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The GoodLetter Thursday, October 10, 2002
GoodThings, Inc. :: Stories, actions, ideas, and greeting cards that connect us.
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Greeting Card of the Week
Favorite GoodThings: Now as Birthday Cards!
We're happy to announce that we've done something new with our Favorite GoodThings cards that have been so popular with so many of you. Eight of the cards (including the one at the right) are now available as birthday cards, featuring a special GoodThings birthday greeting on the inside. Please take a minute to visit our site to see which ones you can now send as birthday greetings!
Consider sending a GoodThings "Happy Birthday" with someone you know. Every card you buy and send helps broaden awareness of progressive actions and ideas around the world. (We print all our cards on recycled paper using soy ink.)
Please visit our online store today by clicking here or on any card
IT'S TIME TO GET YOUR HOLIDAY CARD ORDERS IN! If you think customized GoodThings Greeting Cards like the ones pictured above would be perfect for your non-profit organization or company -- or even your family -- to use for the holidays, send an e-mail to cards@goodthings.com and ask us about our card customization program and volume discounts.
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Click the card to see it enlarged or to order
Front (of above card):
Favorite Things: Fresh strawberries. Stargazing with a few friends. Late night walks. Moments in which you feel at home in the universe and realize that everything is perfect. (Lisa, Ohio)
Inside (of above card):
Hope your year is full of good things. Happy Birthday!
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This Week's Feature
Putting A Life Into Words
by Amy Gautschi
Remembering the life of a loved one with compassion after they've passed away is a common ritual. But what if the tradition were to gather to celebrate extraordinary lives well before they ended? One woman awakens to her grandmother's legacy and offers a fitting tribute.
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Fellow GoodLetter readers,
"My mother taught me the value of humor, especially when it comes to laughing at yourself," my father told a group of 80 family members and friends. Was this a memorial service? In a way, it was -- with one exception: my dad's mother was sitting in the front, alive and well. And smiling even.
The occasion was my grandmother's 80th birthday party. Family and friends from all corners of the globe had gathered to celebrate her life -- one of my cousins flew in from France, another was there from Nepal, and others had traveled from all over the United States. Four generations were represented, from my grandmother on down to her great-grandson. My grandmother's oldest living school friend was even able to make it.
The last time I had seen many of these people was at my grandfather's memorial service several years ago. At his service, I was moved to hear their stories about my grandfather and how much he meant to them. Of course, the stories would have meant even more if my grandfather had been there to hear how much he was loved and appreciated.
But this time, at my grandmother's party, things were different: We were reveling in sharing our stories of and love for this amazing person -- who had made such a difference in all our lives -- while she is still with us.
Our immediate family acted as hosts and hostesses, greeting partygoers and helping them answer questions to the "Did-you-know-this-about-Jean?" quiz that served as an icebreaker. Before long, the stories were flowing. "Did you know Jean played the piano?" I overheard one friend ask another. "Hmmm, that must have been before she got arthritis," the other replied. "Actually, she used to make up songs on the piano for me when I was a little girl," I interjected. "Once when I was five, I pointed to a picture in a book of Christmas carols and asked her to play it. She proceeded to play and sing a festive and fun song that did indeed match that picture, and I loved it -- not knowing at the time that she had made it up on the spot."
My grandmother's friends who didn't know each other previously were chatting with one another lightheartedly. My grandmother and her oldest friend were giggling like schoolgirls. In place of tears streaming down our faces, like at my grandfather's memorial service, there were smiles as we moved about the room. And when it came time to sing some of my grandmother's favorite songs, it was done with merriment rather than sadness and regret.
My grandmother's one birthday request, besides having all her children, grandchildren, and one great-grandchild present, was to have photographs taken of the whole family on this happy occasion. Since the photos don't tell the whole story, though, I have decided to take this one step further by working on an oral history of our family, beginning with stories about my grandmother as well as stories told by her.
This way we can preserve a part of this day that was spent celebrating her life. And we can pass this celebration of both my grandmother and her family on to generations who have yet to be been born.
Of course, this is not a new idea: the world's indigenous people have been telling stories about their families and tribal histories for hundreds of years, passing the stories down from one generation to the next. We do something similar in our culture, but often the stories don't make it past the second generation. So to keep the stories flowing through the ages, I've decided to start recording them by interviewing each member of our family and tape-recording the session. After I've attained a substantial collection of stories from and about our family, I'll have the tape made into a CD and will give a copy to each member of our family to keep.
