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Mid-Month Marvels: Lions Recycle for Sight
What does the Lions Club do with our old glasses?
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The Darker Side of Philanthropy
The rich have their reasons.
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Dedicated Drawbridge Openings
As a bridgetender, I have the privilege of operating one of the world’s biggest pieces of heavy equipment every single day. It never gets old. A friend of mine likes to say that with my index finger, I move hundreds of thousands of pounds of concrete and steel. I try not to let this power…
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The Giving Gift
A dear friend of mine gave me the best Christmas gift ever this year. It was a card. A simple card. But inside, it said, “In the spirit of the season, a night of housing, hot meals, and hope at the Sulzbacher Center were given, in your honor, to a homeless man, woman or child.”…
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Artistic Collaboration and Then Some
A friend of mine recently told me about a delightful collaboration. Two very different groups came together to create the beautiful piece shown below, which was then auctioned off to raise money for Seattle Children’s Hospital. I’ll let them speak for themselves. “This piece of art is the blossom of a relationship between two groups…
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Where Does Charity Begin?
The other day I was on my way to volunteer to serve lunch at a soup kitchen with some friends. I’ve done this before, and found it to be a gratifying experience. I was really looking forward to doing it again. But while waiting for my friends, a homeless woman came by, looked at me,…
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How Microloans Change Lives
I just opened my drawbridge for the Boeing Corporate Yacht. That thing is probably worth 3 million dollars. And it will most likely be coming back through in less than an hour. Every time I do this, I can’t help but think that the money they are spending just on fuel for that one little…
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Noblesse Oblige
Every morning I open my drawbridge for a yacht that is worth over three million dollars. It costs $15,000 every time he fills the gas tank. I could probably sell one of its teak doors for more than I earn in a week. And yet the guy never even says thank you when I get…
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Charity Chicken: Anti-Dignity and Ways to Counteract It
Happy Independence Day, America! I’ve chosen to write about a topic that goes hand in hand with independence: Dignity. My mother was a single mom in an era when that was not only less acceptable, but also not as workable. Daycare wasn’t as widely available, and women were often relegated to the most menial low-paying…
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My Crunchy Granola Epiphany
Last night at about 4 a.m., alone at work and struggling to stay awake, I had an epiphany, and now I’m looking at the world in an entirely different way. Before I present you with my concept, let me say that I’m quite sure this theory didn’t originate with me. There are plenty of crunchy…