Tag Archives: community

Mar18

reweaving.

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in recent days

i have seen and read about

 many gestures of hospitality

 one reaching out to another

 with each act

i find a renewed sense of hope.

—

“hospitality is always an act that benefits the host even more than the guest. the concept of hospitality arose in ancient times when the reciprocity was easier to see: in nomadic cultures, the food and shelter one gave to a stranger yesterday is the food and shelter one hopes to receive from a stranger tomorrow. by offering hospitality, one participates in the endless reweaving of a social fabric on which all can depend – thus the gift of sustenance for the guest becomes a gift of hope for the host.”

-parker j. palmer

 

Mar14

distance teaching/learning.

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“learning must travel the distance from head to heart.”

-gloria steinem

LANSING, Mich. – Michigan is escalating its response to the new coronavirus (COVID-19).

On Thursday night Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced the closure of all Michigan K-12 schools, including public, private and boarding, in response to the confirmed cases.

The closures start Monday and will end on April 5, according to officials. Schools are scheduled to reopen on Monday, April 6.

 

here’s to the educators, support staff, administrators, and families. all working so hard to continue our connection and to share in our partnership of caring for, and teaching their children. in a very short time, i have seen amazing work being done on all sides to support this initiative.

Mar14

book therapy.

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a wonderful note during these challenging times, from our local library:

ann arbor district library

Today, you checked out 30,622 items from the AADL.
Last Friday, that number was 5,067.

NOW PLEASE, DON’T BRING ANY OF IT BACK!
NONE OF IT!
NO JOKE!

Seriously, please keep everything until we ask for it back.

We promise, we’ll let you know when.

—

More information on our system-wide closure: https://aadl.org/covidclosure

 

“the only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library.”

― albert einstein

—

credits: robert mccloskly, illustrator (blueberries for sal, make way for ducklings),aadl.org

Mar9

even more.

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at the songbird cafe

extra pennies left

for those who might need them

along with a tiny paper crane

for those who might need this even more.

 

—

“a master of origami said he tried to express with paper the joy of life,

and the last thought before a man dies.”

-tor udall, a thousand paper birds

Oct2

stepping up.

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Michigan football team with no band invites band with no team to play at its games

Forest Area Marching Band

The Forest Area Marching Band poses for a photo. The band’s school lost its football season this year due to a lack of players and a nearby school lost its band. Forest Area Marching Band traveled to Maple City – Glen Lake to bring music and the full gameday experience to the fans at its home game on Friday, Sept. 27.

—

Maple City – Glen Lake invited the marching band from Forest Area Schools to play at its home game, according to the AP. The band traveled about an hour to be there and played the National Anthem before kickoff and took the field at halftime – in the rain – for its “Out of this World” show. Forest Area’s football season was canceled when too few players came out for the team.

The school’s band members were thrilled to bring their music to a football crowd.Ashley Peckat, a senior, said she “absolutely flipped.” She said it’s important to “show people what we can do.”

Glen Lake athletic director Matthew Mattson proposed the idea to Forest Area band director Brandon Deike who told MLive that an athletic director calling a band director an hour away to play at a football game is “just bizarre” and “really cool.”

The band is welcome to return for future games, Mattson said. There’s nothing like having a band “rocking out with our fans,” he said. Deike said he and his 43 players hope to return if scheduling allows because Forest Area knows what it’s like not to have a band.

In 2011, the district’s music programs were cut. That year, Deike volunteered to teach band before school. In 2012, the high school band program was reinstated but it took years to restart choir and elementary music, he said. “We had eight kids in band,” Deike said. “We’ve rebuilt here; we know what they’re going through.”

—
“and as the players tried to take the field, the marching band refused to yield.”
– don mclean
—
credits: justine lofman, mlive.com – photo: tawni Deike, associated press, up north live
Aug2

grand symphony.

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sonic lunch

a free concert series

thanks to a collaboration between

a local radio station and a local bank

always brings the city together

for a shared experience

the light, the music, the bubbles, the dancing, the company

the break from work, stress, life, worries, routines

 at least for a little while

once each summer week

shaed performs for a welcoming crowd

 

—

“we are each but a quarter note in a grand symphony.”

-guy laliberte

 

 

 

 

 

—

liberty plaza, ann arbor, mi, usa – august 2019

Jul18

helpers.

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grandie f and his friends take a short walk

through their neighborhood

(and now mine)

to help bring a few first things over to my new digs.

the friendliest movers ever.

 

—

“i get by with a little help from my friends.”

-John lennon

 

May19

art is community.

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‘los trompos,’ (spanish for spinning tops)

a giant spinning top art installation,

visits detroit’s beacon park from mexico city

'Los Trompos.' - ABEL KLAINBAUM

the eight giant, colorful tops, designed by *héctor esrawe and ignacio cadena, are large enough for multiple people to sit or stand inside them, and visitors are welcome to take a spin. they were designed to facilitate play, celebrate culture, and bring people together to interact and connect. Los Trompos is an interactive piece that comes to life when people engage with it. the tops are based on the construction of the actual toy and reflect the work of mexican artisans, as well as mexican culture, art, and architecture. 

community comes together to dance in the park
—
so fun to be here
as all kinds of people stopped by
just to play and connect with each other. 

—

“simply enjoy life and the great pleasures that come with it.”

-karolina ku

—
credits: sonia kahleel, metro times

 * héctor esrawe is an industrial designer with a cross-disciplinary design atelier located in mexico city. ignacio cadena is the founder of cadena+asoc. concept design, a mexico-based interior design firm. the two often collaborate with each other, and together they won two interior design best of year awards in 2017

Dec11

moonbeams.

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it was truly an honor and my pleasure

on a chilly december evening

 to gather with hundreds

of friends and strangers

from all parts of the community

reaching out with lights and song

to wish children sweet dreams.

—

WHAT IS “MOONBEAMS FOR SWEET DREAMS”?

“Moonbeams for Sweet Dreams,” is a program created by the Beaumont Children’s Pediatric Family Advisory Council at Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, MI.

Every evening at 8 p.m. during the month of December pediatric patients will shine flashlights from the hospital windows and look for people from the community who are standing outside the hospital to flash them back. It only takes a few minutes, but it will mean a lot to these young patients and their families.

“Many children are unable to leave their rooms and can feel isolated in the hospital as the rest of the world continues without them, and have trouble falling asleep” Beaumont Children’s Child Life Supervisor Kathleen Grobbel said. “With the help of the community, we can make sure they go to bed with smiles on their faces.”

If you want to put a smile on the faces of some kids that are spending the holidays hospitalized … it’s time to grab a flashlight and head to Beaumont Children’s Hospital in Royal Oak.

That’s where you can help by being a part of Moonbeams for Sweet Dreams.

—

“deep in the meadow, hidden far away 

a cloak of leaves, a moonbeam ray

forget your woes

and let your troubles lay.”

-suzanne collins

 

credits: beaumont children’s hospital, wwj radio

https://www.beaumont.org/health-wellness/moonbeams

Dec2

kindle.

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warm and friendly evening spent

at the annual kindlefest winter market

“christmas is the season for kindling the fire of hospitality.”

— washington irving

 

 

—

kerrytown, ann arbor, mi, usa – 2018