Inspiration

Born June 27, 1880

From Anniversaries and Holidays: A Calendar of Days and How to Observe Them (Mary E. Hazeltine, American Library Association, Chicago, 1965).  

American lecturer and writer, blind and deaf since infancy; the inspiration of countless handicapped people throughout the world.

[Photo from Pushing to the Front Volume II by Orison Swett Marden, The Success Company, Petersburg, N.Y., 1911. More on Marden here.]

There was an inspiring story in this week's newspaper as well.

Two fellows-- one, Rob "Bobcat" Robinson, from around here, and the other, Gillian Anderson, from Kansas-- have formed a nonprofit organization, Forever Outdoors. According to the front page story, "Their goal is to help people overcome obstacles that stand between them and outdoor experiences." Their first project is a "'wounded warriors' deer hunting trip to Anderson's place in Kansas for five soldiers who were severely injured in combat." 

The organization is accepting donations to fund the trip and hunt, but Robinson said one of the main needs is for someone to volunteer to take the wounded warriors to Kansas in a motorhome. The hunt is set for Sept. 13-21 and Robinson said it is about 1,000 miles to Alexander's property.

Should you wish to make a donation, make your checks payable to "Forever Outdoors." The weekly newspaper published Robinson's home address, his phone number, and email. 

Should you really wish to make a donation, the email is i hunt ks but just one string, no spaces, at yahoo and then a period mark and then "com."

Inspirational, no? Well, yes. But that's not the most inspirational part. 

I remember reading the back story last December. Unfortunately, December's papers were put to other uses here on the farm and I no longer have them. Here's what is reported now, supplemented with some memory.

The two first met in 2008, when Robinson began turkey hunting on Alexander's land in Kansas. As I recall, it was a formal arrangement-- they'd never met, didn't hunt together and so on. But over a few years they got to know one another. Geeze. I wish I could find the December write-up but the newspaper doesn't have their full archives online. What's in this week's paper I hope will give you a sense of inspiration:

Alexander, who had been fighting a kidney disease for about 20 years, was on kidney dialysis treatment by 2011 and badly in need of a transplant.

Robinson, who is a firefighter with the Starkville Fire Department, decided he would check to see if he could help and discovered his kidney was a match. After Alexander was cleared last year to receive a transplant from Robinson, the transplant was successfully completed on Nov. 26 at Kansas University Hospital.

Both men now say they want to give back because of their blessings, resulting in their decision to launch Forever Outdoors. Robinson said he has always wanted to start a hunting business — not for the money but to give back. Alexander, out of gratitude for his friendship and his kidney donation, told Robinson he wanted to help him.

“Both of us have been so blessed we wanted to give something back,” Alexander said Tuesday from his Kansas home. “We hope to be able to help people who can’t enjoy the outdoors (including kidney patients).”

Inspiration.

Robinson and Alexander and a dog

Kettle's on the Boil

When Miss M and I left the farm at about 11am the water was back on. Sure, the pressure wasn't up to snuff, but that's to be expected.

When we returned we still had water, of a certain sort.

Boiled water for washing dishes and such

When I inquired about the water situation at about 4:45pm-- ours was looking a little brownish-- the nice lady at the Small Town Mississippi City Offices asked where I lived. Sure enough, this part of the county is under a Boiled Water Advisory.

Now, wouldn't you know that last week I proclaimed we needed to use some of our bottled water before it got stale. (It does that, you know.) So we have all been diligently using bottled water to make coffee and to boil pasta and whatnot. 

Not to worry. We've got plenty. And Miss M is going to go visit Daughter C in Starkvegas tomorrow-- Miss M prefers to wash her hair in clear water-- so she can pick up some more gallons after she does the one load of laundry Mr. Big Food asked me to do in his absence. (That's okay, isn't it, C?)

You can never have too many gallons of water on hand. 

The nice lady at the City Offices told me the boiled water advisory should be lifted by Wednesday. That's good, because Kat & Tony arrive Thursday and they like water. 

Meanwhile... . Did I mention that Nigel's house burnt to the ground about a week ago? 

Another Take on Giving

Since I posted about "How America Gives" earlier today, the World Wide Web has been awash in "analyses" and "commentary." One thing seems to me to be conspicuously missing. 

