11.30.2010

the WBC at Brandeis....

I know I haven't posted in a while, and there are lots of updates to come, but wanted to share this first.

As pretty much everyone that reads this knows, I am a graduate student at Brandeis University in MA. The Westboro Baptist Church is picketing here on Friday, and according to their website this is why:

"to remind these Jews that they bear the curse of their forefather's murder of Christ. Further these college students of doomed america live for the devil himself, spending their energies on drunkeness, lust, sloth and greed rather than serving the Lord Almighty."

Brandeis is reacting by celebrating our diversity and tolerance as a campus. If you're interested you can check out our petition.

Also, we are raising money as a campus for Keshet, a resource for Jewish LGBT individuals in greater Boston and across the country. Basically, people can pledge to donate a certain dollar amount per minute that the WBC is here, or just a flat rate. You can check that out here.

So yes, this is a sort of PSA - I think that supporting tolerance is the way to go.

11.02.2010

Kasey to the Rescue!

Not all of you that read this know about this, but wanted to share that the new book Kasey to the Rescue, written by my mom's friend Ellen, is on Amazon now to order!!

Here's a piece of the summary from Amazon: This is a story of how miracles DO happen. How courage and a never-give-up spirit can emerge victorious. How an engaging little monkey helped change a family's life. Ellen Rogers considered herself something of a tragedy snob. The single mother of five believed she could weather any storm, that she could keep her family from harm with fortitude and grace. But nothing could have prepared her for the June 2005 car accident that left her son, Ned--then 22 years old--fighting for his life. 
....Miracles happen to those who believe, the saying goes, but who would have believed that one family's "miracle" would weigh in at five pounds sopping wet? Then Helping Hands: Monkey Helpers for the Disabled provided Ned with an affectionate and intelligent service animal with a steadfast devotion to hierarchy, a longing for "spa days," and a craving for Gummi Bears. In other words, a diva.


Ned and I have known each other for as long as we can remember - our moms worked together when we were 2 and 3 years old. We weren't in touch on our own until Ned went to the University of Arizona for college, when I was a senior in high school, and spent holidays at our house. We got to be close friends again very quickly, and then we "switched" and I moved up to Boston, by his mom, for college and he stayed in Arizona, by my mom. I was at home in Arizona visiting my family when he got in the car accident, and I delayed my trip back to Boston to drive to Tucson to see him. I visited him in the hospital there, and here in Boston, and at his house once he went home...and yes, I know the monkey :) And yes, she IS a diva, it's ridiculous. But she's adorable so you can't be mad.

It's a fantastic story, yes, but it's also true and you should check it out for that reason if not any other.

Ellen and Ned, if you are reading this, something even you guys probably don't know: after the accident, my status online for weeks was: "Aerodynamically, the bumble bee shouldn't be able to fly, but the bumble bee doesn't know it so it goes on flying anyway." - I figured that we all had that kind of blind faith. And we were right. Ned, I doubt I have ever told you, but I am SO PROUD of you (but I figure you know that). And yes, you have the cutest monkey EVER.