I was introduced to Foard thru AD. Thanks GVL, he’s a gem.
My two centsDecember 11, 2022, 9:49 AM
Thanks; great video; I will probably share it.
I am not feeling well today, but am forcing myself to prepare and mail some neglected things (a few donations, etc.). We probably all do the same: “do the right thing” even though we would rather be doing almost anything else, especially as we age and life becomes increasingly difficult.
A salute to all of you who keep doing the right things despite how you feel.
We never know what kind of difference it may make.
Just last night in a driving snow storm, I BBQed 760 hamburgers and 740 Hotdogs at a “Toys For Tots”, gift giveaway in Lakeview OREGON. A nothing really.
secretly I left very satisfied, you see I know that those needy families had a hot meal at least last night. One of a crew of 15, the event went well. Our friend Jr, the organizer had purchased 8 of these Chinese little motorcycles, brand new. Drawings were held for all 8,,,,, Gifts for every child, and food for them,,,,their families.
I was outside the crowd walked right by me to enter and exit. The anticipation the excitement of the children was amazing. Had several families ask me privately how much it was going to cost to feed their families, much concern in their eyes. Friends, neighbors this is free, this is for you, about you.
Please eat warm yourselves and spend the evening talking to Santa, eating as much as you want, this is for you all.
Was still cooking at 21:00 I got to watch almost every family leave. What a blessing. The joy, the happiness , the love, if just for that evening was contagious.
I only had 800 hamburgers and 800 hot dogs, to prepare, I was getting concerned after 700 burgers cooked, then I realized, GODs got this, everything will work as he’s really running the show.
We have already volunteered to work the event again next year, we had a ball, what an honor to serve others.
My two centsDecember 11, 2022, 9:02 PM
Wow. I can hardly imagine! I am very impressed.
Want to hear which donation I was determined to get mailed today? Toys for Tots. Ordinarily I would have had that done by Nov., but it has been a difficult year. It seems insignificant compared to what you did for them. One of my other still-trusted charities is food banks, church food pantries, etc. Not much else matters if you are helpless and hungry. I also donate to Disabled American Veterans.
To check for ratings of charities, go to charitynavigator.org.
“Charity Navigator is a charity assessment organization that evaluates hundreds of thousands of charitable organizations based in the United States….”
My two centsDecember 12, 2022, 6:30 AM
Quote from your post:
“the organizer had purchased 8 of these Chinese little motorcycles, brand new. Drawings were held for all 8….”
If these have lithium batteries, the batteries can explode and cause serious fires:
“A lithium-ion battery in an apartment with at least five e-bikes caused a fire in Manhattan this month that injured almost 40 people. The fire, which was one of 188 caused by lithium-ion batteries in New York City this year, led to warnings about risks associated with the batteries and ways to minimize them.” (11/14/22) https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/14/us/lithium-ion-ebike-battery-fires.html
I’m sure the sponsoring charity would not intentionally want to cause any harm to anyone.
If I were involved I would want to explore this issue with the charity.
These dangers are not widely known, but there may be some risk.
It is hard to keep up with all the evil in the world these days.
“Through many dangers, toils, and snares, (we) have already come…”
MTC, I just cooked, not a shot caller. Appreciate your giving to organizations whom do good deeds for the right reasons. Im not sure how toys for tots works, intend to read up on the org, this week.
MTC, having reread your thoughts, likely solid advice. Your post brought back just how much our world is changing, not sure if it’s for the better. As a youth, we did dangerous, stuff daily. We were allowed to explore our tiny town at very young ages, we would “ Roam” all day without supervision, I mean 5,10,15 miles, only rule was “ be home by dark”.
We played in creeks on four different sides of our town “ Rocklin Calif”. We played on toys for literally hundreds of hours in the parks, those toys are now thought to be to dangerous. What a joke.
Then we discovered horses, we would ride first our Shetland pony’s then our Welsh ponies, then regular horses. We had little buckboards behind, sometimes.
Then we discovered motorcycles, god that open the roam up to hundreds of miles. The railroad tracks were our highways.
