And chocolate too!

Some of you know that my laptop has been nicknamed Lazarus because it's come back to life so many times. Meredith kindly sent me her laptop as she's upgrading and I'm so thrilled to get it. It came today via priority mail and I was waiting by the door.

"It's heavy", said the mailman.

It's not heavy, it's my laptop...well anyway....

The box was covered with Jesus tape, as you can see in the photo. I've even provided an up close look at it. And Meredith included York peppermint patty chocolates too!

Am looking forward to doing lots of writing on it. Thanks so much, Meredith.

Passing it on...

This is a great story about community.

After his death, a farmer in a small Minnesota town of 925 people spreads $3 million dollars around and then the recipients continue to help put the money where it's most needed.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Ramp Up 2010

ShrevCORPS, Shreveport Green's AmeriCorps team, partnered with the Shreveport District United Methodist Ramp Ministry to build a wheelchair ramp on the home of a young man who survived a tragic car accident but incurred paraplegic injuries.

Ramp funding provided by the Louisiana Serve Commission.

Listening Is An Act of Love

I just saw this wonderful article in the Huffington Post by Dr. Dan Gottlieb, about his early days dealing with life as a quadriplegic and how he learned that listening is an act of love.

Hitting a ball off of a cliff

Last night while I was on the phone with one of my wheelchair tennis friends, she told me that a golf player had just hit a ball off a cliff on the course at the U.S. Open. Curious, I began to watch too.

Golf has never been a sport I watch. I had paternal cousins who lived up in Connecticut who were avid amateur golfers. I recall visiting them and listening to their tales about golfing, but it never interested me. My friend isn't interested in golf either. But we were riveted to the screen to see how the guy was going to get out of the jam.

Life can be like that too. Our curiosity is sometimes piqued when another person gets into a difficult situation, although as we mature we learn it's far different when a person gets into real trouble in life than a professional athlete hits a ball off of a cliff. Sometimes we watch for a while. We may try to help out. Or we may turn away. You won't hear any sermonizing about this from me. I've had all three reactions, and I've usually regretted turning away or being a passive observer. I've never regretted helping out.

I've learned a deep respect for people who don't treat life situations as a spectator. There are many of them. I meet them, read about them and hear about them. Many don't ask for anything in return. They quietly help out, then go on with their own lives. They don't waste time attributing blame. In fact, if pressed on this point, they remain silent. They let their actions speak for them. They are fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, grandmothers, and grandfathers who come from every walk -or roll- of life. On this Father's Day, I wish each and every one of them the best and thank them for all they do.

And, yes, while I was watching golf last night I was thinking about all of this. I can't watch golf without thinking about something else. Neither can my friend, apparently.

"I wish I could move to California," she said wistfully.

I Walk for Love: raising money for Haiti

When '09 grad Jordan Dibb couldn't find a job after applying to 1200 places, he decided to try to help out Haitians. After non-profit organizations turned down his help, he took the advice of someone who said to him when he asked how he could get to Haiti :"you can walk".

Dibb partnered with Action Against Hunger, a non-profit that works in over 40 countries to provide food and clean drinking water. Together with the organization, Dibb plans to raise $100,000 in charity money for Haiti and the relief effort.

Calling his project "I Walk for Love", Dibb has set up a web page where you can follow his journey that starts on March 27, 2010 as he walks from Minnesota to Florida. You can also find links to donate there.

The urgency of the needs that continue in Haiti can not be more succinctly stated than this:

There are 1.2 million children under the age of 5 in Haiti. Over half of these children suffer from malnutrition.

Good luck , Jordan.

[visual image: On the left are footsteps that extend from the words "I walk for love" to "Taking steps for Haiti" to "From Minneapolis MN to Miami FL" ]

Planes, trains and automobiles: shoveling out

The heavy snowfall and cold temperatures worldwide are causing global transportation problems. Road salt that had built up on a utility pole resulted in a fire that blacked out electricity to Cleveland Hopkins international Airport, canceling flights and playing havoc with schedules.

Then there's the train from hell, as some are referring to an Amtrak train that pulled in to Chicago with a 19 hour delay with "tired, hungry and stinky" passengers because of the severe weather.

