Friday Peace Vigil, Casa Grande, AZ, and surrounding area, April 18, 2014:

PEACE VIGIL
CASA GRANDE, AZ
Friday, April 18, 2014
4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
E. Cottonwood Ln. & N. Pinal Ave.


Peace Vigils are held every Friday from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. in Casa Grande from mid-December to mid-April. Come and stand for Peace! Bring a sign or a sign can be provided - and bring another peace activist. The more the merrier! Call Debbie Jordan (520-494-0437) or Tony Fasline (520-426-0070) for details.

　


THIS WEEK:

This will be Tony Fasline’s last vigil in Casa Grande for this season. Next week he’ll be heading up to the chilly northern confines of Youngstown, OH, and won’t return to our sunny desert till that Yankee chill runs him back to spend another winter in our wonderful desert Paradise.

As he does every year during his northland sojourn, Tony will join has many friends holding vigil for peace every Friday afternoon in and around Youngstown. I’ll try to post notices of those peace vigils at least a couple of times a month. Meanwhile, I’m working my way down a (now) much shorter To-Do list and hope to share more of my own writing before the end of the month. Stay tuned!

　


EMAIL INTERRUPTION:

I regret to report that I still haven’t been able to get my website email back up again. I do hope to cross that item off my agenda within the next few days. When that miracle occurs, I will definitely report the blessed event in this blog. So, please, PLEASE, send wonderful thoughts my way, and watch for that announcement, coming soon. I hope!

　

As always, I invite everyone to join me in a vow to use our blessings, skills, and talents to build a society without poverty or war in which everyone is able to enjoy at least the basic benefits of prosperity and peace.

Meanwhile, send out your positive thoughts and, for those who are believers, prayers for all the suffering souls all around the world!

　
The World I Imagine: A creative manual for ending poverty and building peace and my historical mystery novel, Lion’s Pride, are available through your local bookstore. They are featured at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and most online bookstores around the world. Both are available for Kindle readers.
　
COMMENTS: The purpose of this blog is to share positive ideas for making changes that will help everyone, not just a narrow group of people. I’d love to hear more ideas for imprinting positive effects over a wide range of areas in our society.

　

Friday Peace Vigil, Casa Grande, AZ, and surrounding area, April 11, 2014:

PEACE VIGIL
CASA GRANDE, AZ
Friday, April 11, 2014
4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
E. Cottonwood Ln. & N. Casa Grande Ave.


Peace Vigils are held every Friday from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. in Casa Grande from mid-December to mid-April. Come and stand for Peace! Bring a sign or a sign can be provided - and bring another peace activist. The more the merrier! Call Debbie Jordan (520-494-0437) or Tony Fasline (520-426-0070) for details.

　


THIS WEEK:

After reporting my latest spell of more severe illness last week, I had a worse downturn for the last few days. As often happens, while I was forced to slow down even more I discovered a new item from my diet that might be causing my latest sensitivity. As always, it’s another food item that is extremely good for normal, healthy people. But the nature of my autoimmune illness is such that most of the foods that cause me trouble are among those that are highly recommended for their health benefits. Ah well. Just gotta go with it, I guess.

This means that I still haven’t been able to do any of my most favorite activity, writing on my book and blog articles. I’ll try to keep you apprised when I’m finally up to doing that work again. Meanwhile, please, please remember that I really need your positive vibes and, from those that believe, prayers. I’m still thinking of a much better world for each one of you, and for everyone everywhere.

　


EMAIL INTERRUPTION:

Just one more thing I haven’t done this week is solve my website email problem. As with the rest of my long-postponed agenda, I’ve finally formulated a plan, and when I’m up to it, I’ll follow through with it. Please don’t give up on this vital work. Thank you.

　

As always, I invite everyone to join me in a vow to use our blessings, skills, and talents to build a society without poverty or war in which everyone is able to enjoy at least the basic benefits of prosperity and peace.

Meanwhile, send out your positive thoughts and, for those who are believers, prayers for all the suffering souls all around the world!

　
The World I Imagine: A creative manual for ending poverty and building peace and my historical mystery novel, Lion’s Pride, are available through your local bookstore. They are featured at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and most online bookstores around the world. Both are available for Kindle readers.
　
COMMENTS: The purpose of this blog is to share positive ideas for making changes that will help everyone, not just a narrow group of people. I’d love to hear more ideas for imprinting positive effects over a wide range of areas in our society.

Friday Peace Vigil, Casa Grande, AZ, and surrounding area, April 4, 2014:

PEACE VIGIL
CASA GRANDE, AZ
Friday, April 4, 2014
4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
E. Cottonwood Ln. & N. Trekell Rd.


Peace Vigils are held every Friday from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. in Casa Grande from mid-December to mid-April. Come and stand for Peace! Bring a sign or a sign can be provided - and bring another peace activist. The more the merrier! Call Debbie Jordan (520-494-0437) or Tony Fasline (520-426-0070) for details.

　


THIS WEEK:

I am so predictable. You’d think after a lifetime of riding the chronic-illness roller coaster up and down in unison with the seasons, I’d remember to monitor my activity level as the temperature rises. But no-o-o. When things warm up and I feel better than I did during the long months of frigid weather, I forget past experiences and dive head-long into a belated to-do list.

That’s when I hit the Wall.

