just a little ditty...

Snail Mail

It's January, and I'm sure most of you, like me, are happy it is a new year and the holidays are in the rear-view mirror. That's not to say the holidays aren't fun, I happen to love them. It's just to say that there is something to be said for the blank slate of January and the year ahead.

I got this email from a good friend this weekend. I wanted to share it with you too.

Over the holidays we send letters, packages and cards to those who are without family and friends during the holidays. We visit nursing homes, send cards and well wishes to recovering soldiers and care packages to marines serving for us abroad. But what about the other 364 days out of the year?

Every thought, letter and care package helps them feel supported and appreciated. They're our friends, brothers/sisters, sons/daughters, neighbors, cousins. And they need a reminder too... year round. So, let's keep it going...

To send another card to a recovering soldier, click here.

To adopt a marine... please read below.

Hi Everyone,

Our effort to send packages to our service men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan over the holiday season was a tremendous success. Because of you over 300 packages were mailed.

Many of you have expressed a desire to continue this effort throughout the year. Thus, I have been collecting names of servicemen and women. At present I have over 200 names of those currently deployed and the approximate date of their return to the States.

For those of you who like to participate, please contact me. I will assign you a name or names and also provide a list of suggested items to send as well as some tips on mailing the package.

If you would also please pass the word around to your family, friends, and colleagues, it would be very much appreciated. Just have them contact me. Please feel free to forward this email to them.

Thank you again for your participation.

Sybil E. Martino
Email: smartino@hughes.net

a good thought

" A good head and a good heart

are always a formidable combination."

- Nelson Mandela

Turn it up!

My friend Susie handed me a CD two nights ago, and said I was going to fall in love with Mumford & Sons. She was right, and I did.

So far, I can't stop listening to #5... White Blank Pages

Summit of Kilimanjaro: Check!

Congrats to the crew who just made it to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro!

And thank you to all who donated and supported them along the way!

To donate water, click here

To follow the Summit on the Summit's blog, click here

Press Release Below:

KENNA AND THE ENTIRE SUMMIT ON THE SUMMIT TEAM
REACH THE PEAK OF MT. KILIMANJARO
TO RAISE AWARENESS OF THE GLOBAL CLEAN WATER CRISIS

January 12, 2010 (19,340 Ft, Mt Kilimanjaro) – Kenna, Grammy-nominated musician, philanthropist, “actionist” and mastermind behind SUMMIT ON THE SUMMIT: Kilimanjaro, was joined at the top of Africa’s largest free standing mountain with fellow climbers Lupe Fiasco, Isabel Lucas, Emile Hirsch, Jessica Biel, Santigold, Elizabeth Gore, Alexandra Cousteau, Bernise Ang, Kick Kennedy, Simon Isaacs, Michael Muller, Jimmy Chin, Melissa Arnot and Dr. Greg Allgood. In an unprecedented movement, millions of people joined the climbers for the week long trek on www.summitonthesummit.com, where they were also able to be a part of the world’s first virtual mountain climb and literally follow their favorite climbers to the top.

After a successful climb that saw each and every person on the expedition reach the top of Kilimanjaro, Kenna reflected, “Even with as many grandiose illusions that I have had, this has gone beyond my wildest dreams and expectations. The influencers, educators, staff, crew, and publicists have literally braved this on behalf of the world and in a personally meaningful way on behalf of my father.”

Fellow climbers Lupe Fiasco and Emile Hirsch shared their thoughts after summiting. Hirsch said, “The last 48 hours have been the most intense and physically grueling experience of my life, miraculously we all made it to the top together. To have such a complete success for such a worthwhile cause – the global clean water crisis - more than reaching the summit is what is really satisfying ” Lupe added, “The thrill of conquering your fears especially in such a physically and mentally taxing environment can’t really be done justice in words.”

After six intense days of hiking and climbing, the group set out for their final trek at 1:30am local time and after nearly seven hours reached the Uhuru peak which generally has only a 75% success rate. Each participant battled a plethora of physical and natural elements over the past week to make the ascent. Between coping with weather ranging from rain, hail, snow and the effects of altitude, including headaches, dizziness and fatigue among other ailments all made the over 50 mile journey that much more arduous. Immediately after summiting, the group descended for an additional six plus hours of hiking to 12000 feet, where they will make their final night of camp.

