What Inspires Me? #17-Humans Who Serve
It’s Memorial Day! We say Happy Memorial Day? Bittersweet really. Originally known as “Decoration Day” a Springtime memorial ritual begun after the Civil War, Memorial Day was declared an official holiday in 1971, a day to honor humans who died while serving in the U.S. military.
For many of us, Memorial Day weekend is a joyful time heralding the beginning of summer fun, corn on the cob and potato salad, graduations, celebrations—and maybe that’s as it should be. For when we think our loved ones who served, isn’t that why they served? Why they sacrificed themselves, their liberty, their double scoop—to “ensure the blessing of liberty” for all of us. Humans for humanity.
Humans as in veterans who served in the military. And those who are serving now. Those humans who put their lives on hold to protect and defend our way of life. No matter what we (or they) may think about the politics of where and what battles they may be call into, they serve.
Today, while celebrating Memorial Day, I thought you might like to meet some veterans and learn their stories, collected by Brandon Stanton for his blog Humans of New York.
I first heard about Brandon Stanton and Humans of New York, listening to Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! He was a guest of the quiz. Fascinated by his project—which has become quite a lucrative career—I dug deeper. Humans of New York began as a photography project in 2010.
Brandon’s “initial goal was to photograph 10,000 New Yorkers on the street and create an exhaustive catalogue of the city’s inhabitants.” Somewhere along the way, Brandan wrote, “I began to interview my subjects in addition to photographing them. And alongside their portraits, I'd include quotes and short stories from their lives.”
For the series “Invisible Wounds” Brandon interviewed veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Here is the link to view “Invisible Wounds.”
Happy Memorial Day!
Happy Memorial Day and thank you Veterans. You are not forgotten.
What Inspires Me? #16 Ken Burns UNUM
Ken Burns has been making documentary films for about 40 years. These include The Civil War (1990), Baseball (1994), Jazz (2001), The War (2007), The National Parks: America's Best Idea (2009), Prohibition (2011), The Roosevelts (2014), The Vietnam War (2017), and Country Music (2019). His newest film Benjamin Franklin is showing on PBS now.
Ken Burns documentaries are informative, well-researched, interesting—and as I did with Country Music—binge worthy. That’s no secret. But this might be. It was to me: UNUM!
UNUM is a new (to-me-at-least) feature on his website is all about connectivity.
Connecting historical dots.
Connecting events.
Especially connecting with viewers!
In more than 40 years of delving through history, Ken Burns team has noticed connectivity. that while note-worthy events in one part of the world occurred, in other parts equally noteworthy events were happening—historical, physical and cultural. There are obvious and no so obvious connections.
UNUM explores this through snippets of films organized into groups of historical or cultural significance as well as by time periods.
And what’s really cool—especially for research purposes, users can initiate their own searches on UNUM. Whatever clipping pop up as a result of that key word search will play a bit before the “key word” appears in the clipping and a bit longer so views will see for themselves how it fits in the grander scheme of things.
Teachers: What better way to connect students to historical events than with visual-oral-actual clipping! Civil Rights, Black History, Government, Prohibition, Vietnam, the Dust Bowl—you teaching it; UNUM for Educators!
UNUM is a proud partner of PBS LearningMedia, which provides educators with free standards-aligned videos, interactives, lesson plans, and other instructional resources for the classroom.
Writers of Fiction and Non-Fiction: UNUM for Educators provides the color commentary, visual and oral playlist for America-centric historical fiction and non-fiction—and not dry clippings on microfiche! You writing it—UNUM has it. If not, send word to Ken Burns—a documentary about that subject is either already in the works—or it will be!
But, don’t take my word for it, check out UNUM for yourself.
Be warned, once you delve into UNUM, you might find yourself down a rabbit hole you will not want to escape:
What Inspires Me? #15 Carrying Kevan
Just watch the video. Yes! Click and watch. You’ll see. Then scroll down to read more.
Kevan Chandler grew up in the foothills of North Carolina. He is the youngest of three siblings and the second to be diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy, type 2, a rare neuromuscular disease. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in counseling from John Wesley College. In the summer of 2016, Kevan and his friends took a trip across Europe, leaving his wheelchair at home, and his friends carried him for three weeks in a backpack. Read More of Kevan’s story!
This photo and more are on the We Carry Kevan website.
Along with having a grand time traveling, Kevan and his buds give backpacks modeled after the one they customized for Kevan to families of others with disabilities so they can explore, play, travel—experience the world together!
Whether that means climbing all 30 million steps of the Great Wall
Enjoying a wee walk in the park
Watching a high school football game in the bleachers—maybe even the very back row!
Going Any Place a Wheelchair Can Not!
How can you help? Click over to the We Carry Kevan website and check it out. Your gift to We Carry Kevan will help us bring backpacks, support, encouragement, and love to individuals with disabilities and their families.
What Inspires Me #14-STRONG MUSEUM OF PLAY
PLAYTIME! We all need playtime. It’s like the adage, All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Well listen up Jack!
The mecca of playtime awaits!