I am now in my fifth day of intense exhaustion. Fortunately, the last two days included several short respites of strength. I’ve applied uncommon wisdom, gained with great difficulty from this last lesson, by limiting myself mostly to mental tasks when I have a little energy. Then I fill the relapses with TV and/or sudoku. The puzzles are a bit much for my fried brain, and I make frequent mistakes. But it helps me focus and be very still so I can refuel over time.

Even these few paragraphs have taken several long hours to complete. I’d add a sentence or two then have to rest. But this is the first time I’ve shared so much detail in a public forum. It’s possible that fact will help jog my memory the next time I consider playing ‘chicken’ with that dreaded Wall.

Hold onto good thoughts for me, please. I really need the support!

　

EMAIL INTERRUPTION: Just a note to say that the server for my website email has been down at the same time I have (see above). Now that my brain is regaining short spells of relative function, I’ll try to address the issue, probably by setting it up on an alternate server, at least for the time being. When I’ve accomplished that task, I’ll try to remember to post that news here. I don’t know if I can promise, but I do intend to try to get everything right. More upbeat thoughts for that too. Please!

　

As always, I invite everyone to join me in a vow to use our blessings, skills, and talents to build a society without poverty or war in which everyone is able to enjoy at least the basic benefits of prosperity and peace.

Meanwhile, send out your positive thoughts and, for those who are believers, prayers for all the suffering souls all around the world!

　
The World I Imagine: A creative manual for ending poverty and building peace and my historical mystery novel, Lion’s Pride, are available through your local bookstore. They are featured at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and most online bookstores around the world. Both are available for Kindle readers.
　
COMMENTS: The purpose of this blog is to share positive ideas for making changes that will help everyone, not just a narrow group of people. I’d love to hear more ideas for imprinting positive effects over a wide range of areas in our society.

　

Friday Peace Vigil, Casa Grande, AZ, and surrounding area, March 28, 2014:

PEACE VIGIL
CASA GRANDE, AZ
Friday, March 28, 2014
4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
E. Florence Blvd. & N. Trekell Rd.


Peace Vigils are held every Friday from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. in Casa Grande from mid-December to mid-April. Come and stand for Peace! Bring a sign or a sign can be provided - and bring another peace activist. The more the merrier! Call Debbie Jordan (520-494-0437) or Tony Fasline (520-426-0070) for details.

　


THIS WEEK:

This has been a productive week, but now that I’ve reached this point, I can barely remember what I actually accomplished in all that time. That’s probably because I woke up at the halfway point of my usual sleep last night, and I couldn’t get back to sleep, no matter how hard I tried. Then this afternoon we went to Sun Lakes, 30 miles away, to see our primary-care physician. We always enjoy seeing Doc, but the round trip is tough for me even under the best of circumstances. Tonight I am just totally wasted!

That’s why I beg your indulgence, boys and girls, while I wrap this up quickly. I plan to to get some good solid sleep tonight and well into the morrow. I need to be rested and refreshed in time to enjoy the official state-side opening of the 2014 Major League Baseball season.

I promise to be more alert by this time next week, and maybe I’ll have done more writing by that time. I hope you’ll be back then.

As always, I invite everyone to join me in a vow to use our blessings, skills, and talents to build a society without poverty or war in which everyone is able to enjoy at least the basic benefits of prosperity and peace.

Meanwhile, send out your positive thoughts and, for those who are believers, prayers for all the suffering souls all around the world!

　
The World I Imagine: A creative manual for ending poverty and building peace and my historical mystery novel, Lion’s Pride, are available through your local bookstore. They are featured at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and most online bookstores around the world. Both are available for Kindle readers.
　
COMMENTS: The purpose of this blog is to share positive ideas for making changes that will help everyone, not just a narrow group of people. I’d love to hear more ideas for imprinting positive effects over a wide range of areas in our society.

Friday Peace Vigil, Casa Grande, AZ, and surrounding area, March 21, 2014:

PEACE VIGIL
CASA GRANDE, AZ
Friday, March 21, 2014
4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
E. Florence Blvd. & N. Colorado St.


Peace Vigils are held every Friday from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. in Casa Grande from mid-December to mid-April. Come and stand for Peace! Bring a sign or a sign can be provided - and bring another peace activist. The more the merrier! Call Debbie Jordan (520-494-0437) or Tony Fasline (520-426-0070) for details.

　


THIS WEEK:

This week I’ve handled one medical errand and we have an appointment with our doctor in Sun Lakes, 30 miles away, next week. That’s the reason my brain’s already in medical mode. Add the fact that we’re in the most pollenous days of spring, and I don’t plan on doing much beyond rote day-to-day tasks for, maybe, another month or so.

"Wait! Pollen?" you say. "In the Arizona desert? Isn’t it completely barren land?" you say.

"Yes and no," I say. "Pollen in the Arizona desert. You really should see the lovely flowers that pop out of the Saguaro standing right outside our front door and looming twice as high as our house. It’s amazing when these tiny specks of glory just burst from the rugged terrain of an ancient cactus."

　

This is how our resident Dove of Peace
views her own private rooftop garden
atop her Cactus Condo.
(Photo: Jim Jordan)
 

This sign of spring may seem insignificant to most people, but once my respiratory system collects thousands of floating flora germs, my bronchials prove even more fertile than the entire expanse of the Sonoran Desert from New Mexico to California. I can promise you, it ain’t purty!