SUMMIT ON THE SUMMIT: Kilimanjaro was a call to action to raise awareness of the global clean water crisis and funds to benefit The Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and Water For People’s Playpump Technology. The expedition and the dramatic final ascent were also recorded for a special documentary that will air on MTV on March 14th at 9pm/8pm CST. The documentary is being produced by Radical Media, Procter & Gamble Productions and Fury League Inc.

For Kenna, the vision behind SUMMIT ON THE SUMMIT: Kilimanjaro stems from his drive to create a greater good for our youth and has personal meaning as his father was deeply affected by water-borne illness as a child in Ethiopia and his uncle had passed away from a related illness’ as well.

The climbers of SUMMIT ON THE SUMMIT: Kilimanjaro have been blogging and discussing the issue of water alongside educators who are leaders at the forefront of global issues. As a team they have been learning of solutions to the problem, discussing how to improve social awareness and embracing the idea that they are now an example for influencing ways to take action and giving back to those with little or nothing.

Kenna added, “I also can’t be more thankful for all the people that followed us, donated and have fought the global clean water crisis with us.” Supporters followed the action and were able to interact with the climbers through the SUMMIT ON THE SUMMIT: Kilimanjaro website (www.summitonthesummit.com) which has been updated daily with photos, videos and information about the climb and the cause. There has also been a major presence and call to action on Facebook, Twitter (@sotsk) and dedicated climber blog (www.sotsk.tumblr.com).

SUMMIT ON THE SUMMIT: Kilimanjaro would not have happened without the generous support of its partners, which include HP, the official technology partner, PŪR Water Filtration, who provided water filtration solutions, Windows 7, as the official Expedition Software, First Ascent by Eddie Bauer, who outfitted the entire climb, and REVO, the official eye wear. All funds raised by SUMMIT ON THE SUMMIT: Kilimanjaro will be managed and distributed through the United Nations Foundation, the project’s charitable advisors.

Summit on the Summit: To the Top

The Summit on the Summit group is schedule to summit today... are you following along?!

www.sotsk.tumblr.com

A QUESTION FROM JAY LAVENDER
I have a WHAT IF for YOU

What if some guy named KENNA, inspired by an unsuccessful attempt to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro, his Ethiopian heritage and his father, decided to return to climb Kili to raise awareness for the global water crisis?

And what if he got a few friends to climb with him and then a few of their friends to run the project with him and then they all got a bunch of friends and strangers, many with no climbing experience, to agree to go with them?

And what if HP, PUR, Windows 7 and First Ascent and REVO sponsored money and provided gear during a time when most companies were slashing their marketing budgets?

And what if the group bonded effortlessly through a common purpose, stories, laughter and striving physically side-by-side?

And what if people all over the world, intrigued by something that wasn't cynical, selfish or political in these difficult times, followed these people, strangers 7 days ago and now friends for life, as they trekked together up an African mountain with a film crew, photographers and a writer watching and capturing every step...not because these people wanted the attention but because it was the only way they could figure out how to cut through all the chatter and get YOUR ATTENTION?

And what if people started paying attention and learning more and talking about the global water crisis with their friends, family, coworkers and even strangers?

And what if all those people realized they could make a difference?

And what if they decided not to wait for someone else to do it but instead decided to donate their valuable time, energy and hard earned money to solving the problem?

And what if one day, we were all able to look back and say when that moment was when we said, "I had no idea that 1 billion people don't have access to clean water or that 7 billion gallons of water a day leaks out of America's decrepit infrastructure?"

And what if those same people, tired of our politicians playing shell games with our tax dollars to get reelected, pressured our elected leaders to do something about it since it affects each one of us every day?

And what if people were put to work, not some hypothetical time in the future, but this year, fixing and designing and engineering and rebuilding the pipes and system that brings water to our taps every day?