We were fit, Mountain strong, we were mountain wise, we quickly learned common sense, well us smarter ones did, only took peeing on one electric fence to quickly understand that’s a hard fast no go.
We broke bones, we played sports year round we were Cub scouts, Boy Scouts, in our world back then the tools learned in The Scouts, was logically applied in our adventures. Perhaps the single most important lessons we learned were how to swim like a fish. That swim thing was key, us kids swam daily in the creeks and ponds. Now days that’s dangerous.
Non swimmers or weak swimmers, were encouraged to get swimming lessons every summer. Seems the crew could all swim by 11,,,,,Hiking, backpacking, fishing, hunting, skiing water and snow, horses and motorcycles were integral for me by 10/14.
Think my point is, how many children or teens can do all those tasks efficiently, back then we ALL could.
We learned from the school of hard knocks, todays youth don’t seem to care about adventure unless it’s on a computer. Me my children are outdoors, computers are tools, I rarely carry a cell phone. Same with my kids.
My grand children a different story. It’s truly sad.
Real World Address for Donations, Mash Notes and Hate Mail
Gerard Van der Leun
1692 MANGROVE AVE
APT 379
Chico, Ca 95926
Green Pants Interior by Klahn
Who Am I? by Carl Sandburg
My head knocks against the stars.
My feet are on the hilltops.
My finger-tips are in the valleys and shores of universal life.
Down in the sounding foam of primal things I reach my hands and play with pebbles of destiny.
I have been to hell and back many times.
I know all about heaven, for I have talked with God.
I dabble in the blood and guts of the terrible.
I know the passionate seizure of beauty
And the marvelous rebellion of man at all signs reading “Keep Off.”
My name is Truth and I am the most elusive captive in the universe.
Duty, Beauty, Liberty, Country, Honor, Family, Faith — Plus a few simple easy to follow rules for guys
Men saw the stars at the edge of the sea
They thought great thoughts about liberty
Poets wrote down words that did fit
Writers wrote books
Thinkers thought about it
Take it where you find it
Can’t leave it alone
You will find a purpose
To carry it on
Mainly when you find it
Your heart will be strong
About it
Many’s the road I have walked upon
Many’s the hour between dusk and dawn
Many’s the time
Many’s the mile
I see it all now
Through the eyes of a child
Take it where you find it
Can’t leave it alone
You will find a purpose
To carry it on
Mainly when you find it
Your heart will be strong
About it
[Chorus]
Lost dreams and found dreams
In America
In America
In America
Lost dreams and found dreams
In America
In America
In America
And close your eyes
Leave it all for a while
Leave the world
And your worries behind
You will build on whatever is real
And wake up each day
To a new waking dream
Take it where you find it
Can’t leave it alone
You will find a purpose
To carry it on
Mainly when you find it
Your heart will be strong
About it
[Chorus]
Change, change come over
Change come over
Talkin’ about a change
Change, change
Change come over, now
Change, change, change come over
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I see my light
See my light
See my shining light
I see my light
See my light
See my shining light
Gerard Van der Leun
Comments on this entry are closed.
Foard’s short little videos are large impact.
I was introduced to Foard thru AD. Thanks GVL, he’s a gem.
Thanks; great video; I will probably share it.
I am not feeling well today, but am forcing myself to prepare and mail some neglected things (a few donations, etc.). We probably all do the same: “do the right thing” even though we would rather be doing almost anything else, especially as we age and life becomes increasingly difficult.
A salute to all of you who keep doing the right things despite how you feel.
We never know what kind of difference it may make.
Just last night in a driving snow storm, I BBQed 760 hamburgers and 740 Hotdogs at a “Toys For Tots”, gift giveaway in Lakeview OREGON. A nothing really.
secretly I left very satisfied, you see I know that those needy families had a hot meal at least last night. One of a crew of 15, the event went well. Our friend Jr, the organizer had purchased 8 of these Chinese little motorcycles, brand new. Drawings were held for all 8,,,,, Gifts for every child, and food for them,,,,their families.
