Poetry, plea for Case 629

A Lithia woman eager to adopt a Kazakh girl is writing poetry and offering it on eBay. So far, she has had no luck.

By EDDY RAMIREZ
Published December 29, 2004

LITHIA - Susan Barnes was on her way to work one morning when the idea came to her: eBay.

The single mother had hoped to adopt a Russian orphan. Not just any orphan, but a 2-year-old from Kazakhstan, identified on the Internet as Case No. 629.

"I just saw her and I fell in love," she said.

Barnes, unable to afford the $40,000 in adoption expenses, started praying.

Then it occurred to her: If a grilled-cheese sandwich said to bear the image of the Virgin Mary could fetch $28,000 on eBay, then surely people would help save a child from a bleak future.

She decided to start selling poetry, rhymes that document her search for a child.

You will find her alone,

Why not, Barnes reasoned. All over eBay, people paid cash for far more useless items.

She turned to the online marketplace last week.

"I hope that someone out there sees this and wants to make a difference, as I do, in the life of a small child," she wrote.

Bidding starts at 50 cents, but so far there have been no takers, no bids, on either of the first two poems.

Others have had better luck on eBay, including an Indiana family that made $65,000 on a cane, after claiming it belonged to a dead man who was haunting a grandson.

But not Barnes. Not yet.

A Web designer for Tech Data in Clearwater, she lives in a three-bedroom house in FishHawk Ranch with her mother and 3-year-old daughter Holly. She says she can provide for another child. But the expenses of adoption are daunting: a $300 application fee, a $550 registration fee, a $12,000 agency fee, an $18,000 foreign adoption fee. Plus travel expenses to Kazakhstan and a required seven-week stay.

She offers, as evidence, her correspondence with a Pennsylvania-based adoption agency.

Barnes has always dreamed of having a large family. Now 44, with Type II diabetes, Barnes can no longer bear children. Holly's father is out of her life.

The Russian orphan reminds her of Holly.

"She even has the same nose," Barnes said.

Her doctor suggested overseas adoption, and a co-worker told her about his trip to Russia, where he adopted a boy. Barnes found an international adoption agency online and stumbled upon Case No. 629.

Barnes' first poem was entitled A Letter to Santa, which she wrote on behalf of her daughter asking Santa for a little sister. She followed it up with Father Time, currently on eBay.

Relatives are supportive but leery of her plan to sell poems on eBay.

"My split-second reaction was, "What are you thinking?' " said her brother Robert Barnes, a surgical pathologist in Jacksonville. "Raising one child is difficult. Raising two would take tremendous effort. But if anyone can do it, it's her."

Work friends describe Barnes as a generous, caring and hard-working person.

Barnes said she will continue to post poems on eBay on holidays through 2005.

Barnes said this is not a scheme to cheat people out of money . She promises to refund contributions if the adoption effort fails.

So far, only one person has responded.

"If I had the money, I'd give it to you," the posting read. "God bless and good luck."

Susan Barnes' poem, Father Time, will be on www.ebay.com for four more days.

To find it, search for Father Time, then click on the picture gallery link and scroll through the listings for the poem's title and a child's photograph.

Barnes also has created a Web site for those wishing to make a donation: http://www.loriendesigns.com/findasister.htm

[Last modified December 29, 2004, 09:57:33]