And what if people were inspired by SOTSK to build on PUR's innovations and come up with even more ways to purify drinking water?

And what if our main stream media decided to quit broadcasting nonsense and started reporting on the positive things in the world?

And what if one day we could celebrate that we had collectively come together, as Lupe had invited us--danced together?

And what if all of that happened just because one guy named KENNA DECIDED TO DO SOMETHING and his friends joined him and then strangers became friends and then it became so much bigger than a group of people climbing a mountain because there were so many people who cared as much as Kenna that the collective positivity became an unstoppable force determined to help our fellow men, women, children?

And what if in doing that, we changed the world for the better and turned the global water crisis into the global water nuisance?

And what if one day you could smile to yourself as you were drifting off to sleep, knowing that YOU PLAYED YOUR PART to help turn these what ifs into reality?

- Jay Lavender, 3:45am, Jan 11, in a tent on the side of Kili

Summit on the Summit: it begins

Yesterday, January 7th, a group of celebrities and activists began their climb to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro to raise awareness for the global water crisis. Jay Lavender, co-writer of the Break-up, is their writer and blogger. You can follow him and the climbers on his blog http://sotsk.tumblr.com

The press release is below...

THE ASCENT BEGINS:

KENNA, JESSICA BIEL, EMILE HIRSCH, LUPE FIASCO,

ELIZABETH GORE AND FRIENDS

EMBARK ON SUMMIT ON THE SUMMIT: KILIMANJARO

TO RAISE AWARENESS OF THE GLOBAL CLEAN WATER CRISIS

January 8, 2010 (13,640 Ft, Mt Kilimanjaro ) – The last two days, Kenna, Grammy-nominated musician, philanthropist, “actionist” and mastermind behind SUMMIT ON THE SUMMIT: Kilimanjaro, began the week long trek, on Thursday, January 7, up Kilimanjaro joined by Emile Hirsch, Jessica Biel, Lupe Fiasco, Isabel Lucas, Santigold as well as many of the world’s brightest minds and major cultural influencers (complete list below), for the ascent to raise awareness of the global clean water crisis. Since originally announcing SUMMIT ON THE SUMMIT: Kilimanjaro last year, the project has raised awareness of the global clean water crisis as well as funds on www.summitonthesummit.com for The Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and Water For People's Playpump Technology. The expedition is also being documented and produced by Radical Media, Procter & Gamble Productions and Fury League Inc. for a documentary to run on MTV on March 14 at 9pm/8pm CST.

· Jessica Biel, Actress (upcoming Valentine's Day and The A-Team)

· Lupe Fiasco, Grammy-Nominated musician

· Isabel Lucas, Actress (Transformers 2)

· Santigold, Musician

· Emile Hirsch, Actor (Into the Wild and Milk)

· Alexandra Cousteau, National Geographic Emerging Explorer
· Elizabeth Gore, Executive Director for Global Partnerships for the United Nations Foundation

· Simon Isaacs, International Development and Water Expert,

· Michael Muller, Award Winning Photographer Michael Muller

· Jimmy Chin, Award Winning Photographer

· Kick Kennedy, Environmental Activist and Granddaughter of Robert Kennedy

· Bernise Ang, Social Entrepreneur and Recipient of the YouthActionNet Award & Fellowship

· Dr. Greg Allgood, Director of the Children's Safe Drinking Water Program at Procter & Gamble

· Melissa Arnot, Mountaineering Expert

· Jason Walsh, Renowned Trainer and Movement Specialist

Participants of the SUMMIT ON THE SUMMIT : Kilimanjaro team have been blogging and discussing the issue of water alongside educators who are leaders at the forefront of global issues. As a team they have been learning of solutions to the problem, discussing how to improve social awareness and embracing the idea that they are now the example for showing ways to take action and give back to those with little or nothing.

