Day 534: Hang on, Snoopy

Mr. Singh, my Outreach Connection vendor, not only sells the weekly paper (which provides gainful employment to the homeless and unemployed), he also chooses a “Notable Quotable” for every front page.

He usually finds thought-provoking philosophical sound-bites from the likes of Aristotle, Benjamin Franklin and Oscar Wilde. Today I was thrilled to see a quote from one of my favourite deep-thinkers: Snoopy.

“Yesterday I was a dog. Today I’m a dog. Tomorrow I’ll probably still be a dog. Sigh! There’s so little hope for advancement.”
– Snoopy

If you stop to think about it, that’s pretty heavy, man.

Here are some Scintillating Snoopy Facts I came across:

• Birthday: October 4
• First appearance October 4, 1950 (two days after the Peanuts strip premiered)
• Turns out, the original drawings of Snoopy were loosely based on Spike, one of “Peanuts” creator Charles Schulz’s childhood dogs. Schulz was originally going to call Snoopy “Sniffy,” until he discovered that name was used in a different comic strip. He changed it to “Snoopy,” which is an affectionate term in Norwegian.
• Snoopy’s mom:  Missy. Brothers: Spike, Andy, Olaf, Marbles, Rover. Sisters: Belle and Molly
• Original voice actor: Animation producer Bill Meléndez
• Snoopy is a pooch of discerning tastes: He loves root beer and pizza, but hates coconut candy. He also gets claustrophobia in tall weeds, and is deathly afraid of icicles dangling over his doghouse.
• Like many household pets, one of his hobbies is reading Leo Tolstoy’s epic novel War and Peace at the rate of “a word a day.”
• His dog food brand is called “For Dogs who flew in World War I and understand a little French.”

That is, hands-down, the best product name. Ever.

Day 533: Cuba libre

I usually end with a song of the day, but I’ve put the song up front this time because hearing this tune is what prompted my good deed today.

I was walking up the subway stairs and heard the familiar strains of the Buena Vista Social Club. Not the actual band of Cuban musicians, unfortunately, but the familiar melody of the song above. It was coming from a lone guitarist who was busking beside the platform, his case open in front of him.

The guitarist looked like he might actually be Cuban, as did the dignified elderly gentleman standing close to him in a worn suit jacket and frayed felt hat. The older man watched intently, nodding in time to the music and tapping his toe. I figured he either loved this particular song … or was the guitar guy’s dad.

I’ve always had a soft spot for anyone brave enough to do anything in front of strangers — whether it’s speak, dance or juggle saws — but I’m most appreciative of those who make music, especially when it wafts along to you at random times in unexpected places.

So I stopped to listen for a bit and when I added my coins to the ones in his case, I caught his eye and gave him a smile of thanks.

After all, it was a small price to pay for a quick trip to Cuba….

Day 532: Token of appreciation

... ahhhh, my Precious!

I’ve mentioned before my previous penchant for picking up lucky pennies. Imagine my glee at spotting something even shinier on the pavement … a bus token.

Thing is, a tiny lady in a worn brown parka spotted it at the same time.

It was like a saloon scene from the Wild West when a revolver drops to the floor and the white-hatted cowboy and the black-hatted one stop and stare down at it at the same time.

Only instead of Stetsons, picture toques.

We both stopped, looked down at the token glinting in the sunlight, then looked up at each other and smiled. She clearly didn’t know who she was dealing with. I chuckled and shrugged, she bent down to pick it up and I kept on walking. (Hope you weren’t doubting me, there.)

You’ll have to forgive me for hesitating at all, but unlike a penny, these shiny discs are now worth $3.00 … a virtual goldmine for a commuter. Or a silver one, anyway…..

P.S. You had to know this was coming! Enjoy!

Day 531: Soap dish

Cover girl Zsa Zsa ... um, not the subject of the "animal rescue" story

Did the ultimate good deed today, folks.

At our office, everyone takes turns doing a week of kitchen cleanup duty, and the roster list is alphabetical. Usually, the name of the current week’s Molly Maid and next week’s are posted.

A couple of weeks ago, I started to pay attention when the last names started to look like alphabetical neighbours of mine.

Then, all of a sudden the names skipped past mine in the ABCs. I confess that it did cross my mind to just keep my mouth shut and cruise along without having to do kitchen duty at all … it crossed my mind for longer than I care to admit (hey, I never claimed this good-deed thing was easy for me).

But my conscience got the better of me and I fessed up to the person who makes up the roster. To my pleasant surprise, she told me the same thing happened last year and the person who’d been left off the list – a male, by the way – also came forward to do his duty.

So it’s rubber gloves and dish soap for me next week, guys … unless I change my name to Zsa Zsa….

