There is an Indian prayer used to intimate that you should not judge until you have lived another's circumstances.
Great Spirit, grant that I may not criticize my neighbor until I have walked a mile in his moccasins.
Of course through the years it has been co-opted and reworked to the simpler saying, "Walk a mile in my shoes," but it means the same thing. That you just cannot fully appreciate another's life and hurdles until you have experienced them first hand.
There are, of course, moments when we can fathom, guess, shudder at someone's circumstances through the wonderful human sense of empathy.
This is one of those times.
Pictured is NYPD Officer Larry DiPrimo. On November 14th, a frigid night in Manhattan, he came upon this homeless man with no shoes on his feet. Said DiPrimo, "I had two pairs of wool winter socks and combat boots, and I was cold."
He offered to get the man some socks and shoes. The man replied, "I never had a pair of shoes."
Officer DiPrimo went immediately to the nearby Sketchers store, spent $75 of his own money, purchased warm socks and boots for the man, returned, knelt down, and put them on the man's feet.
"He smiled from ear to ear," DePrimo said. "It was like you gave him a million dollars."
Why did he do this?
All because he could. The simplest, kindest reason of all. He could. No quest for glory or recognition. Just a simple act of human kindness in a world where we see far too little of it in action.
It is why we do what we do with Namaste/Yes, Virginia. We may not be hungry. We not may be cold or have icicles that form inside our homes, but we have empathy and we can imagine.
Thank you all so much for the donations that have been coming in. Needs are many.
Like Officer DiPrimo, if you can help, do help. When one life touches another, both lives are changed forever.
As much as we all love to see the Yes, Virginia/Namaste photos that come in post-Christmas, it is just as important to read about the families we will be helping in the run up to the holiday.
I received an email last night from a concerned DGMSer, and with their permission (and personal info omitted) would like to share.
Hi Linda,
I do know of a family that needs assistance.
They are living in a rental home, using space heaters because the heater
hasn't worked in years, the roof leaks, it is just a hell hole but it is all
they can afford. When it gets really cold there are actually icicles hanging
from the interior light fixtures. They moved into this place three years ago
when they lost everything in a house fire and the insurance company claims the
fire was intentionally set.
This is a family of 5, the oldest is 67 years old, she still works at a
grocery store. Her daughter is 35 and unable to work due to spastic cerebral
palsy, and then there are three grandkids. A beautiful 14 year old girl who is
basically running the household. Her situation breaks my heart. She is a
bright, vivacious teen, smart and charming with so much potential but she
carries the weight of the world on her shoulders. I fear for her future :(
Then there is an 8 year old boy and an 18 month old gorgeous
little girl, who is always smiling, laughing or singing and dancing.
This family who has nothing always tries to help others. They earn fuel
points at the grocery store and since they can't use all their points, they buy
gas with the points for my non profit. At this point I think their greatest
need is food. If we could assist with food the money saved could go towards
Christmas or reducing the electric bill. Anything that Yes Virginia might be
able to provide for them, my husband and I will match.
Thanks
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We will be helping put food on their table and bringing some Christmas magic into the lives of these three children.
Icicles from the interior light fixtures... heartbreaking.
Give if you can. Every dollar donated WILL make a difference.
Thank you to everyone who have helped with donations for Yes, Virginia so far! Toy shopping is underway (LOVE Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals!) and we have also purchased grocery store giftcards to help put food on two tables.
Yes, food. Our fund is not just about wanted toys, it is about something far more basic - human needs. Having people reach out and being able to reach back and provide even the most basic of needs for them. Yes, Barbie Dolls and Matchbox cars are fun to buy, but knowing a family can put food on the table for two more weeks is pretty amazing.
YOU ARE ALL PRETTY AMAZING.
If your family needs help making some magic this year, please send me an email at [email protected] Or if you know someone who needs our help, please let me know.
Before soccer sweeps us away for another Thanksgiving weekend, I wanted to take a moment to wish all of you a wonderful Thanksgiving - however that plays out in your world.
Family from afar all gathered together around a table laden with love and lovely flavors?
