In Remembrance

Two years ago on this date, a very dear friend of mine passed away.  During his forty-two years of life, he made friends wherever he went, traveling to 43 countries and 47 US states, he was a man rich in faith, in ideas, and in compassion for others.  I hope the entire world will remember him with love, as I most certainly will remember him.

Great women and men live and die every day, doing marvelous deeds and making a difference in our world.  So many of them are never acknowledged.  That's not why they care - why they give back so much, but it would be nice if they could be remembered.

In Ecclesiasticus (called Sirach in some Bibles) it speaks of our ancestors in chapter 44 and says of them "Some of them have left behind a name, so that others declare their praise.  But of others there is no memory; they have perished as though they had never existed; they have become as though they had never been born, they and their children after them. But these also were godly men, whose righteous deeds have not been forgotten; Their offspring will continue for ever, and their glory will never be blotted out.  Their bodies are buried in peace, but their name lives on generation after generation."

Say the names of those we know.  Say Wilson, Teddy, Bill, Mary, Fay, Richard Jonathan, Eddie, Cindy, and Brian.  Say the names of the others too.  Think about all who have made a difference.  Hold in your mind the good memories of all who worked for good.  Of the ones we don't know and have never heard about, be aware that good women and man are always among us, and their hard work helped make a better world.

Pause for a moment today and help me remember my friend, and I will remember yours.  Please feel free to add names and positive memories in the comments section below.

Help in the midst of disaster

There have been so many natural disasters in the past week, and yesterday afternoon, another huge one - a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Central Mexico, just south of the city of Puebla.  Mexico City was hard hit,  The shaking was reported to have lasted about one minute - a very long time for an earthquake.  Over two hundred people died, and that number is expected to rise.  Watching the images on tv, I saw a very dire scene, but I also saw heroes.

Emergency workers were out in force and doing what they do so well.  They chose professions where they can help others and are heroes every day.  Joining them though were friends, neighbors, everyday folks who just pitched in.  Pictures of people digging through rubble and then finding survivors is so heartwarming. 

Almost immediately [people all over began putting together assistance for the Mexican people too.  Donations started pouring in and people volunteered to go there and help with the search and rescue and with rebuilding.

We will hear hundreds of stories of heroes in the days ahead, and let that encourage us.  Yes there is bad news, but there are also caring, loving people who give help in the midst of disaster.  Let's all be helpers.

Inspired by Ellen

Reading this daily, as I hope many of you do, you are already aware of my great admiration for Ellen DeGeneres.  She doesn't just talk about being kind, she IS kind, and she makes a difference every single day.  I'm sure she doesn't want me to talk about her as much as I do, but it's all true.

Ellen has helped out so many individuals and organizations on her daily talk show.  Sometimes it's hard for me to make it through her program without breaking into tears.  She not only gives away money and merchandise, but she brings needed attention to various causes.

We're not just talking about a brief segment on a television program though.  Ellen is a giver wherever she is and has supported  The Trevor Project, PETA, Habitat For Humanity, Project Cuddle, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Farm Sanctuary, and Susan G. Komen for the Cure.  Also It Gets Better Project, Love Our Children USA, Elton John AIDS Foundation, Artists Against Racism, Clothes Off Our Back, Stand Up To Cancer, Heifer International, and many others.

I'm not here to tell you to watch the Ellen DeGeneres program, but it's become a habit of mine (there's a lot of great entertainment on there too) and Ellen certainly is an inspiration.  As I mentioned before, it was her request that we all be kind to one another, that sparked me to writing my other blog about kindness.  She makes the word a better place and we all can be glad indeed that Ellen DeGeneres came our way!

More on Ellen

Ellen DeGeneres has been mentioned here in this space more often than any other person.  This blog is about making a difference in this world - about giving back, and there is no better example than Ellen.  I first applauded her courage in coming out, and I continue to be grateful for trailblazing efforts that have helped the lgbtq community.  At the same time I am grateful for her generosity and her great love and kindness.

Those of you who watch Ellen's television program, now in it's 15th season, know that she closes each program by saying  "Be kind to one another."  That was the inspiration for a second blog I write seven days a week, (HERE) all about kindness.

Yesterday, Ellen had me in tears once again as she introduced us to TunDe and Chris and shared their story of how they had changed each other's lives not once, but twice.  A huge gift was waiting for them both, and you could just see the joy!

"I have to say, It's a little strange to actually get an award for being nice and generous and kind which is what we're all supposed to do with one another," said Ellen in January of last year when she received the People's Choice Award for favorite humanitarian.  "That's the point of being a human." You can say that again!  Of course Ellen is actually superhuman!

