Thank God It's Friday?

Why do we thank God for Fridays? Really, there isn't anything more reliable in our lives than the rising and setting of the sun. Once in every seven times, we call it Friday. So what's the big deal?

For most of us, "Thank God it's Friday" is a way of saying how glad we are that the relative freedom of the weekend is at hand. But for many, there is no meaningful freedom, neither on the weekend nor on any other day. Among these are the millions of victims of human trafficking, living in some form of modern-day slavery, in forced labor, in the sex trade, deprived of any form of personal freedom.

This is day four of my nine-day tweet-and-blogathon in support of Born To Fly International. If you haven't already visited their site (http://born2fly.org), please do so between now and 9-9-9 and chip in nine bucks if you can. While you're there, please take some time to read about their work and the massive problem they are committed to fight. If you haven't already told a friend, please do so today. And when you do, please ask them to tell a friend too.

Thanks and... Let's not take our freedom for granted this weekend.

I was nine years old when I was abducted

I was nine years old when I was abducted. True story. I was nine years old when I was abducted, along with another boy, in New York's Riverside Park. One of the two abductors claimed to have a gun in his pocket. We had no choice but to believe him. The details of what happened next aren't particularly important. What is important is how a nine year old boy feels in that situation. I was too naïve to know all of the possibilities. If I did, I'm sure I would have been even more scared than I was. Even so, I experienced the full measure of fear for my life.


The whole thing didn't last very long. By the grace of God, we were soon set free. These guys were just looking for some quick, sick "fun". We received good medical attention at the emergency room and were home with our families by evening. In spite of the short duration of the event and the lack of permanent physical injury, the events of that day left a deep and permanent impression.

Today, all these years later, I have a tiny window into the suffering felt by the victims of human trafficking. That's one of the reasons I am so passionate about the mission of organizations like Born To Fly International. A million kids lose their lives to human trafficking each year, not their physical lives, but their future. Unless they are among the fortunate few who are rescued and given a chance to reclaim their future, all of their rights and opportunities, their hopes and dreams - all that makes one truly alive, is stolen from them.

Human trafficking, violence against the weak and exploitation of the vulnerable are massive problems with many variations, from small parallel stories like mine and bigger stories like Jaycee Dugard's 18-year imprisonment, to the $9 billion worldwide organized sex trade. There is no single solution. The problem must be confronted from many angles. We can all do SOMETHING. Will you join me between now and 9-9-9, next Wednesday, by chipping in at least $9 to Born To Fly International's education project? Click here to visit their web site.

Nine! Nine! Nine!

"Nine! Nine! Nine!" sounds just like "Nein! Nein! Nein!" but it's not. (Nicht nein sage ich "No! No! No!" auf Deutsch. )

Nine Means Yes
Instead of "No! No! No!" I'm asking you to say "Yes! Yes! Yes!"

In seven days, on 9-9-9 Born To Fly International is looking for nine-thousand nine-dollar contributions so they can go to press with educational materials to raise awareness about child human trafficking for at-risk children and their parents around the world.

So can you spare a NINE? (Do you ever wonder why the United States Treasury doesn't print nine-dollar bills? Honestly, neither do I.)

Please visit Born To Fly International and read about their work. Please consider a $9 gift. If you think this is important, tell 9 friends. Then, if you can, please think of 9 other ways you can help support this important cause.

You could...

• Write nine blog posts (sound familiar?)
• Post nine Twitter updates
• Find nine related links and share them on Facebook or wherever you share stuff

No Big Commitment Required, Just Do SOMETHING
This is no big commitment. You can help this good organization achieve an important milestone and then go back to whatever it is you do. But please do something between now and 9-9-9. Share 9 bucks. Tell 9 friends. Whatever... This is a good idea and as Harvey Mackay says, "Getting a good idea should be like sitting on a pin. It should make you jump up and do something!"