Dinner for your immediate family at a local hotel banquet?
Perhaps an evening in eating Chinese?
Maybe, like the Sharps, you celebrated yesterday - eating good food while sitting on the floor and watching a high level match on TV - wishing Dad was there, too.
Whether you celebrate alone, in a few, or as part of a crowd of relatives today, I wish you all wonderful memories, warm feelings, and a quite moment of reflection as you focus on the positives in your lives.
For me, I am thankful first, and foremost, for my family. For a husband willing to sacrifice so much so as to fulfill a promise made to our daughters six years ago. For three daughters who daily remind me that if I do nothing else in this life, I have made them - and the world is a better place for it. I am thankful for the serendipitous moments in life that led to saving one daughter from escalating danger. I am thankful for every person in my life who love my daughters without question. And for every person who is simply a phone call away when I need them most. (You know who you are.)
I am thankful to have a sister who is there for my daughters, always. Ready to listen, a trusted confidante. And who loves me in spite of my lesser qualities.
I am grateful for the struggles, no matter how heartbreaking or gutwrenching, for they remind me that I am stronger than what comes at me. And they allow me to continue to set an example for my girls that they need not be bested, even when the odds seem stacked against them or the circumstances are out of their control.
I am thankful for 16 girls on a soccer team who drive me crazy, but let me into their inner circle where no parents are allowed to tread. They inspire me, amaze me, infuriate me at at times, and always leave me knowing I am the luckiest manager in the world.
Finally I am thankful for every breath I am given so I may continue to live in the love and lunacy that is my family.
We're used to seeing the ubiquitous pink Caddies doled out by Mary Kay to their top sellers. Spot a pink car and you are sure to see the makeup giant's sticker somewhere on the bumper.
And that's fine. It's what they do. It's their "signature culah" (thank you, Shelby).
I am not offended by it, nor do I salivate and aspire to sell masscara and eye shadough.
Well, apparently, because I am a woman, I should be drooling on my push up bra when a pretty pink piece of automobile crosses my line of sight.
At least according to Honda.
Introducing the FIT She's, pretty in pink and made just for us ovary bearers.
Ohhh...ohhh...oh...
Sorry, looking at the picture again, I felt my fallopian tubes twitch.
Not.
This car, designed just for we ladies, is just that, A CAR. Painted pink. Any special features? Yes, one. Special windshield with UV protection.
Because men are so rough and tough their skin is never susceptible. (I'll share that with my Dad who just had another skin cancer removed. What is that, Dad? 45, 46?)
This is 2012, almost 2013. I just do not get the mindset of a car company thinking "Hmmmm, women, what do they want in a car? Ahhhhhh, PINK!"
But, I'll play along with their stereotypical stupidity. What could they trick it out with?
- A special OnStar agent who sounds like Barry White and tells us we're pretty and that no, those pants do not make us look fat. Along with a well timed question when we sit down, "Baby, have you lost weight?"
- Another agent who will listen as we bitch about co-workers, our boss, our spouse, and what a bitch Rhonda, Carol, Jane (insert name of bitchy frenemy) is.
- A roadside assistance service in which every mechanic who responds looks like a shirtless calendar fireman.
- A vibrating seat cushion - you know, to make rush hour gridlock a little less WTF and a little more OMG.
- A glove compartment filled with bon bons and copies of Glamour and Cosmo.
- Interior lighting that softly glows, flattering our features. And a rearview mirror that makes our cheekbones stand out and makes our hair blond.
- Automatic pilot since we all know how we "women drivers" drive
- Special XM radio that only plays Lionel Ritchie, Alanis Morrisette, Celine Dion, Cookbook Radio, and the Dirty Dancing Soundtrack channel
- GPS constantly updating to locate nearest Margarita for ladies night out
- Designer Kleenex holder because we get weepy when listening to Lionel and Celine
- Rip resistant leather seats as we get violent thoughts when listeing to Alanis
- An extra big trunk for all our shopping trips, with a hidden compartment to hide our shoe purchases from our husbands
- And a pop-up tampon dispenser. Playtex Pearly pink, of course
I'm sure there are more, but I have to go watch my shows now while mah Pink nails dry. I do hope I have some bon bons left...
