It is 5:09 pm, and Joe Anybody waits impatiently in the drive-thru line of Marvin’s Galactic Burger. Breakfast permitted no more than a pop-tart before hitting the road. Lunch consisted of a microwave burrito from the vending machine and though it was tasty, it didn’t satisfy.
He looked at his watch, and his face twisted into a scowl. If they didn’t hurry, he’d be late for dinner. What Alice doesn’t know won’t hurt her. This is not the first time he’s grabbed a snack to tide him over until dinner. Besides, tonight is meatloaf, and there is always room for meatloaf.
Joe’s fingers drummed until the air-head with the van full of screaming kids changed her order for the hundredth time and finally pulled ahead. Joe raced up to the hi-def screen, screeched on the brakes and waited. He scowled at his watch again, and his eyes shot death rays at the ditz and her wagon full of brats. His stomach growled like a pack of wolves.
“Welcome to Marvin’s Galactic Burger. Please order when you are ready.”
“I’ll have a triple-whammy cheese deluxe combo, and super size that please. Substitute the regular fries for the chili-cheese curly ones. Don’t forget the onions!”
“And your drink sir?”
“Make that a biggie-size chocolate malt..., no wait, I am on a diet. Change that to a diet cola please.”
“Your total comes to $6.66. Please pull forward.”
Ridiculous? Maybe just a little. In real life, Joe would have gone for the malt. We live in the land of plenty, and I praise God for that. Good for Joe and good for the lady with the van full of perfect angels. Good for Alice too, she makes a mighty fine meatloaf. But did you know that not far off the coast of Florida is the poorest nation in the western hemisphere? I am willing to bet one of Marv’s galactic gut-busters that this isn’t all you didn’t know about Haiti.
Come on admit it, you thought that America was the first to end slavery. Nope, Haiti ended slavery in 1804! President Lincoln hadn’t even been born yet when an army of escaped slaves known as Maroons kicked France’s butt to the other end of the island and won their freedom.
I know what you’re thinking. You read this in high school history, which means I owe you dinner at Marv’s. Hold on, there’s more. Did you know that the Maroon leaders made a pact with the devil to end slavery? Yep, you heard me right and it’s an historical fact. They promised their children to Satan for the next two hundred years. It was a high price to pay for freedom, even from the horror of slavery.
Marc was born into a family with fifteen kids. His father was a voodoo priest. There was no food to feed little Marc, so at five years old he was sold as a slave child. He was given no parting hug as he left out the door. He heard no “I love you” from mom or dad. Marc was now alone in a living hell.
“How can that be? Slavery is illegal!” you rightfully ask.
You see the one called the “Deceiver” found a way to have his cake and eat it too. In Haiti, they’ve made child slavery an accepted practice. The upper class even has a polite name for them, and it is Restavec.
To borrow another cliché, with the end of 2004 the Haitian people have finished “paying the devil his due”. 2005 marks the ending of the two hundred year curse, and God has called this former slave child to bring hope to the land that gave him none. For the next couple weeks, I will share Marc’s story with you.
Because there is so much to tell, I’ll only be posting on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays. In the meantime, check out their website.
See you Wednesday,
David
He looked at his watch, and his face twisted into a scowl. If they didn’t hurry, he’d be late for dinner. What Alice doesn’t know won’t hurt her. This is not the first time he’s grabbed a snack to tide him over until dinner. Besides, tonight is meatloaf, and there is always room for meatloaf.
Joe’s fingers drummed until the air-head with the van full of screaming kids changed her order for the hundredth time and finally pulled ahead. Joe raced up to the hi-def screen, screeched on the brakes and waited. He scowled at his watch again, and his eyes shot death rays at the ditz and her wagon full of brats. His stomach growled like a pack of wolves.
“Welcome to Marvin’s Galactic Burger. Please order when you are ready.”
“I’ll have a triple-whammy cheese deluxe combo, and super size that please. Substitute the regular fries for the chili-cheese curly ones. Don’t forget the onions!”
“And your drink sir?”
“Make that a biggie-size chocolate malt..., no wait, I am on a diet. Change that to a diet cola please.”
“Your total comes to $6.66. Please pull forward.”
Ridiculous? Maybe just a little. In real life, Joe would have gone for the malt. We live in the land of plenty, and I praise God for that. Good for Joe and good for the lady with the van full of perfect angels. Good for Alice too, she makes a mighty fine meatloaf. But did you know that not far off the coast of Florida is the poorest nation in the western hemisphere? I am willing to bet one of Marv’s galactic gut-busters that this isn’t all you didn’t know about Haiti.
Come on admit it, you thought that America was the first to end slavery. Nope, Haiti ended slavery in 1804! President Lincoln hadn’t even been born yet when an army of escaped slaves known as Maroons kicked France’s butt to the other end of the island and won their freedom.
I know what you’re thinking. You read this in high school history, which means I owe you dinner at Marv’s. Hold on, there’s more. Did you know that the Maroon leaders made a pact with the devil to end slavery? Yep, you heard me right and it’s an historical fact. They promised their children to Satan for the next two hundred years. It was a high price to pay for freedom, even from the horror of slavery.
Marc was born into a family with fifteen kids. His father was a voodoo priest. There was no food to feed little Marc, so at five years old he was sold as a slave child. He was given no parting hug as he left out the door. He heard no “I love you” from mom or dad. Marc was now alone in a living hell.
“How can that be? Slavery is illegal!” you rightfully ask.
You see the one called the “Deceiver” found a way to have his cake and eat it too. In Haiti, they’ve made child slavery an accepted practice. The upper class even has a polite name for them, and it is Restavec.
To borrow another cliché, with the end of 2004 the Haitian people have finished “paying the devil his due”. 2005 marks the ending of the two hundred year curse, and God has called this former slave child to bring hope to the land that gave him none. For the next couple weeks, I will share Marc’s story with you.
Because there is so much to tell, I’ll only be posting on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays. In the meantime, check out their website.
See you Wednesday,
David
