[Don Plumley]

Just back after a quick trip to Kenya. Surprise birthday for my closest (we were best man at each other's wedding) friend. Needless to say, he was surprised my wife and I were there. The look on his face made the hours of travel disappear in an instant.

It's a breathtakingly beautiful country. The animals are beyond amazing. People are super friendly.

As we traveled along the terrible roads - roads that have sudden axle-breaking potholes and random speed bumps even in the middle of a "Highway" - you come across an area with spike strips to slow you down were Police point to cars to come to side side for some sort of random inspection. There the motorist will pay some sort of tax or license or fee - much of which is likely going into the pockets of the local police. We were very fortunate as the cars we traveled in had diplomatic plates, so we were never stopped.

Someone in our group related a story from a friend about the contrast with America. They said, "Once I was driving in a US city and was badly lost. As I sat in my car, a policeman pulled behind me and asked what was wrong. I said I was lost. He gave me directions and wished me a nice day. You want to know the biggest difference between my country and America? You can trust your police."

I've been pulled over in Mexico by the Federales and paid my "fine" in cash - it's nothing to compare with Kenya, but the same in principle. Yes, I know there are cynics out there that feel our police are corrupt - certainly there is a bad apple or two - but the 99.9% are there to protect and serve and we have ways that work pretty well to serve justice when it is needed. There is simply no comparison with places like Kenya, and difficult to listen to the complaining.

To see the abject poverty, the way that 80% live - is mind-numbing. I've been to India, I've been to rural China, so I'm no stranger to it. To see the hope and wonder in a child's eyes, no different than your child, and then to see the resignation and toil in the eyes of a prematurely aged adult is gut-wrenching. To have the luck to simply be born in America, versus having the odds stacked against you to be born in a rural 3rd world country is to be given the biggest lottery ticket in your life.

To hear the gratitude from those you are helping, then step away and live your life, is so incongruent as to make you feel you are walking between universes. I spoke at an outpost of an NGO that I and my company sponsor financially and I'm on the board. Because of our donation they were able to set up a training center that does really cool humanitarian work (healthcare translation and transparency/accountability for the last election) - being able to see first-hand the tangible evidence of what that gift did, to hear from the people there, "because of your funding, we have jobs" was far more valuable to me than the check we wrote. Then to be whisked away to enjoy an amazing dinner with friends, with so much food no one could finish their plates, then 24 hours later to be sitting in my comfortable home...it simply does not compute that so much of humanity is so far removed from the luxuries we take for granted and the essentials (clean water, consistent electricity, safe food) that are without question.

So my point is travel changes you. It opens your mind. It makes you appreciate how lucky you are. And it makes the petty complaints seem truly, truly trivial. When I gripe about something, like how I was frustrated with an app on my phone, if my son is in earshot he will often chortle, "first-world problem." The best thing a parent can do for their kids is show them world so they value what they have.

I don't post much on Pelican - but I read it several times a day. It's like checking in on a large dysfunctional family that I'm a peripheral member. But I felt compelled to share this experience and what it left with me, with you.

Carry on...