He sat on a Santiago street corner.

Beside him on a bright, checkered blanket lay his tawny, short-haired dog. Not asking something for nothing, this man wove colorful beads onto crude twine—his display presented before him in neat rows, along with a collection cup. In bold letters across the front, he’d written:

“Donación, por favor.”

Being a bit homesick for my good dogs, I couldn’t help but smile, then ask, “What’s your friend’s name?” 

He gazed up at me, a quizzical expression written on his furrowed brow, and I realized—he didn’t speak English. Thing is, I don’t speak Spanish, so I pointed at his pooch. Nudging my husband, Bill interpreted. A single word, “perro,” and the man returned my smile.

“Ita,” he said.

“Oh, I have a young friend with that name,” I replied, forgetting he didn’t understand, then added, “In America.” 

His face lit up. “America,” he exclaimed, understanding this one word. And again, though only a whisper…

“America.”

Funny how a grin and a farewell are the same in most every language, so I offered one more smile and a wave before we continued on, but this encounter left me thinking. 

We hear so much negativity in our country, about… our country. And while I’m not naïve, thinking everything is fine or fair or not-in-need of fixing, I do believe this Santiago man’s expression upon hearing that single word spoke volumes. 

America.

It spoke of vision. Perhaps a dream in his heart. Not that his comprehension of our country is remotely accurate. I don’t know. But what I assume is this—he believes America to be a good and decent place. A place where people have freedom of expression. A place where people can still cast a vote—determining their leaders. Their laws.

So, in honor of this homeless man—a human reminding us, there’s no perfect place and we all possess dreams—won’t you help his hopes be realized, at least a little? 

My dream is that he could one day visit, bring his faithful friend and see for himself whether or not our nation lives up to his expectation. Until then…

We can do our part.

One way is to show up at the voting booth—demonstrating we’re not asking for something but doing…

Nothing.

May God bless this Santiago man and Ita. Please help keep his dream alive, and may we live up to that which he envisions.

Amen!