Little Pebble

The following is a news release from Soka Gakkai International, regarding the Haitian relief efforts of SGI organizations in several countries around the world:  

 SGI Organizations Support Haiti Relief Efforts
TOKYO, Jan. 20 /Kyodo JBN/–
Soka Gakkai International (SGI) organizations around the world have made donations to assist the relief efforts in Haiti following the devastating earthquake which hit the country on Tuesday January 12, 2010. On January 15, Soka Gakkai Japan Vice President Kenji Yoshigo visited Jean Claude Bordes, Charge d’Affaires at the Embassy of the Republic of Haiti in Tokyo, to pledge a contribution of 3 million yen (US$32,900) toward government-organized relief activities. At ceremonies held in Japan on January 17 to commemorate the victims of the massive earthquake which hit the port city of Kobe on that day in 1995, Soka Gakkai members offered special prayers for the victims of the unfolding humanitarian tragedy in Haiti.  

SGI members in the neighboring Dominican Republic have donated 2,400 bottles of water, canned food, powdered milk, and crackers to the NPO Socio Cultural Movement for Haitian Workers (MOSCTHA). Four SGI members from the Dominican Republic, including two doctors, have traveled to Haiti with MOSCTHA’s team to assist with the provision of emergency medical assistance. SGI-Venezuela has pledged a donation of foodstuffs, diapers and sanitary towels through the Venezuelan Red Cross. SGI-USA has donated US$10,000 to the American Red Cross International Response Fund and held extended prayer sessions for the repose of the victims.

Further afield, SGI-Hong Kong has contributed HK$200,000 (US$25,750) to the Hong Kong Committee for UNICEF in support of relief activities, and the Taiwan Soka Association has pledged 1 million Taiwanese dollars (US$31,420) for relief efforts through the Ministry of the Interior which is responsible for humanitarian assistance.

SGI is a Buddhist association with over 12 million members around the world that promotes peace, culture and education. Its humanitarian relief activities are part of the longstanding traditions of socially engaged Buddhism.   

Contact: Joan Anderson
Office of Public Information
Soka Gakkai International
Tel: +81-3-5360-9482
Fax: +81-3-5360-9885
URL: www.sgi.org   

Source: Soka Gakkai International 

I am so proud and so blessed to be a part of this amazing faith and the SGI-USA. It takes a lot of small drops to fill an ocean, and I am glad that I can be one of them. I know that I am facing enormous challenges in my own small life, but the people of Haiti are facing huge ones and we must all come together in support of their lives. I am blessed to do what I can, and I hope that you are will be, too.

It will take many years and much work to rebuild the country of Haiti, and I know that all the people of the world will stand together for Haiti, and do whatever they can to help in the recovery efforts. All blessings to the Haitian people, and to all the people of the world.

Copyright ©2010 Hillora Lang

I recently received a very bitter comment on one of my posts from a person who signed herself “Someone Who Knows You Very Well.” There is little doubt in my mind that she is a member of a very dysfunctional non-profit organization with which I was involved for eight years. It makes me aware once again of the false assumptions we tend to make about other people. How well can you know someone whose home you never been invited to visit? How well can you know someone whose family and friends you have never met? How well can you know someone with whom you have never engaged in an open, heartfelt discussion about their spiritual beliefs, or aspirations, or the things which really matter to them? Since I have never shared any of these experiences with someone from this group, it is obvious to me that this is “Someone Who Knows Me Not At All.”

In the past I would have allowed her vituperative comments to get under my skin, to have allowed the nastiness of this woman to fester in my soul, tainting my attitude and outlook. Thankfully, I have grown beyond allowing negative people to dictate my state of mind. I took positive action when I cut my ties with that dysfunctional non-profit organization and the people who made it that way, and I have never regretted my action in leaving.

But even as I have pursued my education and advanced in my development as a human being, I continue to find it difficult to comprehend why so many people in this world continue to be so angry, embittered, and negative towards those who have done them no harm. For too many years I made the mistake of allowing my perception of humanity to be colored by my interactions with such bitter, unhappy people. I saw everyone I met as a potential enemy, and maintained a strictly defensive attitude towards the world. It has been difficult to eliminate that defensiveness from my demeanor, but I believe that I have come a long way with the support of my Buddhist faith. Occasionally, I will feel myself holding back and keeping my distance from new people, but more and more I am able now to make eye contact with strangers and engage in a conversation with relative ease. It becomes more natural with each new friendship I build with positive, compassionate, loving people, and I am so thankful for having them in my life. It has been a true blessing to find that the angry, bitter people are only a tiny fraction of humanity, far outnumbered by the kind and caring ones.

