Find Our Future

Many years ago, before Dad’s memory began to fade away, we went to the theater to see the movie, “Field of Dreams.” Of course, it was about baseball, but it was about much, much more….family, unrealized dreams, redemption and the relationship between fathers and sons. It became an instant favorite of mine. Even now, when I see it as I flip through the channels, I have to stop and recite the lines along with the actors. And although I don’t usually get emotional at movies, my tears always flow during the movie’s final scenes when Ray is playing catch with his dad.

I realized later that “Field of Dreams” was also a favorite of my Dad’s. As I was packing up his study for the move from North Platte to Dallas Center, I found a tape of the movie that he had recorded (of course, he was too frugal to buy a new copy). I’m sure he watched it over and over, thinking about his relationship his dad, and with my brother and me. And about the potential baseball career he sacrificed for wartime service and a career in education that left a positive influence on a countless number of young men and women.

I’ve been thinking about this over the last few days. I came to the realization that when Dad awakes, he will ask, “Is this Iowa?” And the voice will say, “No, Dutch, it’s Heaven.”

I’ve always wondered about miracles.  Would I even know if a miracle was happening right in front of me?  Well, I’m not talking about ‘blockbuster’ miracles, you know, parting of the Red Sea, water to wine types of miracles.  ‘Blockbuster’ miracles are too obvious and anyway, it’s been quite a few years since they occurred with regularity. Nor am I talking about what society casually calls a ‘miracle’ today, such as a long touchdown pass to win a football game (a ‘Hail Mary?’) or my kid getting a good grade on the mathematics final.

I am talking about something I witnessed on Sunday night….

But before I get ahead of myself, some background is in order.

In the spring of 2003, a group of Abbott volunteers was selected to work on a project to improve the medical infrastructure in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.  The country was in the middle of the AIDS epidemic, with infection rates in some areas estimated at nearly 20% of the population.  Abbott management realized that supplying drugs alone was not enough. To fight AIDS, the overall medical system had to be upgraded as well.

I was fortunate to be included in this group, along with several other professionals.  One of my colleagues on this team was Scott Hayward.

On one of our visits to Dar Es Salaam, Scott and I and several other volunteers visited a nearby orphanage.  Many of the children in the orphanage were victims of the AIDS epidemic, having lost both parents to the scourge.  Right before leaving for our hotel, Scott met a young girl who had been abandoned and who had arrived at the orphanage that very day.  I happened to snap a photo of Scott and the orphan girl (I wish I knew her name…she was the catalyst to the miracle):

The young girl fiercely clung to Scott, she was so afraid in such a new and lonely world.  And Scott had a very difficult time giving her up when it was time for us to catch a ride back to our hotel.  On the ride back, Scott  told me how much he wished he could bring her home with him. And Scott could not put the young girl out of his mind.  And he and his family were never the same.

Over the next several months and years, Scott worked with courageous people in the U.S. as well as in Africa to create a non-profit called Oasis for Orphans and to establish a Childrens’ Home in Kenya.  But I am not the one to relate this story….it is best told on the Oasis for Orphan’s website:

http://www.oasisfororphans.org/   (see Blogroll)

A shelter that started with eleven children and a few volunteers is now an expanding operation with over one hundred children and dedicated staff.  But the task is immense.  Kenya estimates more than 2.5 million orphans need help.

And that’s where the miracle comes in.  On Sunday night, my wife and I attended a fund-raiser for Oasis for Orphans.  Hundreds of people were there, and all of them were energized by hope for Oasis for Orphans.  And they were looking for ways to expand Scott’s dream to help all the orphans.  And that’s when I realized that I was witnessing a miracle that started with that little girl in Dar Es Salaam.  And that this is a miracle that will continue to grow all our futures.

Friday is Veterans’ Day.  Along with everyone in America, I want to add my thanks and appreciation to all the men and women who have served in the Armed Forces.  But beyond the parades and fly-overs; car magnets and flags, I would like to discuss a darker side of life for many veterans in America today.

The U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs estimates that on any given night in America, more than 130,000 veterans are homeless.  And through the course of a year, more than 200,000 individual veterans experience homelessness.  And with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the future looks even more troubling.  With an increased percentage of women veterans, and those with post traumatic stress disorder and severe brain injuries, the veterans’ homeless problem will become even more complex.

The VA has also published some telling statistics regarding homeless veterans:

- Veterans make up 23% of the total estimated homeless population.

- 89% of homeless veterans received an Honorable Discharge.

- 85% of homeless veterans completed high school/GED (compared to 56% for non-veteran homeless).

- 79% reside in central U.S. cities.

- 76% of homeless veterans experience alcohol, drug or mental health problems.

Pretty bleak.  So, what can we do about this chronic problem ?

