Sitting here with my morning cup of tea before heading off to work, I have just seen a segment on the news where they tell you a kind of uplifting, hopeful story about America.
Apparently there is a town - El Dorado - in Arkansas, where an oil company that has been locally owned and operated has chosen to make a promise to their community for the next 20 years. The promise is that, any child who attends high school in El Dorado for at least 4 years, can attend any university in the country. Besides providing the added assistance needed for the students to receive help in applying for university, this company is donating up to six thousand dollars a year towards their tuition.
The plan has worked. While the rest of the country has seen a %5 drop in the real estate market, El Dorado has had a %15 increase. The plan has been in effect for about 5 years now, and a town that formerly had a college-educated population of %5, is now well on their way to making a substantial regional change.
Call me sap, but I love stories like this. It's just what I need on this Christmas Eve morning to give me the hope I need. Watch out world, here comes El Dorado!!
On an unfortunately heavier note - please say your prayers for a dear friend of the Werk family who has braved an unfortunate accident, and is spending his holiday in the hospital with a fractured vertebra. This man, by all accounts, should be a vegetable right now. It is only by a miracle that he is a fortunate as he is.
My best wishes and love to everyone for this Christmas!!
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