Pass It On

Recent stories that have inspired me:

• Before his swim meet on Dec. 7 had even started, Florida swimmer Josh Zuchowski, 9, decided he was not only going to compete in honor of his biggest rival, but also win the top trophy in the event and give it to him. Zuchowski had not seen his friendly rival, Reese Branzell, 10, from Lake Lytle, Fla., since he had been hospitalized November 8 with a bacterial infection in his hip.
• College football kicker Cade Foster received a lot of hate messages. Recently he missed three field goal attempts in his team’s stunning loss to Auburn. Former President George W. Bush wanted to encourage the athlete. The President, our 43^rd,  told Foster, whose jersey number is also 43, that he will be "a stronger human with time.” He said, “Life has its setbacks. I know!"
• Tracy Murphy, the librarian at Arapahoe High School was the target of the recent shooting rampage near Denver, Colorado. He ran out of school to lead the shooter away from the students.
• My mother was walking in the mall and saw an angel Christmas tree. All of the angels designated for kids had been taken by others. However, there were several left on the tree for senior citizens. When she removed one from the tree, it said that a man needed a sweatshirt and pants to keep warm. She bought one. After she left the store she was concerned about what would he wear if he spilled something on it and it needed to be washed. She went back to the store and bought him a second one.
• My friend, Kathy, visited her daughter’s in-laws in Lebanon, Indiana during Thanksgiving, immediately after the big tornado ravaged the area. They offered to help the victims, but there was such an outpouring of volunteers that descended upon the area that they were told that their assistance was not needed at this time.

Encouraging people to give is something that I enjoy, especially when it is easy for them to do. At a dinner with friends on Saturday, I told everyone about Gallo Family Vineyards giving $5 per cork to Meals on Wheels. One person said in jest that they had saved corks for many years and soon that they may have to move to a bigger house to accommodate their corks.

Today’s gift was to help my friends give by emailing the Gallo information so that they can send their used corks before Dec. 31st. This will benefit people who are home bound to get the nourishment that they need. Let corks inspire you too.

In Giving and Passing It Along,

Robin