I was outside the crowd walked right by me to enter and exit. The anticipation the excitement of the children was amazing. Had several families ask me privately how much it was going to cost to feed their families, much concern in their eyes. Friends, neighbors this is free, this is for you, about you.
Please eat warm yourselves and spend the evening talking to Santa, eating as much as you want, this is for you all.
Was still cooking at 21:00 I got to watch almost every family leave. What a blessing. The joy, the happiness , the love, if just for that evening was contagious.
I only had 800 hamburgers and 800 hot dogs, to prepare, I was getting concerned after 700 burgers cooked, then I realized, GODs got this, everything will work as he’s really running the show.
We have already volunteered to work the event again next year, we had a ball, what an honor to serve others.
Wow. I can hardly imagine! I am very impressed.
Want to hear which donation I was determined to get mailed today? Toys for Tots. Ordinarily I would have had that done by Nov., but it has been a difficult year. It seems insignificant compared to what you did for them. One of my other still-trusted charities is food banks, church food pantries, etc. Not much else matters if you are helpless and hungry. I also donate to Disabled American Veterans.
To check for ratings of charities, go to charitynavigator.org.
“Charity Navigator is a charity assessment organization that evaluates hundreds of thousands of charitable organizations based in the United States….”
Quote from your post:
“the organizer had purchased 8 of these Chinese little motorcycles, brand new. Drawings were held for all 8….”
If these have lithium batteries, the batteries can explode and cause serious fires:
“A lithium-ion battery in an apartment with at least five e-bikes caused a fire in Manhattan this month that injured almost 40 people. The fire, which was one of 188 caused by lithium-ion batteries in New York City this year, led to warnings about risks associated with the batteries and ways to minimize them.” (11/14/22)
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/14/us/lithium-ion-ebike-battery-fires.html
I’m sure the sponsoring charity would not intentionally want to cause any harm to anyone.
If I were involved I would want to explore this issue with the charity.
These dangers are not widely known, but there may be some risk.
It is hard to keep up with all the evil in the world these days.
“Through many dangers, toils, and snares, (we) have already come…”
MTC, I just cooked, not a shot caller. Appreciate your giving to organizations whom do good deeds for the right reasons. Im not sure how toys for tots works, intend to read up on the org, this week.
MTC, having reread your thoughts, likely solid advice. Your post brought back just how much our world is changing, not sure if it’s for the better. As a youth, we did dangerous, stuff daily. We were allowed to explore our tiny town at very young ages, we would “ Roam” all day without supervision, I mean 5,10,15 miles, only rule was “ be home by dark”.
We played in creeks on four different sides of our town “ Rocklin Calif”. We played on toys for literally hundreds of hours in the parks, those toys are now thought to be to dangerous. What a joke.
Then we discovered horses, we would ride first our Shetland pony’s then our Welsh ponies, then regular horses. We had little buckboards behind, sometimes.
Then we discovered motorcycles, god that open the roam up to hundreds of miles. The railroad tracks were our highways.
We were fit, Mountain strong, we were mountain wise, we quickly learned common sense, well us smarter ones did, only took peeing on one electric fence to quickly understand that’s a hard fast no go.
We broke bones, we played sports year round we were Cub scouts, Boy Scouts, in our world back then the tools learned in The Scouts, was logically applied in our adventures. Perhaps the single most important lessons we learned were how to swim like a fish. That swim thing was key, us kids swam daily in the creeks and ponds. Now days that’s dangerous.
Non swimmers or weak swimmers, were encouraged to get swimming lessons every summer. Seems the crew could all swim by 11,,,,,Hiking, backpacking, fishing, hunting, skiing water and snow, horses and motorcycles were integral for me by 10/14.
Think my point is, how many children or teens can do all those tasks efficiently, back then we ALL could.
We learned from the school of hard knocks, todays youth don’t seem to care about adventure unless it’s on a computer. Me my children are outdoors, computers are tools, I rarely carry a cell phone. Same with my kids.
My grand children a different story. It’s truly sad.