Operation: Make the World a Better Place – Phase 2:

I celebrate my friends and other nice people I meet out in the world here pretty often, but not often enough. It’s easy to complain about things here, and I don’t intend to stop that altogether, ‘cause frankly, I need a safe vent. I have been and will continue to try harder to really think about what I say here before I go ahead and say it, but this is my “rant” and I don’t feel that there is ANYthing in me that is too ‘bad’ for this place. nyah.
:p
However, I do think that there is more that I can do, so I am going to start regularly* using this forum to talk about the good people I meet and their good deeds, large and small, so that maybe we can all be reminded that it’s not all bad, that there is lots of good, wherever you look – if you look.

The kindness of strangers...
Last Saturday was the day I woke up with my eye swollen shut, feeling terrible. Chris had to take me to the hospital, and work was out of the question. I felt like Quasimodo, I must’ve looked a terrible, icky mess. Nonetheless, a lady in the CVS where I was picking up my eye drop prescription saw me leaning against Chris near the pick-up counter, and stopped to say “Oh, you look like you feel bad” in a sweet and soothing voice, and patted my shoulder and said “Take care.”
Moo. Most people would walk on by, simply out of self-preservation, and who could blame them? You never even really notice that people just walk on by. It’s just what people do. But as soon as she offered me that small kindness, I felt flooded with the warmth of her genuine concern. I instantly felt better. I thanked the lady on the spot, and it caused me to really consider the difference those little gestures can make.

The good side of the medical profession...
For that matter, the staff at Pardee hospital is a crew that always goes out of their way to make you feel a little better. They are friendly and devoted and often funny, too. As bad as going to the hospital is, it’s worth the drive to go to Pardee for the extra-special care. They aren’t the only nice ones, either. I’ve known good doctors and nurses all my life, people who go out of their way to ease and soothe your pain and fear. People like beloved Dr. Asemi who did my appendectomy when I was 13 and in need of more than just surgery; one nurse in particular at the Urgent Care in Hattiesburg who took such good care of me when I was suffering from horrible vertigo the week of Dad and Robbie’s deaths… I can instantly recall dozens of memories of kindnesses given in the worst of times by these devoted people over the years.

Small sacrifices...
Last Sunday, we went to brunch. It was before my flu symptoms had kicked in, but my eye was really bad, and I was feeling pretty yuck. Our waitress was also a friend of ours and I warned her not to get too close. She sweetly and tactfully complied, and went on with her busy business. There was a large table of elderly ladies, from the North (ahem) behind us and they were being incredibly obnoxious to this young lady. At one point, she had to leave her tables to cry. I got up and found her (still trying to keep a safe distance) and said something to let her know that I saw and sympathized, and also made her laugh.
When she returned to her tables she stopped at ours, and carefully and gently gave me a sweet little hug, despite my cooties. Bless you and thank you for that sweetness, Miss E.

It's surprising when some people go out of their way...
There’s John, the man who let me drive his mini-excavator, despite possible risk, and made my day, and there’s Michael, the construction foreman who asked him for the favor on my behalf, not to mentioned stopped his important work to cut my kitchen pipes for me...

Taking a moment from a busy schedule...
My friend Bill, a wonderful (and very busy) person and skilled plumber who took my calls all throughout that frustrating job, patiently listening to my “curvy thingy with the loop” kinds of descriptions, answered all my questions, and then came by to help me be sure that it was done properly, and for no more pay than a cup of Darjeeling...

The web of distant friends...
There’s my friend Will, patiently plugging away at his own complicated life, struggling with his own serious issues, and yet finding time to be concerned and supportive of all his crazy friends...

Dear, dear far away Teddy, who always thinks of me, even when I am a million miles away for a long, long time, who somehow knows when I am struggling and rises to the occasion, whether with some digital silliness, legos for the broken little girl in me, birthday goodies, easter baskets, or random packages of awesomeness. Teddy who knows me better than a lot of people who see me every day and still loves me and calls me BelleBoi after all these billion years…

