Giraffing Troubled Times

In this Heads Up, some thoughts on the Prime Directive, on job losses and where they might be leading us, a look at what's become of some Giraffes commended when they were very young, and my usual plea to send this on to all the people you know who could use a spark in their day.

~ Ann Medlock, Founder

THE PRIME DIRECTIVE

No matter where you live in the world, you're probably taking in the news of enormous disruptions in "normal" daily life. You may be experiencing the changes personally; if you aren't, you certainly know someone who is.

Most of us have cut back from whatever level of expenditures we'd been making. But even as we pull in, let's not forget to reach out. Now, perhaps more than ever in our lifetimes, the Prime Directive is to help each other through. Your time, your ideas, your attention, they're all needed.

If you were raised in the USA, you'll recognize Uncle Sam and his call to duty. Wherever you are, You're on!

THE QUOTE

"Remember that you are needed.
There is at least one important work to be done
that will not be done unless you do it."
~ Charles Allen

As jobs disappear all over the world, it could be that the work some of us are meant to do is not in a job bestowed on us by a business or an institution but something we generate ourselves, something that is the "one important work" that we were meant to do. Easy for me to say thin_dash

I've already found that work. But give it a thought as paid jobs continue to vanish. Maybe the important work you thin_dash

or someone near you thin_dash

is meant to do is something as odd (and unpaid) as mine. What needs doing in the world? What are you thin_dash

or that friend thin_dash

going to do about that?

A GIRAFFE SHIFTS GEARS

Giraffe Mark Trahant was commended for his great muckraking work as editor of the Navajo Times. When his truth-telling got him fired, Trahant went on to run the editorial page at the Seattle Post- Intelligencer which, as you know, crashed and burned last month. So what's Trahant going to do now? Write a book about the late Senator Henry M. Jackson, give speeches, and throw some humor into the world via Twitter. Looks like he's taking the shift in stride thin_dash

this is his current portrait of himself. You can track his moves at his website.

WHEN YOUNG GIRAFFES GROW UP...

A recent media inquiry had us tracking down people who were named Giraffes when they were young. We needed to see what they're doing now. We're so delighted with what we found, we'd love to hear from more now-grown-up Giraffes. (Giraffes of all ages are urged to check in from time to time.) Meanwhile, three of those youngsters...

Aaron Gordon, commended for his campaign to get seat belts installed on school buses, is working for an ad agency; in his private time he's teaching handicapped kids to sail and restoring artists' studios destroyed in a hurricane.

Snatam Kaur was commended as a California teenager for founding Creating Our Future, a nonprofit that organized young people to work for the environment and for peace. She was writing and performing her own songs for peace; she still is. Now there are albums and Youtube footage and audiences around the world. www.snatamkaur.com.

Christian Miller, a Giraffe for saving thousands of sea turtles when he was a boy, is teaching philosophy at Wake Forest. His focus is on "meta-ethics, moral psychology, theory of action, normative therapy, and philosophy of religion."

Excellent, caring kids became fine, compassionate adults. Nice how that works out, isn't it?

AS ALWAYS, PASS IT ON

You know my pitch ~ Pass this on, so the Giraffe message reaches as many people as possible.

And if you got this from a friend, Subscribe! I'll show up in your in box marked "From: giraffe@ccsend.com," every week or so. As we said in my old NYC neighborhood, What could be bad about that? ~ A.M.

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