P.S. A domestic-themed ditty called Silver Threads & Golden Needles. Enjoy!

Day 530: Salad days

You know those times that you sense someone needs a little more of your time? That happened to me today at lunch.

I bought a salad at a place I’ve never been to before. It was the end of the lunch rush and although there was no one else in this place, the young Asian woman taking my order looked exhausted. I asked her if she’d had a busy day and she suddenly perked up.

She seemed to be delighted to have someone to talk to and we ended up chatting about how busy it had been just minutes earlier, the crazy weather and how particular some customers are about the amount of salad dressing they get.

I had meant to just rush in and out of the place but once she was on a roll, she was on a roll!

When I came across the following story at the great helpothers.org site, I thought of my salad-making friend and all the customers she crosses paths with each day:

A supermarket checkout clerk with a special touch
by wayfarer

In front of me in line at the supermarket today were a woman and her young (maybe around 10 year old) daughter. As part of their shopping they were buying a DVD, which had to be brought from elsewhere in the shop.

While the checkout operator was scanning and bagging the rest of the shopping she chatted with the mother about grandkids and other stuff.

I just happened to be looking at the daughter when another member of staff brought her the DVD. The girl’s face really lit up with delight and appreciation. Sad to say, it’s not a sight you see so often.

When it came my turn to be served I commented on the girl’s obvious happiness with her DVD. “She has special needs,” the checkout operator told me. “I’m not sure what the problem is, but …”

She went on to explain that problems had arisen in the past with checkout operators holding things too long, folding things the “wrong” way, and so on. Minor incidents like those had been known to really upset the girl. And, of course, that upset the mother.

But there hadn’t been any sign of upset. How had they got over the problem? Now, it seems, the mum always brings her daughter and her trolley to this same checkout lady. No matter how long the queue.

“I know what’s ‘allowed,’ ” the checkout lady said.

But there had been no hint of any special considerations while I watched. All I saw was friendly chatter, a comfortable mother and a very happy girl! It was nothing much, but at the same time it was a big deal. It was a moment of love and kindness that would have passed me by if I hadn’t taken the time to chat.

How wonderful, I thought, to be the person that people with problems seek out, because they just know that you will ease them through the day with a smile.

Of course I told her that! And she just waved it away with a smile.

P.S. Here’s Alison Krauss and Robert Plant’s “Please Read the Letter.” Enjoy!

Day 529: Book report

I'm an open book, eh.

Kindle, schmindle, there’s nothing like holding an actual book in your hand and hearing the crinkle of the page as you turn it.

So today, I searched for a book I really want to read via my local library system’s website and found out there’s only one copy in the whole city … and it’s at the reference library. I absolutely love that reference library … except when I need to actually take a book home and read the whole thing!

It was time for Plan B. “B” for Better World Books. That’s the group that collects used books then sells them online to raise money for literacy initiatives around the world. They say their mission is to “create a better world, one book at a time.”

And they might just succeed. They’ve raised more than $7 million for global literacy projects to date, and saved more than 31 million books from ending up in a landfill.

What’s not to like? Their prices are great, they have more than 6 million used and new titles to choose from. And they offer free shipping anywhere in the U.S. and for just $3.97 worldwide.

Here are just a few of their success stories:

• More than $2 million for Books for Africa
• $370,000+ for Room to Read
• $533,000+ for the National Center for Family Literacy
• $139,000+ for Worldfund
• $101,000+ for Invisible Children
• $88,000+ for the Robinson Community Learning Center
• $80,000+ for the New Orleans Public Library Foundation
• $671,000+ for additional literacy partners

And any group that uses the phrase “I ♥ BOOKS” and the word “flabbergast” in their mission statement, is tops in my book….

Day 528: Penny power

Don’t want to shock you, but there’s a movement afoot to get rid of the Canadian penny … I know. Crazy talk.

Australia has taken this radical step, and now must to resort to rounding off store prices for vegemite and such.

As I’ve mentioned before, I used to get a mini-thrill every time I picked up a lucky penny from the sidewalk. I say “used to” because I now resist the urge so someone else can have the pleasure of finding the one-cent treasure.

That’s what I did today, along with donating some change (including pennies) to a collection for Haiti. Turns out, it wasn’t the only such collection going, and when I heard the following story on my local radio station, I found today’s Everyday Hero … or, in this case, Heroes.

Penny Drive for Haiti
excerpted from CBC radio story

It isn’t the largest donation towards Haitian relief — but it may be the most generous and heartfelt.

Students from Secord Elementary School in Toronto’s east end gave their change – pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters – and when they had finished they had raised $1,500. They intend to give the money to the Canadian Red Cross and Free the Children.