At my grandmother's party, I learned things about her that I never knew -- like, for example, that she had driven her three young boys across the country by herself when my grandfather was across the ocean flying on missions for the Air Force. Around the time of my grandfather's memorial service, I had learned a lot of interesting things about him, too. For instance, I knew before that he had flown in three wars, but I didn't know any of the specifics. After he died, I found out that he had received many medals and had rescued a great number of people.
I still don't know, though, what my grandfather felt about his experiences: He must have been scared during wartime – how did he deal with that? How did serving in each of these wars change him as a person? He never offered this information, and I never asked.
But I still have the chance to ask my grandmother about her life, her feelings, her fears and her dreams. There are so many things to learn from her: How did she handle questions from her children about their father during wartime? How did she handle her own fears about whether or not her husband would return each time he had to leave? What were her dreams when she was younger? What are they now?
Often we see the people we love on a regular basis and take them for granted because they're always there. We get into a routine of talking about the weather, what we did yesterday, or who won the baseball game. But do we really know each other? You can always make the first move to find out. Unconditional love is a wonderful thing, but taking that a step further by truly getting to know someone you love is a way to honor both that person and the relationship you have with them. I'm excited to begin my project of interviewing and tape-recording everyone in my family -- it will help me get to know them all better. I'm starting with my grandmother.
Amy Gautschi
Amy is a regular GoodLetter contributor, a new mom, a writer, and -- on the side -- a field hockey player. She lives with her husband, their son, and their dog in Seattle. Click here for her favorite goodthings
(Thoughts on Amy's GoodLetter? Inspired by what you've read? E-mail us -- don't forget to tell us your name, where you're from, and if we can use your words in a future GoodLetter or on our Web site.)
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Readers Respond
Thanks to so many of you for always sharing the "goodthings" going on in your lives. Thanks also for continuing to offer your thoughtful feedback on recent GoodLetters. Here are some recent voices of GoodLetter readers just like you:
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Dear GoodThings,
My mother and I have, since last fall, exchanged news, stories, etc. via e-mail. All too often these are negative or one more thing to worry about. I commented on this to her and two or three days later she sent me a link to the GoodThings Web site. Thank you SO much for sending out a newsletter of nothing but good things! It's nice to see some of the good in the world in my mail!
Jan Cook
:: Take a minute today to be like Jan's mom and tell a friend -- or a few -- about GoodThings.
Recommend "The GoodLetter"
Recommend GoodThings greeting cards
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Dear GoodThings,
I am writing to tell you about Mano a Mano Medical Resources. Mano a Mano picks up surplus medical supplies from medical facilities in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota and ships the supplies to Bolivia. Mano a Mano is in the process of building 32 public health clinics in remote rural areas of the Andes Mountains in Bolivia. Twenty-one clinics have already been built and staffed. Mano a Mano has shipped an enormous amount of high-quality medical supplies.
Rick Cheney
Saint Paul, Minnesota
:: Learn more about Mano a Mano.
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Dear GoodThings,
My goodthing begins with one man, Curt Maroney, and his commitment and determination to make a difference. With his passion for music and love for people, he started having conversations one year ago with Seattle-area musicians about coming together to create a compilation CD to raise money for an organization called Family Autism Network (FAN). FAN has emerged through the committed efforts of numerous parents, as well as the support and encouragement of an area Children's Hospital. FAN is dedicated to providing continuous, high-quality learning and recreational programs that teach life skills. These programs facilitate positive relationships between families of children with autism and the community at large. Participating musicians feel that coming together to support FAN will make a significant, meaningful, and positive impact on the communities where we live and perform.
LaDonna Gifford
Seattle, Washington
:: Learn more about the Family Autism Network (FAN) and Musicians for FANs.
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:: Could Rick's or LaDonna's idea be one of your Favorite GoodThings for 2002? Help us recognize the people and groups and ideas that have made a difference in the world this year. First, give yourself a minute or two to remind yourself about the 25 honorees from last year by visiting our site at: www.goodthings.com/02_00_2001favorites.asp
Then, give the past year some careful thought and send us your nominations for Favorite GoodThings 2002 by using our "Share" page.
We love to hear from you about anything: ideas or situations that are inspiring you or challenging you to think, as well as organizations, programs, and people that contribute to your community and the world everyday. Please drop us a line.
