So, It's July, it's hot, we're working double shifts to keep the tourists on their toes and relatively happy. Laughter is a must when the pressure mounts and the lines of customers thicken. Laughter is also a powerful and pervasive part of our lives, an important component of that behavioral bedrock of our species known as human nature.
Did you know that laughing acutally increases circulation and improves the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to body tissue? Humor evens lowers blood pressure and aids the immune system in doing its job properly and also wards off respiratory problems. Laughter reduces stress hormones, helps control pain by increasing endorphines, so go on, laugh away!
And while I have your attention as your sides are splitting with mirth (and gay abandon), open up your wallet and DONATE! We're nearly there, another measly 20 grand and we can laugh some more!
Today I'm chipping in once more 'cause it makes me feel good to support such a noble cause. Join me!
I have a few of my favorite quotes from some well known jokers, as for me, you can clearly see that I'm laughing on the inside! Which one Am I?
Before you go on reading these quotes, let me tell you what made my day today:
SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM: Judge, before I read a string of anonymous comments about your temperament problem, I’d like to make you repeat that wise Latina remark again just for the heck of it.
JUDGE SOTOMAYOR: Thank you, Senator, for the opportunity to revisit that matter. I appreciate that the man who once said he’d drown himself if North Carolina went for Obama has a special contribution to make when it comes to the importance of thinking before you speak.
Bang! smack right into yer face, Lindsay "I can buy 4 rugs for 10 bucks in the streets of Baghdad" Boyo. I love Ms Sotomayor, great lady, great wit...she'll make Scalia scarlet with retort envy!
I am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose. Woody Allen
At the height of laughter, the universe is flung into a kaleidoscope of new possibilities. Jean Houston
Total absence of humor renders life impossible. Colette
Laughter is by definition healthy. Doris Lessing
The most wasted of all days is one without laughter. e e cummings
If you don't learn to laugh at trouble, you won't have anything to laugh at when you're old. Edgar Watson Howe
Laugh at yourself first, before anyone else can. Elsa Maxwell
If we couldn't laugh, we would all go insane. Jimmy Buffett
Even if there is nothing to laugh about, laugh on credit. Unknown
Mirth is God's medicine. Everybody ought to bathe in it. Henry Ward Beecher
He who laughs, lasts! Mary Pettibone Poole
You don't stop laughing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop laughing. Michael Pritchard
Laughter is inner jogging. Norman Cousins
So many tangles in life are ultimately hopeless that we have no appropriate sword other than laughter. Gordon W. Allport
Laughter is the shortest distance between two people. Victor Borge
What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul. Yiddish Proverb
When people are laughing, they're generally not killing each other. Alan Alda
Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward. Kurt Vonnegut
A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book. Irish Proverb
There can never be enough said of the virtues, dangers, the power of a shared laugh. Françoise Sagan
Laughter is the corrective force which prevents us from becoming cranks. Henri Bergson
Dogs laugh, but they laugh with their tails. What puts man in a higher state of evolution is that he has got his laugh on the right end. Max Eastman
Remember, men need laughter sometimes more than food. Anna Fellows Johnston
With the fearful strain that is on me night and day, if I did not laugh I should die. Abraham Lincoln
Whoever said "laughter is the best medicine" never had gonorrhea. Kat Likkel and John Hoberg
Man, when you lose your laugh you lose your footing. Ken Kesey
It was not a laugh but merely a loud smile. Unknown
Seven days without laughter makes one weak. Mort Walker
A laugh is a smile that bursts. Mary H. Waldrip
Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face. Victor Hugo
Laughter is a tranquilizer with no side effects. Arnold Glasow
Laughter is an orgasm triggered by the intercourse of sense and nonsense. Unknown
We do have a zeal for laughter in most situations, give or take a dentist. Joseph Heller
Perhaps I know best why it is man alone who laughs; he alone suffers so deeply that he had to invent laughter. Friedrich Nietzsche
Now a word or two from our sponsors:
Our goal for Netroots For The Troops 2009 is $50,000.00 (cash or in-kind donations).
