Finding, giving and taking comfort
Vol. 3, Issue 42
THE GOOD NEWS
The power of music
Imagine discovering something magical. Maybe you decide to renovate your house and in the process unearth a cache of love letters written decades ago. Or perhaps you're cleaning the attic and find a 400-year-old painting that's worth $136 million.
Curator Robinson McClellan was sorting through items inside a vault in the Morgan Library & Museum in Manhattan when he stumbled across Item No. 147. It was a pockmarked scrap of music that appeared to have been created by Frédéric Chopin.
After much examination, experts concluded that the composition was, in fact, an unknown waltz by the great Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period. The paper and ink were consistent with the kind Chopin used at the time, and the penmanship matched.
Pianist Lang Lang recently recorded “Waltz in A Minor” at Steinway Hall for The New York Times. Do yourself a favor and click below to give it a listen. It is truly magical.
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Bob, you're the best!
Walgreens recently announced plans to shutter approximately 1,200 locations. Many staff members are also being relocated to other stores. One such employee is pharmacist Bob Hesselberg, who has worked at the same Walgreens in Weston, Mass., for nearly 30 years.
"I don't want to retire, even though I am 75," Hesselberg told WBZ News. "I don't want to retire. I'm not ready for it."
The pharmacist is so beloved that when his future departure became known, a group of loyal customers decided to thank him for his years of service to the community. That celebration was led by 11-year-old Aarav Khanna, whose school bus routinely drops him off right across the street from the drug store. Khanna reached out to others for donations so he could give "Pharmacist Bob" a going-away present: a check for more than $6,000.
Hesselberg was both stunned and grateful:
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Focus on the giving
Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away. As millions of Americans gather around tables to eat feasts and share what they're thankful for, many will need a bit of assistance to make the holiday worth celebrating.
Here’s how you can help:
* Invite a couple of extra people to your dinner table
* Donate to local food drives
* Offer to deliver meals to people who are homebound
* Volunteer to serve food at a soup kitchen
* Make a monetary donation to charities that fight hunger
* Find or start a clothing drive
* Check with your area grocery stores; these retailers may already have ways to feed neighbors in need
* Offer to babysit for parents who need to work on the holiday
* Ask every guest to bring a book to dinner. Then donate the books to the public library or Little Free Libraries in your neighborhood.
* Participate in races like turkey trots which raise money for good causes
* Donate food, toys, blankets and time to an area animal shelter
* Sign up with Operation Turkey, a community of over 40,000 volunteers who work together to ensure that those in need receive a warm meal on Thanksgiving
* After dinner, go outside and pick up litter at a local park
* Remember that for many Indigenous people, Thanksgiving is a day of mourning. Learn the truth about where you live and who the land once belonged to. If you can afford to do so, donate to organizations that support Native communities.
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Life of pie
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THIS WEEK’S POLL
LAST WEEK’S POLL
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THIS WEEK IN (POSITIVE) HISTORY
On November 13, 1856, the Great Bell of Big Ben chimed for the first time.
On November 14, 2023, the world's first protected area for endangered sperm whales was established off the coast of Dominica.
On November 15, 1969, a quarter of a million protesters staged a peaceful demonstration in Washington, D.C., against the Vietnam War.
On November 16, 1959, "The Sound of Music" premiered on Broadway.
On November 17, 1931, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney opened the Whitney Museum of American Art on W. 8th Street in New York City.
On November 18, 2022, the International Bureau of Weights and Measures voted to abandon the leap second. This practice will take effect in 2035.
On November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address as he dedicated a national cemetery at the site of the Civil War battlefield in Pennsylvania.
On November 20, 1866, French inventor Pierre Lallement received a U.S. patent for the modern pedal bicycle.
THIS WEEK'S BIRTHDAYS
November 13: fifer/composer Timothy Olmstead, expert bowman Howard Hill and actor Joe Montegna
November 14: Greek new age musician Yanni, baseball player Curt Schilling and Ukrainian-French model/actress Olga Kurylenko
November 15: actor Ed Asner, singer Chad Kroeger and basketball player Karl-Anthony Towns
November 16: composer W.C. Handy, Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto and actress Maggie Gyllenhaal
November 17: social worker Grace Abbott, director Martin Scorsese and actress Rachel McAdams
November 18: baseball player Lee Anne Ketcham, actor Mike Epps and Dominican baseball player David Ortiz
November 19: talk show host Larry King, actor/director Jodie Foster and actor Adam Driver
November 20: Swedish writer Selma Lagerlof, Russian ballerina Alexandra Danilova and President Joe Biden
THIS WEEK’S FUN HOLIDAYS
November 13 is World Kindness Day, National Hug a Musician Day, National Indian Pudding Day, Sadie Hawkins Day and Symphonic Metal Day
November 14 is International Girls Day, World Usability Day, National Family PJ Day, National Pickle Day, National Seatbelt Day, National Spicy Guacamole Day and Operating Room Nurse Day
November 15 is National Ample Time Day, National Bundt Day, National Camp T-Shirt Day, National Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day, National Drummer Day, National Family Civility Day, National Philanthropy Day, National Raisin Bran Cereal Day, National Recycling Day, National Spicy Hermit Cookie Day, I Love to Write Day, Pack Your Mom's Lunch Day and Steve Irwin Day
November 16 is International Day for Tolerance, Guinness World Records Day, National Button Day, National Clarinet Day and National Fast Food Day
November 17 is International Check Your Wipers Day, International Students Day, National Baklava Day, National Hiking Day and National Homemade Bread Day
November 18 is International Occult Day, National Princess Day, National Vichyssoise Day, Apple Cider Day, High Five a Librarian Day, Mickey Mouse Day and Odd Socks Day
November 19 is International Journalist Day, International Men's Day, World Toilet Day, National Camp Day, National Entrepreneur's Day, National Integration Day and National Play Monopoly Day
November 20 is International Hug a Runner Day, National Absurdity Day, National Child's Day, National Education Support Professionals Day, National Peanut Butter Fudge Day, Future Teachers of America Day, Geographic Information Systems Day and Name Your PC Day
SIMPLE PLEASURES
* Put on your favorite outfit
* Break out the bottle of champagne that's been sitting in the back of your fridge, waiting for a special occasion
* Eat a great meal off the "good china"
HOW TO SPREAD JOY/KINDNESS
* Reach out to those who are in pain and provide them a shoulder to cry on or a safe place to vent.
* Lend your support to people who are the targets of hate. Serve as an example for others.
* Stop by your local laundromat and offer to pay for everyone’s wash.
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RECOMMENDED SUBSTACK
MY LITTLE ONES - PAST & PRESENT
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places -- and there are so many -- where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction." --Howard Zinn
MOMENT OF GRATITUDE
Thanks to Ian Redding, Elle Decor, CBS News, The Morgan Library & Museum, Biography, The New York Times, CNN, CBS Boston, YouTube, Delish, Hannaford, Operation Turkey, the American Red Cross, the United American Indians of New England, Thrillist, PureWow, Great Big Story, the National Marine Life Center, This House, History.com, This Day in History, Britannica, Time and Date, On This Day, the Library of Congress, IMDb, Famous Birthdays, This Day in Music, National Today, National Day Calendar, Holidays Calendar, Robin Jonathan Deutsch, Unsplash, The End Files, Tanya Tarr, the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, Instagram, The Sassafras Curio, Bitsie Tulloch, Canva and Deposit Photos for art and story suggestions.
KEEP IN TOUCH
Read a positive/uplifting news story lately? Have an inspiring quote you want to share? Or do you just want to let me know about some of your favorite simple pleasures?
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