Thursday Sept. 17th

Sorry I have been so slammed this past week.  It was a very event filled week indeed. I exhibited at the Best Bead Show's Fall Tucson event & shared a booth with the amazing Margaret Zinser. The weekend's highlight was a glorious event at Sonoran Glass for Beads of Courage on Saturday night.

Beads of Courage is a group that assists kids living and dealing with catastrophic illness' and through the therapy of beads and creating necklaces as each patient goes through each stage of treatment. Terri Caspary Schmidt & I donated a Flying Heart Bead (Terri made that) with a Fine Silver bail and chain. (made that part…) A group of local artists that I am involved with all got together and each of them gave me a handful of charms or glass beads that each had made & wire wrapped them & put them on a fine silver chain as well. Each piece brought in bids that will provide funds for this AMAZING Charity.
Donate please… it is a worthy cause.

Monday was crazy busy with packing for my trip to Toronto. I am actually taking 4 days away and I am not gonna work all that much. I am tired and need a break. Terri & I are going to take in a few films at the Toronto International Film Fest and do some serious shopping and antiquing. This is a much needed break and I am looking forward to these few days immensely.

I stopped for a number of minutes & took in Sept 11th this year and looked at all that has happened in our world since that day. Our country is almost completely unrecognizable to me, it just does not seem like it is even remotely the same place. Why are we angrier and meaner as a nation? Where has our civility gone? I remember the 60 to 90 days right after that awful day and people driving were courteous, kind, away and I had never heard so many pleases, thank you's, excuse me's, pardon me's or kind responses in return. Doors were opened for others, seats were relinquished for others and if the person behind you in line at the grocery store had one item in comparison to your cartfull you let them check out before of you.

It takes nothing to be kind, smile, say a nice word to a stranger. These things are easy, these things make you and the other person feel good but more importantly, these acts are contagious. Kindness begets kindness and a smile begets a smile. It is my humble opinion, but I feel that the general uncivil nature that we have witnessed of late, (especially during our Presidents address to Congress..) is a direct and fearful reaction to a man that epitomizes civility, grace and an understanding that these are necessary requirements for our nation to maintain our stature. We have lost this understanding during the last administration and we are struggling to understand why we no longer have the respect that we once engendered. We, as a nation, cannot expect the respect of the world if we do not offer these niceties to our own citizens or our own leaders. 

I have tried to live my life over these past few years by making a conscious choice to be nice to those around me, to the strangers that I encounter and to be a courteous citizen of the world. I have found that a smile, just a simple smile, can disarm and a kind act can be greeted with amazement. I love to see these reactions and I just hope that in return the kindness that was shown can be sent out into the world and spread unchecked.

I am enjoying these few days off and I have, for the first time in years, have very limited access to the internet. It is an interesting phenomenon to wake and not be able to grab my laptop to check out the happenings of the world, check out the long list of blogs that I follow or to interact with my FaceBook  world.

In closing… please remember that silly little thing call the Golden Rule... The Ethic of Reciprocity... Do unto others....can we all try to remember what it means to be nice to others, to be kind and to occasionally open a door for a stranger. You will feel better for it and who knows… it just may catch on…that would not suck at all.