Better than sudoku, a numbers game that can save a life

No Sudoku For Me

I don’t play Sudoku but I do enjoy an occasional numbers game. Well, here’s something that grabbed my attention – a play on the number nine that has nothing to do with fun and games. On 9/9/9, Born to Fly International (http://born2fly.org/) is asking you to consider a $9 donation to support their extremely important cause. It would be really cool if you would also tell 9 friends about it. Nine of your dollars plus nine of your friends on 9/9/9. How cool is that?



So what is this important cause anyway?

What? The cool numbers game isn’t enough? Of course not. Okay. Let’s get serious. Born to Fly was founded by veteran journalist Diana Scimone to help fight the hideous practice of human trafficking – especially the enslavement of young children in the sex trade. What could be more heinous and more exploitive? The mission at Born to Fly is educating kids and their parents about the dangers of trafficking, with the ultimate goal of ending it. They have been working on a wordless book that teaches kids to make wise choices – wordless so they don’t have to translate it into hundreds of languages. Along with a companion curriculum, the wordless book is nearly ready for publication. That’s where you come in. Born to Fly needs funding to get the materials published and into the waiting hands of schools, missions and aid organizations. Your $9 donation might just make the crucial difference in a child’s life.



Check it out!

Visit http://born2fly.org/. Read about it. Think about it. Pray about it. Do something about it.

Slum Dog Millionaire

We saw Slum Dog Millionaire for the second time this past weekend. I'll try not to say too much about why I like it in case you haven't seen it. We found it to be one of the best movies we have ever seen. Yes, there are some difficult scenes and some things that might anger certain groups, but the overall effect is an amazing tapestry of current social issues and classical dramatic themes.

Slum Dog Millionaire is technically brilliant with outstanding acting that stays within the boundaries of the characters. The characters are thus accessible and human, not exaggerated portraits but realistic portrayals. The direction is creative but not distracting. The real star of the show is the story itself that touches on so many important and challenging questions. It is one of those rare films that you can watch again and again, each time finding something new about the story, and if you are willing, something new about yourself.

Illinois' Legal Snowblower

A member of the Illinois State House of Representatives' Impeachment Committee said that yesterday was a good and happy day for the State of Illinois. It was good, he said, because the committee had voted to recommend impeachment of Governor Rod Blagojevich and in doing so had demonstrated that nobody is above the law.

Wouldn't it be better and happier if such demonstrations were not necessary on a regular basis? This Democractic Governor stands charged with federal crimes and will likely be impeached, if he does not resign first. His immediate predecessor, Republican George Ryan, remains in jail for his conviction on corruption charges. It's been a long time since we have had a governor who has ended up as a criminal defendant.

Perhaps our politicians are a little bit like our weather. We live in a land of extremes. We can have beautiful, mild summers. We can also have brutally hot ones. We can have mild winters that are not too snowy and not too cold. We can also have winters like the one we are having now, exceptionally snowy and exceptionally cold. We have had some seasons of good gubernatorial leadership. Former Governors Jim Thompson and Jim Ryan are both recent (within the lifetime of our youngest voters) examples who show that politicians are not universally corrupt.

Let's hope that once the Blagojevich blizzard ends, that we have a long spring and summer of better government. Let's hope for many years ahead of good, happy days and a more pleasant political climate where we don't need regular demonstrations that nobody is above the law.

In the United States, we celebrate Thanksgiving day on the last Thursday of November, two days from now. Given the historic nature and sociological significance of the recent Presidential election, I thought it might be good to consider the first Thanksgiving Day proclamation, signed by George Washington, the first President of the United States of America.

General Thanksgiving
By the PRESIDENT of the United States Of America
A PROCLAMATION

WHEREAS it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favour; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me "to recommend to the people of the United States a DAY OF PUBLICK THANSGIVING and PRAYER, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"

NOW THEREFORE, I do recommend and assign THURSDAY, the TWENTY-SIXTH DAY of NOVEMBER next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed;-- for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish Constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted;-- for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge;-- and, in general, for all the great and various favours which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also, that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions;-- to enable us all, whether in publick or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness unto us); and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

GIVEN under my hand, at the city of New-York, the third day of October, in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine.

(Signed) G. Washington

Source: The Massachusetts Centinel, Wednesday,
October 14, 1789