“I thought we’d raise a few hundred dollars. I never thought it would balloon into this,” said Andreas Koch, the teacher who came up with the idea for the coin drive.

The neighbourhood surrounding Secord ES is not an affluent one. The homes are working class. But the students, who range in age from four to 11, embraced the idea of giving to those less fortunate.

Some, like Miriam Yacubaga, gave up their chocolate milk at lunchtime and donated their milk money to the coin drive.

NOOOOOOOO!!!!! It makes no cents!

“I would like to see them buy food and clothing, shelter, all that kind of stuff, that will keep them healthy and warm,” said Miriam.

Justin Carusso brought in all the spare change he could find because “people in Haiti are having a hard time.”

Lisa Mozer, the school principal, says she’s proud of what her students have accomplished.

“We have a lot of poverty in the community and it just shows you that people are extremely generous. They can empathize with the people in Haiti,” she said.

For his part, Koch says the students have not only demonstrated incredible generosity, but “they are learning that there’s bigger things going on than just their life. Sure they are having a bad day but somebody else out there has it worse – and they can make a difference, even if it’s small.”

Day 527: And sew it goes

On Thursday, when I offhandedly offered to bring others’ “gently used” shoes along with my own to a local Shoe Drive for Haiti, my generous coworkers overwhelmed me with 80 pairs of shoes the next day.

That gesture sent me to my own closet this week and I packed up clothes I no longer wear to donate to a local clothing drive. Not as easy as it sounds.

I found the hardest things to give away were my Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein skirts and dresses. Okay, not the haute couture originals, but spiffy duds I sewed from designer patterns once upon a time.

Back when I was stitching up a storm, I lovingly crafted these garments, splurging on fancy fabrics and buttons and seam binding, not to mention the pricey patterns.

Best use of old patterns ever.

Can I fit into these duds now? Um, no. But parting with them felt like giving away a piece of myself, my history, the crafty kid I once was.

But then it struck me that not only do these creations deserve to get out on the town instead of being hidden away in the back of my closet, but somebody out there might need a C.K.-knockoff a lot more than I do.

Everyday hero
The other day, I was waiting for my husband to pick me up at the subway station and a young man in his early twenties walked up to me. He looked a little scruffy so I reflexively reached into my pocket for change.

“Are you the person who lost the phone?” he asked sheepishly.

“No,” I answered, sliding my hand out of my pocket.

“Oh, I found this phone and contacted the person who lost it and they’re supposed to meet me here to pick it up.”

“Oh, no, not me, sorry,” I said. “That’s really nice of you, though.”

The guy went back to waiting in the cold, dark night for I don’t know how long.

An everyday hero in my books….

P.S. Here’s Canada’s Emily Haines of Metric with “Help I’m Alive.” Enjoy!

Day 526: One step at a time

Maybe they have an "Escalator Climb"?

Double strike-out in the good-deed department today, folks.

First, I took a long detour to the office to try and find Mr. Singh, my Outreach Connection guy (to buy his newspaper that supports the homeless and unemployed) but he was nowhere to be found.

Then, I planned to take the stairs up nine flights in my office building to start preparing for the World Wildlife Federation’s CN Tower Climb on April 15^th (to join a coworker’s team). The goal of the 20th annual event is to raise awareness (and funds) to fight climate change.

Did I make it up to the top? … I couldn’t even find the entrance to the stairs!

So I think it might be best if I limit my participation to sponsoring her team. If I actually did try and climb the 1,776 steps of the world’s largest freestanding structure, I can see the next-day’s headline now:

“Ms. Good Deed A Day flattened on sidewalk after taking wrong turn at step 1,775.”

P.S. A stirring song from backstage at the Hope for Haiti Now telethon (credit: MTV).

more about “Day 526“, posted with vodpod

Day 525: It takes a village

The earthquake recovery effort continues in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

This weekend, like many people around the world, I dug a little deeper into my not-so-deep pockets to come up with another donation to the Haiti relief effort.

The news footage of wounded children, countless casualties and a crumbling city still rattled by aftershocks is almost too much to bear.

But with all of that bad news, I was buoyed by a story in my local paper that reported that Canadians have donated more money, per capita, to the Haiti relief effort than any other country.

The story read:

“From school bake sales to text donations to loonies and toonies dropped in corner store collection boxes, Canadians are donating by the thousands to help Haitians struggling in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake. That flood of donations is setting Canadians apart, leading the world in providing aid to Haiti.”

Even the federal government — who agreed to match Canadians’ donations to recognized charities working in Haiti dollar for dollar — coughed up a little extra by removing the previous cap of $50 million.

So with that shining example of generosity set by my fellow citizens — and, ahem, government — how could I not give more?

To find out how you can help, visit Canada for Haiti or Hope for Haiti Now.