Be The Time Traveler, not an Eloi

[Originally published @thesunrising.com on July 10, 2007]

There are few movies I watched growing up that really bothered me for some reason or another, and The Time Machine was definitely one of them. One of the standout scenes that stuck with me for a long time was the one that took place in the Future, when one of the Eloi (what we evolve into, supposedly) is floating down a fast river screaming for help and other Eloi are sitting on rocks in the river and alongside the shore just ignoring her. Just ignoring her as she floats away screaming for her life.

The Time Traveler shared my shock, and luckily was on location to pull the Eloi out of the water.

It’s so easy to get caught up in our lives these days that I think we forget sometimes how easy it is to help someone in need. Sure, we hear the screaming, but we’ve got too much going on to be bothered, or we figure someone else will help. We forget that to save a life, sometimes all we have to do is reach out and pull someone to safety. We forget that we have that power.

I have two friends with leukemia, Vinay and Sameer, who need bone marrow transplants within the next several weeks. For these transplants they need to find matches in the National Bone Marrow Donor Registry; unfortunately, as South Asians they have a 1 in 20,000 chance of finding that match (as a point of contrast, Caucasians have a 1 in 15 chance).

If you’re South Asian and you haven’t registered as a Bone Marrow Donor (sounds waay scarier than it really is), please find a drive and get registered. Be The Time Traveler, not an Eloi.

[I had one comment from SP: "You couldn’t have said it better, Sundeep. And to those who feel like its “too late” to do something, believe you me. It is never too late."]