VA | Year of Giving

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Week 9 of Reed’s Year of Volunteering: National Multiple Sclerosis Society

Posted in Volunteering, tagged DC, meditation, multiple sclerosis, photography, rosslyn, speakers, VA, volunteering, washington, Week 9, yoga on March 14, 2011| 2 Comments »

Before I tell you about my amazing experience volunteering as a photographer – yep, a photographer – at a local event for individuals with multiple sclerosis, I want to do a shameless plug for two volunteering opportunities that are coming up…and I need you to come out and volunteer.

Servathon DC – On Saturday April 16^th Team Year of Giving will help Greater DC Cares. We’ll most likely be assigned to a local DC school or public park. Click here, sign up and choose to join a team. Then when prompted with the list of available teams, scroll down to the bottom and you should find Team Year of Giving!

Hands on DC Work-A-Thon: Similar to Servathon, this is a large city-wide initiative that focuses on improving DC Public Schools. Click here to join…be sure to join Team Year of Giving!

Dr. Byrne, who turned 60 on this day, spoke to the audience on the power of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction

Speaking of volunteering, my most recent volunteer outing was with the National Capital Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. A Day of Healing was a half-day program that was offered, free of cost as I understand it, in conjunction with the local YMCA for people in the DC area living with MS. An autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system, MS affects approximately 300,000 people (mostly women) in this country.

I arrived a few minutes late, having promised earlier that I would arrive by 10am. I somehow got stuck in the middle of a road race and couldn’t get unstuck for about 30 minutes. Thankfully I had given myself plenty of time to get there. When I finally did arrive I was greeted by Emily, a senior communications manager for the MS Society.

Adaptive yoga was a popular session

The day’s program started with a light breakfast, followed by an opening ceremony and group meditation led by Dr. Hugh Byrne who is an expert in mindfulness – the art of bringing a direct, non-judging awareness to our own experience, moment-by-moment. I think this is mostly done through meditation, but it seems clear that you can do this throughout your day as well.

I was instructed to try to get some photos in the opening session of Dr. Byrne speaking and leading the group meditation. First of all, I got to tell you that Dr. Byrne is your man if you want to meditate. I wasn’t even really trying to meditate, remember my task was to capture images, and I was like a baby being lulled to sleep by his calm British accent. But no time to relax, I have to get some photos.

Photographing people meditating is really awkward…second only to covering a funeral probably. You have a sea of attendees all motionless with their eyelids closed; resting like heavy clouds. The worst thing probably, besides the occasional hotel staffer who would make some noise, was the sound of me snapping pictures! Anyway, I tried to be respectful and got through the session. I don’t know if they will be able to use them though because basically it looks like an audience full of bored attendees who have fallen asleep!

Art proved to be a very relaxing activity.

Later the attendees had the opportunity to attend two of three break-out sessions that focused on yoga, nutrition and art therapy. Somewhere in the mix there was a lunch too where Dr. Byrne would deliver the keynote address and talk about Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and how it can positively affect those living with MS.

I weaved in and out of the break-out sessions trying to get good photographs despite the blah yellowish-gold colored rooms that were backdrops to the images I was to capture. What is it about hotel conference rooms that dictate that they be painted this terrible color anyway. All the while I have to be mindful of those with an orange circle on their badge. That meant they didn’t want to be photographed. Don’t tell anyone, but I’m color- blind. But I did the best I could!

Some people literally rolled up their sleeves and got dirty too!

Back at the lunch I set down my Nikon for a while and enjoyed the spread of food (who says there’s no free lunch!) and concentrated on Dr. Byrne’s presentation. Let me tell you that I am not someone who is into meditation and yoga. The only thing worse than sitting still for me is sitting still and getting blood work or a cavity filled (sorry Dr. Robinson!) But I will say that I really enjoyed Dr. Byrne’s presentation and did allow myself to relax some too.

According to our keynote speaker, subjects in a recent MBSR study reported improved memory and empathy while reducing stress. Now what was really astonishing was that when they did MRIs of these individuals the participants in the MBSR program showed increased brain density in the areas that deal with cognitive learning, compassion and introspection. Furthermore they experienced a thinning of the brain matter that relates to stress and anxiety. Nobody in the control group experienced such changes. Now that is pretty phenomenal. You might make me a believer out of this after all.

Adaptive Yoga Session

There were other impressive studies as well such as one done by researchers at UCLA that showed a slowing of the progression of HIV in patients who practiced MBSR. Dr. Byrne, who was celebrating his 60^th birthday on this day, left us with one clear message: “Attitude is everything.” What is the attitude that we bring to our current situation? I am a big believer in the power of positive thinking and attitude and couldn’t agree more with his emphasis on this point.

If you would like to help the MS Society by volunteering or making a donation, please visit www.nmss.org. And for those of you in the DC area, come out and join them at Walk MS on April 9, 10^th and 16^th. Click here for more details.

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Day 43 – Alex

Posted in Food & Beverage, tagged Arlington, DC, Maria, Oregon, spirits, VA, vino, washington, week 7, wine on February 27, 2011| 1 Comment »

Blog post by Maria D., a Kindness Investor from Washington, DC.

Photo: Maria D.

Meet Alex. She’s a vibrant, young woman, full of life and energy. She’s lived in Australia, Oregon, Chicago, and attended undergrad at Northwestern. Alex has a passion for grapes, which is what has led her to her current gig as Director of Marketing and Communication for Washington Wine Academy, based out of Arlington, VA.

But it wasn’t a smooth transition – she was an unemployed, “freaking out” new graduate “loafing” around Oregon and came to VA on a whim to take a wine certification class after working at Winestyles in college. Her instructor at WWA saw something in her that he wanted to snatch up, and hired her back in April 2010.

Alex’s gamble of moving out East from Oregon seems to have paid off as she loves her job – wine, people, events, what’s not to love? Which brings us to her $10. She knew immediately how she’d be spending it: “mmm, a giant coffee and a breakfast sandwich” while working her company’s event this weekend, a 1K Wine Walk.

When I asked her if she needed anything, she quickly responded, “No thanks, I’m perfect! Well….(she hastily recanted) I could use an extra day before Monday! Can you guys help me with that?” Probably not…but thanks for your infectious smile and boundless energy, Alex!

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Day 362 – Jen B.

Posted in Something for others, tagged $10, death, favorites, heros, love, Manassas, remembrance, sad, VA, war on December 29, 2010| 6 Comments »

Today marks the first day of giving for our newest Kindness Investor from Seattle: Petra. I spoke to another future Kindness Investor earlier this week. His name is Michael B. from Connecticut and he will start his week of kindness investing on January 5th. Slowly I am getting people to join this movement; a seven-day, seventy dollar investment that has the power to change an unemployed person’s perspective on life through kindness. If you or someone you know are out of work and want an opportunity of a lifetime, drop me a line.

Today’s recipient is one whose story touched me tremendously. I was in Manassas, VA visiting my good friends Thomas and Tressa. It was their beautiful baby girl Tegan’s first birthday. Well, I guess she already had a birthday last year…a real birth day…anyway she turned one! While I was there I met a friend of theirs named Jen who teaches at the same school where Tressa teaches. I decided to give her my $10.

Our conversation was quite typical at first. We talked about her job as a high school biology teacher. I learned about her experience volunteering in Ghana with an ophthalmologist. “I did eye exams and distributed glasses to local communities,” she explained. “It completely inspired me!” It inspired her to pursue other dreams and that is why next year this 30-year-old Pittston, PA native will leave her lesson plans on photosynthesis and Mendel’s heredity research for a new career in medicine.

It’s not a surprise that Jen is going back to school when you learn that she is the faculty member that overseas homecoming, student council, prom, quiz team, etc. Yep, she’s definitely an overachiever. My friends tell me that she is a karaoke wiz too! “I know the lyrics to just about any song from the late 80s and early 90s,” she says beaming.

Then I asked a question that completely changed our carefree conversation, “Are you married, do you have kids?” I asked. There was a brief silence and she responded that she was a widow. I offered my condolences and she explained that her husband, Army 1^st Lt. Todd J. Bryant, was killed on October 31st of 2003 in Fallujah, Iraq when an improvised explosive device (IED) hit his Humvee. The 23-year-old was assigned to Company C, 1st Battalion, 34th Armor Regiment, 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Kansas. A graduate of West Point Military Academy, Todd’s death came just 52 days after being deployed or as Jen put it to a journalist once, “55 letters later.” “And we were married just ten days before he deployed,” she told me managing to keep her composure.

She shared with me the moment that she learned the news. “I was teaching at my school,” she began to say, “when I was visited by an Army general and chaplain…”

I was speechless. I just wanted to give her a big hug. In a matter of minutes I felt like I knew Jen for years rather than the handful of minutes we had actually spent talking to each other. And although I never met Todd, I can assure you that he was nothing less than extraordinary.

I have to be honest I couldn’t stop thinking about Todd when I got home later that evening. I had so many questions and turned to the Internet to find out more. He quickly becomes more than a casualty of war but a bright young man who liked In-n-Out burgers and making people laugh, who dreamed of raising a family with his soul mate and pursuing a career in government where he could effect real change in our country. He was a husband, a son, a brother and a friend. He would have been my friend.

There were also comments from those who never knew Todd but reached out to pay their respects to a family that understood the meaning of service. Todd’s parents were former military officers and his brother Tim is currently a Lt. Col in the U.S. Marine Corps serving in the Marine Expeditionary Unit and sister Tiffany, a 2000 graduate of West Point herself, served as a Captain in the Army before becoming a teacher.

You’ll even find a hard to put down book entitled In the Time of War by Bill Murphy, Jr. that focuses on Todd and his fellow graduating class from West Point. I got the book and have read several chapters already. It has several heartfelt excerpts of letters that Jen wrote to her husband and Todd’s farewell letter to Jen. I can’t remember the last time I cried from reading a book.

It was fitting I thought that she decided to use the ten dollars to buy items for a care package that the student council members at her school were preparing to send to troops stationed overseas for the holidays.

Todd J. Bryant 1/14/80 - 10/31/03

We live far away from places like Fallujah, Iraq and Helmand Province, Afghanistan and sometimes we take for granted the sacrifices our brothers and sisters in uniform make for us. I dedicate this blog post to the memory of Todd Bryant and encourage you to take a moment of silence right now and pay your respects to Todd and all of those who have lost their lives serving their respective countries.

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Day 334 – Tyler S.

Posted in Something for themself, tagged $10, Charlottesville, college, family, music, school, university, VA on December 2, 2010| 1 Comment »

Did you participate in Pay it Forward Day yesterday? I did…I gave $10 to Rachel, a 22-year-old who just graduated from American University with a degree in graphic design and photography. Here story coming on Day 352!