So I blow my nose and force myself back to Pollyanna mode. My brain will be about as useful as fuzzy Swiss cheese for a few more weeks, but I can still enjoy another wonder of our paradoxical paradise. Since before we’ve owned this house, a female dove has claimed the narrow crook of one of several upraised Saguaro arms for the nest where she’s raised several generations of offspring. I think of her as my own resident Dove of Peace.

　

My own little Dove of Peace
has been here about as long as we have,
providing me with a dose of spiritual inspiration.
(Photo: Jim Jordan)

Still, we walk past the squatter’s condo, and she pays us scant attention. Intruders in her universe, we don’t seem to rate much bother. On the other hand, the sight of a winged mama with her annual flock of offspring in this harsh climate really blows the mind.


For me, spring isn’t a completely lost season, even though my normal agenda must wait till all this new life settles and no longer sprinkles noxious seeds into my delicate biosystem. At least it will end soon, and then I can think again--and Jim can start complaining about the heat that bothers him every summer.

And I? My innocent reaction will be: What [blessed] heat?

And so it goes.

As always, I invite everyone to join me in a vow to use our blessings, skills, and talents to build a society without poverty or war in which everyone is able to enjoy at least the basic benefits of prosperity and peace.

Meanwhile, send out your positive thoughts and, for those who are believers, prayers for all the suffering souls all around the world!

The World I Imagine: A creative manual for ending poverty and building peace and my historical mystery novel, Lion’s Pride, are available through your local bookstore. They are featured at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and most online bookstores around the world. Both are available for Kindle readers.
　
COMMENTS: The purpose of this blog is to share positive ideas for making changes that will help everyone, not just a narrow group of people. I’d love to hear more ideas for imprinting positive effects over a wide range of areas in our society.

　

Friday Peace Vigil, Casa Grande, AZ, and surrounding area, March 14, 2014:

PEACE VIGIL
CASA GRANDE, AZ
Friday, March 14, 2014
4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
E. Florence Blvd. & N. Peart Rd.

Peace Vigils are held every Friday from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. in Casa Grande from mid-December to mid-April. Come and stand for Peace! Bring a sign or a sign can be provided - and bring another peace activist. The more the merrier! Call Debbie Jordan (520-494-0437) or Tony Fasline (520-426-0070) for details.

　


THIS WEEK:

I finished this knit cable cap I was working on last week, the fourth of 12 Caps for Cancer Patients I’ve vowed to make in 2014:

This cap is for a young girl with cancer.
I really enjoy making something that
might help a child in distress
feel better about herself.

I hope to make one more cap for the project in March while I also make progress on another, more personal, needlework project I’ve been thinking about. Meanwhile, I’m slowly doing some writing, so I should be posting more articles here as well. Stay tuned.


As always, I invite everyone to join me in a vow to use our blessings, skills, and talents to build a society without poverty or war in which everyone is able to enjoy at least the basic benefits of prosperity and peace.

Meanwhile, send out your positive thoughts and, for those who are believers, prayers for all the suffering souls all around the world!

　
The World I Imagine: A creative manual for ending poverty and building peace and my historical mystery novel, Lion’s Pride, are available through your local bookstore. They are featured at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and most online bookstores around the world. Both are available for Kindle readers.
　
COMMENTS: The purpose of this blog is to share positive ideas for making changes that will help everyone, not just a narrow group of people. I’d love to hear more ideas for imprinting positive effects over a wide range of areas in our society.

Friday Peace Vigil, Casa Grande, AZ, and surrounding area, March 7, 2014:

PEACE VIGIL
CASA GRANDE, AZ
Friday, March 7, 2014
4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
E. Florence Blvd. & N. Arizola Rd.

Peace Vigils are held every Friday from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. in Casa Grande from mid-December to mid-April. Come and stand for Peace! Bring a sign or a sign can be provided - and bring another peace activist. The more the merrier! Call Debbie Jordan (520-494-0437) or Tony Fasline (520-426-0070) for details.

　


THIS WEEK:

While many people continue to shiver in the depths of this harsh winter, we in southern Arizona are enjoying the beauty of spring. It’s one of the many reasons we moved here from back east. But many of our loved ones continue to endure the cold weather, so I’ll try not to mention the weather again till we’re broiling in the intense heat of the desert summer. Deal? Good.

We did have some much needed rain last weekend, which does no good for either my body or my brain. But that’s over now and we’re back to the usual sunny and warm. Oops. Sorry about that.

Anyway, aside from tidying up the usual end-of-month accounting early in the week, I’ve just finished knitting the fourth of my promised twelve Caps for Cancer Patients for this year. I’ll block it over the weekend, so I can post the picture with this vigil notice next week. Be sure to check back then.

As always, I invite everyone to join me in a vow to use our blessings, skills, and talents to build a society without poverty or war in which everyone is able to enjoy at least the basic benefits of prosperity and peace.

Meanwhile, send out your positive thoughts and, for those who are believers, prayers for all the suffering souls all around the world!

　
The World I Imagine: A creative manual for ending poverty and building peace and my historical mystery novel, Lion’s Pride, are available through your local bookstore. They are featured at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and most online bookstores around the world. Both are available for Kindle readers.
　
COMMENTS: The purpose of this blog is to share positive ideas for making changes that will help everyone, not just a narrow group of people. I’d love to hear more ideas for imprinting positive effects over a wide range of areas in our society.

Friday Peace Vigil, Casa Grande, AZ, and surrounding area, February 28, 2014:

PEACE VIGIL
CASA GRANDE, AZ
Friday, February 28, 2014
4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
E. McMurray Blvd. & N. Arizola Rd.

