Talented Boys

I was looking back through my old posts tonight and I was wondering what happened to my time? I used to write...

Moving back to the city was a blessing for my boys. We enjoyed the animals on the little farm in PA, but we missed the social aspects and opportunities of the city. There is never a dull day around here and I wish I had the time to tell you all about it. I am still traveling to shows on weekends. When I am home during the week I work with my customers in the morning while the kids are at school. As soon as school lets out I am so busy being the chauffeur and cook that there seems to be no time left in the day. Right now Joshua is in two plays and Sean is also in a play. Both boys play instruments and have lessons as well. Parents are expected to get the kids to practices, provide the costumes find the donations and provide the programs etc. Just like millions of other mothers I'm working two full time jobs. But, Oh the Joy! There is nothing better than seeing my talented boys in action.

Click here: Josh singing and Wayne playing at a block party.

*This is especially for my friends in Nepal who have never met my children.

Missing Nepal

I'm really missing trekking in Nepal this year!

I'm afraid I can't afford to go this year and that is really sad because the Shree Navavi Jayee Library that so many of you helped create in the Rasuwa district will be dedicated in a formal ceremony on January 25th, 2012. I want to let all of my friends in Nepal know that I am with them in spirit. I am honored to have been able to be a part of such a worthy project. Certainly all of the people who will be able to use this new library must be very proud of the efforts of their community. The village was able to obtain books not only from Room to Read but also through assistance from the Joy Foundation and donations from the Indian Embassy. I will be praying that the library is well used and that I will be able to see if for myself some day.

May you all enjoy peace and prosperity!

-Jennifer Gerard

Still Believing in Santa

"OK, I want the truth." Our 9 year old eyed my husband and me with a most serious expression. We were trapped at the dinner table with our accuser and his 14 year old brother as a witness. I looked to my husband's guilt ridden face. He wasn't about to say a word. The 14 year old was grinning his 'I told you so' grin. So, I was tossed to the wolf cub.

"Well it's true," I said. "Your father and I put the presents under the tree.... but we are doing it in the spirit of Santa Claus."

"?" The 9 year old stared at me.

"You should have seen us trying to stuff the piano down the chimney last year," I continued.

"Nooo!" he wailed as he writhed in his chair with a mixture of frustration and delight with our playfulness. His brother and father stifled laughs. "How did you get the piano into the house and hidden behind the tree last year?!"

*Silence*

"Well," said his father, "a magician never gives away his tricks," he grinned.

"Did you and dad carry it into the house?" the boy asked.

"Hah!" I laughed. "Your father and I couldn't carry a piano into the house on Christmas Eve."

"So what did you do?" The nine year old insisted.

"We hired some elves!" I smiled.

"Arrrrrgh!" he yelled and laughed at the same time.

After the laughter died down, we told our little boy that we are all part of the spirit of Christmas and now that he knows where the presents come from, he would also be responsible for helping bring the spirit of Christmas to others.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!

Who's Responsible for the Poor?

Andy Cook 2002
Thank you for the public image Andy

I had one of those heart stopping double takes when I was driving up an on-ramp in Memphis, Tennessee last weekend. I saw and elderly man who looked as if he was barely able to stand at the side of the road. A metal cane was clutched in his right hand and a suitcase was on the ground to his left. His brow was furrowed with deep groves in the shape of a lifetime of worry. His eyes looked directly into mine as if to say, 'How could you possibly drive by without stopping?'

I have seen some scruffy old hitch-hikers before, but this scene was all wrong. He was much too old and frail to be standing alone. His thumb was not out, no sign, and I had the feeling that he didn't know why he was standing there. I couldn't help wondering if someone had just dropped him off there only moments before. I was about to be late to my bead show and if I am late the promoters will fine me at least $100. There really wasn't much choice though, I had to pull over. Just as I put on my turn signal I saw a police car pull up to him in my rear view mirror. Thank God!

I really don't know whether it was bad luck or bad life choices that brought him to that place at that point in his life. Recently, I have heard several people argue that if we don't allow people to suffer the consequences of their bad life choices then society will have to suffer the eternal burden of their welfare. I just can't imagine myself driving by that old man and thinking to myself, 'tough luck, you must have screwed up.' For me, each of those welfare recipients has a face and a story and unless I know the story how could I say you are not worthy of help?

