In Search of the Human Spirit

Senator Donates Movie Proceeds

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 07:40:00 +0000

Senator Patrick Leahy has a role in the new Batman movie. He's no movie star. He's a star in my book though.

Leahy is donation all the money made from his part in the Dark Knight to his childhood haunt, the Kellogg-Hubbard Library in Montpelier, VT. At four years old, Leahy got his first library card at that branch. He considers it one of the biggest moments of his life and wants other kids to have the same experience. The money will help fund the children's section.

In addition to the money he earned from the movie, various fund raisers have been held with special screenings of the film. All proceeds go to the library.

22nd Annual AIDs Walk

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 01:11:00 +0000

San Francisco it's 22nd Annual AIDs Walk today. In the crisp morning fog, thousands of people gathered to walk at Sharon Meadows in Golden Gate Park. They then traversed a 6.2 mile course through the park and back to Sharon Meadows.

The walk brings out all sorts of people, young and old. Dogs come with their owners as moral support. Walkers come individually or in teams. Some come in costume or carry signs.

The pledged donations will be used locally. The money benefits many organizations who help those diagnosed with AIDs living in the San Francisco Bay Area. The San Francisco AIDs Foundation is one of the beneficiaries, but some donations will go to the Horizon Foundation than distributed to some 50 organizations that have been preselected.

If you'd like to learn more about the AIDs Walk and see photographs from the event go to: San Francisco AIDs Walk

Guerrilla Gardeners Dig In

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 02:32:00 +0000

Some folks have gotten really tired of how slow cities clean up parks, roadways, and other public areas. They've taken matters into their one hands.

These rebellious citizens sneak off into the night. They armed with the tools of their trade: shovels, hoes, and buckets. They've set off to plant a tree, clean a park, and shovel debris. Everyone's time is voluntary. All the plants, mulch, dirt, and gardening implements have been donated.

Why all the secrecy? These people are doing work that is not sanctioned by local government. They are doing it without approval and thus, might get in trouble for interfering with local policy.

The movement has been spreading throughout the country. People tired of seeing trash and graffiti litter their communities are taking actions. Although most of this work is illegal, city officials have yet to do more than comment. The public likes to see their parks and streets clean and flowery. Since it cost the city nothing to allow citizens to beautify it, it's easier to turn a blind eye especially when that eye gets a beautiful, green park as a benefit.

Disabled Runner Misses Olympic Bid, But He's Still a Winner

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 02:18:00 +0000

Oscar Pistorius was born without fibulas in both legs. His legs were amputated at 11 months old. That didn't stop the 21 year old South African from having Olympic sized dreams.

Earlier this year, Pistorius petitioned the IAAF to allow him to compete. There were charges that his artificial blade like legs gave him an advantage. The IAAF ruled in his favor stating there was no evidence that the blades made him run faster.

Friday Pistorius ran the race of his life. He had a personal best. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough. He needed a time of 45.55 and came in at 46.25.

Pistorius will be competing at the Paralympic Games in September. However, he'll be training seriously for the next Olympics in 2012.

You can read more about Oscar Pistorius on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Pistorius#Early_years_and_education

Praise for Firefighters

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 06:53:00 +0000

California has been beset with wildfires for several weeks now. I heard that some firefighters were working on their 20th day in a row.

I want to express my appreciation for all that they do. I can't imagine facing fire, let alone wildfires for several days. It takes a tremendous amount of courage to fight these blazes. Thank goodness there are people willing to take on this challenging career!

So give thanks to the firefighters who helping save our state during this drought prone, very dry summer.

Seven Year Old Chess Champ

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 02:25:00 +0000

At the age of 3, Alisha Chawla sat down with her mother to learn chess. At 7, she whips her mother regularly as well as most kids she faces.

Chawla has been invited to the World Youth Chess championship. It will be held in Vietnam in October.

At the recent Lerner National Elementary Championship, Chawla came in 57th. Her ranking is much higher among females. She was number 2 in the competition.

The United Chess Federation rates chess champions. Currently, Chawla comes in at 77th in the nation. This makes Chawla unique as she is one of the few females to place so high.

Drop Out Learns to Read 60 Years Later

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 00:16:00 +0000

Woody Arai of Hayward has lead a double life. The 78 year old carried books with him wherever he went, but it wasn't because he loved books. He couldn't read.

