With the news out of Aurora this morning it’s hard not to feel out of sorts. This especially after a morning I spent researching mass murder for a scene in a book and then next thing I know there’s this news rolling in about dead people at a movie theater and gunshots and hurt kids and suddenly it’s a whole lot of bad feelings. Feelings that go toxic, septic, pretty fast.
On the other side of it, I saw something yesterday that was making me feel pretty good: there’s a local food stand that popped up within walking distance of the house. Nice little covered wagon with produce and some homemade jam and fresh-baked bread. Nobody there — just a cash box. The prices are all cheap, y’know, you can grab more potatoes than you’d need for a whole week and it won’t cost you more than two bucks for that giant basket of potatoes. And the people who put this farm stand up, they have a sign that says, “If you’re down on hard times, just take what you need, we understand.”
Which is pretty great.
And it leads me to this, and this is something I said on Twitter and Facebook this morning:
We balance out the horrors of a day like this by willfully doing good for others.
So, hug your kids, give to a charity, rescue a puppy, something, anything.
Evil can’t be undone, but good can outshine it.
So, if you feel like it, post something below in the comments that’s good and nice in this world. Don’t talk about the shooting or other bad shit. Don’t politicize anything (today is not a real good day to defend the second amendment, or talk about naughty pop culture or liberal-conservative fol-de-rol). Just post something nice. A story. Charity. Something your kid said or did. Anything at all.
This not in service of forgetting tragedy or ignoring it, but rather, to remind ourselves that people aren’t all bad and that one aberration a species does not make.
If you’re up for it, of course.
Mark H says:
A lot of people have posted some really great and inspiring things. Mine isn’t all that inspiring, but nice things come in big and small packages. My boss let me go home from work a bit early today. She didn’t have to, but it was a nice gesture and it made my afternoon.
July 20, 2012 — 11:08 PM
JR says:
Today I wrote five pages and packed a half dozen boxes so that I can move to a splendid (and cheap!) apartment with the guy that I love.
July 20, 2012 — 11:10 PM
KariLynn Dell says:
Today at the medical clinic where I work a Hutterite lady (think Amish but with tractors) came in for her appointment and brought us a big bag of freshly picked peas, still in the pods. Ahhhh. NOW it’s summer.
July 20, 2012 — 11:12 PM
Alice K. says:
For my day job, I work as a job coach for people with disabilities. I visit them at their jobs, talk to their supervisors, and help them with the skills they need to stay in the work force and be an employee in good standing. The pay is awful, it’s often stressful, and sometimes there’s nothing in my power to do.
But yesterday, when I visited a bagger at his job, after I got done talking to him, the customer he was bagging for approached and asked which agency I worked for. I told her, and she said she had a relative who received services in another state, and that she knew it was a thankless job. Then she thanked me for doing it, and said it was people like me who made a difference.
I almost cried.
July 20, 2012 — 11:15 PM
Lynne Favreau says:
I made a rhubarb custard pie this afternoon for my husband to fulfill one of the promises of our marriage pact, and because I adore him and nothing makes him happier than pie—NOTHING (Well, a month in which I don’t overdraft our checking account would make him happy but since that never happens it can hardly be counted).
My fourteen-year-old flitted in and out of our house unpacking from one sleepover and repacking for another. Her carefree lightheartedness was refreshing today and I’m grateful she has such a wonderful group of friends and is happy to be swimming all day, staying up all night and eating pancakes every morning.
Tomorrow my sixteen year old and I will pick blueberries and raspberries, then make and can raspberry jam which she loves, and making her happy makes me happy. And we’ll scare ourselves silly by having her drive there and back—woo hoo for hour three of driving instruction.
July 20, 2012 — 11:21 PM
Mia says:
This is something truly special. It’s the end of the day and I’m reading this and started crying about a quarter of the way through. It’s very good to know I’m desensitized neither to tragedy nor joy. Thank you.
July 20, 2012 — 11:22 PM
Andy T says:
A week ago, I was picking up odds and ends at Walmart on the way home from work. There was a family ahead of me in the checkout line that was having issues paying. The dad’s credit card was being rejected for the n-th time, so he decided to give up and started giving back the bags they had loaded into their cart. After taking a quick peek at their loot (mostly frozen dinners, rice and beans), noting that they weren’t buying any alcohol or tobacco, I offered to pay for it. It was about 60 bucks worth of stuff. Not much, but the mom teared up, making me almost tear up, and so on.
After helping get their bags back in the cart, I turn to the cashier to pay for my items. Only, the guy behind me, sporting a big, shit-eating grin, had paid for my items. At that point, the lady behind him, insisted to pay for his, and so it went in a line of about 8 people. It was a great moment of good will, and I’m glad to have kicked it off.
July 21, 2012 — 12:25 AM
Mike Herman says:
I woke up this morning.
I’m always amazed when that happens.
July 21, 2012 — 1:17 AM
Katelyn says:
A few weeks ago, my mom was leaving Wal Mart with my little brother. He’s five and has Downs, a side effect of which – for him at least – is perpetual happiness and an infectious good mood. As they were leaving, an old man was walking in. The man walked hunched over, staring at the ground as he kind of shuffled along. Mom said he looked like he was on the edge of crying. My brother walked right in front of him and put his arms out to hug the man. He didn’t force it, he just put his arms out wide and waited. The man started crying and hugged him, and my brother stood there hugging him back and patting his shoulder. Of course Mom started crying, and I’m teary-eyed myself telling the story.
It’s the little things in life, you know?
