In Search of the Human Spirit

In Search of the Human Spirit would like to wish all it’s visitors a celebration filled Thanksgiving Day.  May it be festive, safe, and filled with joy.

Pennsylvania State University, aka Penn State, has decided that the brainy need trading cards too.  Though they’re known for their football prowess, they’ve created a line of trading cards for their researchers and faculty.

The cards come in a 10 card set.  They’re handing them out for free at various school functions–including football games.

The set is the brainchild of school president, Graham Spanier.  The cards are being produced in association with the Penn State Alumni Association.

The cards were first produced last year as a test.  This year the cards are a bit more professional looking. These are the people featured on this years set of cards:

• Richard Alley, glaciology
• Stephen Benkovic, chemistry
• Moses Chan, physics
• Nina Fedoroff, plant genetics
• Russell Marker, chemistry
• Masatoshi Nei, biology
• William Pierce, medicine
• Catharine Ross, nutrition
• James Tumlinson, entomology
• Alan Walker, anthropology

Lily Kaufman has decided to call it quits at the age of 85.  The preschool teacher nicknamed the Mighty Midget (she’s barely 5 feet tall) has retired from the Castro Valley, California preschool she has worked at for over 40 years.

Kaufman was a housewife and stay at home Mom.  Then at the age of 49 she decided to go to college.  She got her certification and was able to teach at a preschool.

She was considered an expert in handling problem kids.  That may come from the fact that growing up she was an outsider.  She lived in a German copmmunity but wasn’t accepted because she was half-German.

Kaufman says this about her talents, “Now I can relate to kids, and nurture them in a way they should be.  They need to be loved, regardless of their background or ethnicity, or whether they are clean and well-dressed or kind of dirty”

Some think Kaufman’s key is she just loves kids.

An alliance between an Iraqi organization and 9/11 families hopes to bring about a more peaceful Iraq. The Iraqi organization is called La’Onf, which means “no violence”. The founder is Ishmaeel Dawood.   They’ve joined up with September 11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows to achieve their goal.  This group is made up of people who lost loved ones in the terrorist attack.

The groups got together in January 2006 to study non-violent movement leaders.  The read up on Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nelson Mandela to name a few.

They then set up nonviolence weeks in Iraq to spread the message of peace.  In 2007, committees worked in 18 Iraqi provinces.

October 11th began the third annual peace week.  The focus of this years effort was democractic provincial elections.

Visit the September 11th Families website to learn more about the joint efforts.

What might an Obama Presidency mean to the next generation?  The children at Ron Clark Academy show us just how much of an inspiration Obama is. They originally did a song for the election called “You Can Vote For Whoever You Like”. Now they respond to their new President.

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Tuesday night, American’s witnessed something that they thought they might never see in their lifetime. A non-White male President elected in the United States of America.

The long campaign season is over.  The votes are in.  On this night, Barack Obama is the victor–and so is America. Another barrier has been shattered and the door is open for all those who would dream.

Obama seems the least likely to burst through.  His mother was an American and his father a Kenyan.  He only saw his father once beyond the age of 3.  Whatever odds he grew up with he has overcome and has become a national inspiration.

I wonder what Martin Luther King Jr. would be thinking if he were alive today and was able to witness this moment?

This line from the “I Have a Dream” Speech says it all:

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

I think that day is here.  Congratulations America!  Congratulations President Obama!

Today is the day we elect a new President.  It’s an historic election that we all will remember for generations to come.  It may be one of those events that we share with our children and grandchildren.

So…Remember… GET OUT AND VOTE!!!