Peace Vigils are held every Friday from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. in Casa Grande from mid-December to mid-April. Come and stand for Peace! Bring a sign or a sign can be provided - and bring another peace activist. The more the merrier! Call Debbie Jordan (520-494-0437) or Tony Fasline (520-426-0070) for details.

　


THIS WEEK:

I wonder why I plan to accomplish certain things each week, then when that time is past, I look back on the different things that I got done instead. Must be the result of that old saying: Life happens while you’re making other plans.

I did complete one thing that was on my agenda: I crocheted a cap in a cable pattern, a brand new stitch for my repertoire. Decades ago, I knit several cable sweaters, but doing cables with a crochet hook is a different matter altogether. It requires a bit more patience than making cables with an extra knitting needle. But I do believe this crocheted cable stitch looks great:

I followed the pattern for this cap from the wonderful
website for crocheted items at Rheatheylia.com:
http://www.rheatheylia.com/index.php?page=patterns&id=8

Next I’m going to knit a couple of caps in different cable patterns, so March is pretty well set for me, as far as my work on Caps for Cancer Patients is concerned. This cap makes a total of seven for 2014. But since four that I’ve made are in the colors of the Gay Pride flag, I’ll also offer them to members of the LGBT community, whether they have cancer or not. That means three are definitely for the Caps for Cancer Patients program, and four others could go for either cause, or both.


At least I’m accomplishing something useful, but not all I’d like to get done. Ah well, there’s always next week. Come back then.

As always, I invite everyone to join me in a vow to use our blessings, skills, and talents to build a society without poverty or war in which everyone is able to enjoy at least the basic benefits of prosperity and peace.

Meanwhile, send out your positive thoughts and, for those who are believers, prayers for all the suffering souls all around the world!

　
The World I Imagine: A creative manual for ending poverty and building peace and my historical mystery novel, Lion’s Pride, are available through your local bookstore. They are featured at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and most online bookstores around the world. Both are available for Kindle readers.
　
COMMENTS: The purpose of this blog is to share positive ideas for making changes that will help everyone, not just a narrow group of people. I’d love to hear more ideas for imprinting positive effects over a wide range of areas in our society.

Friday Peace Vigil, Casa Grande, AZ, and surrounding area, February 21, 2014:

PEACE VIGIL
CASA GRANDE, AZ
Friday, February 21, 2014
4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
E. McMurray Blvd. & N. Trekell Rd.

Peace Vigils are held every Friday from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. in Casa Grande from mid-December to mid-April. Come and stand for Peace! Bring a sign or a sign can be provided - and bring another peace activist. The more the merrier! Call Debbie Jordan (520-494-0437) or Tony Fasline (520-426-0070) for details.

　


THIS WEEK:

I’m delighted to say I’ve finished our taxes for the year, two months ahead of schedule, so now I can tend to all those other things, little and big, that sat by the wayside while I worried about getting that done. As soon as I finish writing and posting a couple of articles to this blog in the next few days, I can finally get back into the flow of that book I’ve been trying to write for the longest time, Two Worlds. I have nine or so chapters now, but it would be more appropriate for me to call them -ish.

This book won’t have a straight chronological timeline. I have to wrote at least three different plot lines separately, then try to blend them into what I hope will be a cohesive narrative of the greater story. That means I probably won’t be using every single scene that I’m putting into the separate stories because they’re more for my benefit, so I can envision the lives of characters that’ll be shuffled together into the final version of the novel.

This is a new experience for me. Or perhaps I should call it an experiment. Any positive thoughts you can send my way will be much appreciated and will help me keep slogging away at it while I keep hoping it will one day make sense.

And just to keep the thought of what I’m trying to say in this blog and in my books, and any other way I can, here is a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that perfectly reflects the point of all my work and, I hope, my life:
 

As always, I invite everyone to join me in a vow to use our blessings, skills, and talents to build a society without poverty or war in which everyone is able to enjoy at least the basic benefits of prosperity and peace.

Meanwhile, send out your positive thoughts and, for those who are believers, prayers for all the suffering souls all around the world!

　
The World I Imagine: A creative manual for ending poverty and building peace and my historical mystery novel, Lion’s Pride, are available through your local bookstore. They are featured at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and most online bookstores around the world. Both are available for Kindle readers.
　
COMMENTS: The purpose of this blog is to share positive ideas for making changes that will help everyone, not just a narrow group of people. I’d love to hear more ideas for imprinting positive effects over a wide range of areas in our society.

Friday Peace Vigil, Casa Grande, AZ, and surrounding area, February 14, 2014:

PEACE VIGIL
CASA GRANDE, AZ
Friday, February 14, 2014
4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
E. Cottonwood Ln. & N. Trekell Rd.

Peace Vigils are held every Friday from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. in Casa Grande from mid-December to mid-April. Come and stand for Peace! Bring a sign or a sign can be provided - and bring another peace activist. The more the merrier! Call Debbie Jordan (520-494-0437) or Tony Fasline (520-426-0070) for details.

　


THIS WEEK:

Well, I finally blocked and got pictures of the hats I’ve made for the last several weeks. A little background here: I found the pattern online for a simple crocheted cap in the rainbow colors of the colors of the Gay Pride flag. Since we have friends in the LGBTIQ community, I decided to make a few of these, some for people who have cancer and are either gay or want to support a gay loved one. I also have a gay relative and want to make something for him and his partner.
 