The STRONG MUSEUM OF PLAY, is an entire Museum dedicated to play. Located in Rochester, New York, it’s named for Margaret Strong who “founded” the museum, originally as home tours of her collections which included more than 27,000 dolls. In 1969, Margaret obtained a provisional charter from New York to officially establish the Margaret Woodbury Strong Museum of Fascination. The Museum is open Saturday–Thursday: 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Friday: 10 a.m.–8 p.m. And virtually…
Museum Exhibits rotate—as most due—as I type, one can stroll through Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, try a Sky Climb, cruise the Toy Hall of Fame, the World Video Hall of Fame, and my favorite, naturally, Reading Adventureland!
No Boo-hooing if Rochester, NY is too far for you to visit in person, The STRONG welcomes virtual visitors to it’s online exhibits.
If, like me, your need for a dose of fascination, wild imagination, whimsy is STRONG, take a virtual tour! Playtime anyone?
What Inspires Me #13-Saltwater Power
If you are reading this, you are one of us lucky ones who have electricity, or access to electricity to power up our devices. But what about all the millions of people around the world who are not lucky enough to live within a grid?
Saltwater can fuel a battery powerful enough for children to study, people to see to cook and work and read, to charge a phone or radio, to guide a fishing boat home…
People in rural communities in the Philippians, South American, Africa—everywhere there is salt and water—and some human ingenuity can not have safe, non-toxic, environmentally friendly illumination. Saltwater light can be for you too—and me.
This Waterlight, produced by the Columbian company E-Dina, made of bamboo converts salt water into electricity, is completely waterproof, recyclable and reliable in any weather.
When filled with only 500 millilitres of seawater – or urine in emergency situations – it can emit up to 45 days of light and can also charge phones or another small device via its integrated USB port. Read more about Waterlight and E-Dina on this post by Dezeen.com.
For those living by the ocean, a quick dipper is all one needs to power lights, radios—even charge up cell phones.
As for Inlanders? 2 teaspoons of salt stirred into water does the trick.
Doubters???
Try it yourself. Click for step-by-step directions at miniscience.com
Make Your Own Saltwater Battery!
And here’s a link to a step-by-step Utube video from #cleanenergy.
LET THERE BE LIGHT!
What inspires #12-Spring Training with All-Star Baseball Movies for Kids
What Inspires Me? Spring Training!
Last season, the Atlanta Braves, after besting the Houston Astros in five games, became the 2021 World Champs. Shohei Ohtani, best 2-way player since Babe Ruth, swept the awards. But that’s old news now!
While the MLB teams are warming up, we’re warming up too. Here’s five movies we’re watching (rewatching) while we wait for the season to begin!
(Sorry I am not including viewing/buying links but they are all online & YouTube!)
Yep, you’re not seeing double! There are two posters for Bad News Bears: the original, 1976 Bad News Bears with Walter Matthau and Tattum O’Neal and the 2005 Bad News Bears with Billy Bob. Why not watch both and compare—But hurry! The 2022 MLB Baseball Season opens April 7!
What Inspires Me #11-Strollers at the Border
This line of strollers stocked and waiting at the Polish train station for Ukrainian mothers arriving with young children made my heart sing. As I type Ukrainians are under siege. Bombs are exploding. Families are being torn apart. Homes, lives destroyed. While here, the sun is shining and my biggest worry is belly fat.
What can we do? How can we help?
Sunday, a friend shared a story of how, in response to a request for coats, hats, gloves to send to Ukraine, she emptied their winter closets and took everything to the collection center where her donations were turned away. The center was only taking the best of the best to send to the Ukraine. And, even at that, they were not sure how they were going to get the collected winter garments to the people in need. After being turned back, rather than being discouraged, my friend took the collected garments to a local mission where they were gratefully accepted. “We need your donations, right here, right now!” she was told.
Still…We Want to Help Ukrainian People. What can we do?
Do as those Polish families at the border do: Donate stuff locally. It might not be a glamorous to donate to organizations near home but think about it: By giving our stuff—clothing, food, time—locally, those organization and others can free up resources not spent here, there.
Donate dollars to Ukraine. Here’s a list of organizations put together by Global Citizen. 27 Meaningful Ways You Can Help Ukraine (globalcitizen.org)
What Inspires Me #10-Kindness Rocks
Kindness Rocks! Colorful, Thoughtful, Delightful stone nuggets sharing words of encouragement, hope, love from strangers to strangers.
“Our mission is to inspire intentional kindness in others, one rock at a time”
The Kindness Rocks Project was begun by Megan Murphy, a “ Women’s Empowerment Coach, Business Mentor, Kindness Activist, Meditation Instructor and Lecturer,” when after losing her parents in her early teens she’d walk the beach looking for guidance/messages/signs from them in the form of rocks. In the website video she shares how, finding a heart-shaped rock meant her parents were telling her she was on the right track. Listen to the rest of Megan Murphy’s “How the Project Began” with a tissue.
“Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for Kindness”
I don’t know if the Kindness Rocks Project is an offshoot of, part of, inspired by The Kindness Project, begun by Dr. Joanne Cacciatore in 1996, as a way of coping with the death of her daughter Cheyenne or not but the two projects are so aligned that on some level—the heart level—they totally are!
Here’s what I do know:
Gathering rocks is a cheap, easy fun!
Painting rocks is cheap, easy fun!
Deciding what to write and draw on those rocks is cheap, fun—not always easy—definitely thought provoking.
Placing those Kindness Rocks with hopes that a stranger will find them is exciting, fun and makes our hearts happy.
Kindness is something humans of all ages, shapes, sizes, social-economic situations can give.
