Belinda's letter about Bali, begging, and her fears

Blog Post 7 WAUGkidsWeb

Dear Dr. Waug,

I’m nine. I mean, I’m like pretending to be nine. Actually I’m going to be nine in 2048. You seem to be old, and will probably be dead when I’m born, so I thought I sould contact you in order to get onto your blog before you’re dead. I hope you don’t mind.

Anyway, when I’m actually nine, I don’t want to be poor. I don’t want to be like those beggars you walk by in downtown Bangkok, the ones with faces hanging down like melted wax, really horrible, or like the poor guy who has to drag himself across the sidewalk to get to his begging place every evening near the Cineplex. I want to be okay, to be able to walk, look okay, and all that.

I heard from somebody that in a place called Bali near Thailand, there is a big meeting going on where all the nations have representatives and they are talking about what you call “soiling the nest,” like a chicken who poops in her nest and the little chickens have to live in there until they can fly away.

The countries must be really stupid or ignorant. They don’t seem to give a darn about the kids like me who will come along in thirty years or so. If I manage to live as long as you, I won’t die until maybe the year 2109. I will be seventy then, and that’s a long time to be eating bad food and breathing polluted air, especially when the law says you have to use those crazy mercury light bulbs to save energy. Who decided to do that, and how do they plan to recycle the mercury so I don’t have to eat or drink or breathe it?

Please put in your blog how I don’t want to live to be old if my central nervous system is poisoned with all that mercury. See if you can get the people interested in controlling the mercury in batteries, light bulbs, and street lights. I’m scared to be born into the world you guys are preparing for me. Please, please do something now, while you have the chance.
Belinds Brooks

I’m going to be born in Concord, Massachusetts, but I will eventually move to Atlanta shores around 2087 and live on the beach. Love, Belinda.

Dear Belinda on the Beach,

I hear you, Belinda, and I’m contacting everyone I can. Lots of us really care about you, and wish you well. I wish I could promise you that we’ll be successful in getting people to wake up and fix things, but right now we have not accomplished much.
The meeting in Bali is not where things will be fixed, so don’t be too discouraged. The people there are basically like hand-puppets arguing and debating. The hands are those who actually have the power to do something, but need to do what we call “posturing” in order to make a good impression on the people who actually sent them there. Things will only change when enough everyday people express their anger and disappointment about the way the earth is deteriorating and finances are out of control, and so on. Once the people catch on to what’s really happening things will begin to change. Hang in there, Belinda. We’re working on it!
Dr. Waug