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Daily Dose: Drop in the ocean
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(Joanne Rathe/ Globe Staff)
The Boston Globe reported yesterday on a most unusual book club. The members read tomes endorsed by Oprah, but their lives are far removed from the suburban living rooms and upscale coffee shops that usually host lively conversations about life and literature. This book club, which meets at Swedenborgian Church in Boston’s Beacon Hill, is comprised of homeless men, save one – founder Peter Resnik. (Peter Resnik is the brother of an Inner Peace Examiner colleague Matt Resnik.)
Two years ago, the story reports, Resnik met a homeless man on his walk to the gleaming offices of McDermott, Will & Emery where Resnik is a highly respected litigation attorney. The man, who gave the name of Rob for the story, set up shop each day in Boston Common, collecting spare change. Resnik would often strike up a conversation with the man, a former soldier. At first, baseball was the men’s shared topic, but as their relationship progressed, Rob mentioned a love for books. Resnik brought Rob a copy of “Water for Elephants” and idea was hatched.
The problems of homelessness are evident in the club. Members float in and out, depending on their situation, and the books often weigh down their nomadic packs. But when the discussion begins, the men are a group of equals, critiquing authors, commenting on characters, and telling their own stories. Rob notes in the story: “We’re real people. You see us on the street and the sidewalk, and a lot of people think the homeless are dirty and drunk, but even those people, there’s a soul in there.’’
Today Rob, thanks to Resnik’s pro bono representation for an unpaid traffic ticket and his own chutzpah, is off the streets. Instead of carting his things to the Common every day, he shows up to work as a custodian for a local church. Resnik hopes to expand the reach of his club, and a deacon in a local church is also hoping to replicate the book club’s success.
Resnik didn’t set out to change anyone’s life. If he had, the book club may be mired in fundraising campaigns or welfare bureaucracy. Instead, Resnik made a friend. With that, he made a difference. As Mother Teresa said:
“I do not agree with the big way of doing things. To us what matters is an individual. To get to love the person we must come in close contact with him. If we wait till we get the numbers, then we will be lost in the numbers. And we will never be able to show that love and respect for the person. I believe in person to person; that person is the one person in the world at that moment.”
Have a story of a small act that made a big difference? Send it to denverinnerpeace@gmail.com
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