I’ve been thinking a lot about “them” lately, and how if they would just see things the way I do the world would be such a better place.  If only they would just understand – if they could only see! Sometimes I can’t believe how foolish they are, or how much they must not care, or what terrible people they are or what horrible parents they must have had to have raised them this way. It’s all their fault.  I wish they would just get out of the way.  They’re destroying our way of life, our country and our planet.

I decided to go looking for them to set them straight, but I never can find them.  They must be hiding because they know they’re up to no good. They always seem to live somewhere else or they speak a different language or they dress differently, because I can’t ever seem to find them around here.  Or maybe it’s because they’re being sneaky and they’re trying to blend in with the rest of us by dressing the same way and eating the same foods.  I’m not sure yet.  That sounds like something they would do.

I always seem to bump into new people when I go looking for them.  I’ll ask the new person if they’ve seen them but they never have, either. Sometimes the new person will help me start looking for them, but we never seem to have much success.  I don’t mind, though, because as we’re looking I always seem to learn more about this new person, which is nice.  I’ve made some great friends while looking for them.  I like the new friends because they have new, interesting stories I’ve not heard before that I can’t wait to share with my old friends, who are probably getting tired of hearing all of my old stories for the hundredth time.

My new friend often times has grown up somewhere else, which is fun because we often realize that we call the same item by a different name or pronounce something different, and we get a good laugh out of that.  Sometimes we’ll cook something together and they’ll introduce me to something cool and exotic their grandmother used to make back in her old country.  Some of my new friends have even invited me to come to their church and I got to meet some more great people and learn some new songs. Sometimes I meet a new person while I’m looking for them and we end up marveling at how similar we are or how odd it was we never met because we know all the same people.  A few times, when I was almost halfway around the world trying to find them, I ran into new people who became new friends.  My new friends from other countries haven’t had any luck finding them, either.  Like I said – they hide really well.

One of the best things that happened, though, was that when one time I went looking for them I found you. I like you because you’re different than me and have interesting perspectives and have had some great experiences.  I always seem to learn something from you. Many times you’ve helped me understand myself better.  You make me laugh, and because we’ve really gotten to know each other, you can even make me cry.  We don’t always see things the same way, but that’s okay because with you I feel safe. You’re not one of them.

Will we find them?  I think so, eventually.  And when we do, boy are they going to get it!

We can do it.  I believe in us, my friend.