No words

I keep seeing this photo everywhere. I just have no words to describe my response to it.

Tanisha Blevin, 5, holds the hand of Nita LeGarde, 105, as they leave the Convention Center in New Orleans.

Look at Ms. LeGarde’s purse. Also look at the little boys in the background, being rolled along by giant men with guns. And Tanisha’s protective attitude towards Ms. LeGarde. I wonder if they met in the Convention Center or if they knew each other beforehand. I just … have no words. Tanisha. You are obviously a good good good little soul.

Update:

The photograph reminded me (so often do we search for comparisons, in order to deal with our experiences) of the Norman Rockwell painting The Problem we all Live With – which has to do with the start of desegregating schools:

The authority figures tower up out of the picture. The child is surrounded by filth – literal and figurative. But she remains pure.

God bless them all.

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8 Responses to No words

  1. Just1Beth says:

    I saw that, too. I love that little girl. PS My kids had a lemonade stand today for the Katrina victims and raised $26.63. It is the 63cents that kills me.

  2. DeAnna says:

    I was watching that live as it was unfolding and I noticed that tiny child holding on to that woman’s hand.
    I was also watching as the man pushed Ms. LeGarde’s wheelchair really fast and the little girl having to jog to keep up while still holding the lady’s hand.
    Heartbreaking. Just simply heartbreaking.

  3. mere says:

    Precious.

  4. Noggie says:

    It gives me hope…

  5. Cullen says:

    I love the “rough men stand ready” pushing the lady and the kids. Reminds me of the plurality of public service.

    My kids went through their old toys and got a box of stuff together they want to give to local evacuees (I don’t like the term refugee much either). They both gave away more of their Barbies than they kept. My girls break my heart all the time. In the good way.

  6. ricki says:

    it cracks my heart to see how protective that little girl is toward the lady.

  7. red says:

    Don’t you get the impression that if someone came up and tried to mess with them – Tanisha would be more effective in protecting the old lady than the guys with the guns? Like – you’d have to get past Tanisha first.

  8. Andrea says:

    Wow. I am glad to see that so many people love that photo as much as I do. Yeah, Tanisha would be the one you’d have to mess with. She has the most incredible expression on her face. It says so many things at once…fear, exhaustion, but most of all, strength and determination. I would love to know what this little girl grows up to do. Whatever life hands her, she has already been through a living hell. She has my utmost respect!

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