Since my retirement in May, I’ve been involved with a non-profit organization in Lake County, Illinois called Independent Positive Living  Under Supervision (I-PLUS). I-PLUS implements a “tough love” model that integrates money management, treatment plans, and direct mentoring to help homeless individuals and families on government support (Social Security and/or VA benefits).  The clients, referred to I-PLUS by case managers at the VA, Lake County Court, and other local service agencies, have their monthly benefit checks deposited in their own local bank account, arranged by I-PLUS. By working with local landlords, I-PLUS arranges housing, pays rent, utilities, and other fixed costs directly to the providers. Clients must pick up their weekly allowance checks for food, clothing, and other expenses at the I-PLUS office, at which time they may be required to attend AA or NA meetings and receive one-on-one counseling and support as needed. Currently, I-PLUS client load includes 135 individuals, half of whom are veterans.

The success of I-PLUS is tangible, and it is achieved without additional federal funding.  In fact, I-PLUS creates an annual savings of $30,000 per client by reducing government costs associated with repeated hospitalizations, shelters, and legal matters, such as court and prison costs. Over $1.4 million a year is reinvested back into the local economy through rent and utility payments, food and medical services, and other goods and services (with a corresponding reduction in other illegal or ill-advised expenditures, such as drugs or alcohol).  A recent University of Illinois at Chicago study (funded by the VA) concluded that the I-PLUS model reduces “substance abuse and days of hospitalization, in addition to, increasing residential stability, improving money management, healthy related living habits and enhancing total quality of life.”

The VA has expressed an interest in applying the I-PLUS model on a national basis in an effort to address the growing veterans’ homelessness problem.  The I-PLUS staff and Board of Directors are dedicated to making this national expansion a reality.

When President Obama announced that the last of our troops would be coming home from Iraq at the end of this year, I had a flashback to April, 1975.  I was a fledgling 2nd Lieutenant at the time, attending Army training at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, and several of us were gathered around the television watching the North Vietnamese tanks roll into Saigon.  The Vietnam War, which was a central issue in America during my years at West Point, was ending badly, very badly.  Despite our military strength and many years of bloody sacrifice, America had lost a war.

So drifting back to 2011, I asked myself whether Obama’s announcement would lead to a similar, albeit less dramatic, conclusion in Iraq.  Would the nearly decade long adventure in Iraq, with it’s $1 trillion pricetag, be viewed as a strategic victory or loss?  Are we walking away from Iraq, leaving it to Iranian influence and eventual domination?

In my opinion, the President is making the right call on Iraq. After all, following the “Weapons of Mass Destruction” fiasco, our objective morphed into the need to establish a democracy in Iraq. Elections were held (remember the purple thumbs?)and a rudimentary form of parliamentary government was formed. And now, a majority of that government, and of the Iraqi people they represent, want us to go. I find it extremely ironic that several of the Republican candidates and U.S. congressional representatives, who espouse “States’ Rights” and the “Will of the People,” are blasting President Obama’s decision, which is a reflection of the Iraqi democracy we helped establish. The critics are saying that this withdrawal will lead to increased Iranian influence in Iraq. But guess what, that became a reality the day we eliminated Sadaam. It is time to move on.

Footnote: back to Vietnam. I was sitting at my desk at Abbott a couple of years ago, when one of my project managers came in to explain an office project he was assigned to complete. He explained the scope of a project to expand the Abbott sales office in Hanoi, Vietnam. Apparently Vietnam is a growing commercial market. He was working with a property developer to find the right facility to accommodate growth of the sales force there. How things had changed since 1975! I hear that Vietnam has great beaches too….

I was probably 12 or 13 when I found a copy of the book, Profiles in Courage, in my parents’ bookcase. Although I don’t remember the specifics now, I do remember reading the book and admiring the premise that courage can be defined as the willingness to stand up for the greater good, even if that stand is unpopular or career threatening.  I had a flashback to Profiles in Courage when I read about the Congressional “Super Committee,” which is tasked to come up with a way to reduce our national deficit (in excess of $14 trillion) by November 23rd.  Each of the twelve members (6 – Democrat, 6 – Republican) of that committee are under immense pressure from their parties and constituents to resist compromise with the other side.  Some have signed oaths to never, ever consider increasing revenue as a way to start getting the deficit under control.  Others are resistant to consider any reductions or changes in the social welfare programs, such as Medicare and Social Security.  And, if the matter isn’t serious enough, if no agreement is reached, much of the committee’s deficit reduction goal ($1.2 trillion) will be funded from further cuts in the Defense budget (which is already committed to a nearly $500 billion cut).

I am not an expert on the Federal Budget, but I know enough about numbers to assert that America’s financial standing is in jeopardy without both sides of the equation.  We need additional revenue, preferably from closing “loopholes” and tax reform, as well as significant cost reductions in entitlement programs.  The answer is obvious….the question is whether anybody has the courage to stand up for it.

Check out my Background/Biography page and give me comments!