Kiter Runner Chapter 13

Much about this chapter affected me emotionally.

For starters, General Taheri's disappointment at Soraya's wanting to become a teacher is very palpable to me. Admit it, in the United States, white collar jobs have a hierarchy. On the top of the pyramid come the monied professionals, the doctors, lawyers, financiers, then come the successful managers, power salespeople and entrepreneurs, all followed by teachers, social workers, and others who join the service professions.

I once thought of going to law school, attracted by the status and money that would reward me at the the end of the academic journey, but I kept coming back to teaching which in some ways I feel has been wired into my DNA. I've never looked back and I feel glad that I followed by heart and not the cash and prestige. It is a rich man who is happy with what he does for a living!

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The older we get, the more we think of our mortality. I've read The Kite Runner before I had anyone close in my life pass away. Last February, my father-in-law, a man whom I had known, respected, and loved for twenty years, passed away. He had many friends in his life, but he had long outlived them all, so his funeral was sparsely attended.

Baba was a man who only a few years prior had been strong and vital, loved for his generosity and gregariousness. The beautiful words said by so many at his funeral serve as a perfect tribute to a good man who lived his life well.