Recycled Life

Cafe Society
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Haven’t had much time or inclination to post in a while, but this, I think, warrants a mention.

As the Academy Awards approach, I hope you’ll take notice of a nominee for Best Short Documentary, Recycled Life. It’s the story of the “guajeros”, the inhabitants of a vast garbage dump that sits in the midst of Guatemala City, who subsist off of what they can scavenge there.

The film touches me personally because it’s also, in small part, the astonishing story of Safe Passage, and features its founder, Hanley Denning, who died tragically in an automobile accident last Thursday.

Hanley wasn’t from my home town or school, but you might (quite literally) say we ran in some of the same circles, and in that context we met. I can’t claim I got to know her very well (she was so modest, unassuming, and self-effacing one could be forgiven for overlooking her presence in certain crowds), but what little I did know of her left me completely unsurprised that she managed to accomplish everything she did. She was that remarkable. As I mentioned, I knew her through her running, which, despite the fact that she was not what I would call a natural athlete, she excelled at (like everything else she decided to put her mind to) simply through hard work, focus, and determination. On top of her impressive work ethic, she was, quite without exaggeration, the kindest, sweetest, most selfless, humble, intelligent, yet formidably dogged individual I have ever encountered. If there was one person I met in my ill-spent youth who I would have, had I the power, put in a protective bubble to assure the rest of us the world would be blessed with her presence, it was Hanley, without the slightest doubt. If anything about Hanley puzzled me to the point of annoyance, it was her constitutional inability to accept praise and admiration without a dose of self-effacement. I’m glad her alma mater made her superlative status official and undeniable, at any rate. The news of her loss, even despite our brief acquaintance, has devastated me, as it has the thousands of others who she touched with her peerless goodness, and I’m still in utter shock over it.

So please, if you have the chance, see the film. And if you feel so inclined, give to Safe Passage, and to other charities such as hers that sought to better the lot of the world’s most unjustly deprived, impoverished children. For them, and though she would never have asked it of you, a little bit for Hanley, truly one of the best of us.

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Thanks very much for posting this. I didn’t know anything about the program but it and its founder seem quite remarkable. I read where she had said if she died she knew the love and dedication to the program would continue. I hope so!

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I hope so too. Here are a couple more stories about Hanely and her work, in case you’re interested. I’ve been poring over things like this somewhat compulsively the past few days, though some of the details I already knew. I didn’t know there was a documentary being made in which she would appear until yesterday, so I’m newly gratified to see her work is getting this level of exposure.

It’s been years since Hanley and I spoke (I last saw her around one of the charity runs she organized some time ago), and right now I’d give anything to have the chance to talk to her again. I suppose it must seem like this small town boy from a tiny rural state is overestimating her importance in the grand scheme of things, but I’m not so sure. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if, given the chance, she could have achieved widespread reknown as one of America’s finest humanitarians. She was just such a mensch.

Well, after all, her work and passion, as well as the real subject of the film, is the plight of these families, especially the children, who literally live and depend on rotting filth. I’m doing everything I can right now to get to (or even organize) a screening of Recycled Life. I hope anyone who reads the links I’ve provided feels moved to do the same, as I’m quite certain it’s worth the effort. And, of course, try to give, if you feel an urge, if not to Safe Passage/Camino Seguro, then something of its calibur you know of. It’s good to see, through examples like Hanley’s, that our contributions can help people like her accomplish so much good.

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A statement from the director, Leslie Iwerks, upon getting the news of Denning’s death, and the Oscar nomination, mere days apart, to those it might interest.

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I think this will be my last post on the subject, so as not to get tiresome: A blog entry by someone who worked with Hanley.

Selected quote:

I must concur. Man, this flick is gonna kill me. I may be able to get a copy for a local screening before too long, if it works out. We’ll see. I’m told by a recent viewer it’s quite an experience, and effective viewing, if you’re into the non-profit scene, and looking for a good kick in your complacency.

Peace.