I have been a husband, father and friend, and done moderately well ...but those seem like natural things that don't merit special notice. Yes, they take some effort, but they also are sort of the norm, if you see what I mean...(and yes, JTS's words about "Love Honor & Cherish" mean a lot to me)

what I think I am happiest about is a bit different..

I have tried to care about others AND the world we all have to live in., and I have sought to think honestly about the world and my place in it....I am not religious, as some of you are, but it seems to me I can defend honesty, caring, and striving to make this world a better place without any reference to metaphysical exhortations...*smile*

I have, in my time, worked in environmental organizations and supported them financially....I have worked in Civil Rights groups, and taken 2 trips to southern Mississippi in the early 60s to walk picket lines and stand up for what I felt was 'right'.

I have several little 'hero stories' that might make good reading, but, like Jerry running out in the snow,...what else could I have done?....I think that that the most important things are what I don't do....

I drive as sanely as I can...I don't cut in front of YOU in traffic, I allow others to merge and get by...I move my shopping cart to the side at the grocery store, so YOU can get by. I refrain from cutting my grass when my neighbor (who is a ROYAL a**hole! *big grin*) is watching TV on his patio... I listen to others at singing parties, and attempt to give everyone fair hearing and tolerance, whether they are good or not! (now THAT is hard sometimes!)....I don't steal the last serving of (insert yummy treat here) when I 'know' it is the favorite of someone else...I don't throw my trash out my car window...etc., etc.....

all this is simply to say that I try to be a caring, decent human being who pays attention to what OTHERS are feeling and needing...and when I fail, as I often do, I try to be aware of why. Perhaps I can do better next time......Not very exciting, huh?..

I just watched the story of a former soldier who now spends his time taking food and blankets to civilians caught in the ravages of war in places like Afganistan....and I have never done anything on that scale..but maybe I have done a thousand little things that were never even noticed, yet that taken as a whole, added up, and I have tried VERY hard to be aware of, and acknowlege the things that others did for me!

and one of the hardest things I have done recently is to write these paragraphs and post them without 3 days of soul-searching editing...still not sure I said what I wanted...........