Outside the Echo Chamber

January 5 we were Orlando for a wedding. We got to the beautiful wedding venue about an hour early. It was a lovely southern mansion on the shores of a lake surrounded by cypress trees draped in Spanish moss. I took a stroll down the shoreline and walked out on the fishing pier. I was greeted at the end of the pier by an Afro-American man who had his line cast out between the lily pads on the lake, trying to catch some of the local bass.

He seemed like a friendly chap and eager to chat. He said his name was Julian. He was 39, had several kids but they weren't living with him. He had two degrees. One was in computer languages and one in cognitive thinking. He had gotten in to a bit of trouble as a kid but had left the past behind him and had really wanted to start his own company as a restaurant owner. But he had been reduced to working in a construction labor pool. He knew a lot about all kinds of construction and was a very fast and proficient learner. But they only paid $8.10 and hour. And most of the time he is working way beneath his skill level. Or if he is able to excel at a job, like he did this past week when he did 16 hour of work dismantling a carnival in 12 hours, the manager only wanted to pay him for 11 and then only at $8.35 an hour. 

But despite the obvious justification that he legitimately may have had over the injustice that seemed to be a reflection of his skin color, he said nothing of that. Nor was there the slightest trace of bitterness in his tone. Our conversation was relaxed, friendly and non-judgmental. We were both sincerely trying to understand each others thoughts and perspectives, which, to be quite honest, were quite in contrast to the others. But something held us engaged in this fascinating dialog about each others lives. I think we could have gone on for hours except that the wedding was about to begin as a message on my phone urgently reminded me. 

But as I hurried to the car, I remembered that I still had one more CrossPuzzle left in the trunk. It would be an interesting parting gift for Julian. So I grabbed it and hurried back to the pier and presented it to him. He held in his hand, turning it over and staring at it. Then with moist eyes he looked at me and said, "You will never know how many time when I was discouraged that Jesus was my only comfort. Thank you so much for sharing this with me." We had both reached beyond our echo chambers and had found the common element that had connected us together so quickly in mutual admiration of each others worldviews.