Murder and the value of life..

Chicago has gained a reputation as the murder capital of America. That is a sad reputation to have, but it has certainly earned it. According to statistics, there were 599 murders in the city in the year 2003 alone. However, until recently those numbers were only statistics as I had never had a connection to any of the victims of the Chicago crime problem. The story is quite different for my friends, Karen and Darnell, however. They come from Chicago. They are currently living here in Scotland, but their family is still in Chicago, and this week their family has been hit again. Karen had to return to Chicago on Tuesday so she could be at the funeral of her nephew, Larry, who was shot and killed on the weekend. Somebody came up to him on the street and popped four bullets into his chest. Larry's brother had been killed on the very same street 12 years earlier, and Darnell's cousin was also murdered in the same place. I went over to Karen and Darnell's house the night before she returned to Chicago, and we had a good talk about it all. It never ceases to amaze me that people could value life so little as to take someone else's life away!

Of course, Chicago isn't the only place where bad things happen. It was exactly two years ago this past Wednesday that my friend, Larry Whitefield, was shot and killed in Woodlake, California. And, of course, Scotland is not immune to crime. In the year 2003 there were 108 reported murders in Scotland. Of course, that's still less than in Chicago even when you consider that there are 8 million people in Chicago and 5 million in Scotland, but its still 108 people too many. A friend of mine here also grew up in a family of gangsters and used to be friends with a hitman. Another friend of mine used to "collect" money in rather violent ways for rather questionable purposes. And the drug culture is killing many many more here in the Glasgow area. We were just discussing with someone how another friend had been surprised when he found out that there are drug dealers in Kirkie! But of course there are! We truly live in a broken world, and this is truly nothing new. People have been killing people since Cain and Able.

I'm just glad for the comfort of knowing that all life does have meaning. A problem I have noticed with a lot of people who are in the world of gangsters, drug-pushers and crime of varying degrees is that they feel like they are stuck in that world and that there is no way out. I remember one friend in America who kept trying to straighten his life out but became convinced that the world he was in was one that he could never escape. He has since spent his life in and out of prison. However, I also know many who have come out and are changed people. I hope and pray that in my life I will continue to be able to reach some with hope so that they don't have to live and die in a world that sees no value in life.

I'll have the regular please!

"I'll have my regular please." Those are words I was accustomed to saying in severa places when I lived in America, but it is only recently that I can do so here in Scotland. It seems to take longer here to get past the "professional" barrier in restaurants and shops than it does in most of the States. However, I felt like the great barrier had truly been broken the other day when I went into the chippy (fish and chips shop) across the street and the man who runs the place started an all out conversation with me. He asked me all about myself out of genuine interest, and we had a great chat. I had started going into that shop several times a week about a year ago because I wanted to establish a relationship with the people in local businesses. Sometimes I go there for my meals, and sometimes I go there just for a carton of milk or a bottle of Coke. These purchases cost just a bit more than they would at the supermarket, but I figured the investment was worth it and was sure the barrier would be broken eventually if I came in often enough. Now every time I go in he treats me like a friend, and I'm enjoying learning to know him and his staff. In recent months the employees of several other local shops have also begun to acknowledge their recognition of me and to talk to me as more than just a "customer." Now why am I excited about this? I think it's because I know it's out of genuine interest that they are taking in me and not just professional courtesy. They just wouldn't bother here if they didn't really want to learn to know me, so this means that I am becoming much more than just a stranger living in the community. I am become part of the community. It's exciting to me that Kirkintilloch is becoming more and more "home." Of course, the confusing part is that I'm thinking of leaving in December, but I don't really know for sure what lies ahead. Whatever the case, no matter where I live I have a feeling that this town will always be a home to me.