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Make a Difference

Make a Difference: Pay Overdue Lunch Accounts This School Year

In some parts of the United States, school has already started; in other parts, kids have nearly four more weeks of vacation. Whether or not school has started in your area, and whether or not you have kids, I have a back-to-school suggestion for you: Make plans to pay off some overdue lunch accounts during […]

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Make a Difference

Make a Difference: Treat Poor People Like Human Beings

My extended family took a trip to Scotland this summer. While we were in Edinburgh, we stayed in apartments within walking distance of a grocery store. We passed the store on our way to and from different sites in the city, and we stopped there more than once for breakfast items and snacks. When we […]

Blog

There are plenty of writing blogs. I see no reason to add to them. Instead, I decided to run with my curiosity and passion for making a difference. Every other week, I post about ways ordinary people like you and me can make a difference. On alternate weeks, I’ll introduce you to something wonderful that […]

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Make a Difference

The Good Things I’ll Carry With Me From the Pandemic, Part 1

The pandemic isn’t over yet, but I think most of us are feeling hopeful that the end is in sight. It would be wonderful if we all woke up tomorrow and discovered that COVID-19 was just a collective nightmare. Since that isn’t going to happen, perhaps we can look at what we have learned and […]

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Something Wonderful

What to read, watch, or do when you’re feeling fragile

A few years ago, I wrote about comforting entertainment for dark times. By this year’s standards, 2017 feels positively sunny. Recently I’ve been revisiting that post, because I’ve found that things that used to bring me comfort don’t necessarily do that now. A few weeks ago, I was feeling anxious, so much so that I […]

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Something Wonderful

Berthe and Edma Morisot: A True Story About Women’s Choices

When I wrote my first post on a female artist, Artemisia Gentileschi, I knew I would write more like it. I even made a list of women I wanted to cover. Among them was Berthe Morisot, but I kept putting off writing about her. I felt like I had little to say beyond: “Here’s another […]

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Something Wonderful

How to Rescue Summer: The Sequel

A few weeks ago, I took my own advice and faked a vacation of sorts. I called it a “semication,” because currently I have no paid vacation time. I could have rearranged my work schedule to take a week off, but I felt like I would be perfectly satisfied working for four hours and then […]

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Something Wonderful

Anime for Odd People: Nichijou

Would your friends and family use any of the following words to describe you: weird, quirky, wacky, zany, goofy, odd, kooky, eccentric? Are you not above watching an animated show? It’s time to check out Nichijou, or My Ordinary Life. I’ve watched (and recommended) comedy anime before. But Nichijou is unlike anything else that I’ve […]

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Make a Difference

What Are We Going to Do If the Coronavirus Sticks Around?

The topic of this post is distressing, but I ask my readers to take a deep breath and look further into the future than early fall. Here in the United States, individual states are beginning to relax the restrictions put in place to try to flatten the curve. In response, people are flocking to restaurants, […]

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Something Wonderful

Let LeVar Burton Read You a Story

I love reading to others; when my child was young, one of my favorite rituals with her was reading a bedtime story. But sometimes, I like it when someone else reads to me. So when I heard about the podcast LeVar Burton Reads this past winter, I was eager to try some episodes. Who better […]