It seemed like he’d live forever even with dementia, but nope. Rest in peace to legendary Anthony Dominick Benedetto, better known as Tony Bennett. He was 96 years old.
Not just an amazing musical artist, did you know that while he was in the Army, he was demoted for having dinner with a black friend?
Did you also know that while in the Army, he hunted Nazis and helped liberate Dachau prisoners?
Did you know that he marched with Martin Luther King and promoted musicians of color in the 1950s and 60s?
He won eighteen Grammy Awards, honors from the United Nations, and the Kennedy Center. Tony found new success later in life when he collaborated with Amy Winehouse and Lady Gaga, recording acclaimed music and touring together,
I don’t mean the ultra religious definition of doing something good to fulfill one of 631 commandments and I don’t mean BAR/BAT Mitzvah, (which I never did) but doing a mitzvah has also come to express an individual act of human kindness; a good deed.
Here’s the story. A couple days ago, I had a doctor’s appointment . As I walked to the office, I said hello to two people sitting on the curb out in front. They were a bit older than me but looked frail, and the man was in a walker.
There was a wait for the doctor and I chose to sit outside because no one in the waiting room was wearing a mask (except for me) and there was a lot of coughing AND the door was closed. (Yup, I’m still a mask wearer in crowded placed, even if no one else does.)
While I was standing outside on the sidewalk, I chatted with the couple. They told me they had been waiting an hour in the hot sun (we’re having a heat wave) for their Uber. The woman was on the phone trying to find some way to communicate with the company, which is impossible, by the way.
I felt horrible that these older people were left stranded and told them if they were still there when I was finished with my appointment, I’d drive them home as I learned they didn’t live all that far away from the doctor’s office. In case you thought they could take a bus, that’s not an option. Public transportation is horrible in my area.
I went back in the office and could see that the doc was so backed up, I’d probably be forced to wait at least an hour to see her, so I decided to reschedule my visit to next week.
When I left, I saw those poor people were still waiting, still on the phone, looking pretty stressed out. I told them I’d be more than happy to drive them home, which I did.
They were beyond appreciative and repeatedly offered gas money which I declined. They couldn’t believe a total stranger would help them. The man had cancer, was diabetic, in overall poor health, and his wife wasn’t much better.
How could I not help?
It was such a small thing to do for another human; a mitzvah, a helping hand.
I have so much to be grateful for in my life; it felt nice and right to extend a simple and random act of human kindness, not for any reward in this life or the next — for no reason other than I felt like it.
Fortunately, a growing number of cities and counties are opting to prohibit fireworks, including recently adopted bans in Portland, Oregon; San Jose, California; Detroit, Michigan; and King County, Washington (home to Seattle).
The Animal Legal Defense Fund advocates in favor of such bans to protect animals and the ecosystems in which they live.
Companion Animals at Risk
Every July like clockwork, news articles and social media posts are published sharing advice for animal guardians about how to keep their companions as safe and calm as possible on the Fourth of July.
And, every July like clockwork, municipal animal shelters fill to the brim with dogs and cats who’ve escaped their homes and yards, becoming lost as they try to flee the sounds, smells, and vibrations of fireworks.
Wildlife Suffer for Fireworks
As for animals in the wild, they face perils of their own as a result of fireworks. “We know what to expect, but wildlife don’t,” the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service notes, adding that “[t]he abrupt lights and sounds are often seen as a threat by nesting bald eagles and easily startle great blue herons and other colonial nesting birds.”
Additional Problems for Humans and the Environment
Fireworks have environmental and public health impacts that are rarely considered or fully appreciated. They release particulate matter and toxins, adversely affecting air quality. They also pose a serious risk of igniting wildfires, particularly in areas facing dry conditions.
Many humans are also bothered by fireworks, including people with post-traumatic stress disorder, those on the autism spectrum, and others with sensory processing challenges.
“It doesn’t matter how old you are, there is a little child within who needs love and acceptance.”- Louise Hay
Do you still wish upon a star? I do, because my own inner child is blissfully naive and unsophisticated.
Star light, star bright, First star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, Have this wish I wish tonight.⭐
I wrote a letter To my inner child And, I told her How loved she was by me And, if no one else Ever told her so She knew How loved she was, by me
⭐
And when We grow up We must never forget That hidden, down deep Within us Is our forever inner child Resting, silently within us Forever waiting Forever hoping That one day We shall Remember it
⭐
And, if a star shall fall Down upon the ground Why, I shall pick her up For she longed to be found I shall hold her forever Forever in my heart Knowing that we shall never Ever again, be apart
By Athey Thompson from A little Pocket Book of Poems
The last week has been heavy with sad and tragic events from around the world. As we leave June and enter another month, let’s lighten the energy with a beautiful quote by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow about planting kindness wherever we can.
“Kind hearts are the gardens, Kind thoughts are the roots, Kind words are the flowers, Kind deeds are the fruits, Take care of your garden And keep out the weeds, Fill it with sunshine, Kind words, and Kind deeds.” — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Here’s confirmation.from San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department:
Coroner Identifies Remains Located in the Mt. Baldy Wilderness Area on June 24, 2023
DATE/TIME: June 24, 2023 / 10:00 a.m. INCIDENT: Human Remains Located LOCATION: Mt. Baldy Wilderness Area DECEASED PARTY: Julian Sands, 65-year-old resident of North Hollywood, CA
UPDATE- June 27, 2023: The identification process for the body located on Mt. Baldy on June 24, 2023, has been completed and was positively identified as 65-year-old Julian Sands of North Hollywood. The manner of death is still under investigation, pending further test results.
We would like to extend our gratitude to all the volunteers that worked tirelessly to locate Mr. Sands.
Hopefully, this information will offer some kind of solace to family and loved ones.