In Germany, over 160 people found themselves stuck in their cars overnight as a result of heavy snow.

In the UK, grit levels are "critically low as more snow heads in". This is causing particular havoc for people with mobility problems due to physical disability, who are stuck in their homes. They've even started a hash tag on twitter called #disabilitysnow .

The interesting part about the Internet and the disability community is how it provides a way for people who live alone to reach out to each other when things like this happen. What may be an inconvenience for some non-disabled people, quickly turns into a situation where a disabled person becomes immobile. (This, of course, is also true for some elderly people.) Whether it's ice and snow blocking curbcuts, driveways, bus stops and sidewalks or extremely cold temperatures that make it dangerous or impossible to travel outside for some, this is a great time to to check in with those who may need groceries or other items.

Here's one video taken by a woman who uses a wheelchair. After two hours of trying to shovel herself out of her home, she set up the camera to continue filming. Instead, the camera caught her neighbors who came over with a snow blower and shovels to help her out and she uploaded this high-speed version.

I'll be home for Christmas

Mark Baker, a quadriplegic who was shot last year, wanted to go home, but he and his family couldn't afford the equipment he needed to make that happen, nor does our system provide for that kind of assistance- even though being cared for at home is much less expensive. TV viewers stepped up to help him get home in time for Christmas.

 

Dr. Oaks, the coach

The Body and Soul soccer team at St. John's Hospice has the backing of some special people: Sr. Mary Scullion, Jon Bon Jovi and Dr.Wilbur Oaks. They all play a part in helping the homeless men find employment and giving them a chance. Sr. Mary Scullion sends along team members, Jon Bon Jovi helps keep it running and Dr. Oaks coaches soccer and life skills.

The doctor still teaches 25 hours a week at Hahnemann University Hospital after being there for 51 years. He played soccer until his knee went bad at age 65. He spent this year coaching basics. He has three goals for the Body and Soul soccer team, he says:

"I want to make them a better person," he said. "I want to make them a better athlete. And I want to get them a job."


And he believes that the lessons learned on the soccer field will translate into success off the field for the homeless team members.
"Learn something from the loss, then win the next one," he instructs. "It's all up and down. That's what sports is about. That's what life is about."


St. John's Hospice Mission is:
Saint John’s Hospice
seeks to be a community
grounded in
faith and service
where homeless persons
find dignity,
respect,
nourishment,
and opportunities
for new beginnings.

You can find a link to St. John's Hospice here. For a list of ongoing items that are needed or other ways to help, click here.

Home swap- disability style

For an extraordinary story about a man whose neighbors allowed him to use their accessible home while he was recovering from injuries, see this article.

High school students build ramp

Cross High School students used their shop class skills to build a ramp for Martin Novak, 16, who was recently paralyzed in a shooting. The ramp will give him access to his own home. His relieved mother told the reporter that she didn't have the funds to make her home accessible and she didn't know what to do or who to turn to. so she asked the high school and its students for help.

"My heart feels happy for him that these people care for him the way they do," said Novak.

All three of McGann's construction classes took part in the project. He knew the projects would have a positive effect. "It's a huge lesson for them. These young men may not see a lot of people reaching out to their community."

Their generosity is helping a former student come home to those who need him most. "I want my son home. I miss him," said Novak. via wtoc.com

Agencies report increase in college grad volunteers

Several volunteer organizations are reporting increases in the number of college graduates they place, as a response to "the tight job market or simply from a desire to do some good."



The Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest, which places volunteers in rural and urban areas in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington, accepted 101 volunteers at the start of the 2009-10 service term, a 40 percent increase from the previous year.

Teach for America and the Peace Corps also have tracked big surges in volunteer numbers since the nation's economic downturn began in the fall of 2008 -- about 40 percent for Teach for America and 16 percent for the Peace Corps. via catholicnews.com

The directior of Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest, Jeanne Haster, credits the President's call for involvement in community service and the signing of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act in April, which increases the number of spots in the AmeriCorps service program.

"This bill will dramatically increase the amount of support for service opportunities throughout the United States, enabling more Americans to volunteer during a time when so many in our country are in need," said Jim Lindsay, executive director of the Maryland-based Catholic Network of Volunteer Service.

