Maybe THIS is why not me...

Dana Walden (keyboard) wrote this very, very cool song and had a hit with it way back when. As wonderful as that time was for him, I’m SURE his most vivid memory was watching me trip through one doorway, clear across the room, through another door, in one step, my guitar case shooting in front of me causing such momentum, I’m surprised I’m not STILL falling through the studio! Guess you had to be there…Anyhoo, it was a priviledge to get to co-write with him during that exciting period in his career. Enjoy the tune.

Why Knot?

June's quickly drawing to a close. The month everyone rhymes with moon. And the month when a lot of couples tie the knot.

My parents did. June 9, 1940.

A close friend married just a couple weeks ago. June 14th.

So why do we do it? Tie the knot that is. Living together is no longer, in most people's minds, a "sin."

So why make that life-long committment to another person? Why fight for the right to do so regardless of gender?

Oh, the picture? You'll have to guess if it's my friend or Charles & Mary Elizabeth Richert!

-- Diana

Why You're Off The Hook...

Okay, I get these daily email affirmations...every day...like every 24 hours...and there was this one that really blew me away.

It said...

"My happiness depends on me, so you're off the hook."

Now aren't you glad you stopped by the blog today? Puts things in a whole new perspective, doesn't it?

I can no longer blame anyone else for my mood, behavior, actions...anything!

It's totally up to me how I react to anything...

And guess what? I'm choosing to reactive very positively to this news! Not because of you...Though I still do appreciate everything you do that is good and kind...

My happiness doesn't depend on you doing something good and kind.

Just wanted you to know.

Why Love Is An Addiction:

Special thanks to friends, Joyce and Rebekah, for sharing this story. And for being role models who made Julianna’s decision an easy one:

Julianna would come home from her new job working the register at Wendy's amazed at how rude some customers could be. The easy-going high school junior let it roll off her shoulders though. Then, after three weeks, she came home with a different story.

A young couple about 20 years old, if that, stood inside the restaurant door talking with a woman. Julianna watched while the woman offered the young man a five-dollar bill. “I'm sorry,” he said, “I can't accept that from you, but thank you anyway.”

The order he placed at Julianna’s register came to about $5. Julianna watched him fish out $2.98 in change. She said, “I'm sorry, but that isn't enough money to purchase your order.”

“Okay,” he asked, “could you take off the drinks?” He went on to explain, “My wife and I aren't working right now and we don't have a home. We don't use drugs, but we have to sell them to pay for food.” He asked if Wendy’s was hiring, but Julianna told him not right now. Maybe in a couple of weeks. He took the order to a table where his wife was sitting and started divvying up the food.

First break she got, Julianna purchased two senior citizen size drinks with her money and employee discount. She took the drinks to the young couple and said, “Love is an addiction. We aren't hiring right now, but come back in a couple of weeks.” The young man looked up at the teen, thanked her, and then started to cry.

“As a mother and a human being,” Julianna’s mother adds to the story, “I have been shown true compassion between one human being and another. Some kids and even adults would have walked right past the couple, said bad things to them, but one 16-year-old girl showed her true colors.

…I thanked God tonight for showing her the need and giving her the grace and ability to fill the need. When others would have turned their head and walked away, my daughter ran straight to heart of the matter…

The woman who tried to give the man five dollars saw all this take place, got in line, purchased a $40 gift card and gave it to the couple. Julianna said the man thanked her and started to cry again. I know she will be rewarded many times over as well.”

Note: In addition to working part-time at Wendy’s, speaking fluent German, playing the flute, volunteering at the local hospital and her church, being President of her school’s FBLA chapter, Julianna just got her driver’s permit!

Why the World Needs Roger Federer & Naomi Tutu.

Sure. It's awesome that Roger Federer has finally captured all four Grand Slam of tennis championships and now ties Pete Sampras' slam record. (There may be structural damage to my den from this morning's match!)

And what a heritage Naomi Tutu has. Daughter of Desmond Tutu, South African cleric and activist who rose to worldwide recognition during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. Naomi herself a fierce advocate for human rights.

But others have won championships and been born to notable heritage and spoken on behalf of others' rights. What sets these two individuals apart?

They don't give up. They don't do anything without the best of intentions. They give back, again and again...again. They come from a place of integrity. And that, my friends, the world can never get too much of.

You can do an internet search and get all sorts of info on Federer's win today. But here's a link that might mean more to you...His foundation.

And Naomi's name appears everywhere on the internet, too, but while Roger was making history in Paris, she was taping this interview for NPR's Weekend Edition with Liane Hansen.

I admire all they have accomplished. But what truly moves my heart? Their hearts.

--Diana Black Southafricansojourn.blogspot.com/

Turn Off The Lights! Here's why...

St. George Island, FL, Memorial Day 2009

Sometime in the night, while I slept only a few feet away, a momma sea turtle did what momma sea turtles have been doing for eons.

She dragged her mammoth body from the water and instinctively made her way toward the largest sand dune. The depth of her tracks indicates how huge she was, and how much effort it must have taken to find the perfect place to dig her nest.

Her first efforts at digging were almost fatal for her and her 100 eggs. A section of the fencing used to keep dunes from erosion had collapsed, and it was clear she'd nearly gotten caught in some looped wire.

But she persevered!

Volunteers who scout the beach each morning during turtle season discovered the nest and marked it with yellow tape. In about 60 days, baby sea turtles will emerge in the night and hopefully move toward the water. (They are attracted to light so everyone along the beach is strongly encouraged to extinguish all lights facing the beach and to removed all items along the water front so that the turtles do not get trapped...like the mother turtle nearly did.)

Wish I could be there when the babies hatch! But I'd probably be snoozing then, too, and miss it all!

Click here for more info on sea turtles.

Here's Why...

I'm not worried about future generations...Well, okay, I am...

BUT not so much after today.

These first and second graders at Dorsett Shoals Elementary in Douglasville, GA, renewed my faith that children ARE our future.

First graders understood the concept and wanted to know about book publishing! Who knew?!?

And they asked detailed questions about how I illustrated Wendel Wordsworth: No Words for Wendel. So I told them. At times I was sure I'd lose 'em, that their big eyes would glaze over. But, hey, I had a hard time staying ahead of the curve with these kids.

So, let's give a big shout-out to parents and teachers who invest time and a whole lot of energy on children entrusted to their care and well-being.

Okay, my granddaughter is still, let's face it, the most exceptional child ever created. But I guess there are actually kids out there who run a very close second!