“Someone,” please know that I forgive you for your attack, and am praying for your absolute happiness. Because when you are completely happy you will no longer feel the need to spread your bitterness throughout the world and increase the poison in your own life. And the world will then be a little bit better for all of us.

Copyright © 2010 Hillora Lang

 After surviving a very difficult life as an undiagnosed adult with the developmental disability Asperger Syndrome (a high-functioning form of autism), with all of the related social inabilities, difficulties working with people who could never understand me and had no sense of compassion for the shortcomings of others, and having missed out on the college education which would have made it possible for me to earn a secure living, I finally was able to begin attending college in the fall of 2008. This was a tremendous blessing in my life, and despite all of the terror, insecurity, and stress which it brought, I have never regretted taking this leap. I have been able to succeed beyond my wildest dreams, making the Honor Roll, Dean’s List, and President’s List; being invited to join the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society; and winning a Student Achievement Award.

In order to succeed in college, I made the decision to quit work at the dead-end, low-paying job which I had held for the previous three years, and devote all possible time and energy to my courses. I would have no income, but would have to live on financial aid and scholarships. I knew that it would be difficult, but it couldn’t be worse than my life was prior to beginning college, when I felt like I was going under for third time financially, with no hope of redemption. Without a college education I would never be able to provide for myself in any decent manner, let alone care for the animals for whom I had taken responsibility (I am the full-time live-in caretaker for a feral cat sanctuary in Burgaw, NC). So despite my trepidation, I quit that job and devoted my life to succeeding in school and caring for the cats in the backwoods.

Everything went well, although my purse-strings were often tied in knots. I managed to get through from semester to semester, and even had the money to feed myself! Everything went well, that is, until this semester. I preregistered for my spring 2010 classes after speaking with my adviser, filled out the Consortium Agreement required because I was attending two colleges simultaneously, and thought that I had everything in order, just as had been the case in the fall semester. Little did I know that I was about to crash and burn!

I started classes on January 6, and everything was going well. Then, on January 8 I came home in the evening to a message on my answering machine telling me that there was a problem with my Consortium Agreement and to contact the college’s Financial Aid Office as soon as possible. The college was already closed for the weekend, so I had to wait for Monday to come to follow up. When I got there, I was told that because the courses I was taking at my other school were not on my curriculum at my home school, I did not have enough credits to keep my financial aid. Because it was past the cut-off date, even adding another course didn’t work and I lost my student loans and half of my Pell Grant for this semester.

After racing from one campus to the other, speaking with several different people, and trying everything I could think of, I am left out in the cold – literally! It’s freezing cold here, and now I don’t have the money to pay my electric bill, let alone the mortgage on my little mobile home, and will end up joining those unfortunate multitudes who have found themselves homeless. I have barely enough money to see me through the next two months, once my courses are paid for. And if I drop any of the courses which I’m registered for, I still have pay the full tuition for them – because it’s after the cut-off date!

I immediately went to a friend who has experience in the world of academia, as well as in non-profits and business. I told her what had happened (between tears of frustration and terror – she is such an understanding and tolerant friend!). She promised to help in any way she can, but she is a retiree who is helping out many other people already. I asked her to try to see if anyone she knew might be interested in assisting me to get through the next six months, so that I can stay in school and achieve my long-deferred dream of finishing my college education. She has promised to do whatever she can, but I feel that I need to reach out on my own, as frightening as that is for someone with my disability.

That is why I am telling you my story here, on this little blog of mine, where I usually strive to be positive and encouraging. I am trying to believe that it is not a bad thing to admit vulnerability, to be helpless in the face of adversity, and I am trying to remain positive in my outlook. I know that somewhere out there in the world is someone who values higher education enough to sponsor me through the spring and summer semesters, as I fight to maintain the highest grades possible and succeed beyond my own expectations. I just need to get the word out there, and find my savior.

Please, please, please, tell everyone you know about my plight! Forward this posting to everyone on your mailing list; Twitter, Digg, and otherwise spread the word. Help me to find the wonderful, compassionate, caring patron I need to help me survive the next few months, while continuing to succeed in school and care for the animals on the sanctuary.

