to the dozen we decided we could take for the next Fellowship cycle.  Of the ones I co-conducted, these are some sound-bites that inspired me (or made me laugh).

— “I had never really thought about Tulane for Medical School.  Then, as I was reading about different Medical Schools in the AMA guide, Tulane was the ONLY Medical school program that distinctly and specifically says it is focused on training physicians within a community health model, and requires community service from all Medical students.  That is when I knew it was the only school I wanted to attend.”

— “I’ve lived my whole life in California and never thought I would leave.  Then I visited New Orleans… and I was blown away.  I guess the rest of the country has no idea, because I had no idea… I had no idea how great life here was…”

— “I was worried.  I mean, it’s the SOUTH.  But wow, I mean, it wasn’t so bad after all!”

— “Everyone here is SO HAPPY.  I mean, was it like this before Katrina, too, or is it all that medication people talk about?”

“Do something wonderful, people may imitate it.”

– Albert Schweitzer

Thursday was Albert Schweitzer’s birthday and chances are, if you’re under age 40, you have absolutely no idea who I’m talking about.

Not too long ago, Schweitzer was a household name.  A globally respected, Nobel-honored physician and humanitarian, Schweitzer was so well-known that even the Jungle Cruise ride in Disney World makes references to him.  (The ride schtick, while passing a waterfall: “… and here we see Schweitzer Falls, named for the famous doctor, Dr. Albert Falls…”)

At the dawn of the 20th century, Schweitzer was a musician and a theologian.  Through his early professional career, he specialized in Bach and wrote about the nature of Jesus Christ, putting emphasis on non-literal interpretations of the New Testament (controversial of that time).  Then, at age 30, much to the disappointment and frustration of his family and friends, he dropped it all to go to medical school.  In 1913, armed with medical degree and every penny he had, he and his wife traveled 200 miles (14 days by raft) upstream from the mouth of the Ogooué River into the French colony of West Africa (in what is now Gabon).  There, in Lambaréné, a spot where several tributaries combined into the river, Schweitzer built a hospital in a old chicken coop.

The rest of his life involved much of the same.  Schweitzer toured Europe playing concerts to raise funds for his hospital and then went back to care for the patients who came to the facility.  He continued to write as well, searching for a philosophy that unified all types of people.   Eventually his personal philosophy (which he considered to be his greatest contribution to humanity) hit upon the idea of “Reverence for Life” (“Ehrfurcht vor dem Leben“).  (“Ethics is nothing else than reverence for life.”)  He felt that modern times, characterized by World Wars and hate and weapons, had lost it’s ethical foundation.  And that the universal principle uniting us was that we simply seek to live.  Because of this universal experience, Schweitzer argued, our respect for life leads us into service for the lives of those around us.  He felt that showing respect for life by serving others to fulfill their own was not only the highest calling for all humanity, but the one true way people could find peace and happiness.  (“One thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve.”)

With colleagues Albert Einstein and Bertrand Russel, Schweitzer was a harsh critic of nuclear testing and nuclear weapons.  In 1952, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and the speech he gave at that ceremony, “The Problem of Peace” is still considered one of the greatest speeches ever delivered.

What a shame that Schweitzer’s teachings, philosophies, and examples have fallen into pages of history.

The man wasn’t perfect.  And he continually argued that he wasn’t anything special or unique (“a man doesn’t have to be an angel to be a saint”)… just someone who decided to do something and did it.  It’s an example from which I personally draw a lot of inspiration.  (“Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing.”)  And one that I think could do much of the same for others.

“You don’t live in a world all alone.  Your brothers are here, too.”

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The hospital built in 1956 in Deschampelles, Haiti, and named after Albert Schweitzer is the one I mentioned in the previous post.  This weekend, it became more clear that this facility appears, in fact, to be the closest facility to Port-au-Prince with surgical capabilities.  You can keep track of how they are handling the deluge of patients at the HAS blog.  The website is equipped to accept donations.