March 28: Succor
Succor: Definition: Assistance and support in times of distress.
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Most churches have benevolent funds - money dedicated to helping church members who have fallen on hard times. This is wonderful.
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A couple months ago, I was stone cold broke and my one-year-old son needed formula. I went to a local pharmacy and I asked the owner if I could take a can of formula and pay her back when my paycheque came in. She said yes. She is a good person.
About a month ago, I was at a local event when I learned about a family that had lost everything in a fire. I volunteered to do a free fundraising show for that family. The show didn't bring in much - just over $100. I didn't feel bad. If the family had a baby, that money would have bought four cans of formula.
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Like most entertainers (or, like most entertainers who are also human beings) I struggle with the concept of doing free shows. I have a couple rules. One of them is I don't do free shows in December - certainly not that ever-popular first weekend in December when everyone and their cat is having a company Christmas party.
One magician friend told me a story about a call he received from the fundraising coordinator of a local children's charity.
"We can't pay you anything," she whined. "But it would mean so much to the children."
My magician friend countered with a story about his landlord. "It would mean so much to my landlord if I paid my rent on time."
There was silence on the other end.
Good will doesn't pay the bills.
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I think a good rule about doing free shows is that you should never accept one if they call you. If you're bound and determined to do a free show, you should stumble on it yourself.
Trust me, if word gets out that you do free shows (and word WILL get out) your value as a performer will go way down.
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This is the part where Paul Alberstat, my magical mentor, will tell me that I am full of shit.
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God has wired our brains in such a way that we are sympathetic to the plight of our fellow man.
This one time in Alberta, my car broke down in the middle of nowhere. I was hungry. My plan was to drive 50 km to my home in Stettler, get some money from my bank, and then go eat at the Chinese restaurant. Obviously, that was not to be. I did not have a cell phone and I was not a member of the CAA. I was screwed.
And then it started to rain.
I got out of my car and started to walk and I came across a country house where a man was standing on his porch, watching the rain. I asked if I could use his phone and he said "sure." He let me come inside. He gave me the phone. As I was calling for a tow truck, my stomach growled audibly.
"Was that your stomach or the thunder?" my host asked, grinning.
I had to tell him it was my stomach.
He asked me if I'd like to join his family for dinner. Ordinarily, pride would have kept me from accepting, but I was ravenous.
The man sensed my apprehension. I looked to the left and saw a large cross on the wall. The man quoted Jesus, saying: "For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me."
That night, I joined his wife and their two children at the dinner table. We ate rice and beef stew. The tow truck arrived just as we finished.
I was grateful for the succor.
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I like the concept of paying things forward. There are many people I have helped. I know they could never pay me back, not in the foreseeable future anyway. So I'm happy if they'll pay it forward. Give someone else a meal or a ride or pay their rent when they need it. People fall down. Pick them up again.
That's the way Jesus told us to live.
Good enough for me.
-
Most churches have benevolent funds - money dedicated to helping church members who have fallen on hard times. This is wonderful.
-
A couple months ago, I was stone cold broke and my one-year-old son needed formula. I went to a local pharmacy and I asked the owner if I could take a can of formula and pay her back when my paycheque came in. She said yes. She is a good person.
About a month ago, I was at a local event when I learned about a family that had lost everything in a fire. I volunteered to do a free fundraising show for that family. The show didn't bring in much - just over $100. I didn't feel bad. If the family had a baby, that money would have bought four cans of formula.
-
Like most entertainers (or, like most entertainers who are also human beings) I struggle with the concept of doing free shows. I have a couple rules. One of them is I don't do free shows in December - certainly not that ever-popular first weekend in December when everyone and their cat is having a company Christmas party.
One magician friend told me a story about a call he received from the fundraising coordinator of a local children's charity.
"We can't pay you anything," she whined. "But it would mean so much to the children."
My magician friend countered with a story about his landlord. "It would mean so much to my landlord if I paid my rent on time."
There was silence on the other end.
Good will doesn't pay the bills.
-
I think a good rule about doing free shows is that you should never accept one if they call you. If you're bound and determined to do a free show, you should stumble on it yourself.
Trust me, if word gets out that you do free shows (and word WILL get out) your value as a performer will go way down.
-
This is the part where Paul Alberstat, my magical mentor, will tell me that I am full of shit.
-
God has wired our brains in such a way that we are sympathetic to the plight of our fellow man.
This one time in Alberta, my car broke down in the middle of nowhere. I was hungry. My plan was to drive 50 km to my home in Stettler, get some money from my bank, and then go eat at the Chinese restaurant. Obviously, that was not to be. I did not have a cell phone and I was not a member of the CAA. I was screwed.
And then it started to rain.
I got out of my car and started to walk and I came across a country house where a man was standing on his porch, watching the rain. I asked if I could use his phone and he said "sure." He let me come inside. He gave me the phone. As I was calling for a tow truck, my stomach growled audibly.
"Was that your stomach or the thunder?" my host asked, grinning.
I had to tell him it was my stomach.
He asked me if I'd like to join his family for dinner. Ordinarily, pride would have kept me from accepting, but I was ravenous.
The man sensed my apprehension. I looked to the left and saw a large cross on the wall. The man quoted Jesus, saying: "For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me."
That night, I joined his wife and their two children at the dinner table. We ate rice and beef stew. The tow truck arrived just as we finished.
I was grateful for the succor.
-
I like the concept of paying things forward. There are many people I have helped. I know they could never pay me back, not in the foreseeable future anyway. So I'm happy if they'll pay it forward. Give someone else a meal or a ride or pay their rent when they need it. People fall down. Pick them up again.
That's the way Jesus told us to live.
Good enough for me.
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