Call To Action. 3-6 Degrees of Separation between a world of mothers and sons...
Miracles & Musings 4-14-25
Remembering what was going on for me April 14th, 1981. I was in labor, getting ready to deliver my second child. Whole lot of physical pain.
Lot of details about that labor I’m not getting into here. Suffice to say that my memory of that time has a present-time resonance.
At that time, forty-four years ago, I was a mother, married to a green-card holder. He worked. I worked. He helped care for the houseboat we lived on, and our two-year old. I helped care for the houseboat we lived on, and our two-year old.
You might not have seen this next part coming.
I didn’t:
I find myself thinking of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, the man I wrote about yesterday. His wife and children. His mother.
March 15th he was deported illegally by the U.S. government.
I wondered why he came to this country in the first place. He was living under the Special Protection of the US government. Had been since 2019, when he received the federal court order “Withholding of Removal” to prevent him from being deported to El Salvador.
I started wondering why he came to the US. I asked ChatGPT.
It replied:
Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia came to the United States in 2011 at the age of 16 to escape threats and extortion from the Barrio 18 gang in El Salvador. His family, including his mother who ran a pupusería [restaurant/food stand], had been targeted by the gang, which demanded money and threatened to force her sons into gang membership if she didn't comply. Fearing for his safety, Abrego fled to the U.S. seeking refuge. Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre+2AP News+2AP News
I’m thinking now of my two sons, and my two grandsons, and of all the mothers with sons I know.
The son of mine who turns forty-four tomorrow? I cherish his being. I am grateful that he is alive, and living in this world. Grateful for all the years of interactions and love we have shared.
Do you know about the supposed degrees of separation proposed to exist between humans? I asked ChatGPT:
A 2011 study by Facebook and the University of Milan, analyzing 721 million users, found that the average degree of separation was 4.74.
A 2016 Facebook update with more data brought it down even further to 3.57 degrees on average among Facebook users.
So, what’s the answer?
In theory (worldwide): About 6 degrees.
Online/social media (like Facebook): Closer to 3–4 degrees due to how interconnected people are now
So, I’m thinking about all the mothers and sons in the world. We’re all connected within 3-6 people. What if we all got together for one huge party?!
Oh, wait….maybe we are?!
Maybe this festival of life is what is happening among us all right now?!
Didja notice that some people among us are arguing and fighting?
I’ve noticed. I ask myself, What Is Mine To Do?
Here’s my current answer to that question. I sent a birthday card to my son, with photos of some of his birthday parties over the years…and
I created a google document with a summary history of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, with actions you can take to express yourself about his situation, if you might be called to do so… The Link: https://bit.ly/CitizenActions
Here we all are in this “party of life”…
Until we meet again, be well…