The network, with more than 200 member-programs, hosts an online directory of full-time service opportunities. Those logging on to search the opportunities have increased by 32 percent from a year ago. In a recent poll of network members, two thirds reported a "significant" increase in applications from previous years, he told the Catholic Sentinel, Portland's archdiocesan newspaper. via Catholicnews.com

To read the rest of the article and read about some of the students involved, click the link above.

A Safe Haven

A 12 year old boy, Joseph Martin, will be able to take his wheelchair into his bedroom for the first time in his life and become more self sufficient, thanks to a project by Rebuilding Together. Joseph, who lives with his single mother Mary and sisters Holly and Rebekah, has to be carried up the stairs to his bedroom every night.

Joseph, who is on an able-bodied swim team, and likes to ski, carve and fly-fish, has had 39 surgeries. He was diagnosed with cloacal exstrophy, spina bifida and chiari malformation.

After his teacher Suzanne Nesbit made a documentary of the lack of access in Joseph's home to send to Oprah, local school officials and community members who viewed it decided not to wait. They found help to build a room with access for Joseph from Rebuilding Together. The project, slated to cost $100,000, is called A Safe Haven.

The aim of the addition is to make Joseph's living quarters accessible in every way.

A custom-made shower is part of the plans. A washing machine, dryer, stovetop and microwave will be at a level he can reach, and the rooms will be designed so he will always have enough space to turn his wheelchair around.

"This will be a place for him to live independently," said Warren, who will be recruiting volunteers once the project is closer to completion. "Joseph sells this project himself. He and his family have overcome so much, and everybody's embracing it as an opportunity to do something beyond themselves."

All this is huge for Joseph, who seems to have architect Lynn Walker's blueprints memorized. With great detail, he can reel off with preciseness what will be in each of the 1800 square feet of the addition.

His eyes beam as he rehearses the architectural plans.

"I will be able to bring my wheelchair into my room," said Joseph, who presently must be carried up the stairs each day. "And I'll finally be able to close my own door." via newsleader.com

Two news stories

Two articles forwarded to me via email this morning that I'm reading over a cup of coffee- talk about one extreme to the other!


Last week a high school cheerleader was accused of stealing money from a group of kids, including a girl in a wheelchair, who were selling t shirts and hats.

According to police, Steele approached the kids, started a conversation with the father of two of the children, then, when the man left, took the cash and ran. She then got into a car and drove off. Three other teenage girls were in that car with Steele. Police have not yet decided whether to charge the other teens.

Steele's mother, according to the article, offered to repay the stolen $147 if the charges were dropped, but the children's father hasn't responded, saying he wants a "lesson learned".

UPDATED: VIDEO

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

**

Out in Utah, a TV viewer donated a lift and the labor to make the Small Smiles Bookmobile accessible for all children.

Until school starts, the bookmobile will be at Lindavista Park in Syracuse every Tuesday and Thursday mornings. All children are invited to come, and it's free.

Words that last a lifetime

Over at CNN, Bob Greene wrote an article on Sunday that touched my heart, about how the gracious words of a grocer during her childhood lasted in 80 year old Virginia Florey's memory for years. She and her friend Charlotte stopped into the grocery store every morning to buy a candy bar to split.

Charlotte and I would have a nickel, and we would buy a candy bar to split between us every morning. We would stand there in front of the man who owned the grocery and decide which kind to buy each day -- Butterfinger, or Milky Way, or Oh Henry!, or Hershey bar. We always talked about which one we wanted to spend our five cents on. We weren't very fast about it.

"And. . . ."

Here, Virginia Florey's voice grew almost wistful as she remembered it; here, almost 70 years later, you could hear the gratitude in her tone:

"He was never impatient with us. Never once."

Greene writes about the power of these words and memory, lasting despite all that happened over the years to Virginia. He calls them "small echoes of kindness" and posits that there are stories like that for many - words of encouragement, kindness or gentleness .

So I'm going to pause for a moment today and think about those moments in my own life, words that I recall when I need encouragement, kindness or gentleness in my life - gifts I've received from those who were spiritually generous.

