Happy November! We hope you enjoyed our October issue of This Awful Awesome Life. Special thanks to our writers for their excellent articles.
Thank you to everyone who voted in this month’s election. I hope you remembered to thank the men and women of our military for their service and sacrifices to our country to preserve our way of life and guarantee our right to cast our votes. To those of you who didn’t vote, “Stop throwing away your power to make positive changes in our government.”
This month we’ll be talking about Thanksgiving, honoring our Veterans, Indigenous peoples of North America, the Movember movement and World Kindness Day which was Tuesday November 13. No one should need a day specifically designated to make us remember to be kind. We shouldn’t need an “Atta boy/girl” to do the right thing, but recent events in the Pittsburgh area and around the world suggest otherwise. One of my favorite quotes, “In a world where you can be anything, be kind,” resonates today more than ever. Stop and think about what is coming out of your mouth or being tweeted by your nimble fingers. It might be the perfect “zinger,” but who will benefit or be hurt by it?
Terry Kish and Jim O’Brien have some thoughts on gratitude and counting our blessings this Thanksgiving. Orlando Bartro looks at the origins of the cornucopia and Linda Cahill answers the question, “What’s for Dinner?” I had planned a special article from Linda and her daughter Caitlin about adapting your favorite holiday dishes to vegan recipes, but October got away from me and I was not able to touch base with them. I’ll be trying to make it happen for the December issue - my apologies to Linda and Caitlin who are always so gracious with their time and talents.
Patricia Petrusik is back with an article about substance abuse and harm reduction. It’s an important subject heading into the holidays when alcohol usage tends to spike and many people begin to experience seasonal depression.
Tanya Bashor has some tips for holiday decorating. This month, I’m featuring Native American writers in my reading suggestions for kids, YA and adults, but don’t just read them because they are Native American – read them because they are talented writers with unique perspectives on many diverse subjects.
Samantha Sayers is still missing, but her family and friends are choosing hope over despair. On August 1, she failed to return from a solo hike at Vesper Peak near Seattle, Washington. Sam is an experienced hiker who was familiar with Vesper Peak. Please keep thinking positive thoughts for Sam, her family and the many volunteers who are still searching with dogs and drones. If you are a person of faith, please pray for her safe return to her family. Because we are an online publication, we will update this article and our Facebook page with any news. You can also visit their website, findsamsayers.com for information and ways to donate to help keep search efforts going. Please be sure any comments you leave are positive and kind. This is an incredibly stressful time for her family. As promised, we will be displaying a yellow ribbon for Sam on the opening page of each issue of This Awful Awesome Life until she is home. Please consider posting a picture of a yellow ribbon on the Facebook page, Ribbons Across the World for Sam Sayers with your city and country. Thank you!
For Sam until you are home
with love from everyone at This Awful Awesome Life