The fashion colors in this cap are a bit off
from the basic rainbow colors of the
Gay Pride flag, but some people might
prefer them to the traditional colors.

When I started the first hat, I had only four of the six colors required, so I could only do so much before I had to go to the nearby Jo-Ann store to buy more. But when I scoured the yarn section, I couldn’t find any yarn in the ‘true’ colors I need for this particular project. I had to settle for ‘fashion’ colors, shades that aren’t quite the good old-fashioned basic colors to match those of the flag. Just to be able to do at least one full cap, I bought one of each of these fashion colors, then went home and went online to find that Red Heart still has traditional colors in the same yarn I used to buy years ago. So now I have enough yarn in the colors I want to make several hats before I have to order more.

This is my first attempt for a ladies cap.
I’ll make them in two sizes so
more people will have choices.

Now, it’s time for me to try a different theme and pattern for my next Cap for Cancer Patients and alternate that project with more writing. This is what we should all aspire to in our lives, to be productive and useful, contributing our best gifts to make life better for someone who is in need.


As always, I invite everyone to join me in a vow to use our blessings, skills, and talents to build a society without poverty or war in which everyone is able to enjoy at least the basic benefits of prosperity and peace.

Meanwhile, send out your positive thoughts and, for those who are believers, prayers for all the suffering souls all around the world!

　
The World I Imagine: A creative manual for ending poverty and building peace and my historical mystery novel, Lion’s Pride, are available through your local bookstore. They are featured at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and most online bookstores around the world. Both are available for Kindle readers.
　
COMMENTS: The purpose of this blog is to share positive ideas for making changes that will help everyone, not just a narrow group of people. I’d love to hear more ideas for imprinting positive effects over a wide range of areas in our society.

Friday Peace Vigil, Casa Grande, AZ, and surrounding area, February 7, 2014:

PEACE VIGIL
CASA GRANDE, AZ
Friday, February 7, 2014
4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
W. Florence Blvd.. & N. Trekell Rd.

Peace Vigils are held every Friday from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. in Casa Grande from mid-December to mid-April. Come and stand for Peace! Bring a sign or a sign can be provided - and bring another peace activist. The more the merrier! Call Debbie Jordan (520-494-0437) or Tony Fasline (520-426-0070) for details.

　


THIS WEEK:

I’ve had too many things to take care of this week to reach the goals I’d hoped this week, so I’ll be quick about this update so I can post this notice of Tony Fasline’s weely vigil for peace. At least it looks like I should be back to my own things next week, so we’ll have to see how that works out.

At least I have been able to keep on crocheting, but the final step on each hat remains to be done, so no pictures this week. If you come back next week, I should have more than one of my Caps for Cancer Patients to share with you then. Hold onto great thoughts and dream big dreams for the future, everyone. We need to be positive as we move forward every single day of our lives.

As always, I invite everyone to join me in a vow to use our blessings, skills, and talents to build a society without poverty or war in which everyone is able to enjoy at least the basic benefits of prosperity and peace.

Meanwhile, send out your positive thoughts and, for those who are believers, prayers for all the suffering souls all around the world!

　

The World I Imagine: A creative manual for ending poverty and building peace and my historical mystery novel, Lion’s Pride, are available through your local bookstore. They are featured at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and most online bookstores around the world. Both are available for Kindle readers.

COMMENTS: The purpose of this blog is to share positive ideas for making changes that will help everyone, not just a narrow group of people. I’d love to hear more ideas for imprinting positive effects over a wide range of areas in our society.

Friday Peace Vigil, Casa Grande, AZ, and surrounding area, January 31, 2014:

PEACE VIGIL
CASA GRANDE, AZ
Friday, January 31, 2014
4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
W. Florence Blvd.. & N. Cameron St.

Peace Vigils are held every Friday from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. in Casa Grande from mid-December to mid-April. Come and stand for Peace! Bring a sign or a sign can be provided - and bring another peace activist. The more the merrier! Call Debbie Jordan (520-494-0437) or Tony Fasline (520-426-0070) for details.

　


THIS WEEK:

I may be growing older, but I promise I’ll never grow up!

Yup. It’s that time again. Time for me and the Chinese to turn to a new calendar. And just like the Asians who count years in series of twelve, I’m about to face an entire new decade. Ouch!

But life goes on and it beats the alternative. And the truth is, I’d much rather know what I know now than what I did when I was young and foolish. Now I’m just old and foolish!

Okay, I promise I’m done with all the cliches. My other news this week is that I have finished crocheting my next cap, this one for a special type of cancer patient. I still have to block it so we can get photos. But since I’ve already started another, I’ll wait to finish that one too and block them both at the same time. I promise to post at least one picture here next week. Stay tuned.

As always, I invite everyone to join me in a vow to use our blessings, skills, and talents to build a society without poverty or war in which everyone is able to enjoy at least the basic benefits of prosperity and peace.

Meanwhile, send out your positive thoughts and, for those who are believers, prayers for all the suffering souls all around the world!

The World I Imagine: A creative manual for ending poverty and building peace and my historical mystery novel, Lion’s Pride, are available through your local bookstore. They are featured at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and most online bookstores around the world. Both are available for Kindle readers.

Friday Peace Vigil, Casa Grande, AZ, and surrounding area, January 24, 2014:

PEACE VIGIL
CASA GRANDE, AZ
Friday, January 24, 2014
4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
W. Florence Blvd.. & N. Olive Ave.

