Sears Unsung Heroes,  dads making a difference,   a national contest will be rewarding $30,000 plus $3000 in tools to the winner.     Charles Muller from Rensselaer, N.Y. has spent years helping needy children in Albany N.Y..    Here is an exert from the nominating essay written by his son:

“My dad knew there were also children living on the south side of the city that were hungry, so he built a bigger center that would not only feed children, but help clothe, mentor and tutor them.”                                     Read full text here.

You can help by casting a vote for Pastor Charles Muller. The contest ends July 30th.    Also you may vote once a day.   Please help him to continue helping these needy children!   Please,  it will only cost you a minute of your time.

Vote for Charles Muller   here  and help him to continue his great work.  

Thank you!    Have a great day!

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.                          ~Anne Frank

Sears Unsung heroes,  dad’s making a difference is a national contest.   There is a $30.000 prize reward, $3000 in tools  and more  that would be used for the inner city youth  of Albany, N.Y.  if Pastor Muller wins.   He’s in second place, behind by about 500 votes.  

Please click on Charles Muller’s  photo  here   to read the short essay written by his son about the wonderful things this man has done for youth in need.  He is a local hero.   Don’t forget to cast your vote for him while you are there!   

There are five days left to vote. You can cast as vote once a day if you wish.    (We sure hope you do!    Please, won’t you help?  It will only take a minute of your time. 

Thanks,  hope you all have a wonderful day!

A Vote for Charles Muller is a vote for children in need!

The morning began beautiful and peaceful.   After my early morning walk I sat on the deck with my coffee and writing tablet.   My camera sat within reach.   I glanced up as movement on the grass at the edge of the road stretched out before me,  caught my attention.  It was only Chelsea, the young calico cat who lives next door on her leisurely jaunt to the wild flower patch which grows beyond the mailboxes.   At that moment a  silver truck turned the corner and slowly advanced down the  opposite side of the road.   I watched as Chelsea advanced slowly on her side.    The numberous cats residing here seem to take caution on the roads even though most people living here drive slowly and obey the posted 10mph speed limit.   This is a quiet place to live and we have been very  pleased since moving here a year ago.    I watched the slow-moving truck and cat and  became totally shocked when the truck  turned and headed straight toward the unsuspecting cat.    I jumped out of my chair spilling my coffee ready to run to the cat.    I am not sure if my sudden movement caught the eye of the driver or not, but within inches of the cat, the truck slowly turned back away from the cat and proceeded down the right side of the road.   I stood there stunned as he turned the corner in front of me.     This looked like a deliberate case of someone trying to injure or kill a cat!         My shock turned to outrage,  when I realized the truck stopped two doors away,  next door to the cat’s owner.     I didn’t recognize the truck, but the person that lives there may have gotten a new one while we were away.   He works nights and returns home just before 7am.  It was 6:45 am when this incident took place.    

 I don’t know why, but I took a photo of the back of the truck and license plate.    I couldn’t get any other shots as the hedges were in the way.    This neighbor had been friendly towards the 83 yr. old cat owner until she started letting her two cats go outside when they turned a year old.     My calico cat was hit by a vehicle about a month ago and it cost us plenty to have her taken care of.  I’ve also noted various signs posted lately for missing cats.   Coincidence?  I have my doubts.   I am going to stay vigilant and try to keep an eye out for any more incidents.

Normally my early morning walks beneath the pines along the water’s edge would set my mind swirling, encompassing the beauty and life around me easing any stress that might have traveled with me to the cabin. Upon returning to the cabin I would grab my writing paper and fresh brewed coffee and begin jotting my thoughts down. This had not happened all week. The beauty of the time and place embraced me with a peacefulness and shield that blocked any incoming thoughts of the time before arriving or what was to come when I left. I seemed to see my surroundings but I didn’t feel the energy and stimulation from them that I normally do. My normal reactions to the marvelous mountains and nature’s wonders around me was missing. I wasn’t sad, nor joyous or contemplative. I was just there. When this realization hit me, I couldn’t help but wonder what was wrong with me.

I am often sad to leave the lake. This time I had no feelings about returning home. As we headed south I felt like something was awakening in me. I felt calm and peaceful ready to face anything.

Despite colder than normal temperatures, some drizzly days and high winds, last week turned out to be one of most relaxed vacations I have ever had!  

It’s been a long and challenging road since I retired early a couple of years ago.    I had suggested to the spouse that we could move far enough away when he retired so that our so-called adult children could not bother us.  Well,  we moved, but we’re still in the same area.    So much for distance.   

I have a tight schedule again today.   A doctor’s appointment at 8am and then court at 11am.   Supposedly I will be made legal guardian for “R,” my grandson.    Sometime today I need to finish packing.  We are going to the Adirondacks to a cabin on a lake for a week.    I have a couple good books and my writing paper all packed.   I plan on relaxing!   Hopefully my mind will find a peaceful flow once again and I will have time to post here when I return after July 3rd.

Unlike Father

My father always said

“You should,  you could,

I won’t,  but you will,”

live the dreams he never would.

Six plus decades embedded in time,

they belong to me

they are all mine.

I can sit here and say,

“I should have,

I could have”

but I didn’t so I won’t.

MLB

@2/23/2010

It is not the duty of a parent to force his dreams and goals on their children, but to guide them to make the best choices to further their own dreams. MB

                                              Wrapped in the solitude

                                              of the dark early morn,

                                              trying to catch thoughts

                                              that easily flow

                                              before others wake

                                              and invasive demands

                                              make me feel unglued.

                                             4 am, a hot cup of tea

                                             no one over my shoulders,

                                             it’s time out for just

me,

                     me,

                                    me!

MB

@2/20/2010

Solitude, is a state of being alone, but not lonely. It is a time we chose for ourselves to take a break from the demands of survival in a world and life that spins faster and faster everyday.

Solitude gives us time to explore our selves and to cultivate our passions, resolve inner conflicts and regain perspective.

Solitude is a time when we can gather our thoughts or deeply enjoy something of great beauty such as nature, or become completely immersed in a good book without interruption and outside influence.

Solitude gives us time to refresh ourselves and to replenish the inner energies that make each of us unique. It renews us for the every day conflicts of our lives.

MB

Connections

River of Reasoning

Thoughts flow like the river before me

carving the edge of winding paths

rushing over boulders attempting to block my travel

slowing to contemplate the next obstacle,

sifting through man’s pollution,

fighting for the freedom to be me.

They think I become a stagnant pool

when my journey they try to hinder

by the dams they build to harness my soul

for them to devour the energy that I am

but they won’t stop the evolution

of that which makes me forever free.

Mary Blu

@1994