One of the limitations of the survey is its reliance of data from Schedule A, itemized deductions. I see this as unavoidable and, in all but the most uncommon circumstances, as not being especially consequential. Another limitation is the complete lack of knowledge of the recipients of charitable giving at every level (nationally, state, locale). Again, unavoidable given the nature of the data set, but that shouldn't stop us from putting on our thinking caps.

Most striking to the pundits, et al. is the relatively high proportion of discretionary income given to charity by folks making  $50,000 - 99,000 versus those in higher brackets. Religion vs. Godless greedy bastards? Conservationism vs. Liberal greedy bastards? Rural vs. Godless Liberal greedy City Mice? To be sure, there are many correlations to explore before anyone should start talking about causality.

Here's one-- one which my father often said-- I haven't seen mentioned: "There but for the Grace of God go I."

http://www.cherylteague.net/images/disasters.gif

Severe storms, tornadoes, and hurricanes account for nearly one-half of all disasters in the United States. Floods, a probable consequence of those storms, account for-- what would you say?-- 3/4 of 1/2? 

Big rain events create disaster.

And where do folks who give live? 

Giving

"It's purple on the map!"

The Chronicle of Philanthropy today released "How America Gives," its report on charitable giving in the United States. Fascinating stuff.

Although some of the content is behind a pay-wall, what's freely available online is more than enough to keep you busy. The report is searchable by state, county, zip code, city, income level and so on. 

For example, according to the report* residents of my little county donated $2,000,000 to charity in 2008 (most recent data available). That represented 8.8% of the median discretionary income of $39,505. This is significantly more than the national average of 4.7% of the much larger median national discretionary income of $54,783. 

As a state, Mississippi ranks only behind Utah in giving. But what would you expect from a bunch of fat lazy folk who aren't even smart enough to hold onto their own money?

Discretionary income ≥ $200,000, giving = 3.8%

*The methods section is also available online. It has a few caveats about the way the data were collected and analyzed. E.g., Data are from 2008 tax returns but only those returns with itemized deductions.

Because you can never have too many copies of the Declaration of Independence,

I bought two more yesterday.

$4.63 to the children; $0.32 to the state

I love The Palmer House Thrift Store where every penny I spend except those that go to the Sovereign State of Mississippi goes to The Palmer Home for Children in Columbus, Mississippi. I buy a lot of books there.

Palmer Home for Children is today an independent institution governed by an unpaid, volunteer Board of Directors. But we are proud of our Presbyterian heritage and maintain close ties with Presbyterian and other churches as well as interested friends concerned about family breakup and the plight of fatherless children.

[Incidentally, according to Off the Beaten Path Mississippi,  Mississippians give more per capital to charity than citizens of any other state. I tried to verify this independently but was not able to do so. It does make sense, though, given Mississippians' acquaintance with tornadoes and hurricanes, and our tendency to go to church. As my father would often say, "There but for the Grace of God go I."

Oh look. It's raining.]

The Palmer Thrift Store was having a 1/2 price sale on books! And yes, that is Ronald Regan who once said,

... On my way to the hall, a fellow recognized me and asked what I was doing in Las Vegas.... I told him what I was here for, and he said, "What are a bunch of farmers doing in Las Vegas?" I couldn't resist. I said, "Buster, they are in a business that makes a Las Vegas crap table look like a guaranteed annual income!" --Remarks to state officers of the Future Farmers of America, July 29, 1987

From The Quotable Ronald Regan compiled and edited by Peter Hannaford, copyright 1998 published by Regnery Publishing, Inc. It's for Mr. Big Food's bookshelf.

Lydia Pickham is Her Name (1949) is not a work of fiction! 

Pot Luck Charity

If you tried to hold a series of potluck dinners where a majority brought nothing to the table, but felt entitled to eat their fill, it would probably work out badly.

So says Glenn Reynolds (a.k.a., Instapundit) in today's Washington Examine. In his article, Reynolds is commenting on  Charles Sykes new book, A Nation Of Moochers: America’s Addiction To Getting Something For Nothing.

~~

This past Friday evening our local Baptist Church held its annual "chicken, deer, quail supper." It's a pot luck thing. A handful of men coordinate the chicken, deer, and quail. Everyone else brings something or otherwise participates. (As a strategy, it works.) I knew about the Supper before I saw it in the newspaper because Nancy at the United States Post Office told me. She invited us to come. [We don't go to Church as often as we should.] She also told me that this year, the proceeds would go to benefit a late middle-aged man at the Church who has just been diagnoses with pancreatic cancer. His wife works with Nancy at the Post Office.

We've been to the chicken, deer, quail supper and we brought a dish-- broccoli corn bread if I am not mistaken. Talk about delicious (both the supper and the cornbread). The Supper is the Big Food Manual writ large! You can get carry out plates. :-)

But what with feeling badly about not having gone to Church in a while, and with Remy coming and not knowing Remy well enough then-- before Friday-- to know if  he would enjoy a chicken, deer, quail pot luck supper at the Local Baptist Church, we opted not to go.

The next time I was in the United States Post Office, I wrote out a check and gave it to Nancy. She called the Church to make sure I should make the check out to the Church, with the man's name on the notation line.

The paper came Thursday. (I know it's Sunday evening, but I'm a little behind.) Turns out, he has a lot of friends.

Guns & Dogs & Humans

From Hot Air:

Listen to this advertisement and you’ll reasonably assume that what’s for sale is something forlorn, lonely, cute and cuddly … a stray puppy, perhaps.

“They’ve been mistreated and misunderstood for generations,” the ad begins. “Abusive owners have done severe damage and given these beautiful creatures a bad reputation.”

That’s how it’s supposed to sound. The owner of PRK Arms in Fresno, Calif., brainstormed this brilliant way to sell guns — and, so far, it’s worked.

[snip]

“You can make a difference by giving a gun a loving home,” the ad says. “These guns want nothing more than to adore and protect you. So, please, have a heart. … PRK Arms has the kinds of guns that need a loving home more than anything else — like AK-47s, Glocks and the biggest selection of AR-15s in Fresno.” [my emphasis]

Video here.

From The Complete Dog Book: The History and Standard Breeds Admitted to AKC Registration, and the Training, Feeding, Care and Handling of Pure Bred Dogs; Copyright 1961 by the American Kennel Club:

Staffordshire Terrier

In mentioning the gameness of the Staffordshire, it is not the intention to tag him as a fighting machine, or to praise this characteristic. These points are discussed because they are necessary in giving the correct origin and history of the breed. The good qualities of the dogs are many, and it would be difficult for anyone to overstress them. ... As to character, they exceed being dead game; nevertheless they should not be held in ill repute merely because man has been taking advantage of this rare courage to use them in the pit as gambling tools. These dogs are docile, and with a little training are even tractable around other dogs. They are intelligent, excellent guardians, and they protect their masters' property with an air of authority that counts; they easily discriminate between strangers who mean well and those who do not. (p. 234) [my emphasis]

An obedient young pit bull

Daughter C got Rocky when he was five or six months old. He was healthy and hadn't been abused. But he had been tied to a tree-- all day every day. There were many problems with that living arrangement, not the least of which was Rocky's vulnerability to humans with bad intentions. Just last year three pit bulls were seized and a man was arrested on felony dog fighting charges in the town where Rocky was tied to a tree.

A docile young pit bull

To paraphrase: You can make a difference by giving a gun dog a loving home. These guns dogs want nothing more than to adore and protect you. So, please, have a heart.  

Bronwen Dickey has a nice article in the latest issue of Garden and Gun about pit bulls.

~~

Some stats on pit bull fighting in Mississippi below the fold. 

Christmas is coming!

Christmas is coming,

The geese are getting fat.

Please put a penny in the old man's hat.

If you haven't got a penny, a half a penny will do.

If you haven't got a half a penny, then God Bless you.

The best I've been able to find regarding the origin of this nursery rhyme is this:

The music to Christmas is Coming was composed by Edith Nesbit Bland in the late nineteenth century. The author of the lyrics is unknown but the popularity of this traditional Christmas song is handed down from generation to generation in the form of a nursery rhyme. The words of Christmas is coming reflects the Christmas festival of celebration of being a time of plenty but that charity should be given to the less fortunate according to the giver's means!

Christmas is coming. My family and I will be enjoying more than our "fair" share of fine food and drink in the next few weeks. We are blessed. I'll be stopping in at the Piglet* today to pick up some things for others who are less fortunate. I'll drop them off at the county extension office.

~~

We call our local Piggly Wiggly the "Piglet." Some of the fellows who take our groceries out to the truck will say say good bye by saying, "Have a blessed day." Christine at the Dollar General says the same.