Peace Vigils are held every Friday from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. in Casa Grande from mid-December to mid-April. Come and stand for Peace! Bring a sign or a sign can be provided - and bring another peace activist. The more the merrier! Call Debbie Jordan (520-494-0437) or Tony Fasline (520-426-0070) for details.

　


THIS WEEK:

As I promised last week, here’s a picture of the second cap I made in my quest to complete at least 12 Caps for Cancer Patients in 2014:

　

The next one will be special, made for some people whose cause I wholeheartedly support. I hope to post a picture of the first cap in that series in a week or two. I’ll start it later today.

Meanwhile, I have done a bit of writing and several administrative tasks this week. I’m happy I can manage these useful tasks during the colder months of the year, a goal that’s getting harder for me to reach every year because of lifelong progressive chronic medical conditions.

I do this by concentrating on my ‘abilities’ rather than my ‘disabilities.’ That’s what we should all be encouraged to do, even those people we in the disability community refer to as ‘temporarily able-bodied’ (TABs for short).

And to all those people who don’t like that because they selfishly demand things from me that I’m no longer able to manage: You know what you can do about it. (I hope it’s not too painful!)

As always, I invite everyone to join me in a vow to use our blessings, skills, and talents to build a society without poverty or war in which everyone is able to enjoy at least the basic benefits of prosperity and peace.

Meanwhile, send out your positive thoughts and, for those who are believers, prayers for all the suffering souls all around the world!

　
The World I Imagine: A creative manual for ending poverty and building peace and my historical mystery novel, Lion’s Pride, are available through your local bookstore. They are featured at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and most online bookstores around the world. Both are available for Kindle readers.

Friday Peace Vigil, Casa Grande, AZ, and surrounding area, January 17, 2014:

PEACE VIGIL
CASA GRANDE, AZ
Friday, January 17, 2014
4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
W. Florence Blvd.. & N. Pinal Ave.

Peace Vigils are held every Friday from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. in Casa Grande from mid-December to mid-April. Come and stand for Peace! Bring a sign or a sign can be provided - and bring another peace activist. The more the merrier! Call Debbie Jordan (520-494-0437) or Tony Fasline (520-426-0070) for details.

　


THIS WEEK:

How are all you folks doing with your New Year’s Resolutions so far? I’m delighted to say I’m continuing to make progress on my vow to make at least 12 Caps for Cancer Patients in 2014. As promised, here is the first, a pink knit hurricane hat:

　

　

Today I’m just a few rows away from finishing a crocheted number for the second cap of my 2014 series. I might even have a picture of that ready to share when I post this announcement next week. I plan to spend more time on my writing this week as well. A little here, a little there, and 2014 can turn out to be a better year than 2013 was. Positive thoughts all round!

As always, I invite everyone to join me in a vow to use our blessings, skills, and talents to build a society without poverty or war in which everyone is able to enjoy at least the basic benefits of prosperity and peace.

Meanwhile, send out your positive thoughts and, for those who are believers, prayers for all the suffering souls all around the world!

　

The World I Imagine: A creative manual for ending poverty and building peace and my historical mystery novel, Lion’s Pride, are available through your local bookstore. They are featured at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and most online bookstores around the world. Both are available for Kindle readers.

Friday Peace Vigil, Casa Grande, AZ, and surrounding area, January 10, 2014:

PEACE VIGIL
CASA GRANDE, AZ
Friday, January 10, 2014
4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
W. McCartney Blvd.. & N. Pinal Ave.

Peace Vigils are held every Friday from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. in Casa Grande from mid-December to mid-April. Come and stand for Peace! Bring a sign or a sign can be provided - and bring another peace activist. The more the merrier! Call Debbie Jordan (520-494-0437) or Tony Fasline (520-426-0070) for details.

　


THIS WEEK:

So, did you survive Blue Monday? Never heard of Blue Monday? Well, it’s already passed for this year, so if you’re doing okay now, you can thank your lucky stars.

Blue Monday is a term coined nearly a decade ago to explain why the first Monday of the new year is probably the worst day of the year. There’s the letdown after holiday highs, recently acquired debt, resolutions you’ve probably already started to break, and the worst weather of the year. On top of all that, it’s a Monday. If you survived that day, which was January 6 this year, you probably have nowhere to go but up.

For me, the only downer is the weather. We avoid the rest by treating spiritual occasions as just that, spending December as we do the rest of the year, doing work we hope will inspire others. Then I use January on finances, tidying up 2013 records and making plans for 2014.

I’m also proud to report that last night I completed the first of the twelve caps for cancer patients I plan to make in 2014. Next week I’ll post a picture of that new one. Meanwhile, the picture below shows a pink turban I crocheted last year for someone with cancer.



As always, I invite everyone to join me in a vow to use our blessings, skills, and talents to build a society without poverty or war in which everyone is able to enjoy at least the basic benefits of prosperity and peace.

Meanwhile, send out your positive thoughts and, for those who are believers, prayers for all the suffering souls all around the world!

　

The World I Imagine: A creative manual for ending poverty and building peace and my historical mystery novel, Lion’s Pride, are available through your local bookstore. They are featured at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and most online bookstores around the world. Both are available for Kindle readers.

Friday Peace Vigil, Casa Grande, AZ, and surrounding area, January 3, 2014:

PEACE VIGIL
CASA GRANDE, AZ
Friday, January 3, 2014
4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
W. McCartney Rd.. & N. Pinal Ave.

