I've been thinking ...

Date: Tuesday, MARCH 17
Distance: 4.14 miles
Time: 49:00:00

I've been thinking. I tend to do that when running. Often it is more of a stream of consciousness. Sometimes there is an actual thought or two mixed in. Anyway, Seoul is celebrating St. Patrick's Day. Every little beer hall in the city seems to have a special price for the Green. A conservative Korean drinker on any weekend will spend an average of $50.00 USD on alcoholic beverages. Those who enjoy their soju will spend an average of $200.00 USD. That's just in Korea. I cannot imagine how much will be spent worldwide on this day of bingeing and revelry. Compare those figures with this one: At least 80% of humanity lives on less than $10.00 USD a day.

I am passing children on the street. Laughing and talking as they make their way to hagwan buses and other destinations, their crisp uniforms and full backpacks provide an image of health and wholeness as they finish one part of their day to begin another. While their parents struggle in this economy to make ends meet and provide the funds for the excessive, obsessive competition of education here, in other places, 30,000 children will die on this St. Patrick's Day from the issues related to poverty. They die "quietly" in some of the poorest villages on earth. They cries are not heard. Their plight is not seen. So. they do not matter in this world.

Buses, vans, taxis are lined up now in front of one of the schools I jog by. They take children to special academies that teach math, English, science, music and other subjects. Some of these children will not be home until 10: 00 p.m. Nearly a billion people in our world today cannot read a book or sign their name. Based on enrollment data, about 72 million children of primary school age in developing countries were not in school today. 57% of these children were girls.

As a round a corner, I am confronted with the weekly garbage collection. The housing complex has a pile stacked high in the street for pick-up. Such a basic service as sanitation is seen as the "right" of every Seoulite. 2.6 billion people in our world lack such basic services. Almost two in three people lacking access to clean water live in squalor, making less than $2.00 USD a day--that's 385 million people.

So far in this adventure, I have folks tell me they read this log and enjoy my thoughts. Not many have contributed. I am not criticizing. I am grateful some friends and strangers are supporting my feeble attempt at athleticism. I arrive back in Yonhidong to see a green leprechaun balloon going up by a local bar. Some businessmen in the street have started the celebration early. In the spirit of St. Patrick, I invite you to join me in running to end poverty, one child, one family, one village at a time.