From A River Runs through It (Page 46-47):
Paul
said, "Come on, let's go and find Neal." Then he added, "You
shouldn't have left him behind.""What?" I asked.
"You should try to help him," he replied.
I could find words but not sentences they could fit. "I didn't leave him. He doesn't like me He doesn't like Montana. He left me to go bait fishing. He can't even bait-fish. Me, I don't like anything about him."
I could feel all the excitement of losing the big fish going through the transformer and coming out as anger at my brother-in-law. I could also feel that I was repeating myself without quite saying the same thing. Even so, I asked, "Do you think you should help him?" "Yes," he said, "I thought we were going to."
"How?" I asked.
"By taking him fishing with us."
"I've just told you," I said, "he doesn't like to fish."
"Maybe so," my brother replied. "But maybe what he likes is
somebody trying to help him."
I still do not understand my brother. He himself always turned
aside any offer of help, but in some complicated way he was surely talking
about himself when he was talking about Neal needing help. "Come on,"
he said, "let's find him before he gets lost in the storm." He tried
to put his arm around my shoulders but his fish basket with big tails sticking
out of it came between us and made it difficult. We both looked clumsy-I in
trying to offer him help, and he in trying to thank me for it.
 |
| Art by Matt Kish |
From
Moby Dick (Chapter 135: The Chase--Third Day):
Their
hands met; their eyes fastened; Starbuck's tears the glue.
"Oh,
my captain, my captain! - noble heart - go not - go not! - see, it's a brave
man that weeps; how great the agony of the persuasion then!"
From my grad school essay (Conflict Resolution Program):
...even
in a place [Kamina, Togo] without running water, electricity, or major forms of
media, I witnessed the basic principles of any great community: love for one’s
family, respect for one’s neighbors, and an abiding sense of compassion for
those that are struggling. I experienced many ups and downs during my service,
and what I learned about myself continues to surface and surprise me even two
years after my return. But what I value most from my service is the empathy I
gained for those who are different and new to an area, and under pressure to
adapt.
