Lending a Hand in Chile
A report from this summer’s service trip to Chile, by Nicki and Barbara Biscupovich
After experiencing the earthquake in Chile, we came back to Waterford with the idea of showing our students the devastating effects of this tragic event. Little did we know then that this would lead to a moving and fulfilling experience for a group from our community. Through the generosity of our Waterford families, we were able to raise almost $5,000 through a bake sale. We also collected a significant amount of clothing and school materials. There was interest among our students in doing more. This eventually led to a summer trip with a group of ten students and one parent.
When an ancient, streamside cedar or fir falls, it begins an inescapable process of decomposition that, in many ways, is more important to the forest than the actual life of the tree itself. Even old-growth trees, with solidarity in their size and presence in the forest, decompose entirely in the span of a few decades. Almost. In each tree there are sections of cross-grained wood that are so rich with pitch that they resist the erosive powers of the glacial rivers into which they fall. These small pieces of wood tumble downstream and are beautifully turned, crafted and polished by the stones and gravel that litter the shores of their final resting place. Resembling an elongated cuspid, these “river teeth” are all that remain fifty years after a mighty giant falls in the forest. In the constant flow of our lives, each of us has our own river teeth: those experiences, attributes, or elements of our ethos that — if we were to be whittled down to our core — would remain.