Today…we travel south to the picturesque town of Charlottesville, VA. The town of 50,000 is located smack in the center of the Commonwealth of Virginia along the Rivanna River, a tributary of the James River. It’s about 120 miles from Washington, but somehow we took the most backward way possible and spent 3+ hours getting there.

So my brother, sister-in-law and I were going to meet up with my cousin Doug and his daughter Chelsea…what does that make us, cousins once removed, second cousins, anyway. My dad also drove down from Pennsylvania. Chelsea is a graduating high school senior and is scouting out colleges which landed them in at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. They live in Colorado so we don’t get to see them that often, although come to think of it I have seen Doug three times this year, but anyway, you get the point. They come in to town and we all thought it would be a good idea to meet up. And my cousin Dianne was driving in the next day too. It was fun spending time with family.

Anyway I found a family having a picnic lunch – it was a perfect afternoon for that – right on campus before the football game.

Tyler is a freshman at UVA and his family is down visiting him from Northern Virginia…close to DC. He grew up in Herndon, VA…I also lived in Herndon for a while. Small world.

The 18-year-old economics major says that my cousin should choose UVA. “It’s great here,” he said as he helped himself to some potato chips, “freedom is the best part!” I can’t think of a more beautiful place to explore that freedom. The campus is stunning. The town is quaint and charming. “And we’re in the top 5 in the country for soccer,” Tyler adds.

I felt a little like I just crashed their family picnic…which I did, so I tried not to stay too long. I gave Tyler the money and he said he was going to buy some music with it. “Probably some punk music. My favorite band is Sonic Youth.”

Tyler and his family enjoying their picnic.

Before I left he did have something for me to add to the Lend a Hand initiative. “I could use an internship in the DC area for the summer.” Hopefully somebody will see this and give this promising young man a chance.

On Tuesday I got this update from him via email:

I ended up ordering one of my favorite albums- “Psychocandy” by The Jesus and Mary Chain. I’d never gotten around to buying a physical copy of it before.” – Tyler S.

He won’t be able to make the Year End Celebration because he has a final exam that day. Although we’ll miss him, it’s probably a wise decision.

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Day 325 – Tiffany B.

Posted in Donation, tagged $10, Alexandria, collections, conferences, hedgehogs, hobbies, nonprofits, VA on November 24, 2010| 4 Comments »

I was attending a training seminar at the Hilton Hotel near the King Street Metro in Alexandria. I had some roof leaks the night before during a heavy downpour and I ended up getting no sleep. I arrived right at the time it was starting. Hmmm…do I sit at the front and hope that helps motivate me to stay awake, or do I try to hide in the back, I thought. I chose the front, although that ended up being a poor choice because I ended up surrendering at points to the inner need to sleep.

I felt terrible…I was really interested in the subject matter but I just could not fight the narcoleptic impulses that pulled my eyelids downward.

Tiffany sent me this photo of herself.

The person sitting next to me at the conference was Tiffany. She works as the Director of Philanthropy at a VA based nonprofit. Originally from the DC area, Tiffany moved to Alabama for three years but returned recently. “My parents and two brothers live here, so it’s nice to be back in the area,” she told me.

We chatted at the breaks. She even offered to nudge me if I slipped into a slumber. At the end of the day I asked her to take my $10. She did and the fun began. We talked about a lot of things; however, the thing that I could not get past was her unique obsession with hedgehogs. Yep, hedgehogs. Now, I think people often interchange hedgehogs and porcupines, but I’m going to assume that her infatuation is in fact with the hedgehog (Erinaceinae).

She has a hedgehog collection which started on a missionary trip she took with her father to Romania. “This guy had 200 figurines and he gave me one,” Tiffany recounted. She’s got them from about 20 countries although she was quick to point out that, “There not on display!”

It gets better though. She later bought a live hedgehog in North Carolina and named him Darcy after the Lost character. Well, this gets fuzzy (no pun intended) here but she transported Darcy to Virginia which may or may not have been legal. I did a little research and found that there are about a half-dozen states that do not allow hedgehogs, however, I didn’t find anything related to Virginia or North Carolina that prohibits them. THEN she decides she has to sell little Darcy and sold him on craigslist! Well, before you go commenting that you can’t sell animals on craigslist, there is a little loophole. She actually didn’t sell Darcy, she sold the cage and accessories and gave Darcy away to a veterinarian student. I hope they didn’t use Darcy for lab work. Tiffany had thought of this as well. “There was one stipulation, no dissecting,” she told me.

Hedgehogs apparently make good pets. “You don’t have to walk them,” she said. “And he was really cute and stayed up while I studied, they’re nocturnal, and he would run on his little wheel.” The drawback she told me was that her clothes started to smell like hedgehogs. She smelled fine when I met her though!

Tiffany has crossed paths with hedgehogs in other periods of her life. Her sorority “little” had one too!

In all fairness, let me tell you that Tiffany is totally normal and even told me that she doesn’t know why she thought of the hedgehog when we were talking. It definitely made for an interesting and educational chat though!

Oh, and remember that trip to Romania where the whole thing started, that was through Oakseed Ministries. They help abandoned children and the poor throughout the world. Tiffany donated her $10 to the organization.

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Day 308 – Dave H., Julie L., Cathy B., Scott D. & Brandon G.

Posted in Alcohol, Food & Beverage, tagged $10, Arlington, bars, football, groups, Pittsburgh, pubs, sports, Steelers, VA on November 6, 2010| 1 Comment »

Hey, so yesterday I totally screwed up on my twitter account. I thought I was sending a private message and apparently I broadcasted my mobile number! Ooops. Thankfully LilaScot noticed it and sent me a message to let me know. Thanks! I got it taken care of now.

One of my favorite pubs, Ireland's Four Courts in Arlington, VA. (photo: Reed)

So today you are going to meet five amazing, intelligent, beautiful people. With a description like that they could only be one thing…that’s right Steeler fans!

Dave, Julie, Cathy, Scott and Brandon were all watching the Steelers game at one of my favorite pubs: Ireland’s Four Courts in Arlington. All of them but Brandon were clad in their Steeler jerseys and shirts. If any of you are wondering what to get Brandon for the holidays, I’m guessing that a Steelers jersey would be much appreciated!

Some of them live here in the DC area, others live in Pittsburgh and Cathy came all the way from Panama City.

From L-R, Cathy, Scott, Brandon, Dave and Julie. (photo: Reed)

I tried to figure out how everyone knew each other. So Dave and Scott went to middle school together at Eden Christian Academy. Julie and Scott are dating and I think Cathy and Dave are too….they actually met playing World of Warcraft online. Hey, maybe Ashanti will meet someone there too….he used to be a big fan of the online game.

I commented on Brandon’s hat and learned that he actually bought it in Germany. “So I was there for Oktoberfest with Julie and Scott,” Brandon told me. “I have a big head and it’s not easy to find a hat that fits…so when I found this one I got it!”

All five of my new Steeler friends agreed to put their $2 share of the $10 toward their bar tab.

I offered to put something on the Lend a Hand section for any of them and got some interesting requests. Cathy would like to meet the Steelers’ all-pro safety Troy Polamalu. In fact she said that she bought Head & Shoulders 2 in 1 shampoo just because his commercials for it! Advertising works.

Brandon would like some help finding a job as a research analyst in the criminal justice field. The 25-year-old lives in Northern Virginia and has a degree in public policy specializing in criminal justice.

My new football friends hanging out at the Four Courts. (photo: Reed)

Dave joined in and said he would like some Steeler tickets! And if you donate some tickets to Dave, add an extra ticket for me!!! I’ve never been to a game in Pittsburgh.

Well the Steelers went on to trounce the Browns 28-10. Hey, catch the Steelers this Monday night take on the Bengals! I’m thinking about going to the Pour House to watch the game if you are in the DC area and want to join. Who knows, you might even get ten bucks!

UPDATE: 11/20/2010

I just got an email from Cathy…I was right, they are dating, in fact they are engaged. And guess what, she told me that Julie and Scott have just got engaged as well! Congrats guys!

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Day 282 – Ernest H.

Posted in Rent, tagged $10, Arlington, begging, economy, homeless, homelessness, jobs, VA on October 9, 2010| 2 Comments »

This Sunday is the 10th of October. Inspired by the Year of Giving, a guy named Howard Wu created an event, Give a Stranger 10 Bucks Day. Howard thought that the perfect day to do this would be October 10th since it is 10/10/10. Why not join me and Howard and give $10 away this Sunday. Click here to go to Howard’s event page. Like the Worldwide Day of Giving, I encourage you to leave comments here or on the Facebook page about your experience. Good luck!

Ernest has been out of work for nearly five years. (photo: Reed)

On Day 280 I saw Ernest holding a sign on the side of a very busy intersection in Virginia. Born in Alexandria, VA, this 51-year-old used to work for the Alexandria School Board, but he has been unemployed for the past five years. He now lives in motels.

“I started panhandling about a month and a half ago,” Ernest tells me. “I was working on and off for a moving truck company.” Now he stands on the corner of Lee Highway and Fairfax Road holding a sign that says, “I am homeless. Does it hurt to give to someone in need. Please help me if you can? God bless.”

He says that on a good day he brings in about $90.

Now divorced, Ernest has a 30 year-old-son, two grandkids and three stepchildren. “I try not to be a burden to any of my kids.” He says that some people he knows don’t know that he is homeless, but admits that “the truth will set you free.”

“I’m not learning too much out here,” he confesses as a pick-up truck whizzes by him pushing him up against the guard rail. “You get all kinds of people out here.” A lot of people show him compassion and offer him some help, but others taunt him. “You know some guys say stuff like, ‘Hey man you look healthy…get a job!’ I’m like, at least give me a smile or a wave or something.”

He says that it is really hard for him right now. “I would much rather have a job.” He would like to find work as a handyman, custodian or maintenance man.

Although he says he is not learning much, I did find one thing he has learned. He figured out where the best corner to stand was. “I used to stand across the street and a few other places, but this has the most traffic,” he explains. I was shocked that he chose the spot he did because there was only about 18 inches between him and the passing cars. I jumped over on the other side of the guard rail while I spoke with him because I didn’t feel safe standing where he was.

Ernest put the $10 I gave him toward the cost of his room that night.

Ernest used the $10 to pay for a motel room that night. (photo: Reed)

Before leaving, we swapped telephone numbers in case someone reading this would like to contact Ernest about a job. I learned that in Arlington County if you fall below a certain economic indicator the county supplies you with a cell phone and a basic minutes plan. This gives homeless individuals like Ernest a way for family, friends and potential employers to locate them. Awesome!

