10 Seconds with Walter Cronkite

When I'd worked at a resort, I had seen and met plenty of famous people - celebrities and politicians - in a service capacity. They usually behaved like anyone else, and there were nearly no instances in which I became awe-struck in their presence (they were just regular people to me who happened to have a lot of notoriety), all save one: Walter Cronkite.

I remember the day he came to visit Orlando and checked into the resort where I worked. It was about 7 years ago, I think. He was helped out of the limo he was riding in, and he seemed so frail. He looked like a freckle factory, with all the age spots he had, and he looked very, very ancient. Yet, he had a fire in his gaze, evidence that the well-used gears behind it still turned as strongly as ever. I was reverent of what he had done in his life, the points in history he shared with the world, and I just couldn't help myself: Even though it was the middle of winter and one of the coldest nights in Florida, I took off my glove first before I shook his hand.

Something so mundane and rote in my line of work then was elevated in those brief seconds with Mr. Cronkite, to a sublime connection to the flow of the universe for me. He wasn't merely a retired journalist: He was one great eyewitness to history, whose veracity in conveying the effects and meanings of the world's events made him tenably peerless.

You may forever rest peacefully on your bountiful laurels, Mr. Cronkite.


Watch CBS Videos Online

The MJ on the Pop throne: Icon and musical inspiration has passed away

I grew up listening to Michael Jackson. He was a part of my music culture, and he will be dearly missed. I loved him most in his youth, before he lost his childhood to fame. Here is a lovely video of the Jackson 5 from the Ed Sullivan show.

Jupiter One: A fairly new band evokes musical nostalgia

VEHICLES OF CONSCIENCE: My Cause for Self-Aware Driving Habits

One of my most salient activism projects is to increase the awareness of motorists, not just about safer driving habits, but better driving ATTITUDES. Like why tailgating isn't just rude and unsafe, but does nothing to help you out and everything to undermine your stress-reduction on the road. Or, why letting people merge ahead of you (regardless if they deserve it or not) and backing off a good space will in fact not only prevent traffic congestion, but will actually get rid of it (even one person can make a difference in the traffic wave, for a time).

VEHICLES OF CONSCIENCE is a driving philosophy community with a goal to help improve commutes by promoting better driver attitudes. You can find it on Facebook.


I have been trying to spread more awareness about VEHICLES OF CONSCIENCE, so if you think this Facebook group is worthy, please share it with others.

In Memory of Caylee

I haven't had much chance to post about the Caylee Anthony tragedy (when I was busy with my In-Laws and getting ready for Spring classes to start), but I didn't want to forget to do so.

The Anthony family lives less than a mile from me, so this whole mess and tragedy has been going on pretty much in front of us (all the search and forensics crew buy lunch at the Publix across the street from me, and you can plainly see the area where they were excavating and people were leaving stuffed toys, while driving down Chickasaw heading to my home). It's still very difficult to wrap my head around this: I've been deeply affected, and although I can somehow find it within myself to forgive this egregious crime, I don't think I will ever live to understand how someone could murder such a beautiful and loving little girl and then just dump her body. In the woods. As if she didn't really mean that much.

If there is such a thing as reincarnation, I truly hope her next life is charmed beyond belief.



I hold my little daughter Penny just that much tighter and longer, because of poor little Caylee. I'm glad the Anthony's decided to donate the memorial stuffed toys to needy children.

For Thanksgiving: More on The Golden Rule

There is much to be thankful for, because most Americans I know indeed live a charmed life, yours-truly included, in spades; even many whom are considered "lower class" here in the US have a better standard of living than the average person in most 3rd-world nations. We take a lot for granted, and can often forget to be thankful for what we do have. While dissatisfaction at some level must always exist in order for progress to happen in our lives, sometimes being humble can pay off for us, in deeper character. At base value we are no better than another person, regardless of what we have, what we know, or what we believe. We are capable of sharing without suspicion or condition. Looking down your nose at others, creating breaches in compassion for others resulting from differences, does little more than inevitably impair you. Barriers put up against "them" and the "others" are still walls: The more you erect, the more your life becomes a maze of self-perpetuated obstacles.


