During a recent volunteer outing at my church, FCC, 20 members banded together for an afternoon to go help out a struggling mother of three. Mrs. Curn had lost a child about 5 years ago and had since been on a downward spiral. She couldn't keep a job, her house looked as if it were a neglected storage unit, and her kids were lucky if they came home to a well cooked meal. We went to help her clean her house, cook for her children, and help with everyday necessities. I learned how much tragedies can affect your life and that everyday should be treated like a blessing.
Garcia talks of Texas children who are hungry and others who are obese. Texas is one of the top states in child obesity, ranking as the 7th highest in America. However, Texas only ranked 49th (almost last) in having reliable food aid for children who are 18 years of age or younger. Due to the fact Mrs. Curn cannot keep a job, she can only afford cheap foods. These kind of foods happen to be the highest in calories and are usually all processed foods. Just as Garcia explained, most families live in areas know as "food deserts". These areas lack the natural produce that are so readily available in supermarkets. Mrs. Curn and her kids live in an area where the only food they can get within walking distance, since they do not have a car, is at the convenience store or fast food restaurants. As a result, Mrs. Curn and her kids are slightly over weight and would be considered, by definition, as obese. Obesity is unhealthy and can result in health problems and possibly death.
In regards to the George Carlin video on youtube called "stuff", Mrs. Curn had plenty of it. Carlin talks, or more appropriately jokes, about how we always want more stuff. Even if we already have the things we need, many of us feel we need more. This can result in hoarding. The feeling of needing more and more tends to make our houses cramped and more cluttered. Mrs. Curn always felt she needed more things, even if she could not afford them. As I talked to her during some one on one time, she told me that if she didn't have all those things, she would be even more empty inside than she already is. She hoards to fill the gap caused by the death of one of her children. This was very saddening to me, a part of me got a glimps of how hurt she still was. She talked about how everyone regards her things as crap, but to her each item has a meaning and each item is useful to her in its own way. This takes me back to Carlins video when he says, "How you ever noticed how other people's stuff is shit, but your shit is STUFF?" Mrs. Curn is so distraught and unattached, she can't see that all her things, or "stuff", are making her home unlivable for her three young children and how her spending money on things she doesn't need takes away from allowance that could be spent on healthier food for her children. Healthier food would help the health of her children tremendously. It's very disheartening to see a mom so depressed, it blocks her from realizing the most important thing in her life right now is not her things, but her children and their well being and health.
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