Conscientious objectors: a history of advocacy in mental hospitals

Syracuse Professor Steven Taylor's article entitled Conscientious Objectors of WWII is featured in the "On Faith" section of the Washington Post. He writes about the history of CO's in advocating for better conditions for those in mental hospitals, noting that it began when approximately 3000 men back in WWII were assigned to work in mental hospitals and training schools and exposed brutal conditions found there. Quakers, Mennonites, Jews, African American Muslims and others worked as individuals and groups to improve conditions any way they could.

He writes:

After the end of the war, the Philadelphia COs established a national foundation to further their aims. Included among their supporters were Eleanor Roosevelt, ACLU founder Roger Baldwin, actress Helen Hayes, and author Pearl Buck. From 1946 to 1950, their foundation published educational materials for attendants and the public, created a legal division to reform state commitment laws, and sponsored radio dramas broadcast nationally on CBS and NBC. Then, in 1950, faced by chronic financial problems and led by a board of directors lacking the passion and zeal of its founders, the foundation formed by the COs merged with two mainstream organizations to create a new mental health organization. Within a brief period of time, the new organization lost interest in institutional conditions and turned its attention to other matters. The institutions became out of sight, out of mind once more. The efforts of World War II COs to reform the nation's care of people with psychiatric and intellectual disabilities have since faded from professional and public memory.

Although Professor Taylor notes that current reform movements are led by those most directly affected, people with disabilities and their families, his article serves as a tribute to all of those who came from different walks of faith and gave valuable service to vulnerable Americans.

You can read the rest of the piece here.

Following a raised savior

I've been blessed by meeting many people of faith in my life. And they have taught me that "mere survival is not the vocation of Christians who follow a raised savior", as Kyle Kramer wrote in America.

Kyle writes that even the desert "saguaro, those tall, emblematic, almost anthropomorphic cacti", is not a plant that survives as an individualist, but is one rooted in "community, hospitality and generosity". It starts under the shade of a nurse tree, then harbors birds who perforate it, and gives off fruits and food, adapting to life in the desert.

The article says that Jesus during his 40 days in the desert gave himself over to divine care rather than "grasping for the food, protection, possessions and power with which he was tempted," noting how tempting it is during tough economic times "simply to hunker down amid earthly concern."

How true this is. All we have to do is look around us to see the effects of the economic downturn, yet if we look a bit further, we can see people who continue to volunteer and help others, who ignore their own precarious financial situations and keep giving of their time,energy and resources. They are the people of faith I talk about. I know many are around, but they are often quiet people doing what may seem like small things that keep everything running. They are adapting to the desert times.

And they say things like this, promoting community:

"We'll get through this, but we have to help each other" and "Finding different, less expensive ways to do things has been a gift for our family".

They are generous and often say"I'm not using [fill in the blank], why not pass it along to someone who can?", knowing others have it harder.

They are hospitable, welcoming those in need with as much enthusiasm as those who are well networked.

Their lives are rooted and, because of that, they attract others to their strength and quiet dignified way of life. As I say, I've met many of them and I bet if we spent more time looking around, we'd find more.

People who know life isn't about mere survival, who aren't living in daily fear and temptation by material things do "embody beauty and transcendence ".

NothingButNets

Instead of writing about March Madness and nothing but net, I'd like to draw attention toward a drive for providing bed nets for refugees to protect them from malaria. The cause is called Nothing But Nets. Ruth Riley of WNBA Cares speaks in the video below about the devastation caused by malaria that she saw on her trip.

Each net protects a family from malaria, lasts four years, and costs ten dollars. It can prevent transmission up to 90 per cent. Malaria is the number one killer of children in Africa.

Nets are distributed through the Measles Initiative, a "partnership of the American Red Cross, the U.S. Center for Disease Control, the UN Foundation, the World Healt Organization, and UNICEF. Since this integrated campaign began in 2001, nearly 400 million children across Africa have been vaccinated against measles and the number of measles cases reduced by 68%."

To purchase a net, please go here. To learn more about it, please watch the video below.

Furloughed GM workers help community

While their plant was idle, GM workers helped out their community by volunteering to build bikes for children at a shelter and stock a food pantry for those worse off than themselves.

Hank Carter Wheelchair Charities

Related: Wheelchair Charities a Superstar

Sports of the Times: The Shock of that Other World

The 36th Annual Wheelchair Classic