*Read more about me and my situation on the posts Dying Dream: Part 2 and Part 3

Copyright ©2010 Hillora Lang

As a teenager struggling to find my way through a world which I couldn’t understand, I was unable to face the thought of going to college. I told everyone who asked what I planned to do after graduating high school that I couldn’t afford college; my parents were divorced, there had never been a college fund set aside, and I had to go to work and earn a living. I didn’t have anyone to advise me otherwise – no one to tell me that I would spend my life barely scraping by, working in one dead-end job after another, wrecking my body standing on my feet all day, and never having a chance to build any sort of security. I missed the one chance I had to make a decent life for myself, and it’s been downhill ever since.

I had hit rock-bottom a couple of years ago. My car was too dangerous to drive any longer, and I couldn’t afford to repair it; my refrigerator, washer, and dryer had all broken down; I had a huge veterinarian’s bill due which I couldn’t pay; I hadn’t been able to go to the dentist or eye doctor for many years, and needed care desperately; and I was only able to eat by “dropping in” at my mom’s house at dinner time, or by snatching leftovers from the breadboard at the bakery where I worked. My life was going nowhere, and would never get any better.

I applied to a private family foundation for a grant to help make a dent in all of my needs, and was blessed to be awarded the money to fix all of these deficits, Unfortunately, before I could take care of my needs the old car I was driving blew the engine, so all of that money went to buy a good used car. The Universe was looking out for me, though. A couple I knew gave me their old refrigerator when they bought a new one; a counselor at the TEACCH Center for Autism Research arranged for her dentist to do the work I needed at no charge; the head of First in Families, an organization which makes micro-grants to people with developmental disorders and their families arranged for his optometrist to do an eye exam and provide new glasses (again at no charge). A friend stepped forward and paid my veterinarian’s bill. And I applied for and finally got Food Stamps. I hadn’t eaten that well in years!

But while I was going through the interview process for the original grant, I realized that my life would never get any better unless I finally corrected that huge deficit in my life and got the college education which I had missed out on. I began taking the necessary steps to apply, register, and start college in the fall of 2008. With support from Vocational Rehabilitation, federal financial aid, and scholarships, I was able to afford to quit work and start school at last. It was truly the best thing I have done in my entire life!

I started at Cape Fear Community College in the Medical Transcription program, and got good grades that first semester. However, my disability makes it very difficult for me to type quickly (my brain and hands have trouble communicating!). I knew that I would not be able to complete the program, and so changed my major to an Associate of Arts degree at Cape Fear, and prepared to also enroll at Central Carolina Community College to get a degree in Library Information Technology. I planned to attend the two schools at the same time, taking the courses available on campus at Cape Fear, and others online at Central Carolina. I fulfilled many of the elective requirements throughout the spring and summer of 2009, and started my online library courses as well in the fall.

Unfortunately, as a result of inadequate or inappropriate counseling from my advisors and the financial aid office, I now find that I do not have enough courses in my major at Cape Fear to retain my financial aid (Pell Grant and student loans). I tried to sign up for another class, which brought me up to 21 credit hours total for the spring 2010 semester (a HUGE load!), but it was after the college’s drop/add cutoff date, so it did me no good. I am completely unable to get back the financial aid which I have lost.

I am NOT going to drop out of school; I would lose the tuition for all of my classes, and I would be delayed in getting my degrees for at least a year. I still want to transfer to the University of North Carolina at Wilmington in order to get my bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing, and hope to continue on for a master’s degree, as well. I am too old now to waste any more time in accomplishing my Big College Plan. As it is, I will be paying back my student loans when I’m 90, or when I sign a contract for my bestselling novel. Somehow, I must find a way to pay for my living expenses over the next six months, until I can reapply for student loans again.  

Please, tell everyone you know about my dilemma, and tell them to tell everyone they know, and so on, and so on… I need to connect with that one wonderful, compassionate person out there who values a college education and the difference it can make in life as much as I do, and help me to achieve my goals. Leonardo DaVinci had his patrons, as did Michaelangelo and countless others. I may not be as talented as a Renaissance artist, but I know that I can make as big a difference in my little corner of the world as they did in theirs, with the help and support of someone who cares. Spread the word, please, and help me find that special soul who will help me to achieve my dreams.