...And the Strangeness of Kinders...
…The Geek Patrol, on the whole, with all their sundry gentle madnesses. Specifically today, I’ll celebrate Ken’s fierce protectiveness for his “family” and desire to get and keep everyone together; Tobie’s generosity and elemental “fun” power; Mike’s dogged devotion to even the most scandalous of us, and continued effort to keep me in the loop;
Jen and Burt’s loving generosity; Jen’s ‘Warrior Queen’ defense of her “family” (between Ken and Jen, we ain’t got NO worries!) and brave ability to say exactly what she thinks and still manage to keep it loving and productive; Darrel’s surprising and charming vulnerability – some people give presents or help and advice (and D. does those, too), but D. gives something rare – his trust, and a bucketful of exuberance to boot (me, Tobie, Darell, “Fun Elementals” and Triple-Headed WonderBeast). There’s Greg, with his unchanging sweetness and kind words; Chris, who just makes you feel better by being near you, like a contact high; Bec with her admirable queen-like traits, who makes you feel good just by noticing you and offering you a cat smile; Kaysha, who is Grace incarnate and constantly offering words or hugs or gifts that make you feel like a hobbit who just gotten the Light of Numenor (or even some really cool rope!); and all the other Geeks too, who go out of their way to make the world a better place for the people they love as well as setting an example for the whole world on how to be yourself, unflinchingly, without regret, and indeed with great pride for being so singular, and great pride in being part of such an amazing and unique collective.

Please, if you read this and aren’t on this list, don’t feel forgotten. There is only so much time today, but I intend to keep doing this. It’s a way to thank you all for your kindnesses, yes, but it’s more for the purpose of pointing out some of the good in this world, of hopefully inspiring everyone to do more, to try harder, and to consciously honor the kind people in your own world, and maybe to just remind myself that there IS good, and there is lots worth living and fighting for.

Phase three – Operation “SAVE CHRISTMAS!” coming up soon!
Much love,
-Sam


*well, as regularly as I ever do ANYthing…

Warning, I've hatched a plan...

Alright, enough griping – for now. Instead, I am going to try to work a little more of the philosophy of a group of my all-time heroes, one of the greatest collectives of scholars and thinker, nay artists, this world has ever produced and try a little harder to always look on the bright side of life*

I raised hell last week about not loving each other and ourselves enough. Well, the crows have come home for the holidays – or some similar, slightly nonsensical old-farmer’s saying, like ‘if I were a physician, I might be facing a malpractice suit on myself’ or ‘maybe I should try practicing what I preach while I’m in the pulpit.’

So, my first contributions to this cause are that I am going to see what I can do to make it easier for people to do good things for each other and for themselves, and find ways to help people fight these terrible dragons that we are all talking about these days. Some of the things I plan to do are going to take a while. I have to try to cajole Stewart into giving me some of his office time so that we can alter my page to accommodate this plan, but I can go ahead and share my plans with you now. Maybe some of you can help me add to this as I go along. The more the merrier.
I intend to create a new section on Day Off just for the purpose of giving myself and others ideas and avenues for easy ways to help other people, support our soldiers, support our country and yet let it be known that we are not happy with the status quo.

Three things inspired this idea. Chris told me about a postcard campaign during the Vietnam war, people printed and mailed thousands of postcards to the White House, pleading for peace. I think that’s a wonderful idea, because not only is it an inexpensive mass message, that could flood the White House mailroom with something that can’t go un-noticed, but it would also flood our postal system with much needed revenue and help the economy in some small way. I am going to design a series of postcards, with the white house address already added, and put them up in a printable format so that people can print them out and send as many as they please. I may also attempt to raise enough money to have a thousand or so printed up so that I can give them out and leave them in places where people might pick them up and send them on. I think there are a few places in Asheville that might put some on their counter, and I could hand them out to folks who don’t read my page (yet!). That way they can share the web address with friends and go print and mail even more.
I will certainly "keep you all posted", aha, aha, ha. **

My good friend Carol told me about a site called “Operation Military Pride”
“Operation Military Pride is a volunteer organization with a wide range of activities – all which are to boost the morale of our troops deployed overseas. We not only send cards, letters and care packages ourselves, but also distribute troop names and addresses to patriots wanting to send cards, letters and care packages to troops. We are one of the very few groups that allow direct contact with a service member, eliminating the middle man and expenses.”
- from the “About us” section of the OMP web page.

They also offer public events and support every branch of the military service, no matter where they are deployed. They support civilian service staff as well as the animals that deploy with service men and women, with their “Kindness to K9s” program.
They offer a variety of programs and ways to help, like “Books for the Brave” (new and used paperbacks), “Holidays Hearts” (items for the current holiday), “Mission Relief” (stress relief items), and “Women in Uniform” (items for female troops), as well as many others. They make it quite clear though that the troops love to receive anything from home, and ultimately leave it up to you, the sender, to decide what you’d like to do to help.