My brother’s five now, only a few months short half way to his next projected heart surgery at 12. His first one was at five months old: open heart surgery to construct a septum between the left and right chambers of his heart and to open up an artery so blood could flow to his lungs. Next time, he’ll have to have a whole valve replacement. It’s dangerous, you know? I could lose him.
But the time I’ve spent with him has been wonderful. Amazing. He’s such a joy. When I come home to visit with my son, he gets the biggest smile on his face and says “Sissy! Joo!” (Joo = Jude), and then he gives us both the biggest hugs. And he’s revitalized my mom. My other brother and I drained the life out of her. But with Seth, she goes to library programs for children and goes on field trips with his preschool class. It’s like she’s a whole new, much happier person.
We’re all happier people around him. My grandpa is on the verge of death with his diabetes and weight problems, but I swear he stays alive for Seth. My mom and dad were on the verge of divorce, but they held it together for Seth and now they’re happy. Hell, I probably wouldn’t even be talking to my parents if it weren’t for him.
So yeah. Life is hard. Sometimes the world is a terrible, awful place full of nightmares that hide out in dark places. But then, sometimes it’s a cool breeze and cool grass under your feet and the sun on your shoulders while your little miracle of a brother chases chickens around the yard. You take what you get, and you’re grateful for it.
July 21, 2012 — 1:39 AM
Lynna Landstreet says:
I have a wonderful 4-year-old son, but he sometimes gets so absorbed in watching videos on my computer (I don’t have TV) that he tunes the rest of the world out.
But yesterday as he was watching one, I took the dog out into the backyard — and saw an amazing-looking butterfly resting on the swing in the yard. It was HUGE — much bigger than most butterflies you see in my area, with red-black wings and a little row of pale blue spots along each one, plus some gold on the very outer edge of each wing. I’d never seen one like that before (though on the basis of later googling, I think it was a Mourning Cloak).
After staring for a moment in awe, I ran back in and called to my son “Come outside, quick! I want to show you something really cool!” — and he instantly, without hesitation, paused the video and jumped up to come see. I took him to where I’d seen the butterfly, and thankfully it hadn’t flown away yet. “Wow!” he breathed, a look of total amazement on his face. He tiptoed up very close to it to have a better look, and it still didn’t fly away. We watched it for a while, both of us speaking only in hushed whispers so as not to startle it into taking flight.
Eventually he did go back in to his video, but at least I was reassured that he was still capable of being wowed by beautiful things in nature.
And later that day, completely out of the blue, he climbed into my lap, put his arms around me, and told me he really loved me.
July 21, 2012 — 3:13 AM
Edward Pease says:
My 5 month old nephew said his first work last week, of course it was mama. But Wednesday he attempted “love you.”
July 21, 2012 — 4:59 AM
Bronson O'Quinn says:
I had a double shot of espresso today at a cafe in my town (Third Street Stuff in Lexington, KY). The barista apologized, saying it would be so good that I couldn’t have espresso anywhere else again. I tried it. Then when I pulled out the two bucks, he told me it was happy hour, so drinks were half off.
In fact, it was the best espresso I’ve ever had. I still paid two bucks, though. But half went in the tip jar.
July 21, 2012 — 5:24 AM
David Grigg says:
This week my granddaughter was born.
And as a bonus we got to look after our 2-year old grandson a lot. Tiring, but he is super cute and funny.
July 21, 2012 — 6:42 AM
Danzier says:
A friend is going overseas for a year (not military, ESL teaching). Today we are celebrating her birthday and thanksgiving and Christmas so she spends the holidays with family.
July 21, 2012 — 10:44 AM
Athena McCormick says:
Thank you to everyone who’s posted, for making my day that much brighter.
I recently got engaged and I still do an internal happy dance when my fiance indroduces me as his girlfriend. The fact that he he doesn’t always remember to say fiancee yet is completely outshined by the fact that I’m /his/ anything.
July 21, 2012 — 1:52 PM
Meredith Lorimar says:
Proceed in grace. Permit the Light to be your guide.
July 21, 2012 — 2:01 PM
R.J.Keith says:
It’s nice to know I work for people who recognise that we’re short staffed, and the staff that we do have are overworked. The fact that my boss is willing to work on a Sunday to give me three days off to work on my book lets me know that all is not lost.
July 21, 2012 — 4:29 PM
Elisabeth Crisp says:
After a run of terrible luck, something good happened. My ten year old told my husband, “See dad. You aren’t cursed.”
July 21, 2012 — 5:10 PM
Adam Gallardo says:
This story, about Ron Perlman dressing as Hellboy for the Make-A-Wish Foundation has been sustaining me for the better part of a week now.
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/ron-perlman-becomes-hellboy-again-for-the-make-a-wish-foundation-20120708
July 22, 2012 — 12:27 AM
Joe Testa says:
I a drawn to the dark, to drink, to mayhem and broken rules. Recently I enjoyed two pleasant evenings that caught me off guard and set me to thinking. A friend of my wife puts on a fireworks display every summer; we went for the first time. The display was spectacular. The gathering consisted of her friends, not mine, which means they are wholesome. No drunkenness, no over the top vulgarity, pleasant conversation and laughter.
Last night my wife and I met up with my son and we went to a Market Days event in our little NH city. Perfect summer night, visiting booths, talking to people, listening to outdoor music, having one beer in the beer tent.
I realized that small joys are significant joys and happiness can best be found naturally, not artificially.
The simplicity of family love, close friends and small joys are now my weapons against sadness.
July 22, 2012 — 2:09 PM