PLEASE DONATE HERE
We realize that you would like to donate something tangible to go inside the packages that will be mailed to the troops. Unfortunately, accepting in-kind donations from individuals is not practical in terms of storage and handling of the items. The Pittsburgh Convention Center is a union shop so we have more stringent rules that need to be followed. Instead, we will only be accepting corporate donations or cash from YOU to purchase items for the care packages this year.
Here’s how YOU can help:
- Please contact TexDem or DonnaMarie if you know someone who might be helpful in securing the corporate in-kind donations. To help you think of companies who could donate products, see below* for a list of potential items. Put your thinking caps on and let us hear from you. It takes time to get through the corporate processes so we need to hear from you ASAP!
- We are accepting cash from individuals and
beg ask that you DONATE HERE to contribute to this worthy cause. Your donation will enable us to purchase the things that we are unable to obtain through corporate donations, and will help to pay the costs of shipping them to our troops. This year your donations will be tax deductible, thanks to Netroots Nation and their partner Netroots Arts and Education Initiative, a California 501(c)3 corporation.
- Sign up for a diary! Our goal is to post two diaries per day until NN09. That’s a lot of diaries! Don’t worry---we’ve made it easy for you. We’ve got a template set up, and all you need to do is add a small introduction telling us why you are donating, sharing a story of someone you know who has served or is serving, or any other thing you want to share that might help motivate others to donate. Please contact Donnamarie if you are interested in posting a diary.
- Do you know a service member who would like to receive a care package? Email a request to: NFTT.request@gmail.com before July 31, 2009.
Please include all of the following information. Unfortunately we will not be able to process any incomplete requests:
Rank:
Last name:
First name:
APO Address Line 1:
APO Address Line 2:
APO Address Zip:
- Write letters to be included in the packages! Our own jlms qkw is collecting the letters and will print them out and bring them to Pittsburgh. Just email your letter to her jlms_qkw@yahoo.com. Look for more information from jlms qkw soon. If you need some ideas, rbutters wrote an excellent diary with tips on how to write letters to troops and why it’s so important to them.
- Help us assemble the packages in Pittsburgh. It's fun! More information will be forthcoming for those of you who are going to be in Pittsburgh and would like to help there.
- Please consider joining the NFTT FaceBook Group. Invite your FaceBook and non-FaceBook friends.
_____________________
*The following list contains some of the things we would like to include in the packages. Please let us know if you know someone who might be helpful in securing these corporate in-kind donations. (Please DO NOT send these items yourself! We have no way to accept them. Instead, your cash donation is the very best way to help make this happen on the ground in Pittsburgh.)
- Baby wipes
- Mechanix gloves
- LED flashlights
- Gel shoe insoles
- Goop Cleaning Gel
- Powdered energy drinks
- Gel energy food packets
- DVDs and CDs
- Letters to the soldiers
- More suggestions coming soon
Books for Soldiers
Soldiers love to receive books, but due once again to the logistics of collecting and storing them prior to NN09, books will not be included in the packages that NFTT will put together this year. Other organizations are more specialized in the collection and distribution of books to Iraq and Afghanistan. If you are interested in sending books, please consider checking out the Books for Soldiers Website. It is run by DKos's very own StormBearand is a great resource for giving.
Important Note about Successful Online Donations
PLEASE DONATE HERE
When you make your online donation, the screen indicates that you are donating to Netroots Nation. This is the right screen! Rest assured all donations WILL go to NFTT. If you wish, feel free to use the comment area provided to note that your donation is intended for Netroots For The Troops. It isn’t necessary to do this however, as this is the only fundraising activity being conducted for Netroots Nation at this time. For further information about online donations, please read TexDem's diary on the subject.
Update 07/08/09
We have our first deep discount of a product. Our LED pinch-light flashlight. Princeton Tec, through Hit the Trail Wilderness Gear and Nature Goods, a hiking store in Newnan GA, are providing us a discount for the top of the line "Impulse".
If you need hiking gear, please support Robbie Hinley online via, Hit the Trail. Spread the word.