Princess Di, Mother Teresa Stand For Hope

“My husband and I were happy to see Mother Teresa on the front page,” said the earnest Spokane woman at the airport.

She was talking about the paper from eight days ago when Princess Diana was the big story.

Then Mother Teresa died. The angel of Calcutta took her turn at the top of the front page.

“My husband and I had just been talking about it,” the woman said. “When Princess Di was killed we asked ourselves, ‘If Mother Teresa died would she get coverage, too?’ “

On the flight home I wondered: If someone took a poll in Spokane about the significance of Mother Teresa vs. Princess Diana, what would be the result? Is Spokane a Princess Di kind of place or a Mother Teresa town?

Of course many people here recognized and honored the contributions made by each.

But these two women touched different chords as their lives have been considered.

Princess Di was glamorous.

Mother Teresa was a nun.

Princess Di lived an extraordinary life of privilege yet became more beloved as she revealed her ordinary struggles.

Mother Teresa lived a most difficult life in poverty yet became more beloved as she demonstrated an extraordinary ability to care for others.

One was a showy ambassador for causes.

The other was a martyr for them.

We know all this.

What I don’t think we know, however, is how caring people and communities might take the good works of Princess Di and Mother Teresa and apply them to everyday life and community affairs.

The lives of each of these women are rich with meaning. But how can their lives and examples be applied in places faraway from the glittering palaces of London and the gritty streets of Calcutta?

I think examples can be found of how Princess Di and Mother Teresa might do their work in Spokane.

Honestly, this is more of a Mother Teresa kind of place. This is a Roman Catholic town with a big heart and no illusions about changing the world.

Dozens of people, such as Gladys Duncan who died just this summer, work anonymously for the poor and downtrodden.

Gladys crocheted caps for poor children and those who visited Our Place, a charity for the homeless. Not many people knew about it until her obituary was published.

When Gonzaga University English professor and essayist John Sisk died in July, he asked that memorials be sent to the House of Charity in Spokane - a very Mother Teresa-like bequest.

Each fall, the mayor of Spokane joins in the annual Bishop’s Poor Man’s Meal, where the well-to-do sit down at a homeless center to sip a bowl of vegetable soup and donate time and money to the cause of the poor.

Again, very Spokane. Very Mother Teresa.

We are a town of smaller givers with big hearts. Last year, local government employees gave an average of $107 each to United Way, the highest average for any governmment employees in the country.

This newspaper’s Christmas Fund raised $400,000 last year, most of it from private citizens giving $100 or less. It happens this way because Spokane isn’t much into glitter and because 40 percent of our jobs pay less than $14,000 a year.

But we are not totally a Mother Teresa town.

Princess Di’s good works often were linked to very public, glitzy events, and Spokane has some of these, too.

The Guild School’s Celebrity Auction has successfully raised money for developmentally disabled children by bringing in someone like Washington State football coach Mike Price to sell off autographed books of sports stars.

The Spokane Sexual Assault Center has hosted a champagne and chocolate gala to raise money.

At the end of this summer’s Showcase of Homes, an open house for new residences in the $375,000-to-$500,000 range, the backyard playhouses of each home were auctioned off to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House.

All three of these events had the flavor of a higher-profile social event targeted for a good cause, a cousin, if a bit distant, to Princess Di auctioning off her gowns for the cause of curing AIDS.

How foolish to try to suggest that one model or the other would be better for Spokane, or any community.

The feelings of loss and inspiration that still circulate in our minds when thinking of Princess Di and Mother Teresa could be extremely powerful in helping our city.

People who want to honor their memories could begin by working right here, at home, giving time, effort and money to good causes, as these women did.

Our city has AIDS patients.

We have homeless people.

Our town has no shortage of those who desperately, quietly need assistance to make a life here.

Mother Teresa might say do good works for those in need and don’t worry about changing the world.

Princess Di might suggest do good works for those in need because you just might change the world.

Either model would benefit our city.

In some small way, to act now on behalf of those in need can begin to fill the empty places left in our hearts.

, DataTimes MEMO: Chris Peck is the Editor to The Spokesman-Review. His column appears each Sunday on Perspective.