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Day 271 – Roger G.

Posted in Something for others, tagged $10, Alcohol, funny, NASCAR, racing, Richmond, stories, VA, video on September 28, 2010| 1 Comment »

American flags welcome the cars as they come around for the start of the race. (photo: Reed)

In the US, NASCAR is second only to the NFL in terms of televised audience for sporting events. It claims 75 million fans who purchase over $3 billion in annual licensed product sales making it one of the most brand-loyal organizations in the world. So when my friends Tom and Tressa invited me to go to the Sprint Cup Series NASCAR event in Richmond on September 11^th, I couldn’t say no.

Here is something I found amazing. Compare Football to NASCAR. When my buddy Chris invites me to a Washington Redskins game I feel like owner Dan Snyder is always trying to get more money out of me some way. As if the $75 ticket I paid wasn’t enough. Ok, I’ll be honest. I don’t think my Chris, who has season tickets to the Redskins, has ever accepted a dime for the tickets he gives me, however, I am sure he’s paying Mr. Snyder. They charge $50 and up for parking, beers are $8, a sandwich is $10, there’s even been talk about making fans pay to tailgate! In contrast, NASCAR, which was started by Bill France in 1948 and still family owned, has a different approach. Perhaps this is what makes their fans so loyal. When we arrived at the Richmond International Raceway in Henrico County, VA, parking was free! What’s more, you were allowed to bring your own food and beverages into the stadium. Heck, the only other thing you really need to buy while you are there are earplugs. And those are provided at the track by the Boy Scouts in exchange for a donation.

From left to right, Josh, Roger, John, Turner and Jim (photo: Reed)

Anyway, speaking of food and beverages, we decided to do a little cookout prior to the race. A few cars away I spotted a group of five guys enjoying a few beers and laughs and wandered over there to find a recipient for my $10.

Instead of splitting the $10 five ways they choose for Roger, the president of a commercial real estate construction company in West Virginia, to receive the money. I later found out that the five men didn’t know each other before the race. Roger was there with a colleague of his, Josh. The two of them met John and Turner there tailgating. Jim wandered by at some point and made friends as well. It’s amazing what a little Budweiser and 45 cars speeding around in a circle can do to bring grown men together.

Roger said he was rooting for the #88 car, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Turner favored the FedEx car driven by Denny Hamlin. Jim worked for Ford for many years but said he was a fan of Chevrolet’s cars. None of them appeared to be die-hard fans of any one particular driver, just fans of NASCAR.

Roger told me some crazy stories about him having a condition he called “sleep terror.” I looked it up and found it to be more commonly called night terror, or pavor nocturnus, which according to Wikipedia is a parasomnia disorder that causes people to wake up abruptly from their sleep. This is often accompanied by gasping, moaning or screaming while they are waking. It is often nearly impossible to fully awaken a person experiencing a night terror so most individuals end up settling back into deep sleep and have no recollection of the episode.

Roger told me about a time when he was 17 and his parents finally woke him up in the middle of the night after they heard noises coming from the kitchen and found him there alone with a kitchen knife. “I thought I had a tick,” he told me. “I was trying to get it out.” Luckily his parents were able to wake him up and nobody was injured. Think this sounds crazy, check out two other stories Roger shared with me. I also included a short scene from the race…its hard to appreciate the speed and noise on video, but trust me they’re moving fast and it’s deafening!

Now it sounds to me like some of his sleep terror could be a result of the 12-packs of beer that are involved. Who knows? 🙂

I asked Roger what he was going to do with the $10 and he said he was going get something for his kids. “I’ve got one that is eight and the other is ten,” he told me as he tucked the bill away in his wallet.

Before leaving he told me that he thought of something that I could put on the Lend a Hand section. “I’d like my friend Josh here to get a chance at singing country music,” he said of his colleague who had joined him for the race. Josh enjoys singing but was a little shy at the moment to belt out some tunes in the middle of the beer drenched field.

Roger's favorite, Dale Earnhardt Jr., finished 34th at Richmond. (photo: Reed)

It was getting close to race time so we said our goodbyes and headed over to the track. I admit that I don’t know the first thing about NASCAR or any motor racing sport for that matter. I mean it took me a while to realize that former football coach Jimmy Johnson wasn’t driving the #48 car. That would be Jimmie Johnson, a difference of about 30 years and 50 pounds. It would have been impressive though had it been him. And hey, you can’t fault me too much thinking that with all the talk about Joe Gibbs’ racing team. Speaking of which, the Gibbs team went on to take first and second place in that night’s race. First place went to Turner’s pick, Denny Hamlin in the #11 car. His teammate, Kyle Busch, finished second in the #18 car. As for Roger’s hopeful, Dale Jr., he finished a disappointing 34^th.

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Day 269 – Doris S.

Posted in Church, tagged $10, at work, cars, church, Falls Church, VA on September 26, 2010| 1 Comment »

Doris driving my Jetta. You can't see it well, but VolksWerks is in the background. (photo: Reed)

I told you recently that my car has had a bunch of problems. Well, I finally bit the bullet and took my car to VolksWerks, a VW/Audi mechanic in Falls Church, VA. I needed to get some work done in order to pass DC’s emission tests. I dropped the car off early Friday morning. Like a lot of places, they offer to drop customers off at nearby Metro stops. Doris, the office manager, gave me a ride in my vehicle over to the East Falls Church Metro station. On the way I figured I would give her my $10. I mean, this is an interesting scenario. Someone I don’t know is driving around in my car! So, I pulled out my $10 and asked if she would accept it.

She agreed and had a few questions about the Year of Giving.

“I know exactly what I am going to do with it,” Doris said as she turned onto a side street. “I’m going to give it to my church, the Holy Transfiguration Melkite Greek-Catholic Church in McLean.”

Doris shared that she had recently started dating a man who was really interested in her church. “I did nothing to cause that, he just did it on his own,” she explained. “I’m going to donate this $10 to my church on behalf of him and his soul.” She explained how beautiful it was to see him growing with his faith.

Honda Shadow Spirit 750cc

It was early and we were stuck in some morning rush hour traffic. I asked 32-year-old Philadelphia native to tell me about herself, what kind of things she liked, hobbies, etc. She told me that she recently got a motorcycle. “I got a Honda Shadow Spirit 750cc.” I don’t think I could ever own a motorcycle. My brother has one, but I can’t ignore that no matter how safe you are some other idiot can hit you and you just don’t have as much protection as you do in a car. This is all coming from someone who has 100+ jumps as a skydiver…then again, I haven’t done any skydiving for almost ten years, so maybe I’m just becoming more of a chicken as I get older.

In addition to being a motorcycle enthusiast, Doris has something else in common with my brother. They both went to Drexel University in Philadelphia. She studied music there.

She also has completed a couple triathlons. She even did one while coping with a foot injury. Wow… that must be really hard.

My 2000 Jetta has seen better days. (photo: Reed)

We arrived at the Metro station and I thanked her for the ride. I traveled back into DC and went on with my day. My car was not done that day, so I had to go back and pick it up the following day. It cost me about $500 to get the emissions issues fixed on my car. Just another reason for me to consider getting Zipcar!

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Day 237 – Jon M.

Posted in Transportation, tagged $10, drugs, economy, food, hope, jail, jobs, restaurants, shopping, Tyson's Corner, VA on August 24, 2010| 5 Comments »

Jon gets a fresh delicious pretzel for a customer (photo: Reed)

On Sunday I said goodbye to Sweetie and Manassas and headed back to DC. On the way home I stopped at the Tyson’s Corner Mall. I got to admit that I have almost no willpower when it comes to Auntie Anne’s Pretzels. I succumbed to the cravings and walked over and got a pretzel. My favorite one is the jalapeno, but they didn’t have that at this one so I just got the original. Mmmm…it was devoured in about two minutes.

As I was eating I thought that maybe I could give my $10 to the guy who sold me the pretzel. I walked back over and introduced myself to Jon and explained what I was doing. He said he would accept my $10 and I chatted with him while he prepared the place for closing, after all the mall was closing in about 10 minutes.

Jon (photo: Reed)

After four months working for the pretzel gods, Jon says that the original pretzel is the most common. “We also sell a lot of almond pretzels,” he says. I never knew they sold almond pretzels but he says that they are quite popular with Asian Americans. Which is interesting, because when I used to live in Brazil they had pretzel shops there too, but they never sold salted pretzels, mostly sweet pretzels. Brazilians like salty snacks; I’ve always thought that the original pretzel would be very popular there. Maybe they would like the almond pretzel! Anyway.

Jon comes across as a professional, charismatic guy. I was a little surprised that he was working in retail at the mall. He shared with me that he had been convicted of felony drug charges in the past and it was hard to find work. “I was sentenced to 15 months in Arlington County jail,” he tells me although he later explains that the majority of the sentence he served in a rehabilitation center. “That’s in the past now. I’m clean now. I was at a point in my life when I needed change,” Jon said.

Now he is focused on other things. He realized he had to exchange his old lifestyle and friends for a new lifestyle that would allow him to live a productive life. When he is not working he says that he enjoys going to the gym, playing sports and rooting for the Redskins. He has also invested time and money into getting his A+ Certification for computer systems. He has done all the coursework he needs he just needs to take the final exam. He got interested in computers at an early age and has been building his own computers for the past four to five years.

Jon attends to some customers (photo: Reed)

A family walked up and ordered three pretzels. “We have a special that if you buy two you get the third one free,” he told her. That made them so happy.

I learned that three nights a week they give their leftover food to a shelter program. Very nice. I am not sure why they don’t do it every night but I suspect it might present some logistical challenges.

“So what do you think you will use the $10 for?” I asked him. He didn’t waste any time to blurt out, “Bus fare!” He sometimes uses a scooter, but relies heavily on the bus system. “Right now my scooter is in the shop actually,” he said. “It was supposed be ready the other day but now it wont be ready until tomorrow at the earliest – that’s the kind of stuff that used to set me off when I was using, but now it doesn’t really bother me.”

One of his colleagues showed up from the other location that Auntie Anne’s has in the mall. I told him that I would let him go and packed up my stuff and tried to figure out how I was going to get out of the mall because some of the exits were now closed. Jon told me how to get out and thanked me and I wished him a good night. He smiled and said, “Thanks, I will. I’m actually meeting my mother for dinner!”

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Day 236 – Breanna C. & Alex H.