Supporters can follow the action and interact with the climbers through the SUMMIT ON THE SUMMIT : Kilimanjaro website (www.summitonthesummit.com) which is being updated daily with additional communication through Facebook, Twitter (@sotsk) and a dedicated climber blog (www.sotsk.tumblr.com). Visitors can also get a behind-the-scenes look at the preparation and training that went into the climb from a series of web videos, keep track of climbers’ progress on the mountain with the help of GPS trackers, plus stay informed and interact throughout the climb. Those who wish to contribute to the cause may sponsor a foot on the site or purchase products with proceeds going towards the cause.

In addition to HP, the official technology partner, PŪR Water Filtration, providing financial support and water filtration solutions, and First Ascent by Eddie Bauer, outfitting the entire climb, Microsoft has joined SUMMIT ON THE SUMMIT as the official Expedition Software of SUMMIT ON THE SUMMIT : Kilimanjaro , joining in support of raising awareness of the global clean water crisis. The base camp will be outfitted with the high-powered HP TouchSmart PC featuring Windows 7 touch enabled software to help track each climber’s progress, monitor weather conditions and capture every aspect of the climb. All funds raised by SUMMIT ON THE SUMMIT: Kilimanjaro will be managed and distributed through the United Nations Foundation, the project’s charitable advisors.

an actual wonder woman

In my December 2nd post I wrote about the road ahead. Latham's daughter, Wistar (one of the three Murray wonder women...) wrote this blog post on the death of her father. It's absolutely mind-blowing, it's beautifully written with wit, love and immense sadness. It made me laugh, it made me cry. It's an incredible lesson on life, love and loss, and the journey.

strength in numbers

"Strong humans become ruthless self-seekers

unless they're bound by love" - Wonder Woman

here's to potential!

Picture by: the one and only Sarah Cramer

We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room,

drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched.

Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through

the rooms of our lives... not looking for flaws, but for potential.

Ellen Goodman

do you hear what i hear?!

this is sure to make your day!

(oh, and Happy Christmas to you and yours!)

lucky in life

This was the first email in my in-box this morning... it was the perfect beginning to today....

This is a wonderful piece by Michael Gartner, editor of newspapers large and small and president of NBC News. In 1997, he won the Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing. It is well worth reading, and a few good chuckles are guaranteed. Here goes...

May We Be So Lucky

My father never drove a car. Well, that's not quite right. I should say I never saw him drive a car. He quit driving in 1927, when he was 25 years old, and the last car he drove was a 1926 Whippet. "In those days," he told me when he was in his 90s, "to drive a car you had to do things with your hands, and do things with your feet, and look every which way, and I decided you could walk through life and enjoy it or drive through life and miss it."

At which point my mother, a sometimes salty Irishwoman, chimed in:
"Oh, bull----!" she said. "He hit a horse."
"Well," my father said, "there was that, too."

So my brother and I grew up in a household without a car. The neighbors all had cars -- the Kollingses next door had a green 1941 Dodge, the VanLaninghams across the street a gray 1936 Plymouth, the Hopsons two doors down a black 1941 Ford -- but we had none.

My father, a newspaperman in Des Moines , would take the streetcar to work and, often as not, walk the 3 miles home. If he took the streetcar home, my mother and brother and I would walk the three blocks to the streetcar stop, meet him and walk home together.

My brother, David, was born in 1935, and I was born in 1938, and sometimes, at dinner, we'd ask how come all the neighbors had cars but we had none. "No one in the family drives," my mother would explain, and that was that.

But, sometimes, my father would say, "But as soon as one of you boys turns 16, we'll get one." It was as if he wasn't sure which one of us would turn 16 first.

But, sure enough , my brother turned 16 before I did, so in 1951 my parents bought a used 1950 Chevrolet from a friend who ran the parts department at a Chevy dealership downtown.

It was a four-door, white model, stick shift, fender skirts, loaded with everything, and, since my parents didn't drive, it more or less became my brother's car.

Having a car but not being able to drive didn't bother my father, but it didn't make sense to my mother.

So in 1952, when she was 43 years old, she asked a friend to teach her to drive.. She learned in a nearby cemetery, the place where I learned to drive the following year and where, a generation later, I took my two sons to practice driving. The cemetery probably was my father's idea. "Who can your mother hurt in the cemetery?" I remember him saying more than once.

