Shorty McGinnis

I made my first mission trip in April 2005 to Guatemala.  I knew I was going to see poverty on that trip, and suspect the poverty I will see in Tanzania will surpass anything Guatemala had to offer.  Before leaving I was reading Tony Hillerman's book, Skeleton  Man.

In the book Shorty McGinnis was the operator of a general store in a remote corner of a Navaho reservation.  He ran his store a little differently.  He wasn't always around so you could help yourself and pay what you could.  He was also open to a trade if you had no money.  Here is wisdom according to Shorty McGinnis:

• "... when a fella had more stuff than he needed and was stacking more of it up with the people all around him hungry, that was a pretty good clue he had some of that greed sickness, and they collect these things to prove they're better at being greedy than their friends."

I hope I remember Shorty when I am on my trip.