Stop Hatred...Pass It On...

SHOW LOVE AND COMPASSION FOR HUMANITY - PASS IT ON!

The following are the thoughts of great minds and this link is to a great song.

"Let no man pull you so low as to hate him."
Martin Luther King Jr.

"Hate has caused a lot of problems in the world, but has not solved one."
Maya Angelou

"Racism is man's gravest threat to man - the maximum of hatred for the minimum of reason."
Abraham Joshua Herchel

"All the war propaganda, all the screaming lies and hatred, comes invariably from those who are not fighting."
George Orwell

"Why is propaganda so much more successful when it stirs up hatred than when it tries to stir up friendly feelings?"
Bertrand Russell

"If you and I are having a single thought of violence or hatred against anyone in the world at this moment, then we are contributing to the wounding of the world."
Deepak Chopra

"Lord make me an instrument of thy peace.  Where there is hatred, let me sow love."
St. Francis of Assisi

There comes a time when good people must no longer sit on a fence, rather we must step down from that fence and cast our voice and our actions into action and reality.  The reality that we are all connected and must join our energy together for the betterment of humanity.

How We Dress And Our Age

When we were youngsters, we used to dress to impress.  Then after we settle in and settle down with our lives, loved ones or careers, dressing for impressing becomes a thing of the past, unless we are going out to someplace special.  Over the summer, I've had coworkers come right into work from staying on the beach with their families and then come into work, put on their uniform and get to work.

However, just this weekend, one of my coworkers came in wearing something, that none of us could figure out.  Are these shorts, or pants that got shrunk?  Or a combination of both - shants?  Those shoes...are they loafers, boots?  Or a combo of both and lets just call them boafers?  The socks...well...they just go with the shoes.

Many thanks to my coworker for allowing me to take this picture and saying that it was okay to publish.  Everyone in the office had a nice laugh and he came into work on a weekend day dressed as comfortable as he wanted to be.  That's the way it should be.  Unless of course...you're dressing to impressing...

Egg Creams Found!

Not too long ago, I reminisced about Egg Cream drinks.  Well, it too me some weeks, but I ventured out to a homemade ice cream store on Long Island and found a place that still makes them.  I posted the picture above on Facebook and immediately received comments from friends about places in Ridgewood, Queens that used to make them, as well as current places in Bayside, Queens that still make them.  It was pretty amazing of how such a little picture produced an immediate reaction and responses.

If you know of any other places that still make good, authentic style Egg Creams, please do share the information with me/us here.  I'm sure that others out there, young and old would enjoy the taste of a good old fashioned Egg Cream drink.

Thanks!

First Contact...

So...I did manage a first contact with a long lost cousin.  He was a cousin that my mother used to babysit.  Then due to some unfortunate reasons his mother had to break up with my uncle and move to another borough and then another part of the state.  I sent him a second text message, since I had not heard from him from my first message.  I basically said that we weren't responsible for the mistakes of the adults who made us.  What we were responsible for was for having knowledge that each other existed and not at least reaching out and that perhaps a phone call could heal some wounds in our past on both sides.

He called me within 3 minutes.  Our conversation and the emotions were overwhelming.  He immediately called my mother, because he had not spoken to her since he was a child.  She cried, as I told him that she would.  Then he called me back and I let him know how I had felt about everything that had happened at the time that our family fractured.  There were a lot of wounds there.  None of it our fault.  He knew the names and locations of several lost cousins.  He asked if I was planning a reunion.  All I could say was perhaps, if that's what everyone wanted to do.  But for now, it was just great to reconnect wit him.  The last time I spoke with him, I believe I was 13 and he was maybe 2 or 3 years old.  Sadly, both of his parents and his younger brother have passed on.  He has his own family, a wife and kids.  But now he will never ever be alone again.

As heartwarming as that was, it appears that the female cousin rejected my message and Facebook friendship offering.  I'm pretty sure that she is related to me.  All information points in that direction.  Then there was another cousin down in GA, who may not even realize that when his mother left NYC...she was moving him just hours closer to where his father's side of the family originated.  It will be interesting to see if he reaches back out to me.