Social Evolution

Everything is a Remix - part 4


Everything is a Remix Part 4 from Kirby Ferguson on Vimeo.


if you liked this one, you should get to see Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3
they are all available here: http://www.everythingisaremix.info/watch-the-series/

Thanks to Mark Hurst for pointing this out!

1984

Rita had already left us (in 1983) when this was taken in 1984 in Linden, NJ where we were living at the time.




My how times change! Go stripes!

Hardly Normal

I have been fortunate to know Mark. I was at SOBCon last year when GMC gave him his vehicle to get around and do his work to fight homelessness.

You can follow Mark on Facebook and Twitter.

You can read his blog and view the videos of the homeless he helps

Preparation

The preparation is behind us (mostly), now comes the time. The wake for Dad is this evening with the funeral on Saturday morning. Arrangements made and finalized with the collaboration and cooperation of my brothers and sisters. Many hands made light work.

The family will line up to greet all that come to pay their last respects. Hopefully, the names will come to us as we recognize the faces. There'll be plenty of conversations as we all catch up on this or that since we last met.

And we'll plan for the photo party. A get together with some of our aunts and uncles to help identify who is who is some of the photos we found in the archives.

The photos below were easy to identify!


Jerry with Allison back in the day




Jerry with Carolyn back in the day




Jerry with a bunch of the little ones at the time




Jerry with his grandchildren no longer "little ones"

Gerald (Jerry) Sherlock

Sherlock, Gerald F. 86, passed away Sunday, February 19 after fighting the good fight against his illnesses. He was the husband of the late Rita C. (Joyal) Sherlock who passed away in November 1983.

Gerald was born and lived most of his life in Pawtucket. Jerry graduated from St. Raphael Academy in 1943, joined the US Marines, and served in the Pacific Theater of WW II where he fought in the battles of Saipan, Tinian and Iwo Jima.

He was a cost accountant working for many years at Washburn Wire Co, then Golden Eye Seafood and the Ronci Company before retiring. He was active in the parents’ associations for St Joseph’s School and St Raphael Academy. He also served one year as the RI State Chairman of the United Way and in leadership positions with the United Steelworkers and AFL-CIO. A long-time communicant of St. Joseph Parish (Pawtucket) he served some time as Parish Council President.

He leaves six children: Stephen Sherlock of Franklin, MA; Robert Sherlock of Barrington, IL; Michael Sherlock of Westmont, NJ; Eileen Harriman of Saco, ME; Joan Sherlock Moody of Cranston and Patricia Palardy of Smithfield; 13 grandchildren; a brother, Henry Sherlock of Providence and three sisters, Martina Higgins of Bristol, Angela Brousseau of South Kingston, and Helene Mainor of North Kingston. Pre-deceased by siblings Frances Campbell, Jack, Edward, and Paul Sherlock

Funeral Saturday at 8:00 AM from the ANDERSON-WINFIELD Funeral Home, Route 44 at Greenville Common, Greenville. Mass of Christian Burial at 9:00 AM in St Michael’s Church, 80 Farnum Pike, Smithfield. Burial with military honors in Notre Dame Cemetery, Pawtucket.

Donations in memory of Gerald can be made to Honor Flight at http://www.honorflight.org/ Honor Flight works to transport America's veterans to Washington, D.C. to visit those memorials dedicated to honor their service and sacrifices For directions and condolences visit www.andersonwinfield.net

There will be pictures

When my father left us on Sunday evening, it was not a surprise. Unfortunately, we had been preparing for this for some time. He has had a series of trials and tribulations with his health over the years and more so recently. Suffice to say, he kept his "Semper Fi" spirit to the end.

And while we have been this road before, recall that mother passed away in 1983, the experience has helped us prepare but the actuality of it is still hard. I find myself fortunate to have a large support structure. Starting with my immediate family (Dolores, Allison, Carolyn - Brad and Dan), and my two brothers and three sisters. Extending the circle to aunts and uncles and cousins, the number is amazing!

And this is all before we get to the circle of friends, co-workers, those local and those from around the world, etc.

The support from all of you has been very helpful. Thank you!





Dad and I way back in the day at Slater Park in Pawtucket.

At peace

Jerry is now at peace.

He left us quietly. Sunday evening, Feb 19th. How fitting that it was 67 years to the day!

He always said that "The real heroes did not come home!"









Note: as the arrangements are finalized for the wake and funeral there will be updates.

Designed?

Not the most elegant solution but it is functional.



Good design works the form into the function so it just looks like it was made for this.

As opposed to sticking out from the wall, seemingly out of place

Hunger lives near you

Will you help your neighbor? Statistics show that 1 in 9 children in MA face hunger. Take these statistics from the state level down to Franklin and they show more than 3,000 residents may be struggling with food security.




The Food Pantry respects the privacy and confidentiality of those we service. We can tell you that these people are living among us. They are our neighbors. They don’t like to talk about this challenge to put food on the table but it is real.

The Food Pantry is conducting its 2nd Annual Phonathon on Saturday Feb 18 and again on Satursday, Feb 25. You can wait for us to call between 10:00 AM and 6:00 PM or you can make a contribution on your own.

You can make a contribution securely online at FranklinFoodPantry.org/

or

You can write a check to mail it to the Food Pantry at

Franklin Food Pantry
P.O. Box 116
Franklin, MA 02038-0116

Note: email subscribers will need to click through to Franklin Matters to view the video. I am on the Board of Directors of the Franklin Food Pantry. This volunteer effort on my part is giving back to this community because it matters!

