Life and Maya Angelou

My dear friend, Rua Necaise, sent me one of those chain letter emails today, which I usually don’t forward, but I will and I also decided to post it on my blog and then on Facebook because it home so profoundly. Not sure who wrote it originally. If I did (or discover) I will update this post.

Here’s the story about Maya Angelou:

Maya Angelou

PHOTO: DWIGHT CARTER / RANDOM HOUSE

Maya Angelou was interviewed by Oprah on her 70+ birthday. Oprah asked her what she thought of growing older. And, there on television, she said it was “exciting.” Regarding body changes, she said there were many, occurring every day…like her breasts. They seem to be in a race to see which will reach her waist, first. The audience laughed so hard they cried. She is such a simple and honest woman, with so much wisdom in her words!

Maya Angelou said this: “I’ve learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.” “I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.” “I’ve learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you’ll miss them when they’re gone from your life.” “I’ve learned that making a “living” is not the same thing as “making a life.” “I’ve learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.” “I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw some things back.” “I’ve learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision.” “I’ve learned that even when I have pains, I don’t have to be one.” “I’ve learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone.

People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back.” “I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn.” “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Nifty Paws PressMay was an exciting month with Curt’s 70th birthday, as well as the launch of Nifty Paws Press, as well as the publishing of our first book, Secrets & Pleasures. Our mission is to spread the word about innovative approaches to various social issues, while being entertaining, motivating and educational. Secrets & Pleasures is the first of these publications, and it is available in paperback and Kindle formats on Amazon. More books are on the way!

Woman's World MagazineWoman’s World, a weekly magazine sold primarily in supermarkets, with over one million readers in the U.S. and Canada, is doing a story about Curt and I and our nonprofit, Respecting Our Elders. The article will be in the December 12th issue, which will be on the stands December 1st. They heard about us because they saw the article that was published on dailygood.org recently. Very exciting!

dailygood.orgIn my email this morning was the latest article posted on dailygood.org. It is especially meaningful to me because yesterday I had a flash about what our new publishing company, Nifty Paws Press is all about: Community, Communication, Compassion and Connection. More about that later. Meanwhile, check out this article and film trailer for the upcoming film, Connected by Tiffany Shlain.http://www.dailygood.org/view.php?sid=95 and let me know what flashes of insight happen for you.

CornucopiaClearAfter a packed morning of completing the review of one of the exciting upcoming books from THRIVE Publishing—Mom Enterpreneur Extraordinaire—I spent the afternoon in two meetings for our nonprofit, Respecting Our Elders. The first was with an awesome gentleman who heads up the Marin Power & Sail Squadron here in Novato, and we finalized arrangements for the Power Squadron to allow us to use one of their well-equipped rooms for our Saturday Bag Program where we put together and then distribute over 80 bags of wonderful food donated to us by Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and Paradise Foods. The Power Squadron building has everything we need and then some, and we are totally honored to have them invite us to use their facilities. This building is one of the best kept secrets in Marin, and if you are looking for a great, affordable space for a meeting, party or even a wedding, you should check it out.  Call Al Codddington at 415-827-1122. I will have a link to more online info soon.

After that, I had a coffee date at our local Peet’s at Hamilton Marketplace with Wendy Todd, Program Director at the Marin Community Foundation, where I had the opportunity to brief her on the unique model of food distribution to seniors and others all over Marin that is the core of our Respecting Our Elders program. The truth is that talking about our nonprofit is one of the most exciting things I do, and Wendy asked some really good questions. The Marin Community Foundation is an extraordinary organization that is responsible for supporting so much good being done in Marin.

I have to say that I was totally high after these two meetings, knowing that the work that we are doing feeding about 2000 people every week is the most gratifying thing I have ever done and that with our team of over 100 volunteers we are making a huge difference in so many lives all over the County.