The fact of the matter is that many of us disapprove of this war, but that doesn’t change the fact that our soldiers as well as the soldiers of our allied countries are there suffering things that most of us could never imagine – now matter WHY they’re there. During the Vietnam war, this country was torn and unfortunately our soldiers were treated incredibly disrespectfully, both by the citizens of this country and by the government. I think the ONE thing that everyone in this country can agree on right now is that this particular travesty should not be allowed to happen again. It’s plain that we are all in for the long haul, and even though you don’t support the “war effort” (ugh), you can definitely support the effort of the men and women who signed on for this job.

I will be looking for more sites and organizations like this, to offer the broadest possibilities for making a difference, and I will add them as I go along. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to e me, or post it to my guestbook.

Another effort I’d like to endorse, support and participate in is the “Sorry Everybody” site.
This site is pretty simple. It has hundreds and hundreds of photos of people from all over America and all over the world expressing their feelings about what’s happening in this country in sweet, funny, poignant, honest, and in my opinion, extremely powerful ways. It is a way for people to apologize to each other and to the world for not being able to do more about this situation, and to be able to see the faces and feel the warmth of other people who care. It is not explosive, it is not aggressive, it is EXACTLY what our mothers and teachers and Sunday school leaders taught us to do: say we’re sorry.
-from their ‘faq’ page:
"What's this site about?
Most people who think carefully understand that Americans are not really any more jingoistic or xenophobic than people in other countries, but it never hurts to reinforce, especially considering what happened on November 2nd, 2004. What must it have looked like to the world outside our borders? America proudly re-appointed her reckless, incompetent and corrupt government. How much of America? Fifty-two percent. The rest of us are aghast and dismayed.
Lots of fuss is made about the “global village.” The Internet was supposed to make communication between cultures, countries and peoples painless and easy. It was supposed to build bridges. But it doesn't do this automatically; somebody has to reach out. The Internet was supposed to lead to education and understanding. It doesn't. Rarely do people on the internet apologize. I thought it was high time. The world needs to understand that there are people in America who don't like what our government is doing. And from the mail we're receiving, there are people in the international community who appreciate this.
Also, come on, it's kind of amusing.
Why does America need to apologize?
It doesn't. Our message isn't normative; it doesn't require anything of anybody. We don't say you should be sorry or you must be sorry. Our apologies are voluntary. Situations like this are great sources of misunderstanding and rancor between cultures. We don't pretend apologies are the solution, but we don't see the harm in offering them.
This is so pointless! Why aren't you out really supporting your cause? You know, volunteering, canvassing, running for office? You should be ashamed!
Who are you to say we're not? The second picture on our front page is a gentleman who has been canvassing for Kerry for the last three months. He's walked from door to door so much that his calves have turned into carbide steel. Don't you dare assume that we're not doing our part, just because we spared ten seconds to hold a sign up to a camera.
Why don't you just accept that Bush won and get on with your lives?
We have. That's why we're so sorry."
***

Most of all, these three things have made me feel like I CAN make a difference, that I can have a voice, and they make me feel less hopeless and helpless. We all need that right now. We feel that our rights and freedoms are being stripped from us, that we are being herded or railroaded by the moneyed few (and ignorant many), and we feel like this war is out of control and that our soldiers are at terrible risk for a cause that we are uncertain of. These are all ways that we can help and feel like we have more control. These are ways that we can be a unified force without having to completely disrupt our lives and the working order of our communities and country. These are peaceful, loving ways to fight all the wrongs, and isn’t that what we really want?
It’s what I want, and I hope you’ll join me.

I’ll leave you all with these things to consider, and tomorrow (‘Lord willin’ and the creek – or fever – don’t rise), I’ll be back with more.
Much love,
-Sam


*Yes, I know that this is impossible to actually always do, but I’m willing to bet a LOT that I could certainly do it MORE.
**nanny ogg would call this a "triple intender".

other python songs and sound bites, just for the happy heck of it:
the unofficial monty python home page (with mp3’s and wavs and au.s),
a fan page with more python music,
and other odd little british sounds from a site that adores eric idle. yay!