Letters: January 7

Posted 1/7/15

Grateful for all who helped deliver meals

As 2014 draws to a close and we look ahead to our 40th year of service to our community, it becomes more and more evident how much the success of our …

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Letters: January 7

Posted

Grateful for all who helped deliver meals

As 2014 draws to a close and we look ahead to our 40th year of service to our community, it becomes more and more evident how much the success of our mission is dependent upon the physical, moral and financial support of so many others.

And so…

To our amazing band of volunteer drivers who never say “no” – we thank you!

To the church, school and scouting groups who took time and energy to make the many gifts that brought so much joy to our clients throughout the year – we thank you!

To the parents who, through their example, are teaching their children the importance of service – we thank you!

To the congregation of the First Presbyterian Church of Flourtown who so generously provides us a “home” – we thank you!

To Halligan’s Pub management and kitchen staff who take seriously the task of providing good nutrition to our clients – we thank you!

To our bakers who provide yummy daily treats and to our packers who put the individual meals together – we thank you!

And finally, to our loyal donors – individuals, organizations and foundations – who year after year provide the financial support we need to keep our mission alive and thriving – we thank you!

To all the above, and to all those who have contributed in so many ways over the past 39 years – we thank each and every one of you!

The Board and Staff of Chestnut Hill Meals on Wheels

Freedom is relative

Now that Cuba is back in the headlines with the groundbreaking initiative by President Obama, the word “freedom,” or the lack thereof, has been and will continue be bandied about over and over again. Can we look at that word for a minute? What does it mean?

For the average American in the United States the freedom to go anywhere, say anything, buy whatever you can afford, open a business, etc., etc., are important freedoms without a doubt.

For many Cubans who left the island, and for some who stayed, they decried the loss of those freedoms. Now they are cursing Obama big time. “Here there is no freedom of anything,” said Cuban dissident Sonia Garro in Havana last week.

But for those other Cubans who have supported the government these many years (poor, lower middle-class, intellectuals, artists, youth, etc.), they look to other freedoms important to them –freedoms hard to come by or denied before the revolution.

Here I speak of medical care and education. In Cuba, since the infancy of the revolution, everyone has been entitled to free education through the university, and free medical care from the cradle to the grave. Cuba is the only developing country with a life expectancy comparable to those in developed countries. In most of Central and Latin America these freedoms do not exist for the majority of the populace.

These are not small freedoms, even in the United States, particularly for a family facing stiff medical bills or college tuition fees ranging between $7,000 and $25,000 year.

And, finally, Cuba is not stuck in limbo. There has been and continues to be progress in freedom to travel, speech, opening a business, increased consumer items, etc., etc.

So, in the days ahead as you watch listen and read about the “absence of freedom” in Cuba, freedom means different things to different people.

Lawrence H. Geller

Roxborough

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