For the next 45 years or so, until she was 90, my mother was the driver in the family.. Neither she nor my father had any sense of direction, but he loaded up on maps -- though they seldom left the city limits -- and appointed himself navigator. It seemed to work.

Still, they both continued to walk a lot. My mother was a devout Catholic, and my father an equally devout agnostic, an arrangement that didn't seem to bother either of them through their 75 years of marriage.

(Yes, 75 years, and they were deeply in love the entire time.)

He retired when he was 70, and nearly every morning for the next 20 years or so, he would walk with her the mile to St. Augustin's Church.
She would walk down and sit in the front pew, and he would wait in the back until he saw which of the parish's two priests was on duty that morning. If it was the pastor, my father then would go out and take a 2-mile walk, meeting my mother at the end of the service and walking her home.

If it was the assistant pastor, he'd take just a 1-mile walk and then head back to the church. He called the priests "Father Fast" and "Father Slow."

After he retired, my father almost always accompanied my mother whenever she drove anywhere, even if he had no reason to go along. If she were going to the beauty parlor, he'd sit in the car and read, or go take a stroll or, if it was summer, have her keep the engine running so he could listen to the Cubs game on the radio. In the evening, then, when I'd stop by, he'd explain: "The Cubs lost again. The millionaire on second base made a bad throw to the millionaire on first base, so the multimillionaire on third base scored."

If she were going to the grocery store, he would go along to carry the bags out -- and to make sure she loaded up on ice cream. As I said, he was always the navigator, and once, when he was 95 and she was 88 and still driving, he said to me, "Do you want to know the secret of a long life?"

"I guess so," I said, knowing it probably would be something bizarre.

"No left turns," he said.
"What?" I asked.
"No left turns," he repeated. "Several years ago, your mother and I read an article that said most accidents that old people are in happen when they turn left in front of oncoming traffic.

As you get older, your eyesight worsens, and you can lose your depth perception, it said. So your mother and I decided never again to make a left turn."

"What?" I said again.
"No left turns," he said. "Think about it. Three rights are the same as a left, and that's a lot safer. So we always make three rights."

"You're kidding!" I said, and I turned to my mother for support.
"No," she said, "your father is right. We make three rights. It works."
But then she added: "Except when your father loses count."

I was driving at the time, and I almost drove off the road as I started laughing.

"Loses count?" I asked.

"Yes," my father admitted, "that sometimes happens. But it's not a problem. You just make seven rights, and you're okay again."

I couldn't resist. "Do you ever go for 11?" I asked.

"No," he said " If we miss it at seven, we just come home and call it a bad day. Besides, nothing in life is so important it can't be put off another day or another week."
My mother was never in an accident, but one evening she handed me her car keys and said she had decided to quit driving. That was in 1999, when she was 90.

She lived four more years, until 2003. My father died the next year, at 102.

They both died in the bungalow they had moved into in 1937 and bought a few years later for $3,000. (Sixty years later, my brother and I paid $8,000 to have a shower put in the tiny bathroom -- the house had never had one. My father would have died then and there if he knew the shower cost nearly three times what he paid for the house.)

He continued to walk daily -- he had me get him a treadmill when he was 101 because he was afraid he'd fall on the icy sidewalks but wanted to keep exercising -- and he was of sound mind and sound body until the moment he died.

One September afternoon in 2004, he and my son went with me when I had to give a talk in a neighboring town, and it was clear to all three of us that he was wearing out, though we had the usual wide-ranging conversation about politics and newspapers and things in the news.

A few weeks earlier, he had told my son, "You know, Mike, the first hundred years are a lot easier than the second hundred." At one point in our drive that Saturday, he said, "You know, I'm probably not going to live much longer."

"You're probably right," I said.

"Why would you say that?" He countered, somewhat irritated.

"Because you're 102 years old," I said..

"Yes," he said, "you're right." He stayed in bed all the next day.

That night, I suggested to my son and daughter that we sit up with him through the night.

