" I am thankful for tomorrow."
In the past, before sitting down to dinner on Thanksgiving Day, my family wrote links for a paper chain describing the things we were thankful for. We brought it out each year to reminisce and add to it.
While there is satisfaction in the reflection of the past, on Thanksgiving Day thinking about how to improve the world we share seems more appropriate. I am thankful for the Overpass Light Brigade and the Solidarity Singers, and Occupy and Dreamers, but what can I do to have some kind of impact and make the world a better place?
As you can see by Itzl's concerned look, this group is for us to check in at to let people know we are alive, doing OK, and not affected by such things as heat, blizzards, floods, wild fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, power outages, or other such things that could keep us off DKos. It's also so we can find other Kossacks nearby for in-person checks when other methods of communication fail - a buddy system. Members come here to check in. If you're not here, or anywhere else on DKos, and there are adverse conditions in your area (floods, heatwaves, hurricanes, etc.), we and your buddy are going to check up on you. If you are going to be away from your computer for a day or a week, let us know here. We care!
IAN is a great group to join, and a good place to learn to write diaries. Drop one of us a PM to be added to the Itzl Alert Network anytime! We all share the publishing duties, and we welcome everyone who reads IAN to write diaries for the group! Every member is an editor, so anyone can take a turn when they have something to say, photos and music to share, a cause to promote or news!
Ok, we do have a diary schedule. But, when you are ready to write that diary, either post in thread or send FloridaSNMOM a Kosmail with the date. If you need someone to fill in, ditto. FloridaSNMOM is here on and off through the day usually from around 9:30 or 10 am eastern to around 11 pm eastern.
Monday:
BadKitties
Tuesday:
bigjacbigjacbigjac
Wednesday:
Caedy
Thursday:
weck
Friday:
FloridaSNMOM
Saturday:
broths
Sunday:
loggersbrat
I have always felt compelled to be helpful, to "be of use". My endeavors need to be small and manageable and meld with what I already accomplish in retirement. I am and will always be shy of public notice, but I think I know something new that I can do.
I have a big garden, and it can produce more food than I need. My partner always wants me to sell the excess, but since it as organic as I can make it, the food is not always pretty enough to sell. I don't want to keep business records for a food business either, I have plenty of paperwork as it is.
I am thinking of a free food stand instead. I was inspired by the signs I saw on the shelves of the Okiciyap Pantry; "Take only what you need".
I have seen these small roadside stands in my region, and each one had a place for a donation to a cause or included a religious tract. I don't want to have to supervise money, I only want to give the food to someone who needs it. So, I will put up information asking anyone with means to donate to the Okiciyap Pantry, but that the produce is still free.
Our local pantries are not enthusiastic about perishable donations, and would prefer cash so they can fill out their stocks of donated items. There is a church down at the corner which will may allow me to post a sign, but so far they don't seem to have a food mission. They are adding on, so maybe they will have one someday. As long as they don't try to get me to join anything, I can work with them.
So, looking forward, I am thankful that I can do something to make the world a better place to be. And I ask you, are you planning anything that you can be thankful for?