Trust Me

You never finish learning from friends. Earlier this week I posted a blog about being in NYC with my friend, Noel. Although she moved out of NY over twenty years ago and we don’t see one another very much, somehow it was not surprising for us to discover that we were dressed almost identically for our rainy day in the city. We both wore white sneakers, black slacks, and a blue print cardigan. When we took our rain jackets off, we looked at each other and burst out laughing. A pair of sixty three year old Bobsey Twins!

Yesterday I was with another dear friend of mine. She was wearing white knit pants with a strip of glittery beads down the side, a white tank over an aqua blue bra, a purple cape like shrug, silver flip flops and a new diamond ring. We were on her deck that overlooks a green lawn sloping down to the water Between bites of my sandwich, I was explaining all the reasons I thought people should give to Help Healing Happen and International Surgical Medical Support, Inc. Chrissy was silent as I chattered on and on quoting the economists I had been studying. I was thinking I must have really engaged her for her to be so quiet. WRONG!

“What are you afraid of, Marguerite? That people aren’t going to give?” She has a way of tilting her head a bit down and to the side so that she looks at you up through her lashes, but when she squints slightly at the same time, you know you are in for it.

I didn’t really answer.

“Because frankly, I found all you’ve been saying insulting.”

Insulting?? Almost everything I just told you has been said by leading economists and humanitarians of the world! These are the things I learned from their books and websites over the past year. They’re specialists on global issues,” I said.

“Yeah, well,” she drawled as she sipped her wine,” I’m not global; I’m local.”

Now it was her turn to talk. That was a good thing as something, maybe my sandwich, was causing a lump in my throat and sort of choking me.

“Listen, don’t go into all that "psychology of giving" crap. We don’t need it. We're asking them to support their own doctors and nurses. They're locals; we're locals. Of course people are going to give. Trust them. Trust your cause. And shut up about the rest of the stuff.”

We weren’t dressed alike, and we haven’t been friends since I was 12 years old. But wow, am I glad Chrissy is my friend; she’s brilliant. Trust me on that.