Tag Archives: community

Sep24

be nice. (the world is a small town.) -austin kleon

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townies and visitors

listen to the powerful sounds of u’neek

at the end of summer sol festival

in the charming small town of pentwater

where we were visiting friends

realizing just how small it was

when we kept crossing paths with people

who we’d seen or met in other places

doing other jobs or in different circumstances.

chad was the fill-in musician between sets and bands

also the bartender at the ‘yacht club’

also the second place trivia night champion in town.

next we saw the guy who was the host

at the cafe across the street where we had lunch

now a paying customer at the festival pub.

then we ran into the artist who was also a caretaker for his parents and his dog

who we encountered on the beach an hour before

now sharing stories with my friend and dog-bonding.

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if i lived there and had multiple roles, i would like to work one day a week at the magical toy store as a storyteller, work one afternoon a week selling ice cream at the beach, be known as the pretty good crossword puzzle champion in town, and sit on a bench in the park watching the town go by and writing my homespun recipe column for the local paper, like how to make my baked potatoes.

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‘one of the important things about being a small-town reporter is knowing what not to put in the paper.’

-terry pratchett

Sep15

market day.

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so many colors and aromas and tastes and sounds and things to touch

all senses engaged

a beautiful morning at the market. 

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‘what makes the farmers market such a special place is that you’re actually creating a community around food.’

*bryant terry

*Bryant Terry is an African-American vegan chef, food justice activist, and author. He has written four vegan cookbooks and cowrote a book about organic eating. He won a 2015 James Beard Foundation Leadership Award for his food justice work.

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ann arbor, michigan, usa – september 2024
Apr18

small cheer.

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a pop-up restaurant appeared in the cozy corner of our classroom
everyone was welcome and helped in the restaurant after their meal
so many delicious foods
made with care
no one left hungry 
people came and went and shared plates and talked and laughed
it was a feast for the senses.
—
“small cheer and great welcome makes a merry feast.”
-william shakespeare
Nov2

fire.

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walking around

on halloween night

cold

with a bit of snow flying

coming upon

a briliant idea

a  very large pumpkin

transformed into a driveway bonfire

trick or treaters

chilled to the bone

gathered ’round

like moths to the flame. 

 

—

“fire is our first form of technology.”

-ridley scott

Aug15

mistaken orders.

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the restaurant of mistaken orders employs waitstaff with dementia

and you can never be exactly sure what you will be getting.

below is a statement from the restaurant to potential patrons and to the world.

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you may think it’s crazy,

a restaurant that can’t even get your order right,

all of our servers are people living with dementia,

they may, or may not, get your order right.

however, rest assured,

that even if your order is mistaken

everything on our menu is delicious and one of a kind.

this we guarantee.

“it’s okay if my order was wrong, it tastes so good anyway.”

we hope this feeling of openness and understanding

will spread across japan, and through the world.

—

We ask for your continued support of The Restaurant of Mistaken Orders in Tokyo, Japan.

Our mission is to spread dementia awareness and to make society a little bit more open-minded and relaxed.

 

—

“gratitude is when memory is stored in the heart and not in the mind.”

-lionel hampton

 

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source credits: https://www.japan.go.jp/tomodachi/2019/winter2019/restaurant_of_mistaken_orders.html

   the government of japan

 

Jun11

where does the rainbow end?

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After their LGBTQ pride flag was stolen twice in recent weeks, a pair of Ann Arbor churches are responding the only way they know how — giving away more flags.

St Aidan’s Episcopal Church and Northside Presbyterian Church, which share a building in Ann Arbor, are launching a “Need A Flag, Take A Flag” event today. The event will feature 300 LGBTQ pride flags and allow anyone in need of a flag  to take home their own handheld versions.

Although the event is in part a Pride Month celebration, the inspiration for it comes from the theft of the churches’ own flags. On April 3, church leadership received an email saying someone had removed the flag and thrown it into the bushes. On June 1, the churches reported the replaced flag had been stolen completely.

“I still haven’t found it,” said the Rev. Thomas Ferguson, vicar at St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church. The Rev. Jenny Saperstein, pastor at Northside Presbyterian Church, told Ferguson, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, that whoever took it must have needed a flag. “She said, let’s answer this with something positive,” Ferguson said.

