May 15, 2008

Do you have some Good Stuff to share?

If it’s Thursday, it must be almost time for some Good Stuff! Have you checked the back pages of your local paper lately? Do me (and yourself!) a favor and make it a point to find the good news that never gets the bold headlines. Pick a news source anywhere in the world or something great you’ve found on the web. Better yet, share a heart-warming first-person moment that gladdened your heart. Those little day-to-day moments that make us smile are the stuff of a happy life and worthy of sharing. Here’s your chance to recognize them for what they are and spread a little sunshine in the process. Post a link to your good news below. It can be a post on your own blog or to the source that made you grin. I’ll do a round-up later today (might be early tomorrow in your part of the world) when we SHARE THE GOOD STUFF!

Technorati Tags: good news, current events, local stories, meme

May 9, 2008

Sharing the Good Stuff

Sometimes we get so overwhelmed with the bad news that we forget that there are good things going on around us all the time. We can’t change the headlines, but we can seek out that which is good, that which is uplifting, that which shines with a positive radiance - the good stuff. Here’s some good stuff sent to me by my readers:

Val is the most frequent contributor to Good Stuff. Yep, the Val at I know EVERYTHING - just ask my hubby is the same Val who also brings us Four Food on Friday. She often submits stories that focus on kids with special needs. This week she foud a story in my own backyard to share. I guess I should start reading the Star Bulletin instead of the Honolulu Advertiser!

JenX blogs at The Daily Mitzvah, which is all about the Good Stuff. She sent two of her posts our way this week. The first is about a baker who is encouraging his customers to reduce their carbon footprints. This story really hits home with me, because so many of our consumables in Hawaii have to be shipped in and use a lot of fuel getting to us. Her second subimission is also about reducing our impact on the environment, and about a school that’s doing it in an innnovative way.

My regular readers know that I have chronic depression and that it’s been controlling my life for quite a while. Things have improved recently and I’m pretty happy about that!

Mahalo to Val and JenX for Sharing the Good Stuff. I know there are more uplifting stories out there. I hope you’ll join us next week. It does the body good … and the soul, too!

Technorati Tags: good news, current events, local stories, meme

May 8, 2008

What’s the good news?

If it’s Thursday, I must need therapy! Have you checked the back pages of your local paper lately? Do me (and yourself!) a favor and make it a point to find the good news that never gets the bold headlines. Pick a news source anywhere in the world or something great you’ve found on the web. Better yet, share a heart-warming first-person moment that gladdened your heart. Those little day-to-day moments that make us smile are the stuff of a happy life and worthy of sharing. Here’s your chance to recognize them for what they are and spread a little sunshine in the process. Post a link to your good news below. It can be a post on your own blog or to the source that made you grin. I’ll do a round-up later today (might be early tomorrow in your part of the world) when we SHARE THE GOOD STUFF!

Technorati Tags: good news, current events, local stories, meme

May 2, 2008

Sharing the Good Stuff

Sometimes we get so overwhelmed with the bad news that we forget that there are good things going on around us all the time. We can’t change the headlines, but we can seek out that which is good, that which is uplifting, that which shines with a positive radiance - the good stuff. Here’s some good stuff sent to me by my readers:

Lisa, The Queen of Pith, has a job tht is sometimes mundane, but has it spots of joy. A viewer of her Public Access Telelvision programs recently thanked her for helping him stay connected to home and friends. Way to go, Lisa!

Mo Morrisey said he didn’t have any good news to share but liked the idea of this feature. Wouldn’t you know, the first story I found on his website made me smile. He may quibble about someone’s definition of sportsmanship, but we’re all in agreement that compassion and empathy were evidenced by the Central Washington softball team at a recent game.

Anele and her sweetie are celebrating their twelfth anniversary this weekend. Congrats, Mr. & Mrs. Anele. May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii. Go check out this fun celebration of True Aloha on Anele’s blog!

Aahz is celebrating a moment of fatherly pride over his daughter’s boldness. Here are the details he couldn’t post on his blog:

Monday my 12 year old daughter got up the guts to walk up to the boy she’s been crushing on for 6 months, tell him she likes him and ask if he likes her. No intermediaries, no notes, no ’secret admirer’, no text messages. She just walked up and asked! I couldn’t be more proud.

Unfortunately, he just wants to be friends, but she’s recovering from that rather quickly as well.
Congrats on raising a self-confident daughter, Aahz!

This week I’m happy to report that I’m rebuilding my energy level after a month of illness. I’m still falling asleep early in the evening and waking at odd hours (thus the lateness in posting this) but things are slowly getting back to normal around the old skeet homestead.

Have you checked the back pages of your local paper lately? Do yourself a favor and make it a point to find the good news that never gets the bold headlines. Pick a news source anywhere in the world or something great you’ve found on the web. Better yet, share a heart-warming first-person moment that made you smile. Those little day-to-day moments that make us smile are the stuff of a happy life and worthy of sharing. Here’s your chance to recognize them for what they are and spread a little sunshine in the process. Make sure you send me a link when you’re moved to blog about something good going on. I’ll hook you up the next time we Share Some Good Stuff and then we can all feel a little better about what this world is coming to!

