Another Dead Canary

Old Ed Pulver is surely long dead by now. The fact is, he wasn’t doing so well when I met him, which was 20 years ago when I was a junior at the University of Florida. He walked into my college newsroom one afternoon in his grungy, stained clothes and announced that he wanted to talk to a reporter. That was me.

Ed, who I’m guessing was in his 70s at the time, had a problem. The city was going to tear down his house. More of a shack, really. It was what they called a nuisance property. No electricity. Garbage strewn about the yard; broken windows, busted boards, peeling paint. It didn’t smell too good, either.

But it kept the rain off his head and it kept him off the street. It was home, and Ed wasn’t sure what he was going to do if the city tore it down. Ed was alone. No family. No friends. No place to go after his house was gone.

Could I help him?

A photographer and I hung out with Ed, talked to him about his predicament and took pictures. I remember the pictures very well: Powerful black and white images of Ed sitting in a chair on his porch surrounded by junk. The story that I wrote, not so much.

Back then, I thought journalism could save the world. Write stories, print them in the newspaper and the power of the words and images could move mountains or, at least, call some attention to someone like Ed’s plight. I don’t remember what happened to Ed. My guess is the city tore his shack down and Ed ended up on the street. Maybe a social worker gave him directions to a shelter and the soup kitchen.

I was young and self-absorbed and didn’t really think of the other things I could have done to help Ed. I couldn’t see beyond the front page. I won’t say I’ve lived with regret because I haven’t thought of Ed too much over the years. But thinking back today, I wish I had done more.

That’s the difference between my life now and the one I led as a journalist. As a reporter, you use your mantle of “objectivity” and role of “impartial” observer as an excuse not to get personally involved; not to pick a side.

I still believe in the power of words and images but when it comes down to it, the question is always, what are we going to do about it? Will writing a check to a nonprofit help? Yes. Will donating old clothes or canned goods to charity help? Yes. Will buying a homeless person a sandwich help? Yes.

You don’t have to make a grand gesture or give more than you can afford. Some simple actions can make a difference, if not in the long run, at least for the moment.

I’m willing to bet that anything you do to move the conversation in your country, in your city, in your neighborhood, on your block toward addressing poverty will help. Today, thousands of bloggers around the world are writing about poverty.

Liberals, conservatives, moderates, parents, college students, retirees — the whole melting pot of the blogosphere is coming together for Blog Action Day 2008 Poverty.

It’s only words and pictures but the conversation has to begin somewhere. Spend some time reading what people have to say about poverty today and then ask yourself, “What am I going to do about it?”