The Kite Runner

Becky loaned me this book weeks ago, and I began reading it over spring break. After that I got so busy with school and other things, I put it down and didn't have a chance to finish it. Yesterday morning I did. Becky has already written her thoughts about the book here. My thoughts echo hers. I do want to share something else that has been running through my head this weekend. It is something that I know I should always be aware of, but I am not, and I am so glad I was reminded of it by reading the book.

Without giving too much of the plot away, I will share a portion of the story. The main character's father was a very wealthy businessman in Afghanistan before the USSR invaded and then the Taliban took over. They had a beautiful home, servants, a nice car. The father had even donated a large sum of money to build an orphanage in Kabul. After the invasion, they left Kabul and came to the US. At that time, the father found work at a gas station to make ends meet. In the area where they lived in California, there were lots of Afghan immigrants. These were people who had been educated and were in leadership roles in their country.

I know it is an unfair assumption on my part, but when I think of these kinds of jobs (convenience store clerks and such,) I think of the people who hold the jobs as unskilled labor. I think it is a good reminder to me to know that everywhere I go, everyone I meet deserves to be treated as "skilled". After all, the person running the check-out line at the grocery store just might have been a doctor once upon a time. And for a person who faints as much as me, that could come in handy.