Posted in Unknown, tagged $10, amazing, chile, downtown, economy, funny, jobs, Manassas, night, perseverance, VA on August 23, 2010| 3 Comments »

Chilean president Sebastián Piñera holds up a message from the trapped miners. (photo: Hector Retamal/AP)

Have you been following the 33 miners trapped in a mine in Chile. Well, yesterday after 17 days trapped 4.5 miles inside the winding mine, rescuers received a note written in red paint that all 33 were alive! VIVA CHILE! That is awesome. Now the challenge. It will take up to four months to get them out…but they are able to send some supplies down to them. Read more about this here.

This is the same shot I took the yesterday but at night (photo: Reed)

Back here in the US, I was on my third day in Manassas when I decided to go to the historic downtown and find my recipient of the day. I had gone to dinner down in Springfield with some old work colleagues and then drove back and stopped downtown. It’s a charming quaint looking place where you see the same police car driving around the town a couple of times during the same evening (either that or they were suspicious of the “guy from out of town walking around giving money away and taking pictures.”) The flag lined streets are nestled with small shops, restaurants, bars, a hotel and even a barber shop. It’s in front of the Royal Cuts Barber Shop on Center Street that I found Alex and Breanna sitting on a bench.

I am not sure how well they knew each other. At first I figured they were a couple, but then it turned out that they were just friends, or maybe even acquaintances, who had attended the same high school.

Alex and Breanna chilling in front of Royal Cuts Barber Shop (photo: Reed)

I asked them what someone should see or do in Manassas and they said that they really didn’t have a good answer. “There’s not much to do here except go around town and look at the plaques,” they said referring to the historical markers that are peppered around the city center. Alex said to check out a place called Tommy’s. “It’s pretty good and they got some pool tables,” he added. I looked them up later on the internet and it seems to be an interesting place. They describe the atmosphere as a “sports bar” that is also “family friendly” and welcomes cowboy hats!

I asked them what they liked to do and they both said they enjoyed writing. “I have a freakish imagination,” Alex says. “I write short stories, sci-fi and fantasy but it’s not very good.” Breanna says she also likes to write and is equally self-deprecating of her talent. Alex also admitted to a severe music addiction saying that he likes all kinds of music, “80s, 90s up to today.”

We chat some more and before too long before a friend of Breanna’s who just got off work stopped by. I’m going to take the liberty to change his name and call him Mike…I think you will understand once I explain more. Anyway, I had asked Alex and Breanna to share with me something interesting or funny about them so when Mike arrived I thought better yet, I’ll ask Mike to give me some funny story about the two. Mike thinks for a second and then says, “Ok, well, I guess I could share this with you but it’s pretty embarrassing.” Mike proceeds to tell me a story that had nothing to do with Alex and Breanna at all. It was story about him that had to do with masturbation!

I was looking at Breanna and Alex and they were looking at me and none of us knew quite what to say. “I don’t think he understood your question,” Breanna said. Yeah, I’d say that was a safe assumption.

Anyway, it was a bit awkward for a minute or two and then Breanna left with Mike and I stayed behind with Alex.

Intersection of Main and Center Streets at night (photo: Reed)

I’m glad I decided to hang out a little longer and chat with Alex because he shared his own personal struggle getting a job. That meant a lot to me given my own 285 day search for employment that I had gone through since being laid off last year. Alex didn’t graduate when he should have because he failed a civics class. It started off ok but then the teacher had a stroke and they had a slew of substitute teachers in and out of the classroom and he just didn’t do well and ended up failing. Until he finished the class and got his diploma it was really hard to find a job that would pay anything decent.

Alex found himself graduating as the country slipped into a depression. The job market turned south and he was left knocking on doors, literally. “I walked door to door at one point looking for a job,” he told me. I asked him if he could share the story on video and he agreed. His heartfelt story shows how determination on a rainy day can lead to opportunity. Anyone who has thought about giving up on finding a job should watch this!

So, what the heck happened to the $10, right! Well, I asked Alex what he was going to do with the money and we realized that Breanna had ended up with the money! Somehow I must have missed that when she left. Perhaps I was distracted by the masturbation story. Anyway, I have emailed Breanna and hope to get an update on the $10 soon.

We said goodbye and I walked through the streets of Manassas passed dozens of dark storefronts until I arrived at my car. I went back and took Sweetie for a walk before going to bed.

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Day 234 – Angela T.

Posted in Food & Beverage, Refusals, tagged $10, determination, economy, family, homeless, homelessness, hope, jobs, Manassas, perseverance, VA on August 21, 2010| 1 Comment »

If you are in Washington, DC, join me today at the Shakespeare Theatre Family Fun Fair from 10:00-2:00 downtown near the Verizon Center. It should be a fun event for the whole family.

photo: Reed

I was recently dog-sitting in Manassas, VA for my friends Tressa and Tom. It was nice to have a new community for a few days to share the Year of Giving with. On my first day there I headed over to Costco to get some items that I needed. As I was leaving I saw a man sitting with his child. I asked him to be my 234^th recipient but he preferred not to participate. His name was Jeremy.

I then headed over to the Giant grocery store on Sudley Rd and picked up another couple items to have on hand for my weekend “getaway” in Manassas. I was still looking for someone else but just didn’t seem to see the right person. About a block away from the Giant there was a Family Dollar store. I drove over there and saw a woman coming out of the store.

I parked quickly and ran over to Angela who was now loading her purchases into the car. She was very friendly and open to talking with me. We talked for about thirty minutes and I have thought about her and her story every day since.

Angela has overcome many challenges in life (photo: Reed)

Angela is a 35-year-old single mother of five kids! The oldest is 17 and the youngest is seven. Unfortunately she doesn’t have custody of the children right now because the father (they are separated) had nearby family that would be able to help raise the children. Angela’s closest family members are in West Virginia. She works two full-time jobs right now as a certified nursing assistant in order to be able to support herself and make payments to help with childcare of her children. “I have been working as a CNA for 14 years now,” She says. “I like what I do; it’s like taking care of family.”

As we talked more I discovered that just how difficult of a time it was for Angela when she and her husband separated. It set off a series of events. She got depressed and ended up losing her job and later her home. “I slept in my car for a total of six months to get back to living in an apartment,” she told me.

Angela shared this very emotional moment with me in this video clip. It’s heartbreaking to see and hear her describe such a difficult time in her life.

Angela has her own apartment now and wants to go back to school to get her nursing degree. She also wants custody of her children. “It’s really hard,” she admits. I think it’s important that Angela pursue her nursing degree so that she can have a more stable financial situation, work fewer hours and have a more active role in the lives of her children. The challenge with that is to be able to juggle nursing school while still working enough to make ends meet. If you or anyone you know is a career counselor at a school that might be able to speak with Angela and give her some guidance on how to successfully manage all that, please contact me so that I can put you in touch with her.

As I said earlier I think about my conversation with Angela every day. Meeting her and learning about her story really touched my heart. It’s people like Angela that I meet that make going out and giving my $10 away every day worth it.

Angela in front of the car that she lived in for six months (photo: Reed)

She was tired and had worked all week. Angela told me that she was going to run in to the Aldi supermarket and get some groceries with my $10. I gave her a hug and walked back to my car and just sat there for a while thinking about how difficult it must have been to lose her husband, her children, her job, her house and live in her car.

Her determination and perseverance remind me of a quote by Harriet Beecher Stowe, “When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.”

Angela’s tide is turning.

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Day 216 – Elida F.

Posted in Something for others, tagged $10, Annandale, Brazil, family, food, friends, tradition, VA on August 2, 2010| 1 Comment »

Feijoada and side dishes

I lived in Brazil for three years and absolutely loved the food. One of the most typical meals is feijoada, in fact it is considered the national dish and is eaten almost exclusively at lunch time on Wednesdays and Saturdays. In the US we don’t really have this custom of eating a certain dish every week on the same day, but it seems to work. Feijoada is a heavy stew consisting of black turtle beans, a variety of salted pork and beef products (such as ears, tails, tongue, feet, etc), bacon, pork ribs and a couple of types of smoked sausage. I know it sounds a little crazy, but it’s delicious!

You toss all of these ingredients in large clay pot and let it simmer for hours until you get this beautiful rich purplish-brown juice which coats your tongue like a velvety glass of Petit Verdot.

So my friend Carmen, who is from Brazil, was celebrating her birthday by having some people over for feijoada. While I was there I met a friend of hers named Elida who is from Carmen’s hometown of Campo Grande. Elida spent two days preparing this feast and it was delicious!

She came to the US on July 5^th to attend her nephew’s wedding in New York and then came down to DC to visit with Carmen and other friends. She is planning to stay until August 13^th.

Feijoada: Brazil's national dish

This is not her first time to the States though; in fact her husband was an American. Elida did something that I thought was really great too, she signed up for a mini English course that she is taking for three weeks.

Although now retired, Elida worked for many years for Banco Itau. That was my bank actually when I lived in Brazil. Now she dedicates her time to her family. She will soon be a grandmother! She told me that she was asking her son, “When am I going to have some grandchildren?” and the next day he came to her and said, “You’re going to be a grandmother!” The baby is due in April.

“I’m going to use the $10 to buy an outfit for the baby” she told me.

I tried to get some photos of her but she preferred not being photographed.

I asked her if there was anything she needed or wanted that somebody might be able to help her with. She thought and said that she didn’t really need anything but that her dream was to spend a day in Paris. “My husband promised me that we would go there, but we never did it.” Who knows… maybe one day that dream will come true.

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Day 204 – Lourdes V.

Posted in Something for others, tagged $10, food, jobs, restaurants, Roanoke, VA on July 19, 2010| 3 Comments »

When you look at today’s blog entry you might think, “Reed made a mistake. Lourdes was the name of the recipient from yesterday’s blog.” Well, would you believe that the very next day I found another woman named Lourdes in Roanoke, VA.

IHOP, Roanoke, VA (photo: Reed)

I was traveling to Roanoke to attend the funeral of a family friend. My father and I stayed at the Quality Inn near the Tanglewood Mall in the southwest part of town. I saw an IHOP (3926 Franklin Rd SW, Roanoke, VA 24014) around the corner from the motel and suggested that we go there for breakfast.

Our waitress came over to our table and I saw the name Lourdes written on her name tag. I told my dad that Lourdes was the name of the woman who I gave my $10 to the day before. It was almost as if it was some kind of sign to choose her. She came back with our breakfast and I asked her to take part in the Year of Giving. She accepted.

Lourdes (photo: Reed)

I asked the 34-year-old single mother of two where she was from originally. “I was an army brat!” she said sporting a big smile. Her father was in the US Army and they moved all around the world. Her favorite place she says is Panama. Her travel has slowed down though now and she says that she has lived in Roanoke for about 15 years.

