Monthly Archives: March 2012

A Great Idea! 55 Watts of Light from a Soda Bottle & the Sun!

Posted on March 31, 2012 by russtowne

Let there be light! I love to hear of simple solutions to long-term problems. In many parts of the world the sun shines intensely but inside the homes of millions of poor people it remains dark even during the light … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Vids & Stories That Touched Me | Tagged 55 watts of light, basic, basic hand tools, cheaply, darkness, heat, light, lightenup, millions, people, poor, quickly, simply, soda bottle, solar, solar bottle lights, sun, Wimp.com | Leave a comment

The Hug

Posted on March 30, 2012 by russtowne

THE HUG It was one of those mornings. You know the type. Things are tense. Our infant son had been up all night. My wife’s eyes (along with the rest of her) were weary. My oldest son, the five-year-old, wasn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Vids & Stories That Touched Me | Tagged baby, child, embrace, felt lighter, frustrated, hug, infant son, It was one of those mornings, key, lock, Love, Mikey's Funnies, parent, parents, reassuring, ritual, School, son, spirit, tense, The Hug, touch, up all night, weary, wife's eyes, you know the type | 2 Comments

An Infinite Succession of Presents

Posted on March 30, 2012 by russtowne

“To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. “What we choose to emphasize in … Continue reading →

Posted in Courage, LIfe Lessons, Quotes I Love | Tagged act, capacity to do something, choose to emphasize, compassion, complex history, courage, cruelty, foolishly romantic, hopeful, Howard Zinn, kindness, marvelous, marvelous victory, people have behaved magnificently, romantic, sacrifice, spinning top of a world, tthe future is an infinite succession of presents, victory, Wisdom Quotes | Leave a comment

Lessons in Kindness on Interstate 5

Posted on March 29, 2012 by russtowne

A true short story I wrote some time ago: It was the middle of the night on one of those long and lonely stretches of Interstate 5 between distant small farming communities. My mom and her girlfriend were taking me … Continue reading →

Posted in Courage, LIfe Lessons, True Stories I've Written | Tagged 4-wheeling, beast, