Not is Kansas anymore....

We are not in Kansas anymore....I know, this statement is so cliche. And, since I am the reigning queen of misquoted cliches, I probably don't even have it right?
Anyways, some clear indications of this: The signs posted on our street to notify us that we can't park on our street tomorrow. Why not? Well, they are filming a segment of law and order! Come on, really? On our street? Interesting.
Second, I met a girl from Kansas. On Saturday night, I was walking with a team of volunteers on the COLD streets of Manhattan. We were looking for people who could use a warm meal, clothes, medical care, a place to sleep, etc. I was volunteering with a campaign called "don't walk by" If you are in the NYC area, you might want to check out this great opportunity to work with the NYC Rescue Alliance. Anyways, there I was, walking a section of Manhattan that I had never walked, with a group of strangers I had never met. One fellow volunteer was from Korea, but he spent much of his childhood in Texas. Another grew up in the Philipines until age 10 when he finally joined his parents who had moved here when he was a baby. Another girl was of Asian descent, but grew up in Vancouver. And, the last girl was from....Kansas. What an interesting group of people to spend 4 hours walking and talking with. But, this happens ALL THE TIME now. This is such a true melting pot, I can learn from people I encounter every single day. It is amazing. Anyways, because it was so bitter cold, we were not able to find many folks outside on the street. I think the teams walking the subway stations found many more folks. We did get a chance to meet Mike. He's from the Bronx, but has been living on the upper east side for the last 10 years...on the streets. He was cold and hungry and quickly agreed to take us up on the offer for a hot meal. We enjoyed visiting with him for about a half hour until the van came to give him a lift to the church.
I just stop sometimes and look around at the incredible diversity where we now live! I am having some of the neighborhood ladies over one night this week for "bunco" (yep, that's right, I"m bringin' bunco to Brooklyn!!) I invited people who are from Trinidad, Dominican Republic, Argentina, and England, people who are Asian, African American, and European. ANd, people from around here would say "so what? big deal." But, coming from the completely homogeneous environment I was accustomed to for so many years, this is still new for me. And, I love it! I hope I never offend someone by asking a dumb question about their culture, ethnicity, traditions, beliefs, etc. Because, I genuinely love to learn about each person, and although I believe we should focus on our commonalities and love each other regardless of differences, I am intrigued and amazed by each person's story!
Definitely not in Kansas anymore, but having fun meeting people from there, and all around this great big world!