Lourdes was pretty busy and I was trying not to take up too much of her time. She went to go check on her other customers and came back by a few minutes later. She has worked at this IHOP for about a year. “It’s a great place to work,” she says and comments how friendly her coworkers are.

Lourdes told me that she was going to use the $10 to take her five-year-old daughter and two-year-old son to the pool later that day. I bet the kids enjoyed that, it has been so hot.

If you stop in for breakfast, I highly recommend the spinach, mushroom and tomato omelette (I got it without the Swiss cheese) I was unsure what to get and Lourdes recommended that to me and I thought it was really good.

We closed out our check and went back to the motel to check out and make our way over to the funeral service.

Today’s blog entry is dedicated to the memory of Jean Ruth Hughes Bain, 1934-2010.

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Day 203 – Lourdes M.

Posted in Bills, tagged $10, culture, dad, donations, food, harrisonburg, Mexico, restaurants, VA on July 17, 2010| 2 Comments »

After three days of helping my friend Tom remodel his bathroom, we are not near as far along as we would had hoped. We did get the bathroom completely gutted. The only things left were pipes, wires and 2x4s. The hardest part was getting the 330 pound cast iron tub out. We then got all the pipes moved, all the items purchased that we needed, and the new tub installed and about half of the Hardiebacker cement board installed. Needless to say there is a lot left and I am going to try to get back out there to help him. The idea was to have it finished and surprise his wife when she returned on Tuesday from visiting her family in Pennsylvania. Well, she was definitely surprised.

I left his place around 7pm and started driving the 240 miles to Roanoke, VA to attend the funeral of a friend of the family.

The Sub Station & Ricos Tacos (photo: Reed)

As I was driving south down interstate 81 I drove by Harrisonburg, VA. My father and I had stopped in this town back in March and I met Robin on Day 96. Well once again I felt the calling to stop in Harrisonburg, but this time I ended up off exit 243 and found the typical selection of fast food joints. Then I spotted the Sub Station & Tacos Ricos. I made a u-turn and drove back and pulled in the parking lot. It was about 9pm when I sat down at the counter and Lourdes pushed a menu in front of me.

Lourdes (photo: Reed)

The restaurant looks a little more like an American diner than a Mexican taqueria. But don’t let that fool you, the food here is authentic Mexican cuisine. The owners, husband and wife team Jose and Lourdes, work behind the counter. They both take time to talk to their customers.

I was in the mood for tacos and asked Lourdes which ones she recommended. She guided me toward the carne asada tacos for $6.19, so that is what I ordered. The soft corn tortillas were warmed right on the grill next to the steak filet that was being prepared for me. I see that she pours a little bit of what looks to be oil on the tortillas, maybe that is a secret to the delicious taste of the tortillas. On top of the steak and tortilla Lourdes sprinkled a bit of fresh cilantro and onion on each taco. She added a side of salsa and two lime wedges and set the plate in front of me. This is the way I remember the tacos being served when I lived in Sinaloa, Mexico. Just simple tacos with high quality fresh ingredients served with limes. I squeezed the lime over the tacos and sprinkled a pinch of salt on them and started to eat. They were delicious.

Lourdes puts a little butter on the tortillas (photo: Reed)

While I was enjoying my tacos I found myself wondering what the story was behind the restaurant and my two hosts. When Lourdes came back to ask me how my tacos were I took the opportunity to tell her about my project and before I knew it I had recipient number 203!

Dad and I donated money to this donation box that was on the counter to help a family return the remains of a young man killed in an auto accident earlier that month. (photo: Reed)

Originally from Puebla, Mexico, Lourdes moved here 10 years ago. About two years after she moved to Harrisonburg, she married José who hails from Veracruz I think. Both had worked in a variety of fields, including the restaurant business. Last year Lourdes was working at a restaurant and José was working in construction when they decided to launch their own restaurant which opened five months ago. “It has always been Jose’s dream.” I asked her how it was going and she said it was going ok. It’s hard when you are just starting up. “There’s a lot more stress when the restaurant is your own,” she tells me. “After a slow night you sometimes find yourself thinking about how you are going to make up for the money that you didn’t earn that night.”

Tacos de carne asada (photo: Reed)

I think they will do very well. I can only personally vouch for the carne asada tacos, but they were very good. Lourdes also highly recommended the carne asada torta, which is a Mexican beef sandwich. I encourage everyone who is traveling up or down interstate 81 to stop in and sample the food. They are just off exit 243. Tell them Reed sent you!

Lourdes told me she was going to use the $10 to pay down some of her credit card debt. Glad that I could help.

My dad enjoying his tacos (photo: Reed)

The next day on the way home my father and I stopped in so that I could introduce him to my new favorite spot. He ordered a plate of tacos and another fan was born!

The Sub Station & Ricos Tacos

3257 South Main Street

Harrisonburg, VA 22801

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Day 202 – John W.

Posted in Savings, tagged $10, family, jobs, Manassas, tattoos, VA on July 17, 2010| 2 Comments »

John at his job at Home Depot (photo: Reed)

As you remember from yesterday’s post, I was out in Manassas helping my friend Tom remodel his bathroom. We took several trips to home improvement stores. On Day 201 we went to Lowe’s, where I met George. Well, on Day 202 we went to the Home Depot in Manassas and I met John.

He was behind the counter dressed in a striped shirt, a black Home Depot hat that covered a bandana on his head and a the standard issue orange apron. Across the front of his apron the name John was written in black permanent marker.

Prior to coming to Home Depot five years ago he and his wife worked on horse farms down in Georgia. He seems to like his job but I get the sense that work has taken over his life. “Sometimes I feel like I just come to work, go home, eat dinner, go to sleep, get up and come back here and do it all over again,” he says. And I bet you could pretty much work every day at a place that only closes on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

John is the type of guy I need to find when I go to Home Depot. He grew up helping his father with projects and doing mechanic work since he was eight so he has good experience with home projects and is comfortable working with tools, etc. I am getting better, but let’s just say that I have a long way to go.

Some of John's 140 tattoos. (photo: Reed)

His short sleeves reveal two fully tattooed arms. “I started getting tattoos in 1992. I’ve got 140 total.” I learned that he hasn’t gotten any tattoos though in about ten years. So 140 tattoos in eight years comes out to be one about every three weeks. Wow…that’s intense! So how much would that cost? John estimates that he has invested between $6-10,000 in body art over the years. “I’ll probably still get another one some day,” he admits. He says the most painful one was a tattoo that he got on his left inner thigh. I took a look at his arms. Many of them depict Native American scenes inspired by his Sioux Indian heritage.

He shared with me that when he started at Home Depot that the big question was if he was going to have to wear long sleeve shirts in order to cover his tattoos. “After about a week they decided that it was OK because there was nothing offensive about the tattoos and they couldn’t really discriminate against me just because I had tattoos.” Reminds me a little of when I was in high school I got a job a clothing store at the mall called Chess King. Bill the manager asked me in the interview if there was anything that might prohibit me from performing the job. “Well, I am color-blind,” I told him. Bill looked pretty dumbfounded and said that he wasn’t sure they could hire me because of that. But they did. Apparently they were a little concerned about potential discrimination claims. I did ok there. Everything goes with jeans!

John (photo: Reed)

I looked down at the $10 and asked him what he planned on doing with it. He thought about it for a little bit and decided to deposit it into his money market account. He is saving money to hopefully retire in 15 years at 65.

John and his wife live with his 83-year-old father whose activities have been significantly curtailed after he suffered a broken hip. He says that in the next month or two the doctors will determine if they can fix his father’s hip. He paused as he told me this next part and his eyes went to the ground and then back up to me. If they are unable to fix his father’s hip John will have to stop working in order to stay home and take care of his father. “That’s OK, we’ll figure something out. My dad raised me and I owe it to him to take care of him. He did it for me.”

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Day 201 – George A.

Posted in Church, tagged $10, Donation, economy, Gainesville, health, holidays, jobs, VA on July 15, 2010| 3 Comments »

Lowe's Gainesville, VA (photo:Reed)

I spent the Fourth of July weekend at my friend Tom’s house out in Manassas, VA. Our goal was to gut his bathroom and put in a brand new one and surprise his wife when she returned from visiting her parents on Tuesday. Well, let’s just say that she was surprised alright when she got back. Yeah, we didn’t exactly finish the project, but we did manage to strip it all the way down to the 2×4 boards, water pipes and electrical wiring. Everything, and I mean everything else was ripped out of there. I was back out there this last weekend and we now have the new tub in, the cement board down, the ceiling and walls up and all the pipes and electrical work done.

photo: Reed

Well, while I was out there the first weekend we made many trips to Lowes and Home Depot. On one occasion I let Tom go hunt for some bronze coupling part we needed as part of moving all the pipes and I went hunting for a recipient. I found George scoping out some of the flowers and plants over in the gardening area.

When I looked at George I couldn’t help but see a resemblance between him and one hard working gentleman from the North Pole. As it turns out others have seen this similarity too and he has been a working Santa Claus for more than 40 years. He has some great stories too. Check some of them out here:

I learned a lot about the ins and outs of the Santa Claus industry. For example, where is the best place to work? I would have said the mall. But the most fun that George ever had was at a Chik-fil-A believe it or not. But you’re probably wondering what the heck George does for the other 11 months of the year.

Well after a short career in radio he went to work for the US Postal Service for 34 years until retiring recently after suffering a stress-induced coma that lasted one month! “I guess the work was causing more stress than I thought,” he said before jokingly saying, “At least I didn’t go postal!” After coming out of the coma George had to go to speech therapy. He even started volunteering at the clinic which resulted in them hiring him on a part-time basis working one day a week. After four years there this sadly came to an end last week when they let George go due to a cost cutting effort. I felt really bad for him as he seemed to enjoy it so much.

“I would really like to find a part time job around Manassas where I can work about one day a week.” If anyone knows of something, please let me know and I will connect you with George. He seemed very interested in trying to get back into radio and possibly working at a Christian radio station.

photo: Reed

In the spirit of giving George told me that he was going to donate the $10 to his church: Manassas Assembly of God. “I am going to donate it toward the missions.” I went on their website and they have extensive missionary work in all parts of the world.

Before I let him go (he had to go pick up his wife) I invited him to the year-end celebration for the Year of Giving that will take place on or about December 14th here in DC. “Could I come as Santa Claus?” he asked.

Absolutely!

