Gold vs. Gums

My daughter's best friend in high school, a talented performer and gifted singer, was denied a solo and a chance in the spotlight by the choral director because of her bad teeth. Her older sister, the courageous bread-winner for the family, could secure nothing better than substitute teaching work because of the gaps in the front of her mouth. The face of poverty was not to be seen.

A friend of mine volunteers once a week at the local community lunch program and afterward will drop off a bag of bread at my house – bread that those served that day did not want. Ironically, this is invariably a loaf of Normal Bread, donated to the program by the best artisanal bakery in town – delectable, organic whole grain, seedy, nutty, flavorful (and retailing at $4+ per loaf). I can't afford to buy it, yet every week I get it for free! “I don't know why this is always left over,” my friend commented. “They probably can't chew it.” I replied.

So many issues under this deceptively simple heading. The whys and hows of circumstance that keep people down and out, regardless of talent, grit, and determination; people trained by our culture to expect little and get less. Individuals born into a life whose only success is working the system to glean a few scraps from the public assistance table. “I went to the Medicaid dentist once,” the sister above told me, “but there were roaches in the waiting room. After they pulled my teeth, I didn't go back.”