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Good Gravy
As we expected, GoodLetter readers are enjoying our new-look Good Gravy! Karen L. of Southport, North Carolina, was one of the many folks who wrote this week: "I love your new format. Makes it a little easier for me to see what people are enjoying and why. Good reviews -- thanks."
Each week, we'll feature a new list of Good Gravy recommendations from GoodLetter readers or from someone here at GoodThings. So send us your own personal top-ten list (or top five) of all things entertainment related -- the books or articles you're reading, the movies you've rented or seen in the theaters, the music that you can stop listening to -- and it might end up here in our revamped Good Gravy section.
This week, GoodThings editor Wood Turner weighs in on his latest Good Gravy (as always, in no particular order):
1. (music) "Let's Leave This Town, by Chip Taylor and Carrie Rodriguez (2002)
"Carrie's wet behind the ears and plays fiddle; Chip's been around the block a few times and strums guitar. Their voices sound great together. If you've ever liked the music of singers like Nanci Griffith even half as much as I have, you'll love the songs on this record. I feel like I've discovered gold with this one."
2. (film in theaters) Moonlight Mile (2002)
"Any movie that can fit a wealth of obscure early 1970s Bob Dylan, Elton John, Rolling Stones, and Van Morrison songs gracefully into its storyline is already doing something very, very right. I'm also a huge Susan Sarandon fan, and she's at her best in this one. If you've thought of resisting this movie because of its tough subject matter, don't. It's all about being real in the world."
3. (music) Beggar's Oil EP, by Kelly Joe Phelps (2002)
"This little gem of a blues CD is worth owning just to have a copy of Phelps' slide guitar version of the classic lament 'Lass of Loch Royale (If I Prove False To Thee),' also known by its other name 'The Storms Are On The Ocean.' Nobody does it better than Kelly Joe. I play it over and over and over again."
4. (film to rent) Cousins (1989)
"This movie was filmed in all the splendor that is the amazing city of Vancouver, British Columbia. I was skeptical of a movie that's anchored by Ted Danson, but that didn't last long. Isabella Rossellini is at her very best in this movie about the depth of love that grows out of friendship."
5. (music) Going Driftless: An Artist's Tribute to Greg Brown, by Various Artists (2002)
"There's not a songwriter today who's as genuine and honest as Greg Brown. It's high time other artists paid him tribute, and it's pure gravy that these phenomenal tributes are by some of my very favorites -- Gillian Welch, Ani DiFranco, Iris Dement, and Lucy Kaplansky, to name a few."
6. (film to rent) Happenstance (2000)
"If you loved seeing Paris through the eyes of Audrey Tautou in the French film 'Amelie,' follow it up with 'Happenstance.' Ever found yourself wondering how the single actions of other people you may see during the day but don't know affect your own life? This movie explores that idea in a fascinating way and really gets inside your head."
7. (music) Forgiven Now, by Dolly Varden (2002)
"If there were any justice, everyone would know about this excellent Chicago band. I guess the fact that they're named after an elusive trout makes sense. From the opening guitar strums of the first track 'Surrounded by the Sound," I just love this album. This is a group that knows melody, harmony, AND just great songwriting."
8. (film to rent) Three Days of the Condor (1975)
"I had never seen Robert Redford in 'The Sting,' but when I rented it recently, I realized what an uncommon actor he truly is and decided to explore some other old films of his that I hadn't seen. This one, which also stars Faye Dunaway, was a great find. Can't believe it had taken me so long to find it. It's a gripping spy movie that's much more thoughtful than it is filled with gratuitous stunts."
9. (music) Daybreaker, by Beth Orton (2002)
"Beth Orton has the smoothest voice in pop music. This is yet another collection of perfect songs from her. I'm wild about three songs in particular, 'Mount Washington,' 'Thinking About Tomorrow,' and 'This One's Gonna Bruise.' This album has quickly become my favorite for quiet days."
10. (music) This Side, by Nickel Creek (2002)
"I just saw this talented young acoustic trio perform an electrifying live show, and I still haven't caught my breath. Every time I hear them play, I wish I'd been better about keeping up with my piano lessons! I'm absolutely crazy about their bluegrass version of the great Pavement tune, 'Spit On A Stranger.'"
Talk to us: What's your Good Gravy? What do you think of our new Good Gravy format? Let's start sharing good entertainment finds with each other! Send us your list of what you're reading, watching, or listening to and let us know why you think it's good. Your Good Gravy could be featured here next week.
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