Peace begins with one person - By Ivory Harlow

I serve coffee at a counter-style diner in Texas. I often see a look of isolation in my customers' eyes. They come in the front door, wander to the counter, pick up the menu, and look around the diner for something they can't short-order: a connection.

In an age of online chat, online shopping, and even online school, it's no wonder people come into the diner starving for human connection. Most of my customers can remember a time when the milkman came to their front door. As I serve up their eggs and bacon, they offer updates on their grandchildren. They ask me about the happenings in my life.

One day, I walked to the back of the smoking section to pass around a fresh pot of coffee. There was a woman who had been sitting in a corner booth for at least three hours. She asked me, "how much is just one breakfast taco?" I told her I didn't know, that I'd never served just one by itself. Going back to the kitchen I thought about her rotted teeth and tires eyes, and how she'd consumed enough caffeine for three people already. I offered her a free pancake breakfast. I fibbed that it was a leftover from an order I had messed up. She asked to borrow bus fare and promised to return and pay me back. I handed over tip money from my apron pocket. She smiled a ragged grin on her way out the front door.

Three weeks later she returned my two dollars. She had gotten a job and a friend's couch to sleep on. She offered to buy me breakfast on my break!

This kind of thing gets me wondering if something as simple as a short stack of pancakes can bring about a small shift in society. I'll go even further: can one act of friendliness start to generate peace? I believe it can. Peace begins with one person but spreads like warmed syrup.When I connect with my neighbors, they return it in kind.

So I believe in friendliness and an open ear. For me, it starts with making eye contact when I pour coffee and ask my customers, "How you doing?" and then listen to their answer.

My job is to take care of customers at the counter in a small Texas diner, but I also believe we're in this world to take care of each other.

A duty to heal summary

This essay is very interesting because life for Doctor Pius in America was not easy at all, as he had to face a really horrible situation of racism, and even worse because his job is healing all kinds of people from all over of the world.

I think is more difficult for a black Doctor like him, but personally I think is not fair for him because he worked so much to get his goal to work in America, He thinks it was worth the trouble and effort but he didn't expect this sort of racism in the states. Then he had to decide how to handle it.

And about this 19 years old American Nazi to me is not easy understand that he is not afraid to die because of his big racism, but I think he was lucky because Doctors have a huge sense of humility about their duty; and for a black Doctor I believe is even more valuable that struggling, although he said if he is black or white every patient that he touches deserves the same care and concern from him, he had to pay a high price at that moment working in America.

I was sitting in my car at a stoplight intersection listening to the radio. I was, I guess, lost in the moment, thinking how happy I was to be inside my nice warm car. It was cold and windy outside, and I thought, "Life is good."
Now this was a long light. As I waited, I noticed two people huddled together at the bus stop.
To my eyes, they looked uncomfortable; they looked cold and they looked poor. Their coats looked like they came from a thrift store. They weren't wearing stuff from the Gap. I knew it because I'd been there.

this couple seemed to be doing their best to keep warm. they were huddled together and I thought to myself, "ho those poor people in that punishing wind".

But then I saw their faces. Yes, they huddling, but they were also laughing, they looked to be sharing a good joke, and suddenly instead of pitying them,I envied them.

I thought,"ah what's so funny". they didn't seem to notice the wind. They weren't worried about their clothes, they weren't looking at my car thinking "I wish I had that"

This story really inspire mysef to keep working on my goals because like Felipe Morales I wouldn't like to give up that easy Althoug some times or I could say often is not to easy anderstand what I am trying to learn however I have found on my way alot of people that always try to disapoint me. But if the one thing I am sure is that I 'll not give up because to learn as much as I can English it is going to helpme to get better jobs to suport my kids and wife.

A few years ago I took a sighseein trip to Washington D.C. I saw many of our nat

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ions'treasures and I also saw allot of our fellow citizen on the street an fortunate ones like panhandlers and Hormel's folks.
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Standing outside of Ronald Reagan center I heard a voice to say can you helper when I turn around I saw an elderly woman with hand extended in a natural reflex I reached in to my pocket pulled out my lose change and I placed on her hand with even looking at her I was annoyed to being bothered by a beggar.

But the blind woman smiled and say I don't want your many I just need help to find the post office,

In an instant I realized what I had done, I acted with prejudice I judge another person simply for I assumed she had to be.

I ate what I saw of myself this incident re awaken my core belief,

About 13 years ago I arrived to Seattle Washington from Tijuana Mexico, by the way my very first time in U.S. I have to say that since I got to this City I had to get used to dealing with new people even from my oun country.

The first big problem that I had to face to find job was the language because to each place that I was going only English, So I met a friend from my country, his name is Jose by then he was in Seattle for about 10 years, after two months that I got Seattle he introduced me to work as dishwasher in the same restaurant he was working as a cook.

The English it was not a big problem in the job because Jose helped me to comunicate. everything was okey in the job but after 6 month the restaurant closed and I realized that I was needing to learn to speak some English So I enroled to Seattle Central Comunity collage, I just went for about two quorters because by then I 'd better wanted to get a second job.

But over the years I have been trying to learn by myself

A few years ago, I took a sightseeing trip to washington D. C. I saw many of ournation's treasures, and I also saw a lot of our fellow citizens on the street unfortunate ones, like panhandlers and homeless folks.
Standing outside the Ronald Reagan center, I heard a voice say, "can you helpme?" when I turned around, I saw an elderly blind woman with her hand extended. I a natural reflex, I reached in to my pocket, pulled out all my loose change and placed it on her hand without even looking at her. I was annoyed at being bothered by a beggar.
But the blind woman smiled and said, "I don't want your money. I just need help finding the post office.
" In an instant, I realized what I had done. I acted with prejudice-I judged another person simply for what I assumed she had to be.
I hated what I saw in myself. This incident re-awakened my core belief. It reaffirmed that I believe in humility, even though I'd lost it for a moment.

The thing I had forgotten about myself is that I am an inmigrant. I left Honduras and arrived in U.S. at the age of 15. I started my new life with two suitcases, my brother and sister, and a strong no-nonsense mother. Through the years, I have been a dishwasher, roofer, cashier, mechanic, pizza delivery driver among many other humble jobs, and eventually I became a network engineer.

In my own life, I have experienced many open acts of prejudice. I remember a time at age 17, I was a busboy and I heard a father tell his boy that if he did not do well in school, he would end up like me. I have also witnessed the same treatment of family and friends, so I know wath it's like, and I should have known better.

But now living in my American middle-class lifestyle, it is too easy to forget my past, to forget who I am, where I have been and lose sight of where I want to be going. That blind woman on the streets of Washington, D.C., cured me of my self induced blindness. She reminded me of my belief in humility and to always keep my eyes and heart open.

By the way, I helped that lady to the post office. And in writing this essay, I hope to thank her for the priceless lesson.

Network engineer Felipe Morales was born in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, in 1974, and inmigrated with his family to tampa, /Fla., in 1990. He now lives with his wife and children in Rowlett, Texas, where he enjoys playing and coaching soccer.