Arai was born and raised in Oakland. His parents owned a restaurant and things were going pretty good. Then World War II crashed down around them. Japanese internment laws interrupted his childhood. He was sent to the Tule Lake camp for 3 years. He went to school in the camp but somehow got through without reading or writing.

He was 16 when he got back home to Oregon. School just wasn't in the plans. His family needed money so he worked in the tomato fields instead of cracking open books.

Arai went on with his life, hiding his illiteracy. When he retired, he wanted to fill that void in his life. He decided it was time to learn to read.

The gift of learning has changes his life. Not only have books opened up worlds for him, but the ability to read has given him opportunities. He serves in community organizations and is proud that the books he once carried for looks he can count as books he's read.

Baby Born Twice

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 01:04:00 +0000

Chad and Keri McCartney were having the times of their lives. They had four beautiful kids and they were expecting their fifth child.

During Keri's 23rd week, they got devastating news. The baby had a tumor growing out of it's tailbone. The tumor would eventually cut off the blood supply and kill the baby if they didn't act.

Surgeons would have to remove the tumor if the baby was to survive. It would involved a risky procedure which had only been performed successefully about 20 times. That's world wide. The chance of success was fewer than 10 percent. But what choice did they have?

The procedure was done at Texas Children's Hospital when the baby was just 6 months old. It involved removing part of the baby's body from the womb. This was risky as they could not disturb the placenta. Though the head would remain in the womb, the body could only be expose to air for a few minutes. The tumor was removed and the baby was returned to the womb.

On May 3rd, little Macie Hope was born a couple of weeks early. However, she was healthy and tumor free. On June 6th, Macie Hope went home.

Disability Leads to Art Form

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:24:00 +0000

Kevin Connolly was born without legs. The Montana native is healthy otherwise. He skateboards and has done things the rest of us born with legs only dream of.

But, his appearance causes others discomfort. He has lived his life with the stares of strangers. Though he has lived a normal life, he can't get around those looks of pity and anxiety.

On a trip to Europe, Connolly took a photograph of one gawker. That one photograph has turned into 32,000. The photographic is exhibit is called the "Rolling Exhibition".

The photographs capture the range of emotions people experience when they see something out of the ordinary. They don't realize that while they are staring they've been observed. It's an interest mix of expressions that he has captured.

You can view some of the shots on his website: http://www.therollingexhibition.com/gallery.php

Stem Cell Cure for One Child

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:32:00 +0000

It appears that stem cells have affected a cure in 5 year old Nate Liao of a deadly disease. If this is true and the results are replicated, others suffering the rare disease will be able to live normal lives.

Liao was born with a fatal disease knwon as "recessive epidermolysis bullosa". The body lacks a certain protein necessary to skin development (known as collagen type VII). This missing collegen causes blistering and cuts when just a minor bump is involved. It becomes so severe that the stomach cannot digest food and the person afflicted must bandage their skin at all times.

Stem cells from blood marrow and umbilical cord blood were used in a process known as "circulating stem cells". The procedure was performed at Columbia University.

Liao's body now makes collagen type VII. He's beginning to look and feel like a normal 5 year old.

The medical procedure will be attempted next on a 9 month old baby. Sara Rose from Folsom, CA will be treated and if all goes well, she won't know the suffering that Nate Liao has known.

Kid Donates Skateboards So Others Can Grind

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 00:57:00 +0000

In honor of farmworker and labor leader, Cesar Chavez, organizations have gotten together to build parks in poor neighborhoods. They donated a beautiful skateboard park in Oakland. Only problem--most of the kids in the area don't have skateboards.

Quentin Favia of San Francisco heard about their plight. When he learned that the kids at Rainbow Recreation Center's Rainbow Skate Park had to share six skateboards, the 12 year old decided to do something about it.

He had more skateboards than he really needed. He cleaned up 16 of them and made sure they were in good shape. Then he and his family drove over to the recreation center in Oakland where he made his donation.

The regulars were estatic. Instead of getting 30 minutes to ride 6 boards. They now had 22 to spread around.

Favia isn't done giving. He has several boards that need new trucks. He's asking for donations of used wheels and trucks. If he gets enough donations, he can rebuild the boards and donate them too.

Leo Gets a New Lease on Life

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 02:55:00 +0000

Leo is one of the dogs taken from Michael Vick's despicable dog fighting ring. With a loving trainer, Leo has been rehabilitated (in just 5 weeks!) He's now helping cancer patients and teens in jail.