I received a copy of this video from Paul McKenna at Interfaith, and it is an inspiring and inclusive homage to the "Golden Rule" and the Ethic of Reciprocity.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ci613QcC5E

Although I am agnostic (with my toes dipped into the pool of Buddhist philosophy), most people I know are Christian. Here is a reminder of those passages in the Bible which mandate compassion for others:

Zechariah 7:9. “Thus says the LORD of hosts: Render true judgment, and show kindness and compassion toward each other.”

James 1:27. "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

Exodus 22:21”You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. 22You shall not abuse any widow or orphan. 23If you do abuse them, when they cry out to me, I will surely heed their cry.”

Luke 6:27 "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.

32 "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”



Have a happy Thanksgiving!

History Has Been Duly Made

I don't need to mention the impact and gravity of Barack Obama's election as President of the US. Most of you know how to pick up a periodical or tune into the news on your radio or television. I was as relieved and moved as many others whom voted for him.

I will say that there is a great amount of work ahead for Obama's administration, and I don't for a minute envy him for it. Breaking things is easy; fixing them takes more time and effort and even some creativity.

Here are some highlights from the emails I've been receiving from the activist and environmental groups I support...

We look forward with excitement and anticipation to the opportunities ahead to fight for social justice. We are already at work on efforts that will provide positive change for our country.

Thank you,
The Brave New Films team

Come January, we will be granted a fleeting moment of opportunity -- a matter of months -- for turning environmental promise into legislative reality. We must strike swiftly if we are to defuse the twin crises of fossil fuel addiction and global warming -- or the Earth we leave our grandchildren will be unimaginably different than the one we now know and love.

It's a tall order. But the last eight years have prepared us like nothing else could. NRDC is ready. I trust you are, too, because we'll need you there with us more than ever before.

Sincerely,
Frances
Frances Beinecke
President
Natural Resources Defense Council

Even as we celebrate, we are gearing up to translate these electoral victories into lasting action to end our dependence on oil, reverse global warming, and chart America's course to a clean, renewable energy economy.

As President-Elect Obama said last night, "This victory alone is not the change we seek – it is only the chance for us to make that change."

Thank you again for your generous support of LCV. We could not have done it without you. We look forward to changing our country’s energy future together!



Sincerely,

Gene Karpinski
League of Conservation Voters

It won’t be easy, and there are plenty of tough fights ahead. But you can be sure that Defenders Action Fund will work with the new Administration -- and conservation champions of all political stripes -- to enact legislation and policies that protect our wildlife.

For now, let’s celebrate this historic day and the hope it holds for our wolves, polar bears and other wildlife -- and please accept my most sincere thanks for helping make it happen!

With Gratitude,
Rodger Schlickeisen, President
Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund

Our immediate imperative is to help set the Obama administration's environmental agenda between now and when he takes office on January 20, and then take advantage of the momentum this administration will have in its first 100 days.

In the meantime, we will continue the effective legal and advocacy work that has kept our nation's environmental legacy and laws intact despite years of relentless assault on them by the current administration. Even now, on their way out of office, Bush and Cheney are laying a trail of environmental land mines. They are trying to gut the Endangered Species Act; allow greater destruction by mountain top removal coal mining; and pave the way for more coal-burning power plants that will accelerate global warming.

Rest assured, we'll keep fighting the Bush legacy for as long as it takes, and we ask you to stand with us as we pursue a more positive agenda that now seems within our reach.

Sincerely,
Trip Van Noppen
President, Earthjustice

Barack Obama said last night, "This victory alone is not the change we seek--it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you."

We have a great opportunity. The world faces overwhelming human rights crises. But with your help, we can turn this country’s policies on human rights back in the direction of alleviating, and not contributing, to these crises.

President-elect Obama has promised to restore the rule of law, to repair America’s damaged perception in the world, to close Guantánamo, and to renounce torture.

These promises bring hope. In the coming days, we will need you to help make those promises a reality.


Sincerely,

Larry Cox
Executive Director
Amnesty International USA