Peace Vigils are held every Friday from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. in Casa Grande from mid-December to mid-April. Come and stand for Peace! Bring a sign or a sign can be provided - and bring another peace activist. The more the merrier! Call Debbie Jordan (520-494-0437) or Tony Fasline (520-426-0070) for details.
　


THIS WEEK:

The holidays are finally over and we’re beginning a brand New Year. To be honest, I like this last part of the entire range of year-end festivities best of all. My health and psyche always improve when I no longer have to explain why I can’t take part in all the regular traditions that too many people consider religious obligations, even though none of them originated in the era they’re considered to represent.

I’m allergic, literally, to almost everything about all the third-quarter festivities that are such an inherent part of the Euro-American culture. The onset of cold weather, diet-busting fare, and holiday greenery have always threatened my already delicate health. When I was in elementary school, my sensitivity was so bad that the last few days I spent in a closed classroom with a festive Christmas tree left me unconscious for the first two or three days of every holiday vacation.

Unfortunately, instead of being understanding when those things attack my weakened immune system, people who claim to love me only criticize and punish me for the unforgivable ‘social crime’ of "bringing everyone down." Now that I’m too old and sick to don that false "mask of health" to please those cruel people, I use my time taking better care of myself than ever before and working on different writing projects that, I hope, will encourage people to help end poverty and war and build a society marked by real prosperity and true peace.

And on the very final holiday of the season, spanning the last day of one year and the first of the next, I get a real kick out of refocusing my energies, such as they are at this stage of my life, on the work I plan to keep on doing as my little part in helping us reach that goal.

So, Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you’ve made your resolution to do something positive for someone who needs it, and that you’ve vowed to help make this a better world for all.

As always, I invite everyone to join me in a vow to use our blessings, skills, and talents to build a society without poverty or war in which everyone is able to enjoy at least the basic benefits of prosperity and peace.

Meanwhile, send out your positive thoughts and, for those who are believers, prayers for all the suffering souls all around the world!

　

The World I Imagine: A creative manual for ending poverty and building peace and my historical mystery novel, Lion’s Pride, are available through your local bookstore. They are featured at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and most online bookstores around the world. Both are available for Kindle readers.

Friday Peace Vigil, Casa Grande, AZ, and surrounding area, December 27, 2013:

PEACE VIGIL
CASA GRANDE, AZ
Friday, December 27, 2013
4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
W. Cottonwood Ln.. & N. Pinal Ave.

Peace Vigils are held every Friday from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. in Casa Grande from mid-December to mid-April. Come and stand for Peace! Bring a sign or a sign can be provided - and bring another peace activist. The more the merrier! Call Debbie Jordan (520-494-0437) or Tony Fasline (520-426-0070) for details.
　


THIS WEEK:

Now that Christmas is over, we come to the observance that I admire and love most of all. Yes, today, December 26, is Boxing Day in many parts of the world, but that’s not what I’m talking about. The observance of Kwanzaa, in which people honor the vital principles of strong community values, is much more important to reaching the goals of ending poverty and building a peaceful world than the rituals of all other holidays of the year, including Christmas. I know December 25 is supposed to be about the birth of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, but excessive materialism and the spirit of overindulgence in everything from food and drink to greed has all but destroyed the true spirit of the occasion.

In many African-American households and communities, Kwanzaa is observed from the day after Christmas through the first day of the New Year. I believe that spending the final week of each year discussing the meaning and importance of Unity, Self-Determination, Collective Work and Responsibility, Cooperative Economics, Purpose, Creativity, and Faith (in more than just religion) can be a positive way to welcome the New Year. So, for every person who is about to begin this wonderful seven-day journey, I wish you a very Happy Kwanzaa.

Meanwhile, I hope that everyone is wise enough to enjoy a safe and sane New Year.

As always, I invite everyone to join me in a vow to use our blessings, skills, and talents to build a society without poverty or war in which everyone is able to enjoy at least the basic benefits of prosperity and peace.

Meanwhile, send out your positive thoughts and, for those who are believers, prayers for all the suffering souls all around the world!


The World I Imagine: A creative manual for ending poverty and building peace and my historical mystery novel, Lion’s Pride, are available through your local bookstore. They are featured at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and most online bookstores around the world. Both are available for Kindle readers.
 

Friday Peace Vigil, Casa Grande, AZ, and surrounding area, December 20, 2013:

PEACE VIGIL
CASA GRANDE, AZ
Friday, December 20, 2013
4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
W. Kortsen Rd.. & N. Pinal Ave.

Peace Vigils are held every Friday from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. in Casa Grande from mid-December to mid-April. Come and stand for Peace! Bring a sign or a sign can be provided - and bring another peace activist. The more the merrier! Call Debbie Jordan (520-494-0437) or Tony Fasline (520-426-0070) for details.
　


THIS WEEK:

It has been several months since I’ve posted anything here. While my dear peace-loving friend Tony Fasline was enjoying his summer sojourn in northern climes, no one was standing vigil in Casa Grande to espouse peace and other worthwhile causes. During most of that time, I’ve focused my time and energy toward matters unrelated to this venue.

For a couple of months I tried to get a little more organized around our house. I have made small dents in the piles of superfluous flotsam haunting my domain, but the job is ongoing, eternal. I’ll keep chipping away at the chaos, a bit at a time, whenever I can do so.

