The best laid plans – as they say – are always subject to change. So it goes with SkyWritings. After using that web site for a short period, I have decided to keep this blog and personal web site open and abandon the SkyWritings web site. For those visitors to SkyWritings, please begin following this blog and check in on the Events and upcoming Links web page for the same timely information I posted at SkyWritings. I apologize for the confusion.
Awhile back I heard about an upcoming installment to the “Repossessing Virtue” radio project on public radio. Krista Tippett, the host of “Speaking of Faith,” asked listeners to visit the “Repossessing Virtue” web site and write their story about how they were dealing with the current economic recession. The future radio program would include audio interviews with people from all over the country. Listeners were asked to consider the following questions as they composed their essays:
In October 2008, my husband and I made some changes when we saw the havoc that tore through what was once our comfortable retirement nest egg. So when I heard Krista’s request, I sat down at my computer and wrote our story.
On April 1, I received an e-mail from Nancy Rosenbaum – Associate Producer of “Speaking of Faith.” She liked my essay and asked if I would like my interview recorded over the phone for possible use on the upcoming program. I was thrilled that my essay had been chosen. A few days later, I read my essay over the phone to Trent Gilliss [Online Editor/Producer] and replied to a few questions – in addition to the ones listed above. At the end of the recording session, I was asked to submit photos of myself and I was told that the program was due to be aired in mid-May. When I asked if my interview would be part of the program, I was told that the editorial staff would listen to all the interviews and make a decision on which ones they would use. As a result, more than half of the recorded interviews would not be used on the program; however, the essays, photos and edited versions of the interviews would be posted at the web site.
This past Friday, Nancy Rosenbaum sent me a link to my essay at the “Speaking of Faith” web site. She told me that my audio interview wouldn’t be used on the radio program, but over the next few weeks, an edited version of my audio interview will be added to the web site. Please visit the web site to read my original essay and check back later to hear the audio interview. I’ll post an update at this blog. A synopsis of the program which airs online on Thursday, May 14 and on public radio stations between May 14 through May 20 is posted below.
“Living Differently, Beyond Economic Crisis.”
A new installment in our ongoing series, Repossessing Virtue, bringing the voices of our listeners into the conversation we’ve been building online and on-air since the economic downturn began last year. Many are grappling with the shame that comes in American culture with the loss of a job, and many are seeking community in old places and new. For some, economic instability — a kind of life on the edge — is not new. They’ve been cultivating virtues of patience, self-examination, service and good humor that might help us all.
I’m blessed and honored to have been selected to participate in this program. My story is just one of many, but apparently it mattered to someone.
If you haven’t done so already, visit Arty’s blog. The entries she posted on May 10 and 12 are peppered with pictures. The adventurers are close to home, but rain is forecast in the Sandy, OR area through Thursday. Rain is an obstacle to a Drifter pilot!
I volunteered at a local blood drive today. Friends of mine coordinate 3 or 4 drives each year through their church. They are usually quite successful in rallying blood donors. For the past couple years, I’ve helped out at either the registration table or in the canteen. I particularly enjoy working the canteen because I get to serve the folks who’ve just given blood. They usually want either apple or orange juice, so I pull a cold bottle from the cooler as they sit down at a row of tables, filled with nuts, cookies, fudge, deviled eggs, and other tempting foods. After someone donates blood, the technician tells them to sit down in the canteen area, eat and drink whatever they need, and rest for at least 15 minutes. That’s usually enough time for a donor to regain their strength before going on their way. I know many of the donors, so helping them after they donate blood also gives us a chance to visit. If anyone has a problem, I can always call for assistance from a technician.
Blood donation services, such as the American Red Cross and Inova Blood Donor Services – the two companies that serve the area where I live, always need blood donors. Particularly with summer coming on, the demand for blood increases dramatically. When a person needs blood, receiving it usually makes the difference between life and death. I know. I was on the receiving end of that drama once. Without going into details, I collapsed in Vancouver, BC at the end of a two-week vacation. Not long after I was examined in the ER, I was started on an IV connected to a pint of whole blood. After a couple tests, it was discovered that I had a bleeding ulcer and, in a fairly short period of time prior to my collapse, I had lost 40% of my blood.
After I recovered enough so that I could fly home and some time after the ulcer healed, I got to thinking about giving back; donating blood. I realized that all because some unknown person walked into a clinic somewhere and donated blood, I was pulled through a rather dicey health crisis. Someone literally saved my life. By donating blood I would be able to help someone else. But, at the time I checked into donating, there were a lot of restrictions. Even after my ulcer healed, there was a waiting period. There was also the matter of a medication many folks take for high blood pressure, but which I took because it controlled a heart arrhythmia I developed in my 20s. So when the opportunity to help at a blood drive came up, I decided lending a hand was the least I could do. Until today.
During a slow period between donors, I was talking to my friend and he told me that some of the prescription medication restrictions for blood donors have been relaxed. I walked over to a group of technicians and asked one of the them about the medication I was taking. She looked it up and asked me a few questions. It turns out that because my heart arrhythmia is under control, the medication is not a show stopper. Hooray! I thanked her, walked back to the canteen and signed up to donate blood at the October blood drive. I feel good about it. I know that most of my volunteer work in my community helps others, but there’s something about donating my blood that feels special. You might say I feel it in my blood.
Arty Trost and her Maxair Drifter
Check out Arty’s latest posts! WOW! I skipped a few days and, as a result, I spent the better part of a half hour catching up on her journal of flight adventures, restaurant reviews and photo gallery. The squadron is in Florida now; getting closer every day to Lakeland and Sun ‘n Fun.
I can hardly wait to hear from Arty and Randy about their flight on to Dauphin Island and Gulf Shores today! Pictures? Can hardly wait until tomorrow morning… Their flight is certainly a trip of a lifetime.
I just finished reading Arty’s April 8 and 9 posts. Apparently, Randy is waiting for a new engine to arrive, so both planes are still parked near Van Horn, TX. Arty’s April 8 post has some awesome photos of the “wild West” and those of you who don’t know much about Arty, will probably find her short ramble about her life in today’s post interesting.
I have microlent to:
| Location: | Cambodia, Kompong Tom |
| Activity: | Farming |
| Location: | Bolivia, La Paz |
| Activity: | Vehicle Repairs |
| Location: | Mexico, |
| Activity: | Retail |