He appreciated it, he said, though at one point, apparently seeing us look gloomy, he said:
"I would like to make an announcement. No one in this room is dead yet"

An hour or so later, he spoke his last words:

"I want you to know," he said, clearly and lucidly, "that I am in no pain. I am very comfortable. And I have had as happy a life as anyone on this earth could ever have..."

A short time later, he died.

I miss him a lot, and I think about him a lot. I've wondered now and then how it was that my family and I were so lucky that he lived so long.

I can't figure out if it was because he walked through life,
Or because he quit taking left turns."

Life is too short to wake up with regrets.

So love the people who treat you right.

Forget about the ones who don't.

Believe everything happens for a reason.

If you get a chance, take it and if it changes your life, let it.

holiday snail mail

We did it last year, let's do it again...

Just a little ditty has over 1,500 readers all across the globe... If we each pass this on and everyone sends one card, think of how many cards these soldiers, who have sacrificed so much, would get. A little kindness has the power to go a long way...

When you are making out your Christmas card list this year, please include the following:

A Recovering American Soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue, NW
Washington , D.C. 20307-5001

(...and we can be creative... send a note, mix cd, quote, lottery ticket... the possibilities are endless. At the very least, please, please send a card!)

live.

“Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen hard. Practice wellness, Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no regret. Appreciate your friends. Continue to learn. Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is.” ~Mary Anne Radmacher

it's back. again. ask yourself

you. You. YOU. again.
Ask yourself, again

   * What is your idea of perfect happiness?
    * What historical figure do you most identify with?
    * What living person do you admire most?
    * What is your greatest regret?
    * What and Who are the greatest loves of your life?
    * What talent would you most like to have?
    * If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
    * What is your greatest achievement?
    * What is the lowest depth of misery?
    * What is your most marked characteristic?
    * What quality do you admire most in a woman? In a man?
    * Who are your favorite writers?
    * What is it that you most dislike?
    * What is your motto?

success II

the road ahead

"We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey."
+ Kenji Miyazawa

The story isn't new. We've all heard it before, but every now and then, we're knocked down with another reminder. Life is precious and in day, an hour, an instant, everything can change -- and will.

Just before I left for Thanksgiving with my family, I thought about how incredibly lucky I am. The number one reason: the people in my life. My family alone has roots in love, thoughtfulness, tradition and camaraderie. They are my family but also my friends. We share in each other's victories, and support each other when there is a defeat or a fall. It is why I'm so lucky, why I'm so thankful.

Two days ago we found out that one of my parent's best friends, a man who my brother, sister and I consider a favorite uncle, passed away while performing a routine chore on his family's farm. His family is a family we all want to be a part of. They're the strongest family you know. You hear their name, and it defines each and every one of them with character, strength and compassion. They are the family you want on your team, and the friends you'll always need to give depth and meaning to your life. They've lost a dad, a husband, a brother, an uncle, a son, and a friend. Their grief and sadness is shared between their roots, and also between our community. There is nothing that will make their loss any easier, but I'm thankful they have each other to lean on and turn to for the road ahead.

teeny-tiny

World, meet Tiny, the newest addition to the Morris family!

She's sweet, she's got a ton of personality, and well, she's the runt. After 24 hours of suggestions, between the five of us, we're still hard pressed to find a name that adequately suits her. So send us your suggestions... all are welcome. She isn't going to be tiny forever, so we better get cracking...

p.s. Happy Happy Happy Thanksgiving to YOU and yours....

reflect

photo by Tom Daly

reflect...

be.

"if you want to be happy, be."

-leo tolstoy

you, yourself

food for thought: follow up

Jay's video just hit USA Today...

click on image for video

(and click here for more)

Wouldn't it have been nice if the H1N1 vaccine

had been available for our children before the school year started?

This site just went live this morning:
www.fastervaccines.org

Below is a statement from the Congressional Commission worth thinking about:

This is a Call To Action video for the BIPARTISAN Congressional Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism. We've been discussing the H1N1 vaccine issue since the spring when we knew it was a virtual certainty that there would be insufficient supplies this fall.

