Free Hugs Campaign

Human to human – what could be better?

Kindness Blog

Sometimes, a hug is all that we need. Free Hugs is the real life controversial story of Juan Mann, a man whose sole mission was to reach out and hug a stranger put a smile on their face.

In this age of social-disconnection most all of us lack that simple human touch from another, the effects of the Free Hugs Campaign are now felt around the globe.

As this simple gesture of kindness and hope spread across the city, police and officials ordered the Free Hugs Campaign BANNED. What we then saw was the true spirit of humanity as people came together in what can only be described as something awe-inspiring.

In the spirit of the Free Hugs Campaign please pass this video to a friend and HUG a stranger! After all, you CAN make a difference.

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Crowdfunding for ME/CFS Research

If you all have been reading my blogs, you must have read some about ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis).  My daughter has this debilitating chronic illness.  And, of course, I try to keep up with as much research as I can, and ways in which patients (and doctors, if they’ve even heard of it), are trying to “manage” their illness; in different ways, and with more success, than others.  And my daughter is doing her best in “keeping up” and advocating as much as possible.

I came across another blog by David Tuller.  David is a journalist who specializes in reporting about science and medicine.  He graduated from the Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, and has articles published in the New York Times and other prestigious journals. He speaks about the disregard our government has towards this terrible, debilitating disease.  Between the pharmaceutical industry, medical insurance industry, psychiatrists and politics, ME patients are caught between “several rocks and hard places.”

In this particular blog, he talks about a scientific conference at Stanford, as well as the discussions prior to the actual meeting:

by David Tuller, Dr.ph.  |  April 24, 2014

In late March, hundreds of scientists, clinicians and patients gathered for a four-day scientific conference on the illness widely known as chronic fatigue syndrome but more appropriately called myalgic encephalomyelitis. (The scientific name means “painful inflammation of the brain and spinal cord;” most people these days refer to the illness as ME/CFS.)

Sunshinebright’s comment:  I was so glad to finally find an easy-to-understand definition of what “myalgic encephalomyelitis” means!

At the conference and a pre-conference gathering at Stanford, which I covered for the website BuzzFeed, attendees heard from researchers who are finding all sorts of physiological abnormalities in people with the illness. While efforts to find a single cause have not produced results, evidence presented during the meetings clearly demonstrated that something has caused patients’ immune systems to go into a state of hyper-activation. The resulting inflammation is likely to be the cause of many of the myriad symptoms that can characterize the illness.

The conference was organized by the International Association of CFS/ME, the main scientific organization related to the illness. The pre-conference meeting at Stanford provided researchers from the university the opportunity to present their own ongoing work related to immune dysfunction.

Patients were delighted by some of the research findings but disheartened by the government’s continued lack of funding support. In recent years, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has spent only $5 million on the illness, while other conditions with fewer patients but more public recognition have received much more federal support. The scientists, too, are struggling to cope with the limited resources available, and many grumbled at what they view as the government’s long-standing neglect of ME/CFS.

One top researcher, Ian Lipkin, M.D., director of Columbia University’s Center for Infection and Immunity in New York City, has even taken the highly unusual step (for an academic researcher) of resorting to crowdfunding in an attempt to raise more than $1 million in donations for his research into infectious triggers of ME/CFS. While NIH recently granted Dr. Lipkin more than $30 million for translational research, it has refused his request for more funding for his ME/CFS efforts.

 

Alzheimer’s Patient Can Still Talk to His Dog

This man suffers from Alzheimer’s and has lost almost all of his speech. It’s a tragedy that no family imagines they’ll go through. But there’s one thing that brings back this man’s speech!  Warning!  It can bring tears to your eyes!  Watch this video.

 

Kindness is Contagious

I follow the Kindness Blog and kindness really can be inspirational and contagious.

I went out late this afternoon to do some shopping in (where else?) Publix.

My favorite market.

My first stop was at the Deli counter.  Ordered my regular chicken and cheese, and then, since the rotisserie chickens had just come out, I thought, “It’s been a long time since I had one of those.”  So, on the spur of the moment, I decided to ask the person behind the counter to pick one out for me and cut it into 8 pieces.  I was told that it was too hot right now, and it needed to stand for a while so that it could be cut; otherwise, it would fall apart.  OK.  I said I would come back after doing my other shopping.

The best rotisserie chicken ever!

Went into the produce area and as I ventured over to the fresh mushrooms, I noticed the produce clerk taking great care in moving packages of carrots around on the shelves so that the shelves and carrots, and all the packaged veggies were calling out to shoppers to “take me.”  The young clerk seemed very intent on his task, and I told him that I thought he was doing such a good job; the shelves were looking great.  He beamed and thanked me.

Beautiful whole mushrooms.

