National Doctors Day

How appropriate that I should wake up on National Doctors Day, as a patient in a hospital.  I am unable to add any graphics to today's post, but I want to say I am grateful, not only to physicians, but to all the health care professionals who are treating me. 

Take a moment and think about all the doctors you know, either as friends or relatives, or those whom you know professionally.  The gift of good health is precious and I am grateful for all of these women and men.  Such an important field and one which we will all call upon at some point in our lives.  This commemoration was the idea of a doctor's wife, and the date chosen was the anniversary of the first use of general anesthesia in surgery. The first Doctors’ Day observance was Georgia back in the early 30s.

 

Today, or in the days ahead, say thank you to a doctor.

embrace equality

Should women be allowed to vote? Should a Black woman be allowed to marry a White man? Should two people with the same education and experience, and doing the same job, be paid the same amount, regardless of their sex? Should two adult females be allowed to marry each other? The questions I am asking here deal with equality. There are many more examples of course, but you get my point.

Time after time most polls show that Americans believe in equality and time after time the courts have ruled in favor of equal treatment, so what's the problem? Why don't we actually HAVE equality. Why do some people still refuse to treat others fairly?

 

"My personal conviction says I shouldn't do that," some are saying, or "It's against my religion."  What religion preaches discrimination?  Seriously.  When will we stop with the excuses and just embrace equality?  Let's be fair.  My personal conviction tells me that's the way to go.  My religion says so too!

My hero My mom

Today is the anniversary of a sad day for me, and even though this blog is NOT about me, I have mentioned my mother on many occasions.  This is the date on which she passed away six years ago.  I cannot help thinking about what an incredible mother she was - what an incredible person she was!

 

Most folks called her Teddy.  My sister and I of course called her Mom.  I also call her my hero.  She was always there for her family and her friends.  She loved to give whether money, or time, or her various talents, or even just her presence.  Even in her last days she was planning for happy events.  She wanted to share Easter dinner with my sister and I that year, but died just a few days before.

 

Sometimes I will wonder why there seems to be less love in the world.  There certainly was a lot of it from Mom.  She is one of the reasons I write this every morning and she is one of the reasons why I volunteer and why I keep involved in the community and in various organizations.  Thanks Mom for your love, your leadership, and your inspiration.  I miss you.

Homeless Through the years

The other day I heard someone say that when she grew up there were no homeless people.  "Why can't we go back to the way it was then?" she asked.  Well first of all, she was wrong.  Homelessness is not new.  The woman pictured to the right is Lucille Ball in a scene from The Stone Pillow, a motion picture she made about homelessness late in her career.  That was over thirty years ago and in publicity for the movie Lucy said she recalled the homeless situation from her youth and wanted to shed some light.

 

People with no place to live have often been outcasts, but there have also been people who care.  In 1872, Jerry and Maria McAuley founded the New York City Rescue Mission.  It became this country's first rescue mission,  providing spiritual hope, food, clothing and shelter to the needy in New York City.

 

Things got much worse during the Great Depression of the 1930s with a devastating epidemic of poverty, homelessness, hunger, and mental illness.  Many needy people, mostly men, would hop freight trains and go from town to town looking for help.

 

Shelters have sprung up over the years, mostly in larger cities, but these are usually nighttime shelters that require their guests to leave in the morning with nowhere to go.  How can you look for a job wearing the same dirty clothes you had on yesterday and with no place to be contacted?

 

In San Francisco, where I used to live, the health department created Project Homeless Connect sixteen years ago, as a way to bring services to the homeless.  It continues to reshape its outreach strategy and improve available services with clients being exposed to HIV testing, medical care, addiction services, legal advice, dental care, mental health services, and so much more.

 

There are organizations all over the world that help the homeless populations in their areas.  Some programs are wildly successful.  No program has brought an end to homelessness.  It isn't new.  It isn't gone.  It probably will be with us for some time.  We all can help though.  Check out the two places I mentioned (the New York City Rescue Mission HERE or Project Homeless Connect HERE) for a couple of excellent places to start.

Still much to give us hope

When I began writing this daily blog eleven years ago, I had no idea I would continue it for this long.  It was always my intention to write about things I find inspiring, especially about people who are making a difference in this world.  It's easy to be discouraged when we read the negative stories that show up in the newspaper, but there is an awful lot of good too and so much more I can write about.

This week I was saddened to learn that longtime television personality Alex Trebek has been diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer, but was encouraged by the brave way he made the announcement himself, as he vowed to fight, and win.  Sometimes, even in moments of darkness, celebrities can shine some light.

 

There is a non-celebrity who has been getting a lot of attention lately.  His name is Seth Owen, and he has done some pretty remarkable things.  I KNOW I will have a lot more to say about him and I'm so happy to see such generosity.

 

There are stories that circulate on the internet that are uplifting and filled with hope.  I'm always glad to share these here as well.  Yesterday's International Women's Day was also a great reminder that so many of our heroes are women.  Oh and I love sharing comments that come from you who read this blog too.  There is a lot of good out there.  That is certainly something to give us all hope.

 

So, as I continue to write this, share you thoughts too.  As always, I would love to know what is on your mind.  I would live to hear about your heroes and about the things that inspire you.

Seth Owen is doing good things

When I first heard about Seth Owen, a gay teen who left home rather than deal with parents who were forcing him to participate in anti-gay conversion therapy, I just had to write something.  That was last summer and although Seth had been accepted into Georgetown University, he didn't know how he would pay for it and how he would even pay for food and housing.

I wrote here about a teacher who believed in him and started an internet fundraiser to cover his tuition and expenses.  It was wildly successful.  Enough money was raised to cover expenses and then the school decided to give Seth a full scholarship, so now he had money to spare.

Seth Owen showed everyone what a great guy he is when he announced that, with the extra money, he was setting up a scholarship program to help LGBTQ youth.  Then Ellen DeGeneres stepped into the picture and invited Seth on to her television program where she gave him $25,000 for his new program, called Unbroken Horizons Scholarship Fund.  You can donate to a fundraiser for that program HERE.

 

Owen also began interning at the office of Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy's (D-FL) last month and will be working with her office for the remainder of his spring semester.

life-changing somethings

When the star of a tv show is introduced to the live studio audience, everybody goes crazy. It's expected. You're happy and excited to see a favorite performer come out on stage. When Lisa Jarmon was sitting in the audience of "The Ellen Show" eight years ago she did more than go crazy. Her energy was so great that the star herself noticed and had Lisa come down on stage.

If you have never watched Ellen DeGeneres on her daily talk show, let me tell you it is a regular feature to highlight regular folks and to give them incredible gifts. Lisa Jarmon was given an incredible gift. That first show though was just the beginning. In the years that followed, Lisa Jarmon appeared a number of times and received some hefty checks, a brand new car, and custom-built house. "When Ellen gives you something, she gives you life-changing somethings," said Lisa. How true that is!

I adore Ellen DeGeneres. She brings so much kindness and joy to our world. I agree with her about Lisa too. It was such a happy time seeing her positive perspective. We just heard some very sad news though. Lisa Jarmon has lost her battle with breast cancer.  I'm going to look for some videos of her appearances.  Thank you Ellen for all you continue to do, and thanks for bringing Lisa Jarmon our way.  The inspiring enthusiasm she had was such a great tonic for us all.