We are the first Congressional Commission to use social media to reach out to the public. If you send an e-mail to your Senator or Representative, a 22 year-old staffer will make a check mark on a score card. However, if we get the response that we think is possible, it will give some real power to former Senators Bob Graham (D-FL) and Jim Talent (R-MO) to sit down with leaders in Congress and the White House.

We are not selling anything except an idea. With the capability to make vaccines faster and less expensively, we can save millions of lives worldwide.

We need help with the solution.

Watch it. Share it. Learn More. Join the Conversation.

all you need

A few weeks ago I met Georgiana and John, two people who have it all.

He just turned 97, she is 89. They’re 8 years apart-- but that is the only thing that separates them. They met walking down the aisle, she was the Maid of Honor, he the Best Man. They’ve been married for 69 years…and counting. You can tell by watching them together and listening to their stories that they are each perfect for the other. They love each other more and more with each moment, each day, each year. And the cool thing is, they don’t just love each other, they adore each other!

When I left, Georgiana handed me a little blue handmade book titled Georgiana and John: A Love Story. Flipping through the pages I found letters, newspaper clippings and stories, about their lives and journey. And what a ride...

In a letter about his wife, John summed it all up, “Of all of our trips, the greatest was traveling through life together”. You can only hope for that kind of happiness and adoration. It is as unique and endearing as Georgiana and John, and in the end, it really is, all you need.

snail mail via email

Mares sent me this snail mail card via email. The wonders of today's technology!

It's food for thought.... (a different kind than yesterday's...)

food for thought

click on photo for video

Wouldn't it have been nice if the H1N1 vaccine

had been available for our children before the school year started?

This site just went live this morning:
www.fastervaccines.org

Below is a statement from the Congressional Commission worth thinking about:

play on

"The chessboard is the world; the pieces are the gestures of our daily lives; the rules of the game are what we call the laws of Nature. The player on the other side is hidden from us, but we know that his play is always fair, just, and patient." T.H. Huxley

Accept the challenge. Play on!

We Are Headed North

Get up, Get Going

Austin Influenced

Turn It Up

tunes for you

hey yo, I said, Turn IT UP!

hello there

how can you be the best version of yourself?

for you. for them. for the world.

but mostly for you. and them.

and the world.

stay hungry, stay foolish

life is long

and if you need a little inspiration today, or tomorrow

sit back, turn up the volume on your computer and take good notes

this is pretty inspiring stuff

(read it or watch it)

happy friday pretty lady

Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the floor each morning the devil says

"Oh Crap, She's up!"

good souls

Fall is HERE in Charlottesville. It’s my favorite time of year, the air is clear and crisp, its windy, the leaves are just starting to turn, and everyone is in a good mood. In my opinion, there is nothing better than interacting with genuinely friendly people. And I bet, if you open your eyes a bit to it, and pay attention, you’ll see them all over. I just left the Flat, a little creperie off the Downtown Mall in Charlottesville. And a highlight of my day was meeting the friendly guy behind the counter - his name was Tyler, and he couldn’t be nicer. He is a happy guy with a happy soul. So if you have a chance today, and you’re walking around town enjoying the amazing weather, stop by the Flat, and meet Tyler. I bet he’ll make your day.

happy friday

hello there.
how are you today?
hopefully you've realized already
today is going to be a good day.

here's a song to get you started...

mail call

this little note from my sister arrived in the mail yesterday. if this isn't enough to make your day, i don't know what is. thanks kate. it's a good reminder

in a word: amazing

Sarah Cramer is one of those people who you just want to be around. You'll meet her, and you'll think to yourself... Hmm...how can I join her orbit? I need (NEED) her as a friend. Luckily for me, it just worked itself out! I helped Sarah plan her wedding last April (I'm finally getting my act enough to put up these amazing shots by Jack Looney). We had the BEST time planning together and ever since, have been buddies. She's got amazing energy, she's interesting and also interested. Her attention to detail is awesome... and the best part is, when her wedding day came, she left it all up to her trusty vendors, let loose, and had the time of her life.