Copyright © 2010 Hillora Lang

For the spring semester 2010 I am enrolled in seven courses at two community colleges simultaneously (one local, one online), for a total of 21 credit hours. This is a heavy load, I will admit, but I am desperate to finish my concurrent degrees and be able to put my education to work. I am enrolled in four courses towards my Library Information Technology (LIT) degree at Central Carolina Community College, and three courses at Cape Fear Community College, two of which apply to my Associate of Arts Transfer degree as well as one which I plan to put to immediate use in trying to earn a living  (WEB 210: Website Design).

I feel like I live in the Learning Lab at school, working on homework assignments and research for my courses. Living on financial aid as I have been for the past four semesters, I cannot afford to get Internet access at home, and so must be on-campus for all classes, even the online ones. I’ve learned to carry warm blankets and snacks in my car, so that I can take a “parking lot break” to eat and nap when necessary.

Reading has always been a priority for me; I need to read a wide range of materials in order to get a handle on what’s popular, what’s good, and what’s interesting to the general public, so that I can work on successfully writing books which stand a chance of getting published in the (near?) future. Unfortunately, this type of reading usually takes a backseat now to reading the textbooks required for my courses. But the sacrifice will be worthwhile, when I have those degrees in hand!

I am also “employed” as full-time live-in volunteer caretaker for a feral cat sanctuary in Burgaw, NC. The sanctuary is home to over sixty feral and semi-feral cats whose lives were in danger wherever they were living (in the woods, behind restaurants, around apartment complexes), and so they were trapped and removed to the 28-acre sanctuary where they will live out their lives in peace and safety. I provide daily care for all of the cats in five separate structures, including feeding, watering, scooping litterboxes, cleaning equipment and bedding, and nursing whoever’s sick at any given time.

Wintertime care is especially time-consuming and difficult. Those cats living in outdoor, screened enclosures must have the ice broken out of their water-bowls each morning, and be refilled with warm water (in hopes it won’t freeze solid before the temperature rises). Their bedding in the small houses and nesting boxes must be checked to be sure it’s clean and dry, and the soiled bedding set aside for washing. I need to be especially conscious of the least little sound of sniffling, which could signal the onset of a bout with upper respiratory infection.

I recently spent several hours a day nursing Orca, a black-and-white cat with severe upper respiratory illness. After a couple of weeks on the medication she wasn’t getting any better, and suddenly took a turn for the worse. She was diagnosed with pneumonia, which again didn’t respond to the medications and treatments (antibiotics, subcutaneous fluids, force-feeding), so it was back to the veterinarian again. A chest x-ray revealed fluid surrounding her lungs (150 cc’s), which the vet pulled off in hopes that it might give her a chance to regain her strength. Unfortunately, Orca never really woke up after the procedure, so twenty-four hours later she went back to the vet and was euthanized. I did everything I could for this poor cat, but it turned out that the fluid build-up had been caused by an enlarged heart, from which she could not recover. Occasions like this are exhausting and heartbreaking, but I will continue to give all I can to these helpless animals.

Between school and my duties at the sanctuary, I have no ability to commit to a job right now. Living out in the backwoods, it takes 30-60 minutes to reach civilization by car, which sucks more time out my day. Even if it were possible to get a job in this economy, I wouldn’t be able to earn more than $6-8 per hour, most of which would go to putting gas in the car. And I doubt that I could find a job which would fit around my class schedule, without giving up the few hours of sleep which remain to me each night.

So, as distressing as it is to admit it, I need to ask for help from the world. I know that somewhere out there is someone who places a high priority on education and will step forward to help me to achieve my dream of finishing college. Without a degree I cannot make a decent living for myself and the animals in my care, or provide any security for retirement. The best I could hope for is to return to the dead-end, physically exhausting jobs which were my lot in the past, continually sliding further and further behind in meeting the basic needs of life, and unable to afford health care, healthy food, clothes, or other necessities which I have had to deny myself in the past. My only hope is to find a patron who can help me to survive the next six months, until my financial aid comes through in fall of 2010.

Just as artists and scholars in the Middle Ages or Renaissance had patrons to turn to for assistance, I must find such a person or organization who will step forward to help me stay in school and build the life which I have worked so hard to achieve – a life devoted to helping the helpless ones, to sharing my stories and dreams with the world, to creating something beautiful for others, and to building the financial security which will allow me to thrive and grow, and to give back.

