Time Travel discussion

Random acts of kindness, citizenship awards, hope for humanity.... What have you witnessed (or done) that gives you a reason to trust in the ultimate worth of our species?

Cheryl wrote: "Random acts of kindness, citizenship awards, hope for humanity.... What have you witnessed (or done) that gives you a reason to trust in the ultimate worth of our species?"

I am inspired by the heroes of Metro Library System, Oklahoma City. They fight book challenges constantly... and yet have the most diverse collection I've ever seen. Gorgeous stories about all sorts of peoples and cultures are all over their shelves... and many of the staff are 'signaling' freedom of expression and non-mainstream perspectives, too.

Dolly Parton has always inspired me. Her dedication to literacy was trendsetting. There are many people locally who have done a lot for our community but on a national level Dolly is the one who comes to mind first. She is the reason when I graduated from college I became a volunteer at our local Literacy Council.

And I guess I have to mention even though I am not a fan Taylor Swift since she went to my sons high school. I will never forget sitting through a school choir performance where she had three solos which meant they had to give solos to others who weren't well prepared. It went on way too long for a school night (my son was in 8th or 9th grade at the time). Anyway, she has done a lot for food banks and locally for the school, etc. Her actions seem to inspire a younger generation. I just have PTSD from being held hostage at that school event.

They both are doing good work, indeed. I love seeing Dolly's choices in the libraries and Little Free Libraries. Good story about TS, too, thanks for sharing!

With the polarization we have today, one's hero may be somebody else's antihero.

That's true. But let's have a bit more optimism, please. Surely you know someone doing something that would please most people? Or at least most readers?

The ultimate worth of our species?

Most artificial intelligences believe that we are the sexual organs of technology.

[edit/addition circa May 2023]

Hey, if we humans actually are the sexual organs of technology, that would be a good thing, right? Don’t you take extra-special care of your vagina? And you: don’t you please your penis at every opportunity?

AI isn’t coming for you. You are cumming for AI.

I ran the St Jude Rock n Roll Half Marathon in Nashville last weekend. My friend signed up to be a "St. Jude Hero" and raised over $2500.00 for the children.

Yay! Congratulations on your fitness level, and on finding something that we all can support!

I love a well-run Thrift store (charity shop). Keeping stuff out of landfills is important to all. And there's actually a chain here in Wisconsin/Minnesota that has a loyalty program with good perks, and uses the profits for a food shelf distribution center and for other programs. It's called Family Pathways.

We easily spent $20 yesterday on assorted little things we needed (to finish setting up my son in his new home) to get the new member Bonus points, which equates to $10 store credit on his next trip.

Decluttering and downsizing are good things to do, but be sure to close the loop and shop the stores to which you donated when you do need something new!

Glynn wrote: "I ran the St Jude Rock n Roll Half Marathon in Nashville last weekend. My friend signed up to be a "St. Jude Hero" and raised over $2500.00 for the children."

Way to go Glynn!

General kindness goes a long way in my book. Saying please, thank you, excuse me, holding doors open, smiling at people.

Samantha wrote: "General kindness goes a long way in my book. Saying please, thank you, excuse me, holding doors open, smiling at people."

You are so right!

I'm really enjoying my visit to this small town in NW Wisconsin. People do smile on the street, even stop and chat with strangers if there's something they are both looking at.

An important factor in the karma of kindness is graciously accepting the courtesies and offers of others. As we're setting up this new home, my uncle (age 77!) keeps insisting on coming over to help us. Part of me wants to say no, to spare him, but it seems to mean a lot to him, so I only attempt a demur briefly, and then accept with a sincere thanks.

And when I try to do other things for people, like enclose extra books in a paperbackswap shipment, I'm glad that they let me. And smile back at that stranger on the sidewalk!

The healed femur theory :)

I had to look that up, but it's a good 'un.

"A broken femur that has healed is evidence that another person has taken time to stay with the fallen, has bound up the wound, has carried the person to safety and has tended them through recovery. A healed femur indicates that someone has helped a fellow human, rather than abandoning them to save their own life."

(credited to Margaret Mead)

We can go further toward "the grandmother hypothesis".

It's hope no kindness, but J K Rowling made a lot of children fell in love with reading in the age of Facebook and TikTok.

Alice wrote: "We can go further toward "the grandmother hypothesis"."

Ok, looking that up, yes, it means what one would guess.

Alice wrote: "It's hope no kindness, but J K Rowling made a lot of children fell in love with reading in the age of Facebook and TikTok."

And she did intend her audience to be universal, I'm sure, and to learn to be better people for having had her characters as role models.

"First Dog on the Moon", a cartooned column from the Guardian of Australia, has done a couple Good News entries:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentis...

snippets that are similar to what we could report, and

https://www.theguardian.com/commentis...

a full-length panelled cartoon story from a reader that's sweet and funny.