Sunday, March 6, 2011

Thoughts - amazing things

The past few weeks have flown by.  We haven't had any notable meals, so I haven't posted any recipes.  I'm actually in North Carolina right now.  I didn't expect to make this trip, but our good friend, Martha Yount, died this week and we came up to see if we can be of any help to her husband, Albert.  Martha had breast cancer and her treatments had weakened her to the point that when she developed some pneumonia, she wasn't able to fight it off.  It's amazing how fast she declined.  We are all in shock. 

We drove up yesterday and it rained, rained, rained the whole way.  What a drag.  I couldn't believe how many one-car accidents we saw along I-40.  I guess they were going too fast for the road conditions, hydroplaned, and lost control.  Two of the cars were upside down.  I hope no one was seriously injured.  It's amazing that people are in such a hurry that they would risk their lives to save a few minutes.

Currently in my Search class we're reading selections from Greek and Roman writers.  It's amazing how people don't change.  I swear that you could substitute modern names for the Greek and Roman ones and you would think that you're reading current headlines!

Over the last couple of weeks, I did interim site visits with a number of the agencies that the Women's Foundation of Greater Memphis funds.  It's amazing to see the amount of good work that goes on in our city that the vast majority of people never hear about.

Speaking of volunteers, there's an organization that calculates the value of a volunteer hour.  The 2009 value is $20.85!  You can check it out at http://www.independentsector.org/.  I was putting together some statistics for Master Gardeners and learned that, nationally, in 2009 MG volunteers numbered about 95,000 and total hours given to communities were 5.2 million.  Total value:  $108,369,400!!  Can you even imagine the total value of all of the volunteer hours given all over the United States?  It's amazing.

We went to see Rango Friday night.  Loved it!  The animation was amazing.  Have you ever stopped to think how many hours of enjoyment you receive from movies?  Aren't we so lucky that there are so many creative and talented people who have chosen to devote their gifts to this medium?

What's amazing in your life?

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