This past weekend my wife and I held another fundraiser to help us gather the 30 thousand dollars we'll need to adopt a pair of kids from Ethiopia. It was a garage sale held at our church. On Friday evening we brought our goodies for the sale. My mother also came along with a number of great garage sale items including a small portion of her magnificent doll collection. (I was a little sad to see her selling these, but I also knew she would rather ad her 7th and 8th grand kids to the foll than continue to look at dolls gathering dust). Then suddenly trailers began arriving from parishioners, loaded down with items to donate to our sale.
I will say I hate garage sales, no really, I hate them. This on the other hand looked more like a swap meet. I believe I counted 6 televisions and 4 stereos. There were 2 dining tables, 1 couch, 3 recliners, 2 complete dish sets, and hoards of other pieces of merchandises strategically marked down to garage sale prices, including a small increase to create the necessary room for bartering.
It was about 4 hours into the sale which opened at 6 am when I met an old codger we'll just call Hank. Hank approached us with a rack of some kind in one hand and a shiny new quarter in the other, Hoping I'm sure to work us off our 50 cent price tag.
Hank was wearing a US Navy Ball cap. I instantly thought I'd like this old guy. Then he asked why we were holding this sale. Promptly my mother holds up the donation can and explains that we are raising money to adopt from Ethiopia.
Immediately I see the old mans nose begin to curl.Perhaps I was wrong about liking this guy. Then from his mouth comes a word that sounded as though it had come from somewhere deep in his bowls. "You mean there gonna be "BLIICCK"." I think he meant black. After wiping the old man's spittle from my eye, I attempted to explain to him the orphan situation in Ethiopia. My attempt was for naught as he immediately interrupted me to launch into his tirade about having worked in law enforcement in the south. Where he had apparently "locked up" many-a-bliicck.
I've come to some of this with our interracial adoption, and the potential response from the ignorant, but experiencing it first hand was new.
All said it was a great yard sale. We raised over $1300. It was definitely more than I had anticipated. Tainted only by one old ignorant hack.
It was a good day.
20 comments:
I'm so glad you guys had a good turnout. Little bit closer to your goal!!
I know. I need to get the thermometer updated before Mike has another fit about it.
ARGH!!!!! WHADDAYA MEAN IT ISNT UPDATED?!?!?!? BY GOD, DO I HAVE TO COME OUT THERE AND DO IT FOR YA?
Lol. Glad to hear it went well overall. Let me know if you guys plan on doing another one this upcoming spring...I'm sure the boys toy box will be getting cleared out like crazy, and I'll send you a box.
Your story is just one reason why I never wanted to live in Wyoming, beautiful as it is. So naturally, I moved to Florida....because we just don't have racism here ;)
Glad the sale went well anyway!
I'm sure you have the racism. When I was in Orlando I heard lots of people complaining. It just happened to be directed at the hispanics. :)
Yeah, though I hear more directed towards African-Americans. Most of the hate speech I hear towards Hispanics is whatever slur I'm hurling at my Cuban husband lol ;)
lol - I considered making a crack about that myself, but I wasn't sure how sensitive you were. You know being a liberal and all I thought for sure you would have used my "joke" as an example of why I should be tried in Geneva for hate crimes. :)
Well, I'm sure I have nothing on you hate-mongering conservatives...though Vic says he thought you lost your conservative card once you decided to adopt "bliiick" kids :b
But I figure I'd better get my insults in before September....once Sophie gets here, I don't want her to hear those kinds of comments for as long as possible. Even from me lol.
This is the craziest way to finance an adoption I've ever heard of, but black kids are just as worthy as anyone else regardless of how far an old man's nose goes up. You will encounter more racism; it's live and well in the USA.
Helen-
Since the subject of the sanity behind the chosen method of adoption financing has come up in a few places within our little interlinked blogging community: Just out of curiosity, whats the sanest way to finance an adoption that you've heard of???
Well, Mike. I would have to say the most sane way to finance this adoption is by writing a check. I wish we could do that.
What seems different to me is that Helen hasn't heard of people doing this. I have been around a number of international adoptions, and with only one exception, everyone held fundraisers.
What other fundraising ideas do you have planned? Wishing you the best!
and Vic will be so disappointed you didn't take up the gauntlet he threw down through my last comment :b
Liberal Accused of Racism! Shocked witnesses as in state of disbelief.
According to online blogger source Jay Burns, one liberal identified only as Becky, was identified as a racist hatemonger.
The quote was read as follows: "Most of the hate speech I hear towards Hispanics is whatever slur I'm hurling at my Cuban husband"
Clearly, the marriage is a sham designed to keep Becky's racism and hatemongering tucked away into the back of the broom closet.
In semi-related or not news. A major ideological shift has occurred as a conservative, identified by blogger source Jay Burns as himself, has decided to adopt bliiick kids, a very rare minority known to be hated by old codgers.
The Center for Political Policy, Practice and Alliances is baffled, and is trying to reset a more contemporary set of guidelines on what people with certain political ideologies are and are not allowed to do. Currently President Dr James I, is pushing for immediate passage of a strict policy "set in stone", identifying a deadline of 2 weeks, or maybe sometime into mid-August.
Independent sources could not collaborate this story, but trust us, its true because we said so!
The sanest way is to save for parenthood (by any means) and pay with your own money and, probably, through your local adoption agency.
So, if you're well to do, saving $30k in a short period of time is a bit easier. But if you're not so well to do, you have to forfeit the option until you're close to getting your AARP card in order to adopt kids?
People raise money all the time for all kinds of things...quite a few things are useless, stupid, or tell us what we already know (like studies to inform us that sticking a hot curling iron up your butt burns and can cause significant permanent damage...an example, but i wouldnt be surprised if this study was actually done). Why can't adoption costs be covered in the same manner?
Dead Mule,
Your comments reveal your ignorance into the subject of adoption. Not that it is your fault, many others believe the same misconseptions to which you have fallen victim.
There are black American kids to be adopted. Just sayin'.
And there are hassles either way. A person who wishes to adopt chooses which set of hassles to deal with. I just think people should pay for their own kids.
How is that "ignorant"? :-)
Like maybe they should also pay for their own health care, food, and all other provisions
Helen, it isn't the "pay for their own kids" that is ignorant. It is the availablity. For example, by the time this adoption is complete we will have been married for just shy of 6 years. We would like the children we adopt to fall within those age ranges. It just makes sense.
With in those age restrictions there are only 63 kids waiting to be adopted in the foster care system inside the united states. As you can see many of these kids are severely disabled, and in the rural area we live, care for these kids is not very good.
http://adoptuskids.org/Child/ChildSearch.aspx
The reason there are so few young kids for adoption has to do with young moms finding the most weathly parents to adopt, or people they know. That way they are sure to find a good home.
The misconseption is that there are thousand of young kids awaiting adoption. Search it out for yourself. Most of the kids ready for adoption (meaning parental rights have been terminated) are well into their teens.
So, Dead Mule, If you happen to know of a young child of any race needing adopting. Please let me know, my wife and I would be happy to give them a loving home.
Keep up the good work, Jay. I'm glad that you earned so much at the garage sale. I've seen those events usually garner only a few hundred dollars.
I wish I were wealthy. If I were, I would send you a check for the full amount that you need.
Oh, and this white conservative loves his bliick son very much, as well as other black people. And brown people. And any other color that people come in.
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