Technorati Tags: good news, current events, local stories, meme

April 30, 2008

Getting ready for The Good Stuff

It’s almost time for our Thursday Therapy again. Have you got some good news you’d like to share? Maybe you’ve found an uplifting blog post or news story online that you think should be seen by more eyes. Gather up that good news and send it to me. Thursdays are our day for escaping, however briefly, from the black headlines that shout for our attention on a daily basis. On Thursdays we celebrate the good stuff in life, whether small and personal or huge and earth-shattering. Post your good news or a link below. Late tomorrow I’ll write a post linking you up and giving us all a reason to smile. Can you do that for me, please? Mahalo!

Technorati Tags: current events, good news, local stories

April 25, 2008

Sharing the Good Stuff

Sometimes we get so overwhelmed with the bad news that we forget that there are good things going on around us all the time. We can’t change the headlines, but we can seek out that which is good, that which is uplifting, that which shines with a positive radiance - the good stuff. I put out a special call for good stuff this week. I really needed some help because I’ve been sick for several weeks and haven’t even been up to searching the internet and watching the news for those special feel-good stories. My readers and friends have overwhelmed me with their responses! Here are some recent stories they wanted to share:

Karen found a heartwarming story that reminds us that there are good people in the world who will go out of their way to help someone out, even if their troubles aren’t life-and-death. The housekeeping staff of a Disney resort crawled around in garbage bins to retrieve some keepsake jewelry for a heartbroken couple. Mahalo for the smiles, Karen!

Dan Rua shared some good news about his daughter:

“When I came home last Friday, my 9yo daughter was printing business cards for her first startup company. Delaney’s Designs specializes in digitizing paper photos as problem/solution #1 and then creating various products from those digitized photos such as Family Photo Sites, Personalized Calendars, etc. She even has an April special: first 5 digitized photos free and digitizing $2 per 50 photos. As a startup investor, I couldn’t help but smile!” (Dan is a venture capitalist, and provided some of the early funding for PayPerPost, so you know he’s smiling ear to ear about this proof that his daughter is following in his footsteps!)

Dan is also promoting his Human Powered Cause Discovery, a way for you to get the word out about your favorite charities and causes. Make sure you check it out and let Dan know about the cause that is dear to your heart. Really good stuff! Mahalo, Dan!

Lisa shared some great news abour Dr. Lorna Stuart, who founded and operates a clinic for the uninsured, a cause that is dear to my heart. For those who don’t know, I can’t get medical coverage because I have a chronic condition. Dr. Stuart’s clinic can’t help me, but I applaud her for coming to the aid of others who, for whatever reason, have been shut out of the health care system. Mahalo, Lisa, for giving me and others hope that there may be an answer for us someday, too!

Valerie Joy has a wonderful weekly feature called Thurday Thank Yous. Mahalo, Valerie for reminding us that expressing our gratitude never goes out of style!

I was really glad to hear that my pal Val managed to have a phone conversation with her bother, recently deployed with the U.S. Navy. Mahalo for sharing that news, Val, and could you do me afavor? Next time you talk to him, tell him skeet says “Mahalo for all that you’re doing!”

I missed another great story that Val shared while I’ve been sick and not spending much time online. Read her account of a very special prom and the wonderful people who made it happen.

A special mahalo to all of you for sharing the Good Stuff. I’m feeling much better now!

Have you checked the back pages of your local paper lately? Do yourself a favor and make it a point to find the good news that never gets the bold headlines. Pick a news source anywhere in the world or something great you’ve found on the web. Better yet, share a heart-warming first-person moment that made you smile. Those little day-to-day moments that make us smile are the stuff of a happy life and worthy of sharing. Here’s your chance to recognize them for what they are and spread a little sunshine in the process. Make sure you send me a link when you’re moved to blog about something good going on. I’ll hook you up the next time we Share Some Good Stuff and then we can all feel a little better about what this world is coming to!

Technorati Tags: good news, current events, local stories, meme

April 24, 2008

I could really use some good stuff!

Yep, still sick. What is it now? Three weeks? Four? I can’t remember. I guess my immune system was battered and forlorn after the palgue. Now it’s allergies plus a sore throat and a really nasty cough from the vog. I’m better today than yesterday, though, so I’m seeing a little light at the end of the tunnel. I haven’t been watching the news or seeing anyone, so it’s a little difficult for me to find some good stuff to focus on. Maybe you guys could lend a hand? Tell me something good going on in your life, or something you heard on the news or found online that made you smile. You’ll be doing me a world of good, and I’ll write a post tomorrow linking you all up and telling you how much better you’ve made me feel. Just post your news below, with a link to your post if you’ve blogged it. You can do that for me, right? Yeah, I though so! I’ll try to find my own sunshine between now and then, too, because I’m sure there’s some somewhere, hiding behind a cloud just waiting for me to find it.

