Small Things Count

I can’t wait until St. Patrick’s Day to share this with you.  I have a Border Collie that looks and acts just like this one.  If you’ve ever had a herding dog, you’ll recognize that this is typical of them in real life–although they don’t lead us to a pub on St. Patrick’s Day.  Enjoy!

Reminder: On Saturdays, I post a “Sensible Saturday” eco-friendly idea. Here’s today’s. Startling fact in our plastic world: After decades of plastic waste disposal, there is now more plastic than algae in the ocean.

[For more easy, money-saving, Eco-friendly tips, download a FREE copy of Green Riches: Help the Earth & Your Budget. Go to https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/7000, choose a format, and download to your computer or e-book device. For a description of the book go to My Free Books).

In today’s Thursday Thought quote, JFK tells us to stop, think, and thank.

You may be planning to pick out a Halloween costume for your kids or for an adult party.  Some people say, “Wear what you want and to H-E-Double-Toothpick with what people think.”  The fact is, though, that you or your kids will be around a cross-section of America.  You know, the country that calls itself the “melting pot”?  And a population of people who have had some pretty bad personal experiences that they had no control over or choice in. Keep that in mind.  If you have what you think is funny or perfect to wear, check out Don’t Even Think of Wearing These 14 Costumes for Halloween at https://www.alternet.org/2015/10/dont-even-think-wearing-these-14-costumes-halloween/.  It explains why certain costumes should not even be considered. Have fun on Halloween.  And let others happily enjoy themselves, as well. It’s not a case of political correctness; it’s a case of respecting the human dignity of others.

Today, and each Oct. 23, is World Homeless Day. It aims “to raise awareness about the needs of people who currently experience homelessness and promote work in local communities to alleviate suffering and prevent death” (https://www.worldhomelessday.org). If we personally do nothing else today, and every chance we get, we can show respect for each homeless person crossing our path. All it takes is a friendly “Hi” and eye contact that recognizes the person as a fellow human being, not a distasteful or frightening object.

Note: Women & children are the fastest growing homeless group in the US.

Happy Columbus Day and Indigenous Day. Both are important, although we wouldn’t even have Columbus Day without Indigenous peoples’ welcoming strangers to their land.

They’re advertised as safe, non-toxic sensory toys for children, yet they can harmful at least, deadly at worst, for children. ERs are seeing thousands of kids endangered by the beads. Read details at Are Water Beads Toxic? Or view Consumer Report’s video The Dangers of Water Beads.

In case you aren’t aware, I want to warn you of a scam I started to get caught up in before I wised up. I posted a few items for sale on NextDoor, Craigslist, and Facebook Marketplace. I got enthusiastic buyers. They’re “cautious” and ask if they can send me a 6-digit number to verify I’m real. The one time I fell for it, it supposedly didn’t work, so they needed additional info, including cell numbers of friends to help us seal the deal using their phone. If you Google this you’ll find it’s a current scam, a way for the bad guys to collect more info on us to rob us. Be careful! Especially on Marketplace.

Today’s Thursday Thought quote is an uplifting personal mission for anyone’s life.

Here’s one for my readers who like the history and original meaning of old phrases.  “God willing and the Creek don’t rise” has nothing to do with flooding.  Benjamin Hawkins, who  wrote these words in the late 1800s, was a diplomat dealing with native Americans.  The President of the United States asked him to return to Washington, DC, on some political matter.  His response was that he would do so, “God willing and the Creek don’t rise.”  Because he capitalized the first letter of “Creek,” it’s obvious that he was talking about the Creek tribe, not a waterway.

A bit of Americana historical trivia….