Author Archives: beth

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About beth

Ann Arbor-ite writes about enjoying life with all of its ironies and surprises.

the beginner.

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The holidays are here and the barrage of advertisements has begun, but one brand is standing above the rest for their powerful message this season.

U.K. retailer John Lewis & Partners, known for their imaginative Christmas advertisements, is instead putting a spotlight on an important cause for 2022.

In this year’s highly anticipated ad, the brand has launched “The Beginner” which shares the story of a family preparing to welcome a child in foster care — but the viewer doesn’t know that at first.

As the 90-second ad begins, a man is seen buckling on a helmet and attempting to learn — unsuccessfully — to skateboard.

A cover of Blink 182’s “All The Small Things” by Mike Geier begins to play as the man’s efforts progress through more falls and skateboard-related injuries through the Christmas season.

At the end of the video, the family is seen opening the door to a social worker and a girl, who is holding her skateboard. “I skate a bit too,” the man says pointing to his own battered board.

The ad ends with a frame sharing that there are more than 108,000 children and young people in the U.K.’s care system.

In the United States, according to a 2021 report by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, about 391,000 children are in foster care.

In just 24 hours since being shared, the ad has amassed more than 2.2 million views.

“As someone who’s been in the care system myself as a child, this really feels close to home … It does make you think about how powerful adverts can be, even if they are simple and basic,” one user wrote.

Another added, “This hits home really hard, as a former foster kid who was in the system for 11 years. It’s really heartwarming to see this.”

“there will come a time when you believe everything is finished. yet that will be the beginning.”

-louis l’amour

credits: today show, kait hanson, john lewis and partners

today, as you gather.

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“the table is a meeting place, a gathering ground,

the source of sustenance and nourishment, festivity, safety, and satisfaction.

a person cooking is a person giving; the simplest food is a gift.”

-laurie colwyn

may you gather today with those you love to share your gifts.

 

a day late and a movie short.

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  excited to see a new film

(one of my favorite things to do)

i arrived precisely

at the designated time and place

(with time to meet up, buy tickets, grab a ‘movie-buttered’ popcorn, chatter a bit, and find our seats)

only to discover

that i had organized it so that

we were precisely

24 hours late for the show.

p.s. i really do make every effort to be on time for things 

but this has also happened

with a holiday party i was really excited to attend

a few years back

 is this a pattern?  see below –

a day late and a trifle short.

 

“nothing, of course, begins at the time you think it did.”

lillian hellman

getting ready.

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as we prepare to gather together in a few days

often with all kinds of people

 often anticipating how it will go

 often happily surprised. 

 

“it’s never the differences between people that surprise us.

it’s the things, that against all odds, we have in common.”

-jodi picoult

 

 

 

 

photo credit: muppets.disney.com

 

freerice.

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during this time of year, when we are so lucky for our bounty, why not help to feed someone else

and maybe learn something along the way?

freericetrivia by the U.N.’s World Food Programme

Want to test your knowledge while helping end world hunger? freerice can make it happen. For every question you answer correctly in the trivia quiz, 10 grains of rice are donated to those in need. Since 2010, freerice has raised more than 214 billion grains of rice (equivalent to $1.5 million) for people around the world.

Play “Freerice”

“poverty’s child – he starts to grind the rice, and gazes at the moon.”

-matuso basho

why did the chicken….?

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foghorn leghorn of television fame

 

and yet another wonderful nextdoor post on my neighborhood site:

Did you have a chicken missing?  We have a Leghorn chicken who appeared in our back yard this morning.  She is now in our coop with our three,  However, we really don’t need or want another chicken so if she is yours, please message me to arrange a time to come and collect her.  We have marked her feet with a purple antiseptic so we can identify which one is yours.

Posted in Lost & Found to The River District

“i dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives.”

-ralph waldo emerson

 

image credit: warner brothers animation

the land of your childhood.

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first snow of the year – outdoor adventure day

first time with sustained snow play for many

running, jumping, sticks, snow angels, footprints, chasing,

snow picnic, snow story, snowballs, duck,duck,polar bear game,

lost mittens, noses running, rosy cheeks

eating lots and lots and lots of snow

one said it was the best snack in the world

and it just might be.

 

“there is no land like the land of your childhood.”

-michael powell

lots of years plus one.

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yesterday i went to sleep being lots of years old

today i woke up being lots of years plus one more year old

i’ll begin by sharing the day with my kinder

who love to celebrate most everything. 

“do not grow old, not matter how long you live.

never cease to stand like curious children before the great mystery into which we were born.”

-albert einstein

image/cartoon credit: gary larson, the far side

together.

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“america is a tune. it must be sung together.”

-gerald stanley lee

 

npr name.

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Public Radio

Always wanted to be a host on public radio but don’t have a name with the international punch of Doualy Xaykaothao, an Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, or even a Daniel Zwerdling? Not to Worry! Enter your name below, and we will suggest a new public radio-friendly version. The rest is up to you..

https://publicradionamegenerator.com/?fbclid=IwAR3sxtvZDijP9daHrrC3rPgtYeBkgO0J5PftDJAZNczdV4SIstqxSTKZ0FU

when i entered my name, here is what was created for me:

Your Public Radio Name is:

Cantara del Barco-Wright

it has a nice ring to it, and i’m kind of liking it.

“i only got interested in radio once,

i talked my way into an internship at npr’s headquarters in washington, d.c. in 1978,

having never heard the network on the air.”

*ira glass

 *American public radio personality. He is the host and producer of the radio and television series This American Life and has participated in other NPR programs, including: Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Talk of the Nation. His work in radio and television has won him awards, such as the  Edward R. Murrow Award for Outstanding Contributions to Public Radio and the George Polk Award in Radio Reporting.