Hand In Hand

The fury of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma has devastated much of our country, and watching the images on television and on social media is heartbreaking.  People have lost their lives, and so many who survived have lost loved ones and have lost their homes and their possessions.  The good news is that so many are willing to help.  Neighbor helping neighbor is such a wonderful image to see, especially when each is without property.  Seeing other join together is pretty wonderful too.  I'm seeing folks all over the country get involved.  How wonderful!

As I wrote here after Harvey, there are numerous organizations where you can donate money.  Some of my favorites are The Humane Society of the United States, American Red Cross, Episcopal Relief & Development, Lutheran Disaster Response, and AmeriCares.  Of course giving directly to local organizations in Texas, Louisiana, Florida, and other effected areas works too.  Be sure you are giving to legitimate agencies though - ones that are actually getting the funds to where they are needed.

Tonight there will be a huge fundraising effort on television.  Remember those tv telethons from years back?  Well this is going to be a good old fashioned telethon with celebrities and folks taking your contributions via telephone.  It begins at 8pm EDT and will be seen on numerous networks and on the internet.  With live performances from New York, Nashville, and Los Angeles, this is going to be a powerful program.  Called Hand in Hand, the telethon will be broadcast and then played again at 8pm for the west coast.  Telephone lines will be open all night.  I urge you to tune in and if able, to donate.

Hand in hand we can get through this.  Hand in hand we can make a difference and bring a brighter day for those who have lost so much.

More 9/11 Heroes

While it is important to always keep in our minds the horrible events that occurred sixteen years ago on this date, and to remember the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives after terrorists flew airplanes into the Pentagon and the World Trade Center and took over an additional plane that crashed in Pennsylvania, it is important that remember the others that day too. More than 6,000 people were injured.  The entire country was in a panic.  Even folks in others countries were effected by the events of that dark day and the worst terrorist attack in our country's history.

We have heard of the heroes of course, but it amazes me that I keep hearing of more and more heroes.  People pitching in and doing what they could to help - tragedy brings folks together.  Many of those who sprung into action and saved lives, did not survive themselves.  One of them was Welles Crowther, the man in the red bandana.  The passengers aboard the fourth aircraft, United Flight 93, overpowered their hijackers and brought the plane down, killing overyone onboard but saving countless lives at the intended target, believed to have been the US Capitol.  There was also Mychal Judge, a Franciscan friar who became the first certified fatality.

There are far more people who made a difference on that date than we could ever tell you about here.  If you do an internet search for "9/11 heroes" you will find numerous stories, or you can look up the people I already mentioned.   

Every year since that day, folks have gathered all across the country to remember.  It isn't the horror and the hate we want to remember, but rather all of those innocent people who were killed or injured, and all of those wonderful heroes.  Just the other day I heard from a man who was in the Pentagon at the time.  He was way over on the other side and was safe, but he recalls the many employees who kept running back inside to make sure everyone was safe.  Let us be thankful for our heroes.  Let us be thankful for those who make a difference in this world.

Firsts

Women make up more than half of the world's population, yet all too often they are still treated like second class citizens.  Many amazing accomplishments over the years have been by women and TIME is recognizing that with a list.  Specifically, it's a list of women who have been first at something, and the fortysix people listed include a mixture of liberals and conservatives, young and old, as well as different races and ethnicities.

Now I don't have anything to do with TIME magazine, and I am not writing this to promote them, but I did want you to look at who they selected.  Their complete list and a bit about each is HERE.  Most of the names I immediately recognized, but I must admit to not knowing a lot about some of them. The list includes Katharine Jefferts Schori, Nikki Haley, Barbara Walters, Madeleine Albright, Ellen DeGeneres, and Janet Yellen.  Also Rita Moreno, Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, Michelle Phan, Kellyanne Conway, and Rachel Maddow.  I like the diversity of jobs too - everything from a bishop to a comedian to a governor and some news reporters.

I have had the great honor of meeting some of these women and I'd sure love to meet more of them.  In case you haven't figured this out yet, I am quite a fan of people who make a positive difference in our world.  This isn't a perfect list by my standards - I might not have included a few who are there, and I can think of other great women who were the first to do various things.  What about you?  Can you think of some living women who were first at something that should be remembered in a list like this? 

Please hold off on any criticism about not mentioning men.  It seems to me that men are always getting recognized.  It's about time we did the same for women!

Introducing Keith Nguyen

Like many folks, I probably spend way too much time on facebook, but sometimes it pays off.  I just read a post from a guy in Texas named Keith Nguyen who is another Hurricane Harvey hero, and I'd like you to know all about him. 