...to soak up all the pissing and pooing being done since the election last week.
Then again, it could be the one job creating step the GOP and Tea Party have taken in recent years.
Surely with so many pantaloons in danger of stainage, Kimberly-Clark will be hiring more workers, right?
Not so fast. For KC to have to hire workers, the whiners would have to be interested in soaking up their leakage, and there is plenty of evidence to the contrary. They seem more interested in just letting it leak down their legs and throwing it at passersby.
Honestly, the behavior would be laughable if it weren't so pathetic. And it all comes down to one thing: SORE LOSER SYNDROME.
And THAT should surprise no one who has been paying attention. When you have a party led by mouthy mean girls like Sarah Palin and Anne Coulter - media whores both - who spout more shit than a sewage treatment plant; an entire side of the aisle dedicated to feeding their followers misinformation and flat out lies (right up to election night - how'd that landslidey thingy work out for you?); and men of "God" preaching damnation from the pulpits of this land should their congregants dare vote for the Marxist, Socialist, Kenyan, black man - it is not shocking that losing with grace, dignity, and some introspection as to cause is not within their realm.
Hell, critical thinking is not within their realm.
We have store owners shuttering their businesses to "mourn" the loss of America. READ ON
We have an insanely rich pizza baron bemoaning Obamacare and that he will be cutting workers hours rather than offer them healthcare. All said from the comfy confines of his CASTLE... READ ON
We have a batshit crazy, woefully/willfully ignorant woman who literally ran her husband down, blaming his not voting for Romney's loss. Ignore the FACT that their state was a solid Romney win. READ ON
The Twitterverse exploded into an ugly display of racism upon President Obama's re-election. The "N" word being a solid favorite of those Nobel Laureates. READ ON
And now, courtesy of the whiniest of the bunch, come 20 different petitions from folks in 20 different states wishing to secede.
Yes, those uber Amurican, country loving, flag waving hateriots patriots lost the election so they want to take their ball (and states) and go home. READ ON
What a bunch of assholes.
Look, democracy is actually a beautiful thing, and our election process - win or lose - is a part of it. But someone is going to win, and someone is going to lose. And we have all had our taste of losing an election. Trust me, Bush was certainly NOT my cup of tea, but he was President twice. At no point did it enter my mind to file a petition to secede.
What did enter my mind was, as Robert Wuhl so aptly put it in his takedown of history's less-than-stellar Presidents - "we'll get through it." (If you have never seen one of his Assume The Position specials, invest some Youtube time today.)
The doomsdayers and naysayers are truly nothing more than sore losers munching on seriously sour grapes. They would rather rip the nation apart than accept defeat and join in in digging this country out.
Remember all those dire predictions were Obama to be elected back in 2008? The email forwards brimming with despair, rage, and copious amounts of fear? Focus On The Family published a ridiculous piece in which a 2012 Christian (because as we all know, those are the only religious folk who matter) writes back to 2008 from the future to tell tragic tales of what has become of the nation. It is laughable and drenched in idiocy. READ ON
My advice to all the whiners who cannot wrap their minds around the simple facts that they ran an unviable candidate with no concrete ideas to share and a penchant for lying like a rug?
If YOU don't like it, LEAVE.
Sound familiar? Seems to me that is the battlecry of every conservative when someone else even remotely complains. We are told we are unAmerican and we should GTFO.
Well, the shoe is on the other foot AGAIN, kids. So if you don't like it, that shoe can be used to assist you in finding the door. This country belongs to ALL of us. It is not some orange to be segmented and taken away in pieces. It is not yours to co-opt and run off with, and it is certainly not your place to speak for every person in your state.
I may live in the state with the biggest asshats (ten gallon hats simply are not big enough), but they do not speak for me.
Secession. Again, it would be laughable if it weren't so pathetic. And sadly predictable.
As predictable as the stream of brown continuing to run down the legs of the losers.
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