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Day 188 – Daren

Posted in Donation, tagged $10, Arlington, charity, dad, food, holidays, movies, restaurants, VA, Virginia on July 5, 2010| 1 Comment »

Day 188 was Father’s Day. My dad came down from Pennsylvania for the day. My brother and his wife met us at Guapo’s in Shirlington, VA for lunch. After getting our Mexican fill, we went over to watch City Island. I had never heard of this movie, but it is quite good. Then we went over to my brother and his wife’s house and played bridge. I really enjoy playing bridge, however, I don’t know hardly anyone who plays and I am not that good. It is probably the most dynamic card game that I know.

For dinner we decided to take our father to Ray’s the Steaks (2300 Wilson Blvd.) in Arlington, VA. I had not been there before and was very impressed….well I shouldn’t be surprised, their sister restaurant, Ray’s Hell Burger (1725 Wilson Blvd, Arlingtong, VA), serves up the best burger I have ever sunk my teeth into. I asked our server, a young lady who was working her last shift before taking a leave of absence from Ray’s, if there were any staff members who were fathers. She went to check.

Meanwhile we enjoyed a delicious dinner. They have a special that runs Sun-Tues that consists of a salad, two 5-oz filet mignons, two family style side orders and dessert for $24.99. For the quality you get, it is a pretty good deal. We didn’t have anything to drink, but their wines and beers seemed reasonably priced.

Our server returned with Daren. He’s a proud father of two girls, 5 and 8 years old. A product of growing up in both Ocala, FL and the Bronx, NY, he considers himself more of a Bronx guy. “I’m definitely more Bronx when I’m angry,” he says laughing.

He’s been working at Ray’s for about a year and a half. “It’s a great place to work. Management is very respectful to the employees.” He goes on to say that, “Michael, the owner, comes in almost every day.”

I asked Daren what his favorite item from the menu was. Check out this video for his answer as well as a little bit about one of Michael Landrum’s newest ventures, Ray’s Hell Burger II (1713 Wilson Blvd, Alrington, VA). Caution, you may be mouth-watering hungry after watching:

I learned that Ray’s has no website and does no marketing. Anyone who has eaten there understands why. The food is so good that you don’t need to do marketing. Another interesting thing they do there is on Sundays they donate 10% of their sales to the Boys and Girls Clubs of NE Washington, DC and Arlington, VA. “I’m going to donate your $10 to the Boys & Girls Club,” Daren shares with me with great excitement.

Although polite, Daren’s supervisor seemed a little bothered that I was potentially keeping Daren from his tables, so I wished him a happy Father’s Day and said goodbye.

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Day 177 – Ismael

Posted in Gave the money to someone else, Refusals, tagged $10, Arlington, cab, DC, taxi, VA, washington on June 21, 2010| 6 Comments »

First of all, happy father’s day!

From time to time I look up some of the statistics of the blog. What would you guess is the number one word searched upon that leads people to the website? Giving? $10? Reed Sandridge? Nope, the number one word for weeks now is “Mohawk!” I have no idea why. I went to Google and typed in Mohawk and the Year of Giving doesn’t come up. I did mention mohawks on Day 13 when I was sharing that Davie from Day 5 offered to give me a haircut to thank me for helping him out…that was one style that he said he was good at.

Anyway, today’s story is slightly different from most. I grabbed a cab over to the Courthouse area of Arlington. I thought I might give the cab driver my $10. His name was Ismael. A 54-year-old immigrant from Ethiopia, he has lived in Virginia for the last 21 years.

He tells me that he likes driving a cab because “I get to meet nice people like you.” Despite his kindness, people are not always nice to him. “It can be risky and even dangerous.” Although nothing really bad has happened to Ismael, he says that some people have threatened him and occasionally customers quickly jump out of his cab without paying. “Ninety percent of the people are good decent people though.”

I asked Ismael if he would accept my $10, but he said that he couldn’t. I asked him to humor me though and tell me what he would do if he found $10 or somebody randomly gave him $10. “I would pass it along. If I don’t earn the money then I don’t think I should keep it,” he said.

I really wanted to give Ismael my $10 and figured that he couldn’t stop me from giving him the money. We arrived at my destination and the meter read $10. I would have normally given him $12, but decided to give him $22 and include my $10. I thanked him, wished him good luck, and handed over the money and my Year of Giving card. Then I quickly jumped out of the cab probably like those individuals he had told me about and entered the restaurant where I was meeting some friends for dinner.

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Day 153 – Alfonso C.

Posted in Savings, tagged $10, Arlington, Dallas, fathers, ice-cream, jobs, kids, TX, VA on May 21, 2010| 3 Comments »

I had to run over to Home Depot to get some things and as I was driving home I saw Alfonso pushing his ice-cream cart up the slight incline of Patrick Henry Drive to where it intersects with Arlington Blvd.

Alfonso and his ice-cream cart (Photo: Reed)

I past him and then double backed, parked the car, and waited for him to reach my car. The sound of the tires rolling over loose gravel was mostly muffled by the cheerful bells that rang with every movement of the cart.

Alfonso has a kind face and smiles naturally, although his mustache covers up most of it. He said that the company he works offered people the opportunity to come to Arlington, VA for the summer months to sell Mexican style ice-cream. So Alfonso came here from Dallas, TX. He didn’t know a soul in the area. Now he interacts with hundreds of people every day.

Photo: Reed

He pushes his cart filled with a large block of ice and about 200 hundred ice-creams up Patrick Henry Drive from Route 7 to past Arlington Blvd into the neighborhoods behind the shopping center where the Target is. Back and forth he travels under the burning sun. He usually sells about 100-150 ice creams. On a good day he might sell 200; coconut is the best seller. I asked if I could take a peak inside the cooler.

Having lived most of his life in Palm Springs, CA, six years ago Alfonso moved to Dallas searching for his 28-year-old son that he didn’t know. He knew he was living somewhere in the state, but that doesn’t help much when you are searching in the second largest state in the country that boasts more than 268,000 square miles. Luckily for Alfonso, his son was also trying to find him. He found him in Austin, TX.

“We are friends now. I will never be his father to him.” He is hopeful that they can have a relationship, but it is hard after so many years and so much pain. “You see, I was living in California and was lost on drugs and alcohol. Then 15 years ago I received Jesus Christ as my savior.”

Photo: Reed

He is also not in touch with his ex-wife any more. The last he knew she lived in Monterrey, Mexico. Maybe I could try to find her like I am trying to find Victor’s mother from Day 139.

He seems happy to be here. “Arlington is nicer than Dallas,” he says. “There is less crime here.”

Despite a nice relaxing conversation, I could feel that he needed to get on his way. He needed to earn his daily wages and the ice-cream would not stay cold forever. I asked him what he would do with the $10 and he softly replied that he would save it.

We exchanged telephone numbers and I got back in my car. Alfonso returned to his position behind the cart and started to push it the remaining 30 yards to the intersection. The bells began to sing again.

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Day 152 – Trish W.

Posted in Gave the money to someone else, tagged $10, Arlington, climbing, giving, nursing, VA, worldwide day of giving on May 20, 2010| 1 Comment »

Before telling you about the amazing woman I met last Saturday, I wanted to remind you to tell your friends and family about the Worldwide Day of Giving on June 15th! If they are on Facebook, they can sign up for the event here, you can also use this link: http://tiny.cc/WWDoG.

We have about 500 people officially signed up on Facebook right now, but I am still hopeful that together we can reach 10,000 people worldwide! Details about how to participate can also be found on the Facebook Page.

There has been some confusion about the event. This is a virtual event that you can do anywhere in the world! In addition, I am planning an in-person event here in DC. It would be fun to meet in person, share your stories and meet some of the previous recipients of the Year of Giving $10 who will be there! I would like to get an idea of how many people would attend an event in the Dupont Circle area at around 7pm on the 15th. You can sign up for the in-person event on Facebook or here.

For those of you in other parts of the world who want to organize an event in your region, I encourage you to do so. If you need help or ideas on how to organize this, send me an email.

Photo: Reed

Last Saturday I was at the Goodwill on Glebe Road off of Route 50. I found Trish, a 37-year-old registered nurse. After 12 years in the profession, she decided to go back to school to pursue a career in nurse anesthesia. It sounds like life is not so easy right now juggling the demands of school while trying to make ends meet and pay her tuition at Georgetown University.

“I used to do a lot of stuff outdoors like biking, skiing, snowboarding, but lately I haven’t done much. I am pretty much studying all the time.” She went on to say, “I would even play golf at this point, I’m pretty desperate.”
Trish said that she really liked the Year of Giving concept. “I think I might have heard about this,” she told me. “Even though money is tight right now, I think I might give the $10 to my sister. She just lost her job.” Trish said she would update us all when she decides for sure what she is going to do with the money.

Photo: Reed

Trish told me that there was nothing very interesting about her and then she remembered a small “boring” detail, “I climbed to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro a few years ago and watched the sun rise over Tanzania.” I was like, oh my God! Wow. That is amazing! Trish had a friend who got let go from their job (I know the feeling) and was given six months severance (I don’t know that feeling…I only got one month!) and decided to travel the world. She had some time off and decided to meet up with her friend some place along his journey. They agreed to meet in Tanzania and climb the world’s fourth tallest peak. Crazy!
Fast forward and Trish is in Tanzania with two friends and 19 Sherpas scaling the tallest mountain in Africa. They made it up the stratovolcano in three days. “We could have never done it without the local guys who helped carry so much of our equipment and had meals ready when we arrived at camp.” We laughed over a story she shared about losing one of her jackets at base camp only to see it again a few days later on their way down the mountain being worn by a guy twice her size. “I just let him keep it…the sleeves came to his elbows!”

Trish hopes to graduate in December and would like to move to Colorado and find work as a CRNA. If anyone has some contacts, please let me know and I will pass them along to Trish!

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Day 138 – Georgia Mae L.

Posted in Something for others, tagged $10, actress, film, movies, Springfield, teenagers, VA on May 5, 2010| 3 Comments »

Last Friday night we wrapped up our planning session for the DC 48 Hour Film Project pretty late and I got back to my home in DC around midnight. While I searched my house for clothes and props that I would need the next day, one of our team members, Matt, spent all night writing the screenplay.

Once I got all my stuff ready, I dissolved into my bed and fell asleep, only to wake up at 5:30am to be ready to start filming in Springfield, VA at 7:00am.

We spent all day filming. My character was Marco Gabbowitz, a washed out ballroom dance champion who now works as a dog walker. Marco, and his former partner Kiki Patron, decide to make a run for the championship one last time. Well, if you want to see the film before we win Oscars and become famous, check it out this Thursday night at 7pm at the AFI Silver Theater in Silver Spring, MD. Tickets are $10 for about a dozen short films starting at 7pm.