With all the folks in need in the Houston area due to wind damage and flooding, there have been a lot of folks springing into action, and as I mentioned the other day, there are a LOT of heroes.  Keith is a unique hero though in that he doesn't seem to want any credit.  He has posted on his facebook page about donations and where they might be made and he told the story of his father Phe Nguyen and uncle Binh Nguyen, who own a restaurant, Sake Sushi Bar and Lounge in Port Arthur, TX that prepared a remarkable amount of food and served the first responders who have been out in the elements.

The picture here is part of the assembly-line process of preparing just some of the food that went out to those in need.  Keith posted on his facebook page that the restaurant staff and volunteers helped create over 1000 meals for victims, first responders, and other volunteers.  Wow!  That's not all though.  They did more.  I don't have all the details (my primary source of information has been Keith's facebook page, but I made a few phone calls to get verification).  I'd like to shake this guys hand though, because he writes that he'd love for his dad and uncle to be recognized and the staff and volunteers, but seems to shrug off any praise of his actions.

Reading posts on Keith Nguyen's facebook page, I see him offering kind words about a number of other individuals and organizations who have been making a difference.  He's correct.  Many have been helping, but when things return to normal, as they eventually will, I know a lot of people will be glad that Keith Nguyen came their way!

We called her Mother

The subject of films, books, and numerous articles, the woman born as Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, certainly made a difference in this world.  We called her Mother and in the Roman Catholic Church, she is now called a saint, but what Teresa of Calcutta did during her lifetime, is nothing short of amazing.

At the young age of 18 she went off to join a religious community.  Mother Teresa would spend the rest of her life teaching, ministering, and doing works of charity.  Interestingly, she was a citizen of several different countries during her lifetime, and was fluent in at least five languages: Bengali, Albanian, Serbian, English and Hindi.  She once said, "By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the world. As to my heart, I belong entirely to the Heart of Jesus."

 

Her deeds over the years were so many, that it would be impossible to list them all.  Mother Teresa was the most admired woman in the entire world according to poll after poll.  She was respected even by those who profess no faith at all.  There was sometimes controversy, especially for her anti-abortion position, but she encouraged people to think.

 

Following her death on this date in 1997, Nawaz Sharif, Prime Minister of Pakistan called her "a rare and unique individual who lived long for higher purposes. Her life-long devotion to the care of the poor, the sick, and the disadvantaged was one of the highest examples of service to our humanity."  Mother Teresa was indeed someone who made a difference.

This Labor Day

Many folks these days don't get the significance of today's holiday. It isn't about that last summer picnic or the day before school begins (where I live school actually started way back in July anyway) and it isn't about sales at the mall and your favorite department stores. Today is about the worker and about the unions that have made our laborers strong. .

In past years I would go on this day to support my sister and brother workers on an informational picket line or at a business where workers were on strike.  I've also been part of special Labor Day marches and spent time with those who are out of work or underemployed.

It is because of organized labor unions that we generally have reasonable working hours, better wages, and safer working conditions. We can also be thankful for the health benefits most of us enjoy because of our labor unions.  Think of that today as you go about your activities.  

Labor Day is often called the unofficial end of summer, but instead of an end, let's think of it as a beginning - a start of better working conditions for us all. 

Blood cancer awareness

Have you heard of lymphoma (both Hodgkin’s and non-Hodgkin’s), myeloma, leukemia, myelodysplastic syndromes and myeloproliferative neoplasms?  My mom had leukemia.  That's probably the one with which you are most familiar.  These are all blood cancers, and this month is dedicated to spreading information about them.

Blood Cancer Awareness Month is also a good time for me to remind you that this is personal for me.  I walk each year in the San Francisco Light the Night Walk, which benefits the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  There are walks in many other cities, and one way you can make a difference is to signup and walk, sponsor a walker, or both.  (If you would like to sponsor me, just click HERE).

The general public doesn't know nearly enough.  For example, are you aware that blood cancers affect people of all ages?  It's true.  Recently the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society commissioned a survey and they found that nearly nine out of ten adults (86%) are surprised that there are no means for preventing or screening for most blood cancers.  Also, more than four in five adults (82%) are surprised that more than a third of blood cancer patients still do not survive five years after their diagnosis.  This is the kind of information that needs to be shared more freely.

The Light the Night Walk raises funds and also shares information.  Someday there will be no such thing as cancer.  Someday.  Wouldn't it be great if someday was today?  Get involved.  Together we can make it happen.