Hey all.

This will be short and sweet.

I was running the other day, listening to This American Life.  The story was about a construction worker who, for some reason, began collecting Lewis and Clark books.  Not reading them, initially, just collecting them.  After a few decades he had the biggest L&C collection in the world.  Finally he started reading them - devouring them, actually.  The part of the story that really got to me was his description of a day in which he realized that he, a man who never finished high school, had become a world respected academic.  He started crying.  I started cheering.

It gave me an idea.

One thing that I love about our human condition is our ability to empathize.  We can share joy, pain, sadness, enthusiasm, or excitement.  I want to tap into this innate ability with a collection of stories or thoughts on joy and inspiration.

So

What I ask of you (all of you) is a story.  A short story, a long story.  It could be a paragraph, 10 pages, or even just a line.  They should be stories of a time when you were so happy you could hardly contain it.  Or stories of slivers of joy in a desperate desolate place.  Or stories of inspiration.

I want to then de-identify these stories and publish them, somehow, someday.  Of course I will ask permission at the time.  Don't worry - nothing gets published without consent.

So.

Please think, revel, and write.  I look forward to them all.  :)

I just learned how to add pictures.  I love technology!  This is the view from my office, BTW.

This is what happened  for 4th of July.  Please note the giant baked macaroni and cheese gracing table center.  It has a dorrito crust.  :) 

Love
Always