Then there’s our long-term problem trying to find a responsible tenant to rent one of our duplex units. We absolutely adore our other tenants. They’re honest and dependable. We want them to stay as long as they enjoy the accommodations, and we try to do everything in our power to ensure they do. In the past some great tenants have occupied the now-empty apartment, but for a couple of years, people who seemed okay at first turned out to be renters from hell. We’ll keep looking though. We can’t afford not to.

While the aforementioned issues demanded too much of my energy for too many months, I recently broke through a case of writer’s block and am once again working on Two Worlds, a novel which will serve as a companion to my essay collection, The World I Imagine: A creative manual for ending poverty and building peace. My story will dramatize the gulf between a community in which the residents actively apply principles discussed in my essays to the conflict and chaos that naturally arise when people fear change. My story emphasizes the benefits of a society in which everyone respects the basic rights of every other human being.

Now that Tony is back in town and plans to continue his Friday afternoon peace vigils through mid-April, I’ll do my best to post weekly notices of his schedule here, along with these personal messages. In the meantime, I wish for a Merry Christmas to all who celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, and a Happy Kwanzaa and a Blessed Epiphany to all those who choose to observe either or both of those special days. I also hope that everyone is wise enough to enjoy a safe and sane New Year.

As always, I invite everyone to join me in a vow to use our blessings, skills, and talents to build a society without poverty or war in which everyone is able to enjoy at least the basic benefits of prosperity and peace.

Meanwhile, send out your positive thoughts and, for those who are believers, prayers for all the suffering souls all around the world!

Friday Peace Vigil, Youngstown, OH, and surrounding area:

PEACE VIGIL
YOUNGSTOWN, OH
Friday, April 19, 2013
4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Downtown on the Square (Federal Plaza E. & Wick Ave.)

Ray Nakley (330-506-1999) and Ron Dull (330-518-9881) will hold their weekly Peace Vigil this Friday, April 19, from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., at the corner of Downtown on the Square (Federal Plaza E. & Wick Ave.), Youngstown, OH. They invite anyone who is interested in showing their support for ending conflict in the world to join them. Hold out positive thoughts for that!



THIS WEEK:

As I write this, Tony Fasline is busy making last-minute preparations to spread his ‘snowbird wings’ and ‘soar’ back to his cold northern home in Youngstown. He promises that, after his return to Yankee-land, he’ll send me a complete update on activities to promote peace and prosperity in the Youngstown area.

Meanwhile, Tony assures me that each Friday, at least a few people gather at the above location is downtown Youngstown to protest the traditions of war and poverty. Among other things, he’s led me to sign up for newsletters from the Dorothy Day House, which serves as the center of social service activity in the Youngstown area. By this time next week, I will not only have news from Tony, but I’ll have had a chance to read some of the news in the Dorothy Day House newsletter.

Meanwhile, you can sign up for those newsletters too. Just go to:

http://www.youngstowncatholicworker.com/

Scroll to the bottom of the home page to share your email address with them and receive updates from them.

Reports from Youngstown indicate these Friday afternoon vigils are well attended by people standing for peace and many other social causes, and there’s plenty of room for more. If you want to make a public statement to end war, poverty, and/or any other of numerous social ills, feel free to join this group, with or without your own sign to share your thoughts about social justice with the world.

Meanwhile, join me in a vow to use our blessings, skills, and talents to build a society without poverty or war in which everyone is able to enjoy at least the basic benefits of prosperity and peace.

Positive thoughts and, for those who are believers, prayers for all the suffering souls all around the world!
 

Friday Peace Vigil, Casa Grande, AZ, and surrounding area:

PEACE VIGIL
CASA GRANDE, AZ
Friday, April 12, 2013
4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
E. Cottonwood Ln. & N. Pinal Ave.

Peace Vigils are held every Friday from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. in Casa Grande from mid-December to mid-April. Come and stand for Peace! Bring a sign or a sign can be provided - and bring another peace activist. The more the merrier! Call Debbie Jordan (520-494-0437) or Tony Fasline (520-426-0070) for details.

　

THIS WEEK:

Sadly, this week’s vigil will be Tony’s last for this season in the warm Arizona desert. Shortly thereafter, he’ll be spreading his ‘snowbird’ wings to ‘fly’ away from us back to cold northern Ohio, there to continue the work of standing for peace and offering support and hope to the downtrodden and the poor. But he promises to return to us in late fall. Meanwhile, he’ll continue to keep me updated on activities in Youngstown throughout the summer, and I’ll post them here on a regular basis, as I always have.

I’m delighted to report that I’m finally back to writing, albeit slowly, on my novel, Two Worlds. Still plugging away on Chapter 4, but at least when I reread the first three chapters, I was happy with what I’d already done, especially after I added another almost full page of conversation to the second chapter. Next, I’m going to email copies of those first three chapters to a select group of readers to get their opinions, while I continue to plug away at the book. I’m also going to try to squeeze in a few articles for this blog, so my creative brain is pumping, at least on a couple of cylinders.

I’m still facing four eye appointments over the next four weeks and have to squeeze in a date with my dentist in the next couple of weeks. After May 6, I should be done with my spring spate of medical treatments. From that point on, I hope to be much more creatively productive. Positive thoughts for that miracle, please!

Join me in a vow to use our blessings, skills, and talents to build a society without poverty or war in which everyone is able to enjoy at least the basic benefits of prosperity and peace.

Meanwhile, send out your positive thoughts and, for those who are believers, prayers for all the suffering souls all around the world!