
Happy Channukah! :-)
"The Pentagon, which has a much better appreciation for the limits of military power than the Bush administration as a whole, placed large orders for 'Three Cups of Tea' [EM: the book Greg wrote] and invited Mr. Mortenson to speak.
"'I am convinced that the long-term solution to terrorism in general, and Afghanistan specifically, is education,' Lt. Col. Christopher Kolenda, who works on the Afghan front lines, said in an e-mail in which he raved about Mr. Mortenson's work. 'The conflict here will not be won with bombs but with books. ... The thirst for education here is palpable.'"
And he has an interesting story.
Hope lives on. Go Greg.
Dear Family, Friends, and Colleagues,
I hope this finds you well and I'm writing to ask a favor. Many folks participate in runs or walks for charity, but Victor and I have had a brainstorm that we hope you will support. Inspired by Oprah's Big Give television show, we have decided to throw a BIG GIVE WEDDING in which we've challenged ourselves to raise $30,000 for two charities. Because our wedding is in September, we chose charities that target back-to-school time—providing weekend meals and school supplies to low-income Chicago school-kids who would otherwise go without.
We are asking everyone we know who might feel a connection to a charity drive that raises funds for kids' weekend meals and school supplies, to donate. Of course, in lieu of all weddings gifts and registries, we're also asking our guests to give to these charities too. Together we hope to reach our fundraising goal. Please read about our charities below or at our website and, if you are able, please donate at www.ourbiggivewedding.com. Donations flow directly to the charities (described below) through their secured websites. At just $2.50 for weekend meals, and $17 for school supplies and backpacks for a year, we can all give. Any amount gets us closer to our goal!
Our first charity is Nourish for Knowledge, a program of the Greater Chicago Food Depository. On Fridays during the school year, the Food Depository provides take home bags of food to children who would otherwise go without over the weekend. $2.50 feeds one child for the weekend. Our goal is to sponsor an entire Chicago Public School's program for one year. To give to Nourish for Knowledge, please click here.
Second, Kits for Kidz helps organizations provide school supplies and backpacks to low-income children. $12 buys school supplies for a child for one year, and a backpack costs just $5. The Erie Neighborhood House and its charter school will receive these school supplies and distribute them to its low-income, predominantly Latino and African American, students. Our goal is to raise at least 800 backpacks for the Erie Neighborhood House and Erie Charter School. To give school supplies, please click here.
We need YOUR HELP to make this give BIG! We hope this will have a direct impact on improving the lives of needy children, feeding them and readying them for the school year. Not only are we asking for your donations, but we're also asking you to reach out and get involved. FIRST, please VISIT Our Big Give website: www.ourbiggivewedding.com. Using the tabs at the top of the page, read about our charities, sign the guest book, and please give. NEXT, please FORWARD the message to people you think would be interested in supporting these charities.
In Chicago, the two of us are pursuing leads with several corporate donors who are interested in supporting these causes as well. Our charities have agreed to give recognition to organizations and business that give big through this project. We have also been in contact with the Oprah Show, which has given us the green light on OUR BIG GIVE WEDDING, and we've promised to keep them apprised of our success. So, together, we're off to the races!
Please let us know on the website what you think by signing our online guest book!
We're so excited to be able to begin our marriage in this way.
Thank you for helping us to GIVE BIG to these kids,
Mary Murphy
Today was the hottest day in the world. I was worried that the two cats I'm living with would die. I actually brought their water bowl downstairs, replaced the water in it with fresh, cold water - and then, after thinking about it for a few seconds, added some ice. I figured that if I'm feeling this hot, they must be boiling in their fur. I called them over, dipped my finger in the water bowl, tried to show them how nice and cool the water was.
And they got it. They understood this strange person was clearly excited about the water. More surprising, they were polite about it. They came over, sniffed the bowl, sniffed around it, stayed next to it for a little while - but didn't really drink. Ah well.
I chose, a few years ago, a path that may result in large-scale impact, rather than focus on inidvidual lives. It was a hard choice, and I never feel completely confident that it's the right choice. I usually feel that it is, for me. Although I try to be a positive influence on people I interact with throughout the day, I consider my work to be about large-scale impact. But to be confronted so directly, on a daily basis, with people who save lives for a living...
A few years back, I think it would've been very easy for me to spiral down into self-reproach and doubt - am I wasting my time? Am I wasting other people's resources? Should I drop it all and go to med school, or try to find some other way of having immediate, tangible, positive impact on the world around me?
But this self-doubt didn't really happen this time. I respect Seth and Abby a great deal for who they are and for the work that they do, and I feel that I am on the right track in my own work. They inspire me to remember not to waste my energy on the kind of self-gratifying research that I sometimes see around me--scientists doing research to impress other scientists, without improving anybody's life (well, I guess they're improving their own)--and still, I am glad to say that I feel good about the path that I'm on. I just hope it will prove to be more than just dreams and intellectualization, and result in true service and real benefit to others.
Hurrah, doctors. :-)
But don't worry - the cows are safe now! After all, the last paragraph of the articles DOES mention that
"The company says it has now taken action to ensure all employees handle animals humanely."
Well, that's a relief. From now on, everything will be different.
Morning. Woke up after a night filled with strange, unpleasant dreams.
Hanging out in bed, letting my mind wonder. I become aware of the fact that I'm grimacing - scrounging up my face and biting down on my own teeth. Tension. The grey morning light is bright in my room, and maybe that's why I'm narrowing my eyes. But why the teeth?
I breathe and relax my face, lie back again, arms crossed behind my head, letting my mind wander. After a moment, I become aware of the fact that the big toes of my two feet are hooked together, holding on to one another. Tension. I breathe and relax my toes, my calves, my legs. They relax, but I can feel the internal protest. They want to be tense now.
This continues for a while: I'm lying in bed, letting my mind go where it may, and then become aware of the tension that creeped into my body, and relax it. My own version of playing hide-and-seek with myself. :-) And perhaps a friendly reminder from my body that there's just a little bit too much going on at once right now.