Technorati Tags: good news

April 17, 2008

New homes, new hope

There’s a building boom in my neighborhood. It’s been a long time coming. We were told many years ago that a vacant government tract adjacent to our homes was being transferred from military ownership to the Department of Hawaiian Homelands. There have been numerous brush fires there over the years. No one was interested in keeping out the schoolchildren who were starting the fires because the property was “in transition” and would soon be someone else’s problem. About a year and a half ago we were told that plans were finally being made to develop the property. A transitional housing project would be built to move several hundred homeless people off of the beaches. One and two-bedroom apartments, a daycare center, job training facilities and other community services would prepare them for reintegration into a more “normal” lifestyle than the one they were living. Homelessness is at crisis levels, so the project was fast-tracked and scheduled for completion in six to eight months.

Community hearings and government red tape delayed the start of the project, but several months ago we began seeing some activity. The area was cleared of brush and graded. Water has been run into the property. Just recently the building began and it’s moving along rapidly. We’ll soon be seeing new neighbors move in, probably before the end of the summer. There’s some controversy, of course. The value of our homes will probably take a hit. Additional phases of building have been tacked on, which many of us think will lead to the creation of a getto community. For right now, though, I see this first phase as a good thing. Druggies, the criminal element and those with mental problems, who make up a large percentage of the beach population, will not be eligible for this project. It’s reserved for families who have been squeezed out of the housing market by our ridiculously high cost of living. They’ll stay in the transitional center while the second phase of the project develops affordable housing for them. Some of them will have a roof over their heads for the first time in many years. Children who have never lived indoors will finally have real homes. Whatever the problems that we’ll all need to face later, what’s going on right now will provide the best kind of tangible help for people living in dire circumstances. I see that as cause for celebration.

Technorati Tags: Hawaii, homelessness, paverty, transitional housing

March 26, 2008

Termite inspectors find mummies

I’ve inspected thousands of buildings for termites in the last thirty years. Sometimes I find interesting things that I wasn’t expecting to find. Twice I’ve found large sums of money that had been misplaced. A few years ago I found a valuable collection of heirloom jewelry. Most of the really interesting stuff I’ve found has been in crawl spaces beneath buildings: old tools, handblown bottles, a perfect china teacup. I find a lot of guns in attics of vacant houses. People store them out of reach when their kids come along, then forget that about them when they move. My most interesting find to date was a horseshoe. It was nailed to a beam beneath a Garden District home in New Orleans. The beam had originally been directly beneath the front door of the house, but the home had been expanded over the years, so I was about twenty feet into the crawl space when I found it. The horseshoe and the single nail that held it in place were both handmade and badly corroded. They broke off in my hand when I touched them. I could see the nibs of two other nails in the beam, indicating that the horseshoe had originally been placed with the ends pointing up, to catch luck. It used to be common practice to do that above doors, but I’d never heard of anyone doing it in the nether regions below them. I gave the horseshoe and nail to the homewowner and she had then framed as a part of the home’s history.

It feels pretty good to return something that was lost, even when it wasn’t even known to exist. The things that I’ve found, though, are nothing compared to a recent discovery by termite inspectors in Sao Paulo, Brazil. While tying to track down an infestation in an old mosastery they found two mummies which are believed to be two hundred years old. I found a soundless video , but haven’t been abe to get it to post, so you’ll have to follow the link to see it. Somehow my horseshoe and heirloom jewelry don’t seem quite so special anymore.

Technorati Tags: mummies, odd news, termite inspections

March 21, 2008

Share Some Good Stuff

Sometimes we get so overwhelmed with the bad news that we forget that there are good things going on around us all the time. We can’t change the headlines, but we can seek out that which is good, that which is uplifting, that which shines with a positive radiance - the good stuff. Here are some recent feel-great stories:

Today is World Down Syndrome Day 2008. Val has posted her personal thoughts about why this day is needed. Make sure you take a moment to visit the photo montage she’s linked at the end of her post.

Lisa, the notorious Queen of Pith, is a Mets fan. Find out why she switched her loyalties and rooted for the Yankees this week.

If you’re my age, you probably remember the days when neighbors all knew and watched out for each other. There’s a young man on Oahu who was recently recognized for honoring that old tradition.

Have you checked the back pages of your local paper lately? Do yourself a favor and make it a point to find the good news that never gets the bold headlines. Pick a news source anywhere in the world or something great you’ve found on the web. Better yet, share a heart-warming first-person moment that made you smile. Did your youngest just bake a cake without parental interference? Did the smelly guy on the bus finally get a clue and clean up his act? Maybe your neighbor’s nut tree is hanging over your back fence and giving you all the free pecans you could ever want. Did someone give up their theater seating so you could sit next to your honey? Those little day-to-day moments that make us smile are the stuff of a happy life and worthy of sharing. Here’s your chance to recognize them for what they are and spread a little sunshine in the process. Make sure you send me a link when you’re moved to blog about something good going on. I’ll hook you up the next time we Share Some Good Stuff and then we can all feel a little better about what this world is coming to!

Technorati Tags: good news, current events, local stories, meme