Through her entire life, Eugenia Dobson scrimped and saved. Although she and her husband did quite well, they lived frugally, putting away everything for a rainy day.
Dobson died last year. She never did get around to spending their fortune. She had amassed a whopping 35.6 million dollars!
Just before she passed away, she gave it all away to charity. The money will be divided between the University of Miami’s Diabetes Research Institute and Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Originally, Dobson’s name was kept secret. She didn’t want folks to know about her gift. Now that she has passed on the secret is out and many people are grateful for her kindness.
The Oakland A’s made it to the playoffs this year. The series against the Minnesota Twins was perfectly played. All the bad hops and lucky hits went their way. Then they came up against the destined Detroit Tigers. No matter how hard they played, they were outdone.
Each day the newspapers ask “What went wrong?” I’d like to ask “What went right?” After all, the A’s were racked with injuries all year long yet they were one of only four teams who made it the second round of the playoffs. That’s remarkable and should be commended.
Here’s my thanks to the team that brought victory to the city of Oakland even when everyone said they couldn’t. Thanks for a memorable season filled with the game winning hits of Marco Scutaro, the home run battle between Nick Swisher and Frank Thomas, the acrobatics of Mark Kotsay in center, Zito’s wicked curve, Jason Kendall catching almost every day of the season, the bullpen that stepped it up when the closer went on the DL, Haren stopping a losing streak at the end of the season…and who could forget that “hoedown handshake” (okay, so that’s what I call it!) between Swisher and Bradley everytime they hit a home run.
Then there are those wacky fans…the drum corp, the flag wavers, trumpet guy, hockey mask guy, and all the other loonies who made the season interesting.
And, what about the commercials? I laughed so hard at 11 year old Houston Street going to the Hall of Fame, Mark Kotsay running out of the stadium onto the streets of Oakland to catch a ball, and the others.
I’m not a bitter fan. I thoroughly enjoyed the season. So, thanks Oakland A’s. You gave us a good ride!!!
Last September, I wrote about Muhammad Yunus and the program he developed to aid the poor. He came up with the idea to give people living poverty small loans which would help jump start their lives.
The Nobel Committee has rewarded Muhammad Yunus by awarding him the Nobel Peace Prize. Yunus’ Grameen Bank has given small loans called microcredit to millions of people. These people didn’t needed hundreds of thousands of dollars to live on. They only needed a small hand up so as to improve their lot in life. Many of these individuals have been able to keep their homes and save family businesses all because of Muhammad Yunus. Last year, 100 million people from 130 countries received these small loans. If you think it is to difficult to bring people out of poverty, keep in mind that the average loan was only $130! Far less than the average American makes in a week.
The Nobel Committee had this to say about Yunus and his dream “Yunus’s long-term vision is to eliminate poverty in the world. That vision cannot be realized by means of microcredit alone. But Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank have shown that, in the continuing effort to achieve it, microcredit must play a major part.”
You can read more about Mohammad Yunus and the good work that he does from this blog entry: http://insearchofthehumanspirit.blogspot.com/2006/09/lifting-people-out-of-poverty.html
Stanley Block, a member of the Oakland Community Orchestra, was honored atht eend of September. During a concert, the Orchestra threw him a birthday party. It was his 100th after all!
Block graduated from New York University in 1927. He married in 1938 and has two kids. His wife, Ruth, is still around too. He retired from law in 1987.
He began playing the violin in high school. He dabbled with the oboe, saxophone, and drums. He’s a composer as well. During the birthday celebration, the Orchestra played one of his pieces “The Birthday Waltz”. He’s played in various orchestras over the decades.
What does Block credit his longevity to? “I would say, looking at life and not taking it too seriously”, was his response.
Flight crews have alot on their minds these days. Terrorism has made even short flights an anxious affair. The crew of a British Airways flight from London to Boston may have been well trained in case of trouble, but they never thought they’d have to deliver a baby.
Five hours into the flight, a pregnant women showed signs of discomfort. The crew thought she was nervous about flying. And, then the labor pains began. She was a little over 7 months pregnant, so this was unexpected.
On board the flight were two medical students. The medical students and the flight attendants helped the woman through delivery. Baby Nadine was born before the pilot could land at an airport in Halifax, Canada.
A wheel chair and incubator were on hand as the plane landed. Mother and baby were rushed to the airport’s medical facility.
Brandon James isn’t your typical football player. He plays for University of Florida - St. Augustine. Oh yeah, he’s only 5 ft 6 1/2. Midget sized by football standards.
Normally, someone of James’ size wouldn’t even get a spot on the team, let alone get to play. So, how did he make the team and get a scholarship? One only has to look at the first few days of the season to see why he’s so highly regarded. James ran for 35 yards on his first punt return of the season. He followed that up with a 90 yeard return. He scored a touchdown on that run, but it was erased by a penalty.
As a Freshman, James will be the backup. But, he’s already shown why his high school coach and the recruitersthink so highly of him. In a year or two, Brandon James may be a player we hear alot of.
When Charles Carl Roberts senselessly murdered five Amish girls last week, the nation was beyond shock. How could such a violent act occur in such a peaceful community? How would the community ever recover?
It seems the Amish are far more resilient and forgiving than we give them credit for. When the violence of today’s world invaded their close knit society, they didn’t shut their doors, they opened their hearts. They have been doing their part to console the family of Charles Carl Roberts though they need consoling themselves. They invited the family to the funeral of their lost, precious children. And, then many of them came to the funeral of the murderer to give them support and share their grief.
In this day and age when everyone wants revenge, vindication, and justice, it’s almost hard to swallow that those who lost loved ones to a murderer would be the first to console the family of the murder. Where is their outrage? Where is their call for revenge? The community has decided to be forgiving instead. It’s almost an alien concept in this day and age. One can’t help to be truly touched by the gesture and hope that the Amish community feels the sympathy that the rest of nation feels for them. We are all part of the human community. This tragedy touches us all, but maybe the forgiveness shown by the Amish will linger in our hearts a bit longer than negativity the murder has created.
By now you all know that I am a hopelessly addicted genealogist. You may also know that I do volunteer work for www.genealogyforum.org. Well, I just have to get a plug in for my favorite group of genealogists!
GenealogyForum.org is proud to present it’s Second Annual Online Genealogy Conference!!! That’s right! It’s online in our chat rooms. All events are free and no registration is required.
It’s going to be alot of fun and there will be tons of things for genealogists of all shapes and sizes to find interesting. We’ve got guest speakers, how to lectures, genealogy quizzes, research party nights where we research for you, and so much more. Just take a look at the schedule to see all the great events:
http://www.genealogyforum.org/OH2006/tentativeohschedule.php
So, come on in, pull up a chair, spread you fingers across the keyboard, and spend the evening with the great staff at genealogyforum.org!!!!
