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: Never In Our Names

Main Thing

By Alexa

So let's talk, amigos. What's your main thing? Don't worry, I'm not going to ask who is your main thing -- but if feel like telling me, I'll keep it on the dolo.

What in cono is a Main Thing?
It started out as a mangling of the English language by yours truly. If English isn't your first language, or if you work in languages as I do, it's easy to trip over your own tongue - or mouse, for that matter. When you're tired or exasperated, and go through what should be a seamless, immediate process of listening in English, processing the information in your first language, mentally translating a response and spitting it out in the correct language, there's too much room for lost in translation.

Sometimes words fail me and I'm pretty sure everyone struggles with the just-right term even in one language at one time or another.

Your main thing(s) are what you most love to do, or see or spend your time on. I have more main things and people than time to spend with them, and this seems to be true of most people I know.

We're all trying to balance family, work, the eccentricities of children and abuelitos, the pets who see you and think it's playtime. You know how it is. The day-to-day drill of conference calls, muting the phone to pull the kitten off my arm, whispering and pantomining "Give Jamie a box of raisins, chica - please?" to my daughter, whom I adore, who knows she's her own best thing and mine, too, but is nonetheless a sassy little muchacha who's making the most of ma's on the phone, so she won't notice that I'm on YouTube for a minute or two.  

And so forth and so on, we're all busy and don't get me wrong, I feel blessed to have too much to do (most of the time). Several of my neighbors have lost their jobs this year, and I can attest that it wasn't "all in their imaginations" as John "The Maverick" McCain would have you believe.

The neighbors who are normally going on two weeks family vacation never leave their houses, and believe me when I tell you "trickle down economics" isn't just political rhetoric. When we have no middle class, what happens to the people who've needed a hand up since Katrina, or since they came to this country to work in the citrus groves? Their main thing is only one thing and that's keeping their heads up for 5 more minutes all day long. Existing as opposed to living. Think they don't have children or parents to take care of? Don't listen to Lou Dobbs. The most impoverished, overworked, nothing-but-the-clothes-on-their-backs people in this country are better than he is.

Give them a hand up if you can. Food banks, Big Sisters, shelters won't turn away your offer to work one morning a week or the clothes your kids have outgrown. If you can help your neighbor through the long summer days, and there are many ways to do this without offending anyone's dignity (the dinner you're bringing over is because your guests canceled, or your kids want to spend more time with theirs . . . can their kids come over for pizza and a sleepover this weekend?) then do it. All I'm saying is this: If you can "give back," and you're willing to do so, you'll find your own ways. Nobody is as secure as we'd like to be this summer.

Then you've got some time for your Main Thing. Do you like to paint, read, work in your garden? Any rock climbers at NION? Long distance runners? Do you have pets? What's your favorite thing to do?

I know y'all can write. What are your other Main Things?

Big love to my Main Thing . . . still.

Full post as published by Never In Our Names on July 31, 2008 (boomark / email).