Last night we FINALLY caught up over a glass of wine (ok, truth be told, we started with a glass but ended up with a bottle and dinner...). Wedding season has been in full swing, and between the two of us (She's a bad-ass photographer, check out CRAMER PHOTO) we've been hard pressed to find a time to get together. It was worth the wait.... my abs hurt from laughing today, my cheeks from smiling. Its true. I didn't make that up.

Yesterday was a BIG day for Sarah and Cramer Photo... She opened up her very own office and studio on the Downtown Mall in Charlottesville. She gave me the grand tour...and it is amazing. Amazing, amazing, amazing. Sarah is 26 years old, an extremely talented photographer, runs her own company (which, she obviously ROCKS) and now is the proud owner of an amazing downtown studio space. I'm in awe, I'm proud, and yes, I'm even a bit jealous! I can only imagine what's next Cramer!

live at bethel hollow

Saturday was incredible. I’m not talking about the weather, even though it certainly was, a gorgeous day. I’m talking about the people who came together in Covesville to raise money for a new community hospital, a new park, a new green space, and what we all hope will be a new tradition. John Pringle’s voice and masterful guitar work echoed over Bethel Hollow. Over conversations and laughter, over stories and ideas, over new introductions and reacquainted hugs. Thank you to all those who came out to support our Pringle for the Park concert. It was a day, a night, and an event to remember. And we have YOU to thank and a green space to look forward to!

look around... look ahead...

They are words that have echoed in my head. And for good reason.

Jay Lavender, Best Man extraordinaire, grabbed the mic, took one look around the packed ballroom, then opened his toast with

"You never know when you're going to meet your next best friend".

Truer words have never been spoken. So think about it. Let it sink in. And then remember Jay's quote. Because you've got nothing to lose, and everything to gain. And you never really know what lies ahead. Today or tomorrow.

Pringle for the Park: Live at Bethel Hollow

Its one of my favorite places on Earth. And it's right in our backyard. Bethel Hollow. Pictured above...

To our Friends, our Colleagues, our Community,

We are excited to have the opportunity to present Pringle for the Park: Live at Bethel Hollow.

As most of you know, in 2012 Martha Jefferson Hospital will open her new doors to new patients and fresh spaces at the Peter Jefferson Place. Included in the design are plans to create a five-acre green space with a connection to the Rivanna Trail, which will provide a welcoming retreat for not only the patients, their families, and the devoted MJH staff, but also for the Charlottesville community and its visitors. The money raised on the nineteenth will be used to assist in the creation, construction and enhancement of the park and trail, and will be dedicated in memory of Dr. Jim Knight.

In our effort to raise funds for the park and trail, we invite you to Pringle for the Park: Live at Bethel Hollow. September 19th, at 4:30 PM. John Pringle is known for his poignant vocals and masterful guitar work. He has local roots but has been booked across the country playing in some of the most notable venues and is currently producing his second album. Enjoy with us delicious tastings from The Shebeen, quench your thirst with local brew from Starr Hill and award winning wine from King Family Vineyards. By simply participating in this festive evening, you will contribute to a cause that will cross generations and continue to impact patients, their families, and the Charlottesville community for years to come.

We are very proud to be fully sponsored by The Shebeen, King Family Vineyards, Festive Fare Rentals and Skyline Tent Company and Faulconer Construction as our sole financial sponsor. Because of our sponsors, your donation will be fully contributed to the new park at MJH.

To reserve your space, or to find out more about this event, please contact D. Morris at justalittleditty@gmail.com Minimum suggested donation is $100 ($75 is tax-deductible). Children’s tickets (for kids 15 and under) are also available. Minimum suggested donation is $25 ($10 per ticket is tax-deductible). Please include the names of attendees for our guest list.

Space is limited to 200 people, so please purchase your tickets today, and support a cause for tomorrow.

We hope to see you at Bethel Hollow!

Dickie Morris

Ben Morris

Kate Morris

Travis Wilburn

good morning

Paul Curreri and Devon Sproule sing this version of Hard Life. I heard it on the way to work this morning... it's one of those songs that makes you want to roll down your windows, turn up the volume and trust that it's going to be a good day

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