Check out Leo's story and prepare to shed a tear:
Michael Vick Dog's New Life

Griffey Joins the 600 Club

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 01:59:00 +0000

Major League Baseball Player, Ken Griffey Jr., is the newest member of the 600 club. He now has 600 home runs over his career. The record blast was hit off the Florida Marlins Sunday.

Griffey started playing baseball at 19 with the Seattle Mariners. Many thought he would be the one to challenge Hank Aaron's home record. But, a string of season ending injuries put those dreams on hold.

Griffey is now 38 years old. He's in an exclusive club. Only five other players in Major League history have hit more homeruns than Griffey. He'll pass number six on the list, Sammy Sosa, with ease. He only has 609. But, can he make it passed Willie Mays at 660? That will depend on how Griffey's body holds out and how many more years he can play.

Way to go Griffey!

Knocking Down Those Barriers

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 01:37:00 +0000

This has been a year of broken barriers. The Democrats had a fine field of candidates and had the opportunity to nominate the first woman, the first African American, or the first Latino for President.

Tuesday night it all came to fruition. And, many American's people thought they'd never see in their lifetime. The Democratic party nominated an African American, Barack Obama, as it's Presidential candidate.

On the 35th anniversary (to the day) of Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have a Dream" speech, Obama took the stage in Minnesota. People of all colors and ages crowded around to see the young, charismatic political phenom with a message of hope and change. Obama has managed to break down the racial barrier and get himself nominated. He did it with support from all age groups and races--and he even drew in a few supporters from the other side of the aisle.

I was born in 1964, so I'm very much a child of the 1960s. I knew that sometime in my life we would see this day. Some day it won't matter what your are, whether you're male, female, Black, White, Asian, or whatever. It will only matter that you are qualified. We'll get there eventually. It just feels great to be an American at this moment in time and be a part of it all.

Listen to Obama's speech:
Part One: http://youtube.com/watch?v=ffLducDlLck
Part Two: http://youtube.com/watch?v=7we4wrx6usE

Free Mental Health Care for Soldiers and their Families

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Sat, 10 May 2008 00:50:00 +0000

Free Mental Health for Returning Soldiers

Soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan can now receive the mental health services they need for free. The Soldiers Project is a non-profit organization set up to provide mental health care to soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and their families.

The group is made up of licensed mental health professionals who want to help fill the need. These people do this all on a volunteer basis. Services are provided in their private offices and are confidential.

With tens of thousands of soldiers coming home with PTSD and other emotional issues, the VA is unable to keep up with the influx of patients. The Soldiers Project hopes to fill the gap so that those needing help can get it regardless of their ability to pay or the backlog of applications at the VA.

According to the Soldiers Project website you are eligible for services if:
* Active duty uniformed service members who have served in OIF/OEF
* Members of activated Reserve/Guard military units with service in OIF/OEF
* Veterans of OEF/OIF
* Family members of the above including spouses, parents, grandparents, children, siblings, etc
* Other loved ones

Visit their website to find out how to apply for services: The Soldiers Project

Pack up your unwanted food for Saturday!

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Fri, 09 May 2008 02:11:00 +0000

Saturday is the Post Office's annual "Stamp Out Hunger" Day. Every May, postal carriers around the country pick up bags of food left by residents on their route.

You can participate by filling a bag with unused and sealed packages of pasta, juice, canned soup, cereal, canned vegetables, rice and other grains, and canned meats. Expired items and those in glass containers are prohibited. Then leave your bag by your mailbox before your normal pickup time on May 10th.

You can visit the website: http://helpstampouthunger.com to learn more. Contact your local Post Office to see if they are participating in the food drive.

Human Spirit Is Back

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Fri, 02 May 2008 02:08:00 +0000

My apologies to my readers for another break in the action. April was an incredibly trying month. I had my brother's 3 dogs (including 2 puppies) for a week. Then my own dog was sick for the second time in 3 months. She had a bladder infection and was throwing up for a week. I had to hand feed her for a couple of days. She's doing much better now, but I'm burnt to a crisp.

I am hoping that May will be a much better month.

Thanks for your patience and I hope you will continue to enjoy this blog.

Camels Bring Books to Kenyans

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 05:37:00 +0000

In America, we take things like public libraries for granted. Don't have enough money to buy a book? Get out your library card and borrow one from your nearest library.

In many parts of the world, their are no local public libraries. People may never see books because they can't afford one and there's nowhere nearby to borrow one from. The Camel Book Drive hopes to bring books to parts of Kenya where they are not readily available.

