Hunger

Many of you know that I sing with Resounding Harmony, a philanthropic chorus conducted by Dr. Timothy Seeling. We are working on our fall concert (which is Sunday, November 22 at the Myerson—which should be re-named Heaven—at 8:00 p.m.—I have tickets if you want to go!). This concert is benefitting the North Texas Food Bank; and one of the pieces was commissioned and written specifically for this concert. The title is “Hunger” and tells the story of a boy who is forced to grow up very fast and care for his siblings while his mother works three jobs trying to keep food on the table (sounds just like a lot of our kids!).

Well, last night at rehearsal, when it came time to practice this piece, one of the male chorus members went up to the mic and told his story of being hungry as a child, having to fend for himself and his siblings while his parent disappeared for days at a time. Needless to say, it was quite moving, especially since this young man has become quite an accomplished musician and is doing very well in his life.

The reason I bring this up is this: 99% of our teens have gone hungry at some point in their lives. They are the boy in the song, they are his sister, they are his brother. They could be my fellow chorus member. If you’ve never been around PH during the holiday season and watched HOW MUCH food our teens consume, you have really missed something. They can’t believe they can have as much as they want, whenever they want it.

As Tim said last night: For those of us who have been privileged enough to be able to decide WHAT to eat, not IF we are going to eat, it is difficult to wrap our heads around a 10-year old boy trying to save his sister from being hungry. But we see it every day at PH.

And thank goodness, we are able to provide these kids with all the food they need and want whenever they want it—fittingly, in partnership with the North Texas Food Bank.