Please, share my story with everyone you know; somewhere out there is someone who cares enough about dreams coming true to help me to achieve mine. Make a difference in this one life, so that I can make a difference in others to come.

Copyright © 2010 Hillora Lang

I have been so excited about returning to college, and starting the spring semester. Registering for classes, organizing my supplies, buying the required textbooks – I have enjoyed every minute of it, at times almost too much to be believed!

I suddenly realized this morning why I felt such an inordinate sense of sheer glee at returning to school. This has been such an enormous blessing for me, and one which I could never have anticipated only three years ago. I am so very blessed to have this opportunity, and I never want it to end!

My life before college was pretty rough, going from one dead-end job to the next, never having the chance to build any sort of security in my life, scraping by from paycheck to paycheck and never able to save a dime. I have been given this enormous gift for making my life a better place to live, and I feel bad for all of the people throughout the world who will never have this chance, or who have it and throw it away.

It may be a long journey for me, becuse I have so many long-deferred dreams which I need to accomplish. But I am enjoying each and every day, and want to share my blessings with others. I hope to be successful financially someday, enough to be able to help others like me to get the education which will make a real and lasting difference in their own lives. And I hope to be able to encourage those who are in college or high school, and thinking of giving up because they want to get on with their lives, or because it’s too hard, or because an immediate opportunity causes them to forget that the education which they are forgoing will make their lives so much better in the long run. If I can offer encouragement or an example which helps even one person to complete their college education, I will be extraordinarily happy with my accomplishment.

So, please, take advantage of the gift, of the true blessing, of a college education. Stick it out, do the work, and succeed in college, and in life. If not for yourself, do it for those who come after you – you’ll be amazed at the blessings which flow into your life!

Copyright © 2010 Hillora Lang

*Please send all comments in English, so that I can post them for others to read!

Inner silence promotes clarity of mind;
It makes us value the inner world;
It trains us to go inside
To the source of peace and inspiration
When we are faced with problems and challenges.

~ Deepak Chopra ~

Sometimes it seems that the world of the twenty-first century conspires to prevent us from experiencing the inner silence which is so important for our equilibrium and growth. Electricity was a wonderful discovery, I’ll grant you that, but beyond all of the inventions and developments which use electricity to make life easier, safer, warmer (or cooler), brighter, and better, it has also brought an unending cacophony of electronic noise from television, movies, music, video games, phones, computers,  and media of all sorts. We have become addicted to this unending noise, and cannot imagine life without it.

I am afraid that we have all become so used to – and so controlled by – the artificial companionship of electronic noise, that we are made uncomfortable by silence, both within and without ourselves. When was the last time that you rode in your car without the radio or CD player on? When was the last time you went home and did not turn on the television or DVD player? When was the last time you spent a day without turning on your computer, making a dozen phone calls, or otherwise insulating yourself from the clarity of mind which comes with silence?

These electronic sources of constant noise are wonderful for helping us avoid getting to know ourselves, for allowing us to avoid thinking for ourselves, for keeping our minds anaesthetized so that we are unable to develop our wills and remain free of outside influences. It may not be a Grand Plan by those in control of the streams of electronic media to control the masses, but subversively, perhaps, that might as well be the case. And we allow it to happen to us, everyday.

My life was very challenging when I lived for several months without electricity, due to an inspection delay. I learned how to live as many throughout the world do, with substitutes for electric lights, indoor plumbing, running water, and a working stove. I learned that a spoiled twenty-first century resident can live quite well without the conveniences bestowed by electricity. Above all, however, I learned that I can survive – and be very satisfied and happy – without that cacophony of input from devices meant to entertain, connect, and inform our minds, but which in reality cover up the sound of silence, the silence which would allow us to grow and learn and enjoy our own selfhood.

Try it, sometime. Don’t turn on the television, or the CD player, or pick up the telephone, for an hour, or a day, or a week. Who are you, really, without the noise of the world covering up the blessed silence of your soul? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to find out?

Copyright ©2009 Hillora Lang

It’s been quite awhile since I had the time and leisure to post a new entry, for which I apologize. School has been very tough this semester, and I’m not doing as well as I would like (several B’s instead of the straight A’s which I strive for!). The semester is only half over, though, so I have time to bring those grades up if I really apply myself. It’s been a busy semester, with 18 credit hours on my schedule. I think I may need to cut back a little for the spring semester.