Georgia Mae (Photo: Reed)

So Saturday I was filming all day. One of the people that was going to be in the movie with us was 13-year-old Georgia Mae. As it turns out, she is quite the movie star having already been in a major motion picture, Familiar Strangers. In addition to being a movie star in her own right, she is also the youngest person to receive my $10!

Georgia Mae is in middle school where she loves to play the standup double bass and piano. She recently taught herself how to play the electric bass. I learned that when she first started playing the standup bass that often times teachers and others would have to help her carry it because it was so much bigger than her. Now she even plays in the jazz band at school. She used to play the violin and cello. “I didn’t really like the sound I made with either of them,” she told me. Sounds awfully similar to my saxophone days.

Georgia Mae is a very sweet girl. When I asked her what she would like to do with the $10, she replied, “I am going to buy ice cream for my two little brothers.” That is in fact just what she did. She even treated her parents too! Her mother later wrote me and said that Georgia Mae bought the ice cream and they ate it “on some homemade strawberry rhubarb crisp.” Sounds good!

Photo: Reed

If you come see the film, I know that you will enjoy one of the scenes that Georgia Mae and I are in together. In the scene I am out walking Sarah’s dog Laredo and come across Georgia Mae. I say hello to her but she is so embarrassed to be seen with me that she shoots me a look and then crosses the street to avoid being seen with me. The expression on her face was priceless!

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Day 137 – Sarah H.

Posted in Something for themself, tagged $10, arts, cinema, creativity, film, movies, reality tv, Springfield, VA on May 4, 2010| 3 Comments »

A few weeks ago I got an email from my friend Betsy saying that some friends of hers were entering in the DC 48 Hour Film Project. She recommended that I go and be a part of a team called SwimFast, LiveSlow. The 48 Hour Film Project describes itself as “a wild and sleepless weekend in which you and a team make a movie—write, shoot, edit and score it—in just 48 hours.”

On Friday evening each team receives a character, a prop, a line of dialogue and a genre that all must be included in a 4-7 minute film. Then you work feverishly throughout the weekend to make the film and turn it in 48 hours later on Sunday evening. The elements that we had to incorporate into our film were:

Genre: Buddy Film

Character: Marco or Muffin Gabbowitz, a person who works with animals

Prop: a horn

Line of Dialogue: “Do you think you can do that again?”

So last Friday evening I drove over to Springfield, VA to meet with the team. I only knew Betsy and another friend Jeff from a play we did together last year. It was there that I met Sarah.

Sarah is 32 and lives in Northern Virginia with her husband Van and their 14-month-old boy Will.

When Sarah is not watching little Will or participating in zany weekend film challenges, she is teaching 4^th grade students at a nearby elementary school. She says she likes 4^th graders because, “they are old enough to understand occasional sarcasm but young enough to not be too cool.” Her school is very different to the one that she attended when she was a young girl growing up in Lynchburg, VA.

I went to an all-white public school, the school where I teach is very diverse. English is a second language to many of the students. You can clearly see students who are living in poverty – some have to wear the same clothes almost every day to school. – Sarah H.

Sarah and her dog Laredo, both starred in our film (Photo: Reed)

When I explained the Lend a Hand program to Sarah, she said that she would love to find someone who is talented in needlework and sewing to volunteer about once a week for 3-4 hours until the end of the school year. The school is located in the Falls Church, VA area. If you, or someone you know, are interested in this opportunity, leave a comment here and I will contact you.

I learned a little trivia about Sarah too! She has submitted a video application to be a contestant on the Survivor not once, but twice! I asked her to share some of the video here, but I haven’t received anything yet…keep your fingers crossed. And if anyone out there reading this knows how to get Sarah on the show – maybe there is still a chance for her!

Sarah’s $10 will go toward the cost of getting a baby-sitter for this coming weekend.

As for the film, we got it done and submitted it on time. They are showing our film on Thursday night at 7pm at the AFI Silver Theater, 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, MD 20910. I am going to go see it. I have not seen any of it yet, so I have no idea how I did or how the film turned out after being chopped up, edited, and put back together. I am a little scared to watch myself bomb on the big screen.

Tickets are $10 for about a dozen short films starting at 7pm.

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Day 103 – Matt G.

Posted in Donation, tagged $10, ancestors, donations, family, genealogy, Goochland County, James River, VA on March 31, 2010| 5 Comments »

On Saturday I had an amazing day. My cousin Doug was in town from Colorado for some meetings. He decided to stay the weekend and had a great idea of heading down to the Richmond area to do a couple of things.

First, we have some family in the greater Richmond area so we managed to make my cousin Dianne’s daughter’s birthday party. Later we had dinner with our aunt Carol, her husband John, and Dianne. That was really great.

The other reason for our trip was to do some genealogy research. We have a family cemetery in Goochland County, VA and also have a relative that is the only person to be buried in the Old Blandford Church in Petersburg, VA. (more about this church tomorrow!)

Leake Cemetery, Goochland, VA (Photo: Reed)

Anyway, we left the birthday party to try to find the cemetery in Goochland. It is in a wooded area and is not marked. If you don’t know that it is there, you are not going to find it. We pulled the car over on the side of the road and walked back into the woods to search for it. We had both been there before and had a rough idea of where it was located. Part of the reason we were there was to document its location.

Well, we traipsed around for about a half hour before we found the small cemetery. There are about a dozen headstones there from the Leake side of my family surrounded by a waist-high cement wall. After spending some time at the cemetery, we decided to see if we could find someone who lived nearby that might know who owns the land that it is on. We would like to do some work on the cemetery to help preserve it, but thought we should check with the landowner first so that we do not cause any problems (or get shot!).

So we drove around to what we thought was the backside of the property. We came to a small fork in the road. The road to the left had several “No Trespassing” signs clearly displayed. The other road was a drive way to a beautifully groomed property. Can you guess which way we chose?

Matt's beautiful property (Photo: Reed)

At the end of the driveway we found a house and picturesque pond off to the right side of the house. We knocked on the door, but nobody answered. You could see in the house from the door and saw that a light was on. “I’ll walk around back and see if anyone is out back” I told my cousin. He turned a little pale and said, “I don’t know…you might get yourself shot walking around somebody’s property like that.”

The good news is that I did find somebody out back. The even better news is that Matt was only armed with a big smile.

Matt is 28 and grew up on this property which spans 300 acres. He is a farmer and raises grass-fed cattle as well as some chickens and ducks. He has about 70 cows. Along side Matt was his dog, Chico.

Matt & Chico in front of 200 yr old outdoor kitchen (Photo: Reed)

I wish I could properly describe Matt’s demeanor. He had this gentle, modest, humble demeanor and a warm loquacious speaking manner. He was relaxed and friendly and his face broke into smile so naturally that you felt like you were among family.

Matt said that he was going to give the money to the James River Association. The group’s mission is to protect the James River, which more than one-third of all Virginias rely on for water, commerce or recreation. Yesterday I got an email from Matt that I would like to share with you all:

Reed,

It was a great surprise meeting you on Saturday. I am glad you guys made it out to the farm. Right after you left I was telling my girlfriend about what you are doing and her jaw dropped because she had just read about you in the [Washington] Post. I have really enjoyed reading some of the stories on your site.. I admire your commitment to this project, and know that you are inspiring a great deal of kindness. In the spirit of your generosity, I decided to sponsor 10 participants in the James River Runoff Rundown for $10 each. The Rundown is a one day event in which paddlers join forces to cover the entire 340 miles of the James River in order to raise money for the James River Association. Here’s the link.

Thanks for again for what you are doing,

Matt G.

This is amazing. I can’t begin to tell you how happy I am when I learn that my $10 inspires further giving, especially when it parlays into a $100 donation.

Matt you are a class act. You made my day…and thanks for not shooting me and my cousin!

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Day 96 – Robin C.

Posted in Rent, tagged $10, beer, college, economy, harrisonburg, school, VA on March 25, 2010| 5 Comments »

My dad leaving Cally's (Photo: Reed)

On Saturday my father and I drove from Richlands, VA to Washington, DC. It’s about a 7 hour drive. Along the way we stopped in Harrisonburg, VA. It has a small picturesque downtown. On the west side of the main square there is a restaurant called Cally’s. We stopped in to eat.

I decided to give my $10 to Robin, she was our waitress there.

Robin is 21 and studies Cultural Communications at nearby James Madison University. As she prepares to leave the security of the university setting in May she ponders where she will go. I was interested in her perspective on the economy and the job landscape from the eyes of a graduating college senior.

Robin at Cally's (Photo: Reed)

“I am not really worried about landing the perfect job right now. I hope to move to the beach…maybe Florida…and take a bit of a break for a while and get a job…not necessarily something in my field of study, but just something to pay the bills for a while.” I asked her if she thought her feelings were representative of the perspective that her classmates had. “Probably not, some of my friends are really worried.”

Robin deserves a break after four years of studies while often working two part-time jobs to make ends meet.

Cally's beer sampler (Photo: Reed)

Cally’s as it turns out is a brew pub…so my father and I decided to get a sampler of their beers. They give you six small tastes which my dad and I split. Robin said she liked the Downtown Amber. I really liked the pungent Smokin’ Scottish Ale while my dad preferred the smooth velvety Kolsch.

The Fredericksburg, VA native said she would use my $10 to put toward her final months of rent.

After four years at JMU, I asked Robin to reflect a little on her time there. I asked her what the best part of being a JMU student was. She shot us a smile and said, “Leaving!”

Good luck on your graduation Robin!

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Day 95 – Ashley D.

Posted in Food & Beverage, Refusals, Something for others, tagged $10, economy, mining, Richlands, unemployment, VA on March 24, 2010| 14 Comments »

Last Friday is the day that NPR and the Washington Post ran their stories on the Year of Giving. I got flooded with emails and comments. My website traffic went through the roof. So many people told me how inspired they were after learning about the Year of Giving. It was a tremendous bright spot in an otherwise melancholy day.

The response has been great. The more media attention it receives, the more people write to me telling me how inspired they are. 99% of what I have received is extremely positive and I am trying to get caught up replying to all the emails. Especially all the wonderful offers to help those on the Lend a Hand page! Thank you so much!

After my cousin’s funeral on Friday, my father and I drove south about 3 hours to Richlands, VA. My mother grew up and was buried there and we went to visit her grave.

My mother's childhood house & shed. Hasn't changed too much except the side porch was added (Photo: Reed)

Richlands is a small coal mining town in Southwestern Virginia. According to city-data.com in 2008 the population was less than 4,000 and the median household income was $30,637 – half of the state average. I don’t think I need to say more to give you the idea that this is a place that struggles economically.

