An important date is coming up soon. For many of us during this pandemic, the only safe way to vote is by mail. And voting is not just a right or privilege; it’s a necessity if our democracy is to work.
It’s not too early to request a vote-by-mail ballot. Here’s a chart of deadlines for the states so you can submit your request for an absentee/mail-in ballot in plenty of time. Put it on your calendar. Better yet, send in your request today.
Were you “bugged” at your BBQ last weekend? Next time, solve the problem NOT by spraying toxic chemicals but by using your BBQ to chase mosquitoes away from your family picnic. Just toss some rosemary or sage onto the coals.
[For more easy, money-saving, Earth-friendly tips, download a FREE copy of Green Riches: Help the Earth & Your Budget. Go to www.Smashwords.com/books/view/7000 or your favorite e-book seller and download to your computer or e-book device. Totally free, with no strings attached.]
PLEASE BE CAREFUL! A recent tragedy brought home how a couple of non-actions can cause heartbreaking outcomes. Family of a close friend of mine was driving home from a visit to their dying father in Denver. An 18-year-old rammed his SUV into the back of their van, causing both vehicles to spin and flip. My friend’s 3 uncles, an aunt, and a cousin were killed. The tragedy deepens: my friend’s father had lost one of his brothers a year ago, and now his remaining 3 are gone. Further tragedy: my friend’s grandfather, under all the stress, had a stroke.
What are the non-actions involved? One was a common one. The people killed were stretched out in the van at 3 AM while another person drove, and they, like many of us, stretched out to get more comfortable, then did not re-buckle their seat belts. The two in the van who kept their seat belts on survived.
The other non-action was on the part of the teen driver who hit them. He had been drinking and was drunk, and he did NOT give the keys to someone else to drive. Thus the disastrous accident that will forever touch so many lives.
So, please be careful out there. Use common sense. Think of yourself, others on the road, and all those whose lives are a large part of theirs.
Today’s Thursday Thought quote, by Yogi Bhajan, just gave me a good feeling. If we all did this, what a wonderful world we’d live in.
I haven’t agreed with all the pardons President Trump has either granted or contemplated, but I do with this one…Susan B. Anthony, leader of the Women’s Suffrage Movement. That woman dared to vote in 1872, when it was illegal for women to vote. And she got caught.
I’m a bit surprised that Pres. Trump pardoned her, with his fierce stand and warnings against voter fraud (which this was), but who am I, a simple American citizen, to question his decisions?
Details at Trump to pardon women’s suffrage leader Susan B. Anthony.
As I watch the news, I’m struck by the subtle ways that prejudice is spread. Nobody notices, but our brains do. So we accept it, coming to believe that what has been hinted at is true.
Two examples: 1) A suspect in an assault is referred to as “a homeless man,” but never “a man who lives on Gregory St. in San Jose.” 2) The person who vandalized is “a Black man,” but you don’t hear that the person was “a White man.”
The result is that our brains think, Of course, because Black men are dangerous and homeless people don’t care about anything or anyone.
It doesn’t seem right to me. It DOES seem like we need to filter what we hear before its implications get lodged in our brains.
What an interesting idea. Leg has created a set of their bricks with Braille dots on them for visually impaired and blind children. The kids use them to learn and play. Check out this video —
We are surrounded by people we touch and we don’t even know we’ve affected their lives, as today’s Thursday Thought quote points out.
Often a “thank you” isn’t needed. Why thank a person for doing what he is supposed to do? Here’s a thought: a “thank you” may encourage someone to do the right thing the next time he’s in that situation, or it might be the only bright spot in his otherwise-depressing day. I thank the driver who stops for me in the crosswalk, the bicyclist who sees me coming in my handicap scooter and moves from the sidewalk to the street, the woman who notices me pulling into a disabled parking spot and moves the shopping cart she’d blocked me with in the cross-hatch section, the teen who turns down his loud music when he notices that we at the next picnic table are being bothered by it, the delivery man for being gentle with my package, the child who puts his trash into the can without being told. Why? Because we are responsible for each other, including nourishing each other’s spirits, fostering actions that inspire others to care about members of the human family. Such is the power of a simple “thank you.”
Something to think about — and practice — on this International Thank-You Day.
Be cooler in summer and save up to 25% annual energy costs. Get summer shade by planting deciduous shrubs and trees on the south and west sides of your house. When you want the warmth (in the winter), the sun peeks in through the north and east.
[For more easy, money-saving, Earth-friendly tips, download a FREE copy of Green Riches: Help the Earth & Your Budget. Go to www.Smashwords.com/books/view/7000 or your favorite e-book seller and download to your computer or e-book device. Totally free, with no strings attached.]