The churches, which often partner on social justice issues, will have 300 flags available and plan to order more if they run out. Launching the event on a Sunday allows the entire congregation to get involved with the advocacy, Saperstein said. “It’s really this church community that stands for that,” Saperstein said. “Not just the pastors.”

Hearing affirming messaging from churches is especially important for marginalized communities. “We’ll hope to change hearts and minds with love,” Ferguson said. “We’re not going away, and we’re not changing our stance here with the oppressed.”

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Donde termina el arco iris,
en tu alma o en el horizonte?

Where does the rainbow end,
in your soul or on the horizon?

― Pablo Neruda, The Book of Questions

 

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source credit: jordyn pair, mlive, ann arbor news

Dec12

left behind.

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what a wonderfully kind gesture

for someone to leave a gallon of milk and bread behind

to be discovered by someone else who may need it more.

—

“let us temper our criticism with kindness. none of us comes fully equipped.”

-carl sagan

Nov20

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

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“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

Nov14

what to do?

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how to spend a beautiful fall day 

when you love music?

meet up with people who love it too

and make music where you are.

a lovely surprise concert i enjoyed when walking in the park.

 

—

“music always has the answer”

-wordporn

Sep4

lasagna love.

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The Nonprofit Spreading Kindness One Lasagna at a Time: “We Have the Power to Shift Communities” 

Food is more than a simple snack or meal: It symbolizes comfort, connection, and care, and we’ve been using it to nurture social relationships since at least the Bronze Age. So when Rhiannon Menn found herself yearning to make an impact as the COVID-19 pandemic caused layoffs, school closures, and illnesses, she started cooking.

“I just thought, well, what do I love to do? And what do I know how to do? And for me, that’s cooking; it’s my happy place,” the mother of three told Nice News. In March of 2020, Menn began making extra pans of lasagna, then got on Facebook, found a few “mom groups” in the San Diego area, and offered to drop them off to anyone in need. She delivered seven meals her first week and quickly began getting messages from other people inspired to help. “All of a sudden I found myself managing this network of amazing volunteers who all wanted to feed people in their community,” Menn said.

Just over two years later, Lasagna Love has become a registered nonprofit with over 35,000 volunteers — or “Lasagna Chefs” as they are called — in all 50 states, as well as Canada and Australia. Altogether, they’ve delivered more than 250,000 lasagnas, feeding over one million people in total. The organization has been featured on Good Morning America and The Kelly Clarkson Show. And Menn believes it’s all a testament to how many people are looking for an outlet to show kindness and help others.

Lasagna chefs are matched with families based on distance and dietary restrictions. Once a match is made, all communication occurs directly between those two people. “We do feed families, and that’s important, but really what we’re doing is spreading kindness and strengthening communities, and it’s through those one-on-one bonds that it moves the needle on connectedness,” said Menn.

And there are no eligibility requirements to request a meal or nominate a family. One of the nonprofit’s core values is zero judgment. “We can’t say what needing help looks like,” Menn said, “only you, as a recipient, know what it means to need help”

Virginia resident Jan Delucien, who experienced a traumatic brain injury that left her unable to work, requested a lasagna after hearing about the organization in a support group. For the 64-year-old, the smiling volunteer handing her a home-cooked dish at her door meant much more than just a free meal. “It really was a gift of love,” Delucien told the AP through tears.

According to Menn, when asked if they felt inspired to pay the act of kindness forward, 97% of Lasagna Love meal recipients said they did, and a quarter responded that they already had. “I deliver a lasagna to you, and then you’re inspired to go donate a bag of clothes, or maybe share the meal with somebody, or maybe volunteer at the local animal shelter. So, all of a sudden, those million people that were fed — how many acts does that actually result in? And that’s where we have the power to really shift communities,” she said.

The founder hopes that one day the world won’t need Lasagna Love anymore and that people will help each other entirely organically. But until then, Menn and her team will keep spreading kindness one lasagna at a time.

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“no matter what you’re going through in life, eat first.”

-wordporn

 

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credit: rebecca brandes