This was originally posted on Franklin Matters
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2012/02/hunger-lives-near-you.html

The other side of the well

When running I am usually concentrating on going forward and watching for where I am going. I am careful to watch for the changes in surface to avoid falling.

Sunday was a nice day for a long run, albeit on the cool side with a strong breeze driving the wind chill into an area some would not venture into.

Jordan Road is a nice loop. Rolling slopes building up to the well. Yes, good image. Going to the well. It happens on Jordan Road.



I paused a couple of times to look at the road behind be, what did it look like back there? I realized most of time I do this loop I go the same way. I should reverse the loop next time.

Reversing the loop would not only provide a change of scenario. It would be a different route. Look at the long downhill I would be able to cruise! Yes, there is no such thing as a free lunch. I would still have to climb up the other side. It would be shorter and steeper. Then look at that long downhill!

Consider changing your loop and see what it can do for you?

Stimulus - Did it work?

Based upon these three measures, it seems like it did work



What do you think?

Place to be to learn and share

Unfortunately, my schedule has conspired against me getting to the 4th PodCamp WesternMA but I hope that doesn't mean you can't go. PodCamp is a wonderful thing. I truly hope that you can go!



Other events coming up:

PodCamp Connecticut is looking to set a date.

FiberCamp will be held March 9-11
http://www.commoncod.com/2012/01/31/fibercamp-boston-2012/

NewBCamp in Providence will be held Apr 28
http://www.freegeekprovidence.org/events/newbcamp/

#pcwm
#fibercamp
#newbcamp

Google + Hangout

The Muppets and Google +, what a combination!



Enjoy!

Visiting Dad

I often say that I run for my physical health, write for my mental health and work to enable all of this we call life.

Words come from thoughts, images in the mind or around us that we use to help or at least try to explain and share what we are thinking with another. I explore writing, shaping, crafting with words for two reasons. One (as noted above) to help me come to understand what is happening. And second, to share.

No man is an island. We are all in this together. We can come together around a particular topic, a shared interest. In sharing the interest, we learn from each other. One, that we are not alone. Two, that there are other ways to do and see things. One and one in this way usually makes more than two.

Are you still with me? Or have I lost you?

If you are with me, you may want to jump over to quiet poet where I have a new collection in the works. Thoughts, images, realizations as I visit with Dad. In sherku form, they try to capture the moment. Some do so better than others. Even those that do well, on second thought still seem lacking. Still seem to leave out so much. Is the devil in the detail?

The collection is here

I hope you get something from them.

14 years of US Weather (video)

What would happen if you put 14 years of weather maps together? It might just look like this!

Fascinating!



Enjoy!


Hat tip to the Guardian for sharing this!

Serendipity

A light week for my listening items. Almost completely caught up to what I listen to regularly. Driving in this morning didn't feel like starting one of the books I have queued up. Decided to give Pandora a try while driving.

Aside from not being able to plus or minus any of the songs, or find out who or what is being played (when I don't recognize the voice), it provided some pleasant listening.

Along the way, two songs came on back to back that prompted a mental note for a sherku. Yes, can't write while driving either such a hassle :-)

So thanks to the serendipity of Ellis Paul and Dave Matthews perhaps combing in a way neither had foreseen here it is:

Sherku: serendipity

The world ain't
Slowing down
I am not
A stranger
In the hands
Of my Maker 

We need more 'emotional contagion'

Thanks to Joanne Peterson for pointing this out!




Enjoy!

Preparation

Winter is not all bad. If it snows, it slows us down. While we are not getting much snow now, we may rue it later when the lakes and stream dry up this summer.



For now, we'll enjoy the weather we do have. The clear skies.
The fallow fields.

What are you preparing for? Something good this spring or summer?

Saturday

Saturday, end of the week, start of the weekend. Day for errands, chores around the house, catching up on those things that need to get done that you couldn't get to during the work week.



Can be approached with a little more leisure, don't have to punch the clock at a specific time - but do have to get things accomplished.

Time to go.

What are you going to accomplish today!

The Trust Equation

Trust, how do you get there? Charles H Green talks about the Trust Equation in this short and helpful video.

Trust equals the sum of Credibility plus Reliability plus Intimacy all divided by Self Orientation

T = (C + R + I)/S


When the self dominates, there is little trust. When the self is minimized, increasing the focus on the other there is more trust.




How can you use this today to help someone?



You can find more tips on trust on the TrustedAdvisor website

Random thoughts

Busy times with Food Pantry Board of Directors work - slogging through formative documents, defining process and procedure to meet our needs today and set up for what comes later, when perhaps none around the table will be there. Not easy work getting all to the same page.

The Town Council approved the date for the debt exclusion vote (Mar 27th) and the text that was forced upon us by the state leaves out the dollar amount so it seems to be approving a 'blank check'. Who in their right mind would do such a thing is beyond me at the moment. The challenge will now be to convince folks it is a good deal and is bounded cost wise by other measures. Could have been so much simpler.

Dad's health issues haven't improved much recently. A new scan may provide some insights either today or tomorrow on his status.

Be good, learn something today. Share it in a meaningful way with someone and find a laugh or two! Doing at least these three things will make the day a success!