It’s been a long time since we heard any news about Julian Sands. It’s now possible there will be a sad closure to his disappearance.
According to San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, the body was discovered around 10 a.m. in wilderness near Mount Baldy and was transported to the coroner’s office for identification next week.
Hikers Discover Human Remains in the Mt. Baldy Wilderness Area DATE/TIME: June 24, 2023 / 10:00 a.m. INCIDENT: Human Remains Located LOCATION: Mt. Baldy Wilderness Area On Saturday, June 24, 2023, at about 10:00 a.m., civilian hikers contacted the Fontana Sheriff’s Station after they discovered human remains in the Mt. Baldy wilderness. Fontana Station deputies, along with the Sheriff’s Department’s Emergency Operations Division, responded to the scene. The decedent was transported to the Coroner’s Office, pending positive identification. Identification should be completed next week at which time we will update this press release. No further details are available at this time. Additional details were not immediately available.
Sands, an avid hiker and mountaineer, was reported missing January 13 after setting out on the peak that rises more than 10,000 feet east of Los Angeles. The region was pounded by severe storms during winter.
On Friday, his family released its first statement since Sands’ disappearance:
“We continue to hold Julian in our hearts with bright memories of him as a wonderful father, husband, explorer, lover of the natural world and the arts, and as an original and collaborative performer,” the statement said.
Julian Sands is a British-born actor best known for his role in the 1985 film “A Room With a View,”
A June 17 search for Sands, the eighth organized search with a rescue team of about eighty volunteers, was unsuccessful. Hundreds of hours have been put into the search … through the use of helicopters, drones, and other tactics.
I’lll update as more information becomes available.
“In one drop of water are found all the secrets of all the oceans.” – Kahlil Gibran
My thoughts are about as insignificant as a drop in the ocean, but I’ve memorialized my observations as a way to try and wrap my brain around the tragedy that unfolded the last few days about the Titan submersible.
I’ve lived near the ocean most of my life and while I love it, I’m afraid of it at the same time.
I CAN swim but it’s not my most favorite thing to do; in fact, my chest gets tight and I can start to hyperventilate simply thinking about putting my head under water — even though I know I have done it many times.
The Angel Kids aren’t like me — they’re half dolphin — both of them, and swim and jump in the waves and dive and try to surf and paddleboard with no fear of the power of the ocean.
When I first learned about the concerns regarding the loss of communication with this tiny little submersible while it attempted to reach the wreck of the Titanic, the idea of being crouched into a tight space, freezing cold, in total darkness, with limited oxygen, miles away from help — was a recipe to ignite some of my worst fears.
Lost and alone, in the dark, unable to breathe, under the sea.
I don’t like to take the Bart tunnel from San Francisco to Oakland and can’t even think of an incentive that could motivate me to endure a two-hour ride on the Chunnel from London to Paris.
Yesterday, the United States Coast Guard said that an ROV found the tail cone of the Titan 1,600 ft from the Titanic, and the ROV then found additional debris consistent with the “catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber.”
The debris is consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel,” said Rear Admiral John Mauger.
Officials said that the location of the debris field matched “the location of last communication” of the submersible. The time of the implosion has not yet been determined.
From the Rear Admiral, “I offer my deepest condolences to the family. I hope this discovery provides some solace during this difficult time.”
OceanGate Expeditions, the company that operated the Titan, released a statement on Thursday saying that they believe all five passengers on the submersible had been “lost.”
Presumed deceased are Paul-Henry Nargeolet, Stockton Rush, Hamish Harding, Shahzada Dawood, and his son, Sulaiman Dawood.
Also from OceanGate, “These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans,” the statement said . “Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time. We grieve the loss of life and joy they brought to everyone they knew.”
What I find utterly fascinating and darkly eerie is the connection to the wreck of the Titanic.
From NPR: “The OceanGate executive who was piloting the submersible on its fateful Sunday dive is married to the descendent of a couple who died in the very shipwreck his expedition aimed to see.
OceanGate founder and CEO Stockton Rush is married to Wendy Rush, the great-great-granddaughter of Isidor and Ida Straus, who choose to remain onboard the sinking Titanic together so that others could escape to safety in their place.
They were the real-life inspiration behind the heartbreaking scene in James Cameron’s movie in which an elderly couple embraces in bed as water rushes into their room.”
There’s been a disgusting amount of unkind and vicious commentary on social media about the fact that these men were millionaires and billionaires.
In my opinion, it doesn’t matter how entitled they were or how much money they had; this is a tragic, horrible way to die.
From Julias Kim via Twitter: “There isn’t one person who is hating on billionaires right now that wouldn’t take a billion dollars if it was handed to them tax free…Beware. It’s a slippery slope when we start devaluing lives based on how much money people have.”
Yet…there’s this:
As every news report led with the OceanGate submersible, how many international efforts coalesced to rescue hundreds of migrants from the ocean off Greece?
It seems as if that catastrophe garnered little to no attention.
I feel terrible for the migrants who drowned in the waters outside Greece AND for the people who died aboard the Titan.
And yes, it’s possible to feel compassion for both.
The practice of daily affirmations is a great way to reframe our mental patterns, shifting into positive thinking while learning to dynamically rewire our brain with neuroplasticity.
“I closed my eyes, took a calming breath and listened to my heart call I am… I am… I am…”
~Sylvia Plath The Bell Jar
(In 1982, Plath was posthumously awarded the Pulitzer Prize for her Collected Poems.)
Try these I am affirmations:
I am excited for this day. I am so grateful to be alive. I am lovable. I am worthy. I’m going to have a great day. I am open to opportunities. I am alive. I am full of joy. I am at peace. I am positive. I am safe. I am a wonderful person. I am happy and healthy. I am. 🩷
Enchanted Seashells | Princess Rosebud 