The project was started by authors who wanted to fill the void. The project is now open to anyone who wants to donate. Books can be chosen from a list at Amazon.com. They accept books in English and Swahili. When they arrive and are sorted, they then are loaded onto camel mobile library and taken to whatever area is served.

A few thousand books have been donated since the project began. Every book sent is a gift. You can learn more about the project from theCamel Book Drive blog.

Wasted Backyard Fruit Serves the Community

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 01:30:00 +0000

You've got a tree in your yard. It bears fruit. You eat as much as you can and then you get to the point where you hope you never have to eat anymore. What a waste!

That's what Natasha Boissier thought as she walked her neighborhood. She saw front yard littered with splattered fruit. Perfectly good fruit that folks were tired of. Fruit that rotted on limbs because no one picked it.

Bossier formed North Berkeley Harvest to solve the problem. Her group picks all that unwanted fruit. Then they donate it to homesless shelters, food banks, after school programs, and so forth. She has an agreement with the Chez Panisse Foundation, so some of the fruit ends up in school lunch programs.

A couple of weeks ago, Bossier set out with some volunteers. In just a couple of hours they collected about 150 pounds of fruit.

The group works mainly in the Oakland, Berkeley, and Contra Costa County. They provide a service to homeowners who don't have the time or inclinations to pick fruit, they keep the sidewalks clean of the unwanted messes, and they feed the poor. Just a couple of days a month but awhole lot of good gets done.

Happy (2nd) St. Patrick's Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 01:17:00 +0000

Did you know that St. Patrick's Day fell on the 15th this year? The Catholic Church determines when this holy day falls. Because Easter is early this year, Holy Week and St. Patrick's Day have collided. Holy Monday happens to be March 17th this year. Such festivities as St. Patrick's Day are not allowed during Holy Week, so the day was moved back.

Some cities observed the holiday on Saturday. But, I'm taking no chances. I don't want to get pinched, so I wore green both days :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Don't forget to wear your green!

Project BudBurst Needs You!

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 01:16:00 +0000

Climate change is a big issue these days. You may feel powerless to affect change. Project BudBurst wants to get you involved.

The national program is designed to get backyard gardeners in on collection research about native plants. The object is to have members nationwide who will record information about the trees and flowering plants in their region. The information collected will be used to note how changes in climate are affecting local environments.

The project was started in 2007. Information collected was entered into a database. Now they are ready for year two. Do you want to join the Project BudBurst community?

Here's the link for more information: Project BudBurst

Newborn Survives Fall off of Train

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 21:51:00 +0000

This is really incredible! A pregnant woman gave birth prematurely in a bathroom on a train in India. Indian trains toilets empty directly on the tracks and the baby went right through the toilet and out onto the tracks! The mother passed out after delivery. When she recovered, she informed family who were also on the train what happened. Two hours later, the baby girl was found on the tracks and just fine.

Here's the story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080228/od_nm/india_toilet_dc;_ylt=Avxx50DioK0OQ3rRd.Awczus0NUE

The Lion and His Rescuer

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 03:41:00 +0000

This is an old link, but it's well worth viewing! A woman rescued this lion and nursed it back to health. She then took it to the zoo so it could have a home.

She went back to visit and the lion was overjoyed to see her. Just look at the welcome she got:
http://www.telestereo.com/Archivos/video.html

Recycle Your Sneakers!

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 06:52:00 +0000

Ever wonder what you could do with all those old tennis shoes? Nike is one step ahead of you (no pun intended!) They've got a program that recycles old tennis shoes. The shoes are ground up into what is appropriately named "Nike Fill". The fill is used to make a variety of sports courts from tennis courts to playgrounds.

This is a world wide program and Nike takes just about any brand. There are a few restrictions.

So far, Nike Fill has been used in 250 courts.

See the website for details.

Needle Exchange Advocate Fights the Law

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 02:57:00 +0000

Bill Day believes that the most important thing he can do is provide clean needles for drug users in Texas. Since Texas has no needle exchange program, he's stepped up to fill the void.

Day has been arrested because of it. He now faces one year in jail.

Day is 73. He is HIV+, too. He currently heads the Bexar Area Harm Reduction Coalition. The Coalition goes into the poor areas of San Antonio, Texas and hands out needles. This is an unsanctioned program which is why Day got in trouble.

Ten years ago, the US Surgeon General advocated for needle exchange programs. It's one way to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. Although the other 49 states have a program, Texas does not.