Small Things Count

(I continue my Wednesday peek into my book, The Women Within Me: How they Helped Me Survive and Thrive.) Ch. 3 Brushes with Death: The nine-year-old relates her first encounter with her mother’s suicide attempt. The tone changes when, then 18, she finds her mother in their gas-filled kitchen, then at 22 and with an overdue pregnancy, again saving her mother. The chapter ends with her reflections on what she had learned from her Influencers that helped her through those suicide attempts.

Today I remember all those men and women loved ones we’ve lost due to war, especially the love of my life, my husband Frank. He’s shown here enjoying the peace he helped restore in the world.

I can’t explain it better–how we, without thinking, say that women are less than men in so many ways. This article clearly explains it: “Don’t Insult a Woman when Trying to Insult a Man. Please.” Then, when you hear someone doing this, challenge them to understand what they’re dong.

I‘ve been working on something important to me for a few months and getting nowhere, therefore feeling a bit like a failure. Then I saw today’s Thursday Thought quote:

As promised, today I continue a peek into my book, The Women Within Me: How they Helped Me Survive and Thrive. I’ll continue on Wednesdays. I previewed Ch. 1 on May 10, and here’s Ch. 2–Child Predator: At age eight, the author came close to being abducted by a sexual predator. The child tells that story. At the end, the adult she grew into looks back, understanding that, although she did not know it then, this was a glimpse into a life in which she would call on her Influencers.

So, I started comparing air fares for an upcoming trip–a trip I’ve taken before.  Sticker shock time!  I couldn’t believe the high price, considering basic fares plus “add-ons” like checked baggage, food, a pilot….

Meanwhile, I hear  abouta study showing that air travel is worsening, based on four criteria: on-time records, handling of or losing bags, being bumped from a flight, and passenger complaints.

Let me get this straight.  They’re slacking off on customer service and STILL increase their prices?!

Let’s start our week with a bit of American historical trivia…about tomatoes.  On September 25, 1820, Salem, NJ held a trial against tomatoes. The general populace believed that tomatoes were poisonous, so Robert Johnson stepped in to prove them wrong. To do so, he bravely stood before a crowd at the courthouse and consumed a whole basket of the delectable fruit. Not dying after consumption, the trial was promptly dismissed.

Today is Endangered Species day.  No, not humans on highways, but the critters that enrich our lives and share our planet.

This is the 50^th anniversary of the very successful Endangered Species Act.  Much of our wildlife would be extinct without it: the bald eagle, grizzly bears, crocodiles, and bees, for example.  1400+ species are protected by this act. Sadly, Congress is currently working to weaken it, putting the act and many species in danger of extinction, which, in turn, endangers human life (all species are part of the life cycle, including the food chain that humans depend on).

Contact your member of Congress to work harder to protect endangered species. And celebrate the day by sitting awhile in your yard or a park, cold drink in hand, quietly enjoying the abundance of natural sights and sounds around you.  (It’s okay to swat the flies, though.  Somehow I doubt that they will EVER be endangered.)

Today’s Thursday Thought quote is so simple. It makes so much sense, too, because following its advice helps us avoid inner turmoil and discomfort while, at the same time, promoting a happier world.

We see it in social media all the time—postings urging us not to give money or services to the homeless or immigrants but instead give it to veterans.  That “illegals” not be given welfare (which they legally can’t get anyway) so that the money goes to “legal” American families. To put our concern toward our own children rather than those separated at the border. Even to set aside issues like the death penalty and domestic violence and concentrate only on ending abortion. ALL of these concerns are important ones that we need to address. There are enough people with a variety of talents and abilities, so no one has to take on all the tasks himself.  All the holy books remind us that each of us is given gifts to allow us to serve in our own way. When we see such media postings or feel criticized that what we’re doing to support the human family isn’t aiming our efforts in the right direction, it’s important to remember that this is not really an either-or world.