Do Something and Tell About It

A Halloween cat made by Garry's mother out of a light bulb carries a memory. Garry's story is in Our Story, a site that encourages story writing. Why is this important?

The Halloween cat has lived with us almost 11 years which is amazing. How many light bulbs do you have that are 11 years old? We display it every Halloween and entertain our young grandchildren, and it still survives. That is one strong cat.

Now Garry wrote a sweet story, and that is important because today is Tell a Story Day. Well, actually it is Tell a Story Day in the UK, but we like UK stories. Our Story is great for today because you can read stories about all kinds of things written by all kinds of people. You can tell your own story and share it with the world community. How fun!

If you choose to tell a story today, make it a good one. Garry's story tells how the cat reminds him of his mother. She made a difference in his life and that was important to him. Today is Make A Difference Day when people work for non-profit organizations, perform community service, or even do an act of kindness that will touch someone.

Tell a story that will touch someone, read a story to a young child, or an elderly person, or a sight-impaired person. That will make a difference. Or make a new story by helping someone in your neighborhood. That will make a difference in their lives and in yours.

technorati tags: halloween, halloweencat, tellastoryday, story, makeadifferenceday, communityservice, actofkindness, vicki'sblog

Picasso

Pablo Picasso
1881 - 1973

Garry and I played with our granddaughter trying to out-Picasso Picasso. Here are our resulting pictures. We used the art tools found on Mr. Picasso Head. I thought of that today because it is Pablo Picasso's birthday.


I have had a print of his line drawing Face-Dove hanging in my room for years. I prefer the simplicity of his line drawings to his cubist paintings although his paintings are fun and interesting.

technorati tags: picasso, mrpicassohead, face-dove, vickisblog

The Sweetest Day

One Saturday in 1921, a committee of men in Cleveland began a trend of delivering small gifts to orphans and shut-ins who needed a special day. That kindness spread to other cities, notably Buffalo and Detroit, and became known as "Sweetest Day."

That was appropriate since the committee was made up of Cleveland's top candy makers. Although it did not reach the heights of Valentine's Day as hoped, it is a legitimate special day. Hallmark has 163 Sweetest Day cards. Most of the cards today have a romantic theme even though the day is to make people that someone cares.

Give candy, a card, some small gift or a kind word or deed. It shouldn't cost much to let someone know you care. Have a sweet day.

technorati tags: sweetestday, cleveland, someonecares, vickisblog

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

The Breast Cancer site is donating at least one free mammogram a day to an underprivileged woman, and it is up to you and me to ensure that happens. It takes less than a minute to go to their site and click on "donating a mammogram" for free (pink window in the middle).

This doesn't cost you a thing. Their corporate sponsors /advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate mammogram in exchange for advertising.

Check The Breast Cancer Site and give the gift of cancer awareness to a woman who cannot afford it herself. And then, tell your friends to do it, too.

technorati tags: breastcancer, breastcancerawareness, breastcancerawarenessmonth, vickisblog, women'shealth, healthcare

Are You Hungry?

If you are hungry, you are not alone.

More than 850 million people in the world are hungry, too. About six million children die from a hunger-related cause every year. Even in the U.S. where we seem to be chubby, more than 12 million children live in households without enough food. Bread for the World has all types of food facts along with suggestions to take action. They are seeking justice and ending hunger, ambitious goals.

Today is World Food Day. Click on the map for a larger version presented by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. Select the animated map that shows how the hunger pattern changes over the years.

The United States Congress is also taking steps to address world hunger. The House passed the Global Poverty Act in September and now it's in the Senate.

If that doesn't work, we can start a local food drive. There are plenty of kids, and maybe some adults, who would be glad to contribute their vegetables and maybe even liver.

technorati tags: worldhunger, globalpovertyact, breadfortheworld, foodandagriculturalorganizationoftheunitednations, worldfoodday, vicki'sblog,

American's Dance Party

On this day a cultural icon was born. Well, actually, something started that grew to be a major part of American teenagers' lives. On October 7, 1952, Bob Horn moved his program from radio to television as Bob Horn's Bandstand aired in Philadelphia. This new concept, a disk jockey playing records on TV while kids danced -- all live. Remember those innocent days?

Well, here's some dirt from behind the scenes -- the station ran a campaign against drunk driving when Bob Horn was picked up for DUI. The station replaced him -- that bad example -- with the squeaky clean disk jockey who had been spinning the records all along.

When Dick Clark moved to host the program, things began to change. He insisted on integrating his dancers. This was the 50's, and that was quite a bold move. The show was broadcasting locally, and Dick Clark was a bold young man. He talked ABC into picking up his little dance party show for the nation. Soon American Bandstand was a favorite of teens across the country.

American Bandstand ran for thirty years, the longest running show aimed at American youth. By the time the program played, MTV was a fledgling network. MTV was slick and flashy, but it probably owes its beginnings to Dick Clark's little dance party.

technorati tags: bobhorn, dickclark, americanbandstand, mtv, vickisblog, danceparty