There was a new “fish man” behind the (you guessed it!) fish counter.  He was very obliging and even came out around and helped me pick something out from the freezer where the packaged shrimp were stored and showed me that it was the best buy – better than what I had originally decided upon.  He packaged some fresh fish with specific instructions from me, and did a fine job.  I thanked him profusely – he really took great care!  And he had a big smile.

Perfect shrimp for salad or cocktail.

I was almost finished with my shopping list, when I ran into an employee who I thought would be able to answer my question about how I can find out the name of the Produce Manager.  She said, “I’m the Store Manager, so I could answer any questions you may have.”  I told her about that nice clerk in Produce, and what a great job he was doing, and I always like to give credit where credit is due.  I asked if there was a form that I could complete so that it would go into his personnel file.  She said it wasn’t necessary, and that she would make note of it.  I believed her – she was a lovely person and very sincere.  All the people working there are the friendliest and most helpful people I’ve ever encountered in a market.

I finished getting all the items on my list and went to check out.

Got home, put everything away, had a light supper and got a call from daughter.  General chatting away, and I happened to ask her, “What did you have for supper tonight?”  Her answer, “Chicken.”  Guess what?

 

Neighborhood Spotlight: Outer Richmond Neighborhood Clean-Up

Thanks for this blog. It is another reminder how neighbors can get together to make a difference in their areas.

Nextdoor Blog

Photo courtesy of Steve Louie

To celebrate Earth Day and Earth Month, we’re asking people to share with their neighbors to help reduce waste and live a more mindful lifestyle, whether it’s through hosting a neighborhood-wide garage sale, coordinating a neighborhood clean-up, or planning a potluck dinner.

Outer Richmond Southeast, a neighborhood in San Francisco, exemplifies this mindful lifestyle. Together, neighbors recently used Nextdoor to arrange a neighborhood-wide clean-up. Thanks to Nextdoor, the event grew from a handful of neighbors to dozens.

“The clean-up was a big success. About 35 people participated, and everyone felt very satisfied when it was over,” says Jean Barish, Lead of Outer Richmond Southeast. “It brought neighbors together to work for a common good to benefit the community. Nextdoor was a great way to reach many neighbors quickly – it also enabled us to chat with each other to share ideas and resources.”

While…

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Earth Day Celebration

LET THE SUN SHINE THROUGH!!

Earth Day Celebration

Earth Day is an annual event, celebrated on April 22, on which events are held worldwide to demonstrate support for environmental protection. It was first celebrated in 1970, and is now coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network and celebrated in more than 192 countries each year.

In 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco, peace activist John McConnell proposed a day to honor the Earth and the concept of peace, to first be celebrated on March 21, 1970, the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere.  This was later sanctioned in a Proclamation written by McConnell and signed by Secretary General U Thant at the United Nations.

A month later, a separate Earth Day was founded by United States Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in first held on April 22, 1970.  Nelson was later awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom Award in recognition of his work.

Earth Day is Worldwide

 

While this April 22 Earth Day was focused on the United States, an organization launched by Denis Hayes, who was the original national coordinator in 1970, took it international in 1990 and organized events in 141 nations. 

Numerous communities celebrate Earth Week, with an entire week of activities focused on environmental issues.

We Mean Green

The First U. S. Earth Day in April 1970

It may be hard to imagine that before 1970, a factory could spew black clouds of toxic into the air or dump tons of toxic waste into a nearby stream, and that was perfectly legal. They could not be taken to court to stop it.

How was that possible? Because there was no EPA, no Clean Air Act, no Clean Water Act. There were no legal or regulatory mechanisms to protect our environment.

In spring 1970, Senator Gaylord Nelson created Earth Day as a way to force this issue onto the national agenda. Twenty million Americans demonstrated in different U.S. cities, and it worked!

In December 1970, Congress authorized the creation of a new federal agency to tackle environmental issues, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Download a pdf 12-page coloring book for children so they can appreciate Earth Day and how to help keep our neighborhoods clean.

 

Credits:  epa dot gov; wikipedia; bing dot com

Replay Sunday and Happy Easter!

Please help! My daughter’s dearest friend needs caring people to come forward. She is losing her home, cannot work, and her disability claim has been denied due to a government error, which she is appealing.  Thank you for spreading the message.

Mark Your Calendars!

Advocates are promoting ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis) Awareness Day. ME is a misunderstood, neurological disease which causes multiple symptoms and which also can lead to death, when very severe. Please read and find out about it, and spread the message, please.

A Short Video of Four Amazing Musicians

I came across this video of four amazing young women musicians.  They are simply unbelievable.  You will be beautifully entertained and surprised at their antics.  Enjoy!

Have a sunshine evening. 🙂

The Street Store – Official video 2014

Fantastic idea. The homeless are living, breathing, emotional beings as we all are. Helping to make these people feel good about themselves with some new clothing, is priceless.

Kindness Blog

We simply love this…

Introducing The Street Store. The world’s first rent-free, premises-free, free ‘pop-up clothing store’ for the homeless, found entirely on the street and curated by you.

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