All major religious traditions carry basically the same message, that is love, compassion and forgiveness. The important thing is they should be part of our daily lives.
-Dalai Lama

May you all have a bountiful Thanksgiving!

Knowing What You Want

I found this print in a used book store in Kobe, Japan. It's one of my favorites so I thought that I would share it with you.

Remember your joys! Your life's purpose is in what you love.

At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want. -Lao Tzu (venerable teacher)

Internet Scams and Running an On Line Business

Looks like Bad Breath in the Cyber World Doesn't it?

Sometimes I think I get more deceitful email than anyone else on earth. I would guess that I get at least 4 of these a day:

Dear Partner, I am Mrs Elena, financial controller to Mikhail Khodorkovsky the richest man in Russia and owner of the following companies:Chairman CEO:YUKOS OIL (Russian Most Largest Oil Company)Chairman CEO:Menatep SBP Bank (A well reputable financial institution with its branches all over the world)  Please get back to me to give you details of the transaction.if you are interested please provide below information :  Your full names : Address : Your country : Age : Phone and fax number : Occupation : Do you own a company: 

Part of the problem is that I can't block every unknown email because they may be potential customers for my business and some are my suppliers. For the most part they are easy to identify and trash.

These are some of the more common scams I've seen:
1. Are you deceased?
2. Lottery
3. Death of an unknown relative
4. Wanting to leave everything to me for my charity
5. IRS refund
6. Credit Card notice of fraud activity
7. Banking error
8. eBay concern
9. Pay Pal concern
10. Mysterious Fed Ex Package in my name (by the way what's my name?)
11. Powerful Rich man dies and I have his money, help me move it.

Here are some key words that get my Spider Senses tingling:
1. Nigeria, Russia
2. Let me introduce myself
3. This may come as a surprise to you
4. Urgent
5. Threatening legal action
6. Looking for a partner in your country
7. You have won!

(I'm sure your can come up with many more.)

The primary methods in these types of scams are greed and fear. If you always remember that you don't get something for nothing you are half way there. For almost everything else I simply ignore the email and contact the company directly. I did once have an issue with Pay Pal but it said so on my account when I looked it up. If in doubt I recommend contacting the authorities.

What brings this to mind today is a more tricky and insidious scam. I'm not even sure how it was done. I have been placing orders with the same man in Nepal for 12 years when suddenly he asked for help. This is completely out of character for him. I have helped people in the past by buying in larger quantities or fronting them money so that they can purchase materials. I have even given outright gifts. This time my friend was asking me to send money to him in China by means of Western Union to a name I have never heard before. (If you send cash, you can't get it back. Don't do it!) Oddly enough, he was responding to my requests for inventory and delivery dates and everything else seemed normal. What I didn't notice at first was that his return email address was incorrect by an extra 's.' Very tricky indeed. I did not send money, instead I sent a message to him through a mutual friend to find out if he knew that his email account had been hijacked.

Be careful out there!

The Library is Finished!

Yes, it is actually the year 2068 in Nepal. The official calendar of Nepal is the Vikram Samvat. It is 56.7 years ahead of the Gregorian Calendar.

Thank you again for all of your help. This project was made possible by the many donations from family, friends, blog friends and customers. The community is grateful to everyone who made contributions and regrets that the artist could not put all of their names on the sign.

Please also note that Room to Read will be sending a package of as many as 250 books and the Joy Foundation has offered to contribute books through other sources. And, I was able to send an additional $250 for books and science equipment.

The community plans to hire a librarian and after the books have arrived and the librarian is ready they will have an opening ceremony. I really wish I could go, but I don't think there is enough spare cash for that right now.

Thanks again everyone!

The community is actively looking for English speakers that might want to spend time (even a few weeks or months) in the village teaching. If you know of anyone who is interested in this type of adventure, contact me, Jennifer Gerard at awog@erols.com. It is not a paid position.

I just heard that there was an earthquake in northern India that affected Sikkim and Nepal. Nepal is in no way prepared for a serious earthquake. Most of the homes would just rattle apart. So far they have reported 50 dead but there are many remote villages that can not be reached because of landslides. An early estimate is that 100,000 homes have been damaged. These pictures of the library must have been sent to me just hours before the earthquake. I'll let you know if I hear from anyone about the impact on the village where the library is.