Pathways to Peace

The Journey

Once upon a time, that time being the beginning of World War II, a baby boy was born on the steps of a white hospital in a small town in Kansas. This baby boy - his name was Winston - never knew his father. His father was killed at Pearl Harbor.

Three years after Winston's debut on the planet and his father's exit from it, his mother married another military man. As part of a military family, the boy traveled from state to state, school to school, and country to country. He grew up lonely. Never in one spot for long, he hesitated to make friends. in fact, he did not know how.

One midsummer evening when the boy was sixteen, he took a walk on a narrow path adjacent to the runway not far from the base house. He was crying. As he kicked rocks and pebbles to the side of the path, he talked to himself. He talked also to God, whom he considered his best friend. As he walked, the air became strangely chilled and breezy for a midsummer night.

"God, I thought you loved everyone. If you love us so much, how come life is so hard? I've been lonely all my life. I'm fat. I get bad grades in school. Whatever side of the tracks I stand on is the wrong side. And it's not just me that feels the pain. It's all over the place. My family travels a lot, and there's no place that seems much better. I've seen people living in poverty. I've seen people who are prejudiced against other people. I've seen people hurting each other. Millions, many of them innocent, languish in prison. It's all so unfair!

"If you really do exist, Father, please help me. At least let me know that you're there. Give me sign. Give the world a sign."

The weather began to change even more rapidly. The moon turned the color of burgundy wine and started to spin slowly, like a precious stone being examined by a jeweler.