The cats at the sanctuary require much time and attention, as well. We have had some illnesses which required intensive care, with constant monitoring, medication, and lots of prayers. Peter Pan (a little brown tabby & white male) quite remarkably recovered from a neurological disease, regaining the use of his temporarily-paralyzed front legs as well as his cheerful and outgoing personality. Nam myoho renge kyo! How blessed he is, and I am, to be able to care for him. But we have lost Orpheus (a long-haired black wild thing) to an undiagnosed disease, possibly feline leukemia.Unfortunately, we cannot afford to test all incoming cats for all possible diseases. We simply have to quarantine them for a couple of weeks when they come in, watch for signs of illness, and then fit them into the population. We know that they are far better off than when they were living in the wild, uncared for and in danger from many different threats. We just have to hope for the best, and provide the best food and care and safety possible for as long as the cats are with us.

I have to admit that between the cats and school, I have been prey to panic attacks lately. I am trying to remain calm and face each challenge as it comes, and in between find some time for relaxation. I have been spending a couple of Saturdays a month with my mom, taking her shopping and to dinner, and developing our relationship. It’s funny, but I find that since my long-lost older sister Marcie has found her way into our lives, my own relationship with my mom has changed and become more positive and empowering. It’s never too late for an old dog to learn to get along better with her family!

And I am truly blessed to find that after twenty-some years, my youngest sister, Jennifer, has suddenly turned into a reasonable, accepting, more openminded person, and I am able to finally work on developing a relationship with her. Will wonders never cease?! I am convinced that this is the result of my spiritual practice, which has cured so many ills already, and has given me access to a life which I had only dreamed of before. Nichiren Buddhism really rocks!

So, there is my update, and my apology for neglecting this very important part of my creative life, my blog. I will be working hard to post more regularly in the future, so check back for some (I hope!) interesting thoughts and words.

*A special note to my many readers around the world: I would really love to post your positive, encouraging (no negativity or argumentative comments, please – there’s too much of that out there in the world already!) comments here, but can only do so when I receive them in English (my only language!). So please send your words to me in English, and I’ll add them to my comments section for each post. Thanks!

Copyright ©2009 Hillora Lang

I was recently blessed to have the opportunity to speak at a meeting of a lovely group of people at a local church supper. It was, of course, uncomfortable for me to meet so many strangers at one time, but I am getting better at it. New situations and new people have always been one of my worst challenges, when dealing with the effects of Asperger Syndrome. But I held my own, and tried to remain comfortable while overcoming my awkwardness. After a wonderful potluck dinner (sharing food with other people is such a nurturing, community-building experience!) I was able to talk about my experiences with Asperger Syndrome, and about my ability to finally attend college after so many years out of school.

It seems to get easier each time I tell my story, and share what it has meant to me to be surrounded by so many wonderful, caring people. In the past, people were threats and enemies, but as I have grown into my diagnosis I have really learned to appreciate them for all of the great experiences which they can share and for all of the similiarities which we have. I never dreamed that I would be able to say that – isn’t it amazing how a series of synchronous experiences can change your entire outlook on the world?

After I told my story, many of the people there had questions, which I believe I answered satisfactorily. My friend and college-mentor, Ann, who had invited me to speak, said that she heard very nice comments from the others in attendance. I’m so glad that I was able to share my experiences, and, hopefully, to give these people a broadened point of view regarding people with developmental disabilities and how we relate to the world. Above all, I hope that they see the benefit of sharing one’s story, both good and bad, and hopefully helping someone else thereby to meet the challenges in their own lives.

I was so happy to find that, despite our differing spiritual paths (I am a Buddhist, whereas they are Christians) we all have so much in common, and so much to value about each other. I think that we all just need to accept and respect each other, without judgment, and open our minds and hearts to see where the “other side” is coming from. We still have so much to learn about being good human beings, and we can only do that by accepting, valuing, and learning from the experiences of others.

I was truly blessed to meet these wonderful people, and hope that you, too, will have the opportunity to meet someone wonderful and unique today, and to learn from their life experiences as I have learned from the new people whom I met this week.

Copyright 2009 Hillora Lang