On Memorial Day, I posted a short list of several really awful ways many, many people around the world lose limbs, none of which, I am grateful to say, are what happened to me. And what do you know? There are even more.
Now, this will seem like a non sequitur, but I subscribe to the e-mail newsletter of Dean's Beans, the best coffee roaster in Eastern Massachusetts. (Dean's Moka Sumatra is truly the perfect coffee -- except that he doesn't offer it in a decaf version for nervous, middle-aged, chubby women with blood pressure issues yet an unslakeable thirst for the broth of exquisitely roasted beans. Oh well; can't have everything, and the Liberation Decaf and Mexican Chiapas aren't too bad a second or third choice, respectively.) My mind is always on how lucky I have been, but the latest issue of Dean's newsletter, especially coming so quickly after my public recitation of some of the ways so many people have it way worse than I do, felt like a continuation of that topic. You can read it here:
Tracking the Death Train (Chiapas, Mexico), by Dean Cycon
See, this is another thing I've never experienced, nor has anyone I know. Though growing up in southern California gave me an awareness of what some people go through to get to this country, I never knew about this particular monstrosity until now. And remember, the opportunity to live the kind of life where one of my worst complaints is that I can't get my favorite coffee decaffeinated is way above the kind of goal people riding the Death Train are trying to achieve. These folks risk -- and all too often lose -- absolutely everything just trying to reach a place where they dream of making enough money to help their families survive, maybe a hair or two above stinking poverty.
Meanwhile, I thought Dean's Beans was the best coffee I'd tasted here the first time I tried it. The fact that this small, local company also gives a crap about the people who grow the coffee (organically) and the places where they live, as well as the communities where the coffee ends up, just makes it taste all the better. If you want to help this company in its work, or if you just want some respect and compassion in your cup along with brilliant flavor, buy its coffee! On the other hand, if you just want to read some inspiring, amusing and educational stuff about coffee, the places where it's grown, the people who grow it and the challenges they face, or how to successfully run a profitable business with a heart, I recommend a close reading of the Dean's Beans website, including the blog/newsletter.
Thanks, Dean. You're a mensch.
____
UPDATE: Dean has posted an update to this story entitled "The Death Train, Part II (El Salvador)." It begins, "When we visited the shelter for amputee victims of the Death Train in
Tapachula, Mexico back in June, we created a program to help folks get
economic training or jobs back in their own countries, so that they
could support their families without trying to sneak into the U.S.
again." To read a little about some of the people that program has already helped, read the article here.
Comments