Teachers – The Ones I Can’t Forget For decades Martin Fletcher was a foreign correspondent reporter who told stories. I learned that while he was in Maine not long ago he appeared in an interview (2-parts) on the TV...
Teachers – The Ones I Can’t Forget
For decades Martin Fletcher was a foreign correspondent reporter who told stories. I learned that while he was in Maine not long ago he appeared in an interview (2-parts) on the TV show 207. His reporting took him to places in the world that were devastated by war, hunger and many other challenges. He saw people in the most horrible of situations.
I was attracted to this story because of the title of his book however, it’s not what I initially thought that it was going to be. The book called Teachers – The Ones I Can’t Forget. Martin, now retired from NBC, includes stories that are about some of the people he met along his journey.
His stories and interviews are captivating and provide, to his audiences in their busy lives, to reflect on what is important in the moment. His wife stated that the people he met along his journey “left scratches on his soul“. Ten of his correspondent friends died in the line of duty and several others injured. He believes he was lucky to be out of harms way. And, felt that perhaps his luck was running out which was one of the reasons he retired. The Japanese people say: “you fall down 7 times and get up 8”.
One of the stories in the book is as follows:
As Fletcher walked through the feeding station, jotting notes to himself for the story he would write, a boy who was about six years old began to follow him. Although clearly suffering from starvation, with a distended belly and only patches of hair on his head, the boy kept “a respectful distance” and refused Fletcher’s offers of water, a granola bar, and a sandwich.
Eventually, Fletcher asked a guide what the boy wanted.
“He wants your pencil,” the interpreter said.
“My pencil? That’s all? But I’ve only got one,” Fletcher replied.
The guide spoke harshly to the boy, who ran away “throwing one last beaten glance over his shoulder as he disappeared among the starving and the sick,” Fletcher wrote.
“That experience has haunted me ever since. Why didn’t I give him my pencil? What, I couldn’t find another one? But in the moment, trying to record the drama around me, and with only one pencil, I didn’t see any farther than my notebook.”
The heart warming part of this story for me is that all the profits from his book go to Artolution. Looks like an amazing organization. aWhat they do…
“We provide collaborative art-making experiences to our participants in vulnerable communities, strengthening mental health, social inclusion and livelihoods. Artolution programming is led by inspiring local Teaching Artists.”
Below are the two 207 videos on youtube.