That evening my father and I decided to stop by the King Kone; a simple place where you have to walk up to the window and order and then take the food back and eat in your car. My father told me that my mother used to love to treat herself to a chili dog there. I thought it was only fitting to order a chili dog for myself.

While we were there, I asked the woman who was waiting on us if she would accept my $10. She got very uncomfortable and said that the owner would never allow her to do that. She nervously was looking over her shoulder and I asked if the owner was there. She confirmed that she was and I asked if I could speak with her.

King Kone - Richlands, VA (Photo: Reed)

I gave the owner my card and explained what I was doing to her. She refused and said that they were just too busy to talk to me. I explained that this was a very special place for my mother and made a final plea, but she shook her head “no” and excused herself. As a side note, during the half hour we were there…I think they had 5 customers.

So I went back and approached a couple who were finishing up their dogs in their pick-up truck. I imagine the couple was in their 50s. I said hello and apologized if I was interrupting and explained what I was doing and asked if they would like to participate. The woman, sitting near me in the passenger seat, never looked at me and never said a word. The man remained silent until I finished and just shook his head no and grunted “uh ah” and looked away.

WOW….this was not going to be easy. Although I feel a strange closeness to the town since my mother’s family is from there, its clear that I don’t fit in.

I was now 0 for 3 (or 4 if you count the couple in the truck as two attempts). I looked around and saw a Burger King on one side and a Family Dollar store, a hair salon, and the Richlands Pharmacy on the other. I decided to walk over to the Family Dollar discount store. On my way over I spotted Ashley sitting on a bench in front of the A Wild Hair Salon and Academy. Her easy smile was a huge improvement over my earlier encounters.

Ashley (Photo: Reed)

The 21-year-old said that she had worked there since she was 16. With her husband laid off from tree cutting for the region’s natural gas wells, the $10 was warmly received. It is tough to make ends meet for them and their 13-month-old boy.

Ashley cuts Samantha's hair. I only noticed later that there is a picture that I assume is her son on her mirror that I captured in the background. (Photo: Reed)

Ashley started working on a regular customer named Samantha. I told Ashley that my mother was from Richlands and we soon had something in common. Both of our grandfathers worked in the mines. “Those are the only jobs that pay well here,” she said. The other woman cutting hair there spoke up and said, “I used to want to work in the mines…it’s good money.” Then Samantha shared that her husband is working in the mines. “Six days a week. It’s terrible hours, he goes in at 1pm and gets out at midnight.”

The economy is worse here than what we saw in Roanoke the day before.

In case you find yourself in Richlands and wonder what you might should try to see, Ashley said, “I don’t know, maybe go up to Overlook Park in Cedar Bluff and walk all the way to the top.” It was late and we wouldn’t be able to do that…but on my list to do next time.

Ashley said she was going to use my $10 on dinner for her family. I just hope she didn’t go to King Kone…the chili dog wasn’t that good actually…kind of raw and chewy.

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Day 94 – Rob W.

Posted in Something for themself, tagged $10, death, economy, family, grocery stores, music, Roanoke, unemployment, VA on March 22, 2010| 3 Comments »

Unfortunately my cousin Ricky passed away on March 12^th. He had a heart attack on Wednesday and later died on Friday. Although I had not seen Ricky in a long time, I did see his mother (my aunt) much more often. You never prepare yourself fully to lose a child.

Welcome to Kroger's!

I traveled to Roanoke, VA on Thursday to be with my family. While I was there I found myself at the Tanglewood Kroger on the Southwest edge of the city.

As I walked through the grocery store I found Rob deep in concentration as he studied the Bomb Pops. I thought I would introduce myself.

Like me, Rob is unemployed right now. He was working as a financial specialist for the hospital in Roanoke up until being laid off last August. Although he would like to find work, he has used his time off to focus on his passion for making music. He is a one-man recording artist making experimental home-made music. He goes by the name Sad Wilson and you can hear a sample of his music here. I listened to a bunch of the songs. Most of them have heavy tones of melancholy (hence Sad Wilson). Rob integrates different media into the songs…for example recordings of conversations or telephone operator recordings on top of guitar melodies. There was something Neil Youngish about Junk Stomp Brain and Pretty Corpse. All in all not my preferred style, however, I think the experimental approach he has taken is cool and the fact that he does it all himself is amazing.

Rob with his $10 and favorite Popsicles (Photo: Reed)

I got out my camera to take some pictures…I got a little worried that the Kroger people might come over and ask me to leave or put my camera away. Jokingly I said to Rob, “They might get upset unless you know somebody that works here.” He said, well, my grandfather used to be the CEO of Kroger.” I was like, “really.” He just looked at me and nodded “yup.” So…I took some photos!

Rob plans on using my ten-spot to buy some blank CDs to burn some of his music. I have a feeling if there is anything left over it will get used for Bomb Pops. Never met anyone with such an affinity for them!

Around this time Rob’s friend came by. I think this was his girlfriend or wife…and I believe her name was Ashley…but I could be wrong. My note-taking is pretty poor. Sorry! They both told me how bad the economy was in Roanoke. And let me tell you, it looks way more depressed there than in

Rob and Ashley (Photo: Reed)

DC. Next door to the Kroger is the Tanglewood Mall. Ashley said, “Yeah,it’s pretty bad…you can find that mall on deadmalls.com!” I checked…she was right. I also went to the mall…and it aptly listed on the website. “There’s just a lot of empty buildings around town” she added.

Although it is sad to see this, it is important to see it. I think Washington is a little recession proof because of all the government related jobs. This town needs some life pumped into it.

I asked the two what they would recommend for someone to see in Roanoke. They looked at each other, shrugged, and said, “I don’t know….maybe the Star?” They are referring to the Mill Mountain Star, built in 1949 at the top of Mill Mountain. It is the world’s largest freestanding illuminated man-made star. (There is a bigger one in El Paso, TX, but it isn’t illuminated) I had actually seen it before…my cousin Martha got married last Fourth of July at a winery in Roanoke that overlooked the Star. It was a great view and the Star is pretty at night.

(Photo: http://www.taubmanmuseum.org)

“Other than that…maybe the Taubman Museum…but it’s weird. It looks like a space ship” they told me. The Taubman apparently has permanent and temporary exhibits and focuses mostly on 19^th/20^th century American art, modern and contemporary art, new media, photography, and visionary art. I didn’t have time to visit it this time.

Give Rob’s music a listen. It’s good to have artists who are pushing the envelope.

Today’s blog is dedicated to the memory of my cousin Richard “Ricky” C. Huels, Jr. (Nov. 27, 1959 – March 12, 2010)

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Day 91 – Lysa S.

Posted in Something for others, tagged $10, Arlington, cars, Costco, giving, media, military, pot holes, VA on March 19, 2010| 20 Comments »

If you are in the Washington, DC area today (Friday) pick up a copy of the Washington Post. There is terrific story about the Year of Giving by Susan Kinzie in the Metro section. NPR’s Rebecca Sheir (WAMU 88.5FM) is also doing a story that will be aired on NPR’s Metro Connection at 1pm.

My car got a flat last week because of a pot hole in the parking lot of Target in Seven Corners, VA. The last thing I need right now is to pay for new tires.

I went over to Costco’s Tire Center to get two new tires placed on the car. I got there a half hour before they opened so that I could be first in line and that way I could get out of there quickly as I had a ton of things to do that day.

As it turns out, I was not the first one there. Lysa was sitting in her SUV when I arrived. Somebody else had the same idea.

Since I had some time before they opened I decided to see if Lysa would take my $10.

She was sitting in her vehicle reading her Kindle, which she said she loves. She was there to get her tires rotated and balanced.

It turns out that she is a personal shopper for Nordstrom department store. She loves her job. She has been doing this since the 90s when she did advance work for Clinton and Gore.

There are no photos or video of Lysa. She told me that there was no way that I was getting a picture of her in her “I’m just going to Costco” outfit.

She told me that she was going to put the $10 toward a care package that she is putting together for the mother of one of her children’s friends who is serving in the US military in Afghanistan. What a thoughtful use of the $10.

So…here is where my $10 gift turns into a net loss of $32.

At about this time there are numerous people waiting outside for the Tire Center to open. I start to wonder if they will just try to pretend like they were her before Lysa and me. There were no such issues and we go in only to find out that I have left my wallet at home (I keep the $10 in the inner pocket of a little notebook I carry around). The Costco employee says that he can not start the work until I pay and present my membership card. I was able to go over and get a temporary card at the Customer Service Center but I still had no way to pay for the tires up front. I asked if he would make an exception and start the work and then I would take the Metro back to my house, get my wallet and come back and pay for it. He agreed…but just one little problem. I had no money on me whatsoever. I had just given away all the money I had on me. So I could not take the Metro and was forced to take a taxi back to DC to my condo where I ran in to get my wallet and paid the driver. It cost me $20. Then I had to Metro back over to Costco…another $2.

Oh well…I got a $22 reminder to always take my wallet with me!

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Day 89 – Tim K.

Posted in Something for others, tagged $10, Avatar, bus, college, DC, giving, internships, rosslyn, student, summer jobs, VA, voting, washington on March 16, 2010| 6 Comments »

Did you vote for who I should invite to lunch/dinner at Clyde’s? If not go here to vote!

I went and saw Avatar with my dad…really good movie. I don’t know why I didn’t think I was going to like it. Not the old 3-D that I remembered.

I headed home around 11pm and on my way home I caught the shuttle bus from Rosslyn over to Georgetown. While I was waiting for the shuttle a young guy walked up with a huge bag and asked if the bus was still running. I thought it was…well, I was waiting for it so I really hoped it was. Sure enough, a few minutes later it pulled up.

The bus did come and we got on. We were both stuck on the bus for a while so I decided to give Tim my $10.

Tim aboard the Metro Shuttle (Photo: Reed)

We had a few things in common…we both grew up in Central Pennsylvania (about 25 minutes from each other), we both studied in Spain, we both spoke Spanish, we both studied political science…although I ended up changing my major. Tim is studying International Political Economics.

Tim says that when he is not reading or traveling, he is playing on Georgetown’s Ultimate Frisbee team. I have to be honest…I have never played…and probably would be no good at it. I don’t ever recall being very good at Frisbee.

Tim said that he was going to use the money to buy something for his friends…maybe food or drinks…but definitely something for someone else he said. Hopefully he will drop a note and let us know what the fate of my $10 bill was.

By the way, if you want to help a nice guy out…Tim needs something to do for the summer. A summer job or internship. “It would be nice to learn something new” he says. I have his contact info if you have any ideas for him…just post them here.

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