friday five: passionate action

Juliet at four months. Rescue #2

I'm taking it as a sign from the universe that recent posts have challenged me "where I live," so to speak. Today's Friday Five is no exception. I'm got a lot of passions that take up space in my head and heart. Taking action is another matter. Let's go with those concerns where passion has translated into action.

1) Dogs. Specifically dogs, though that isn't to say that other animals don't fall under this category. Two of my present three dogs are rescues, and one no longer with us was also a rescue. But rescuing isn't what I'm taking about. On a trip to St. Louis several years ago I was driving through Kentucky and ahead of me some distance I could see something in the middle of the road. It appeared to be a dog, but it was also clear that the dog wasn't dead. I pulled off the road, made my way to the dog, assessed what I could of damage, and then got the dog to the other side of the road (traffic blessedly stayed in the right hand lane). Moments later a K-9 cop from Knoxville pulled over, and the short version of the story is that he took charge of the dog and his Mom ended up keeping him.

2) Children/families. When a member of my church was going through some incredible stress that paralyzed her capacity to think clearly and take responsible action, especially when it came to managing money. I stepped in to help. She and her young daughter were being evicted, and I went to court to speak on her behalf. I also talked to a bank that was shutting down her account because of bounced checks. I worked with her to get her back on her financial feet.

3) The environment, especially recycling. I'm fiendish about the latter, whether at home, church, or out and about.

4) Pluralism and diversity, and setting aside prejudice. Former co-workers of mine used a derogatory expression as a joke between themselves that I found it troubling. It was essential a racial slur. I finally found the courage to speak to one of them about it. They both stopped talking to me, but they also stopped using the slur and found a neutral word as a substitute.

5) Autism. The flame has been recently kindled regarding autism. I have learned a lot from friends and family who deal with autism on a daily basis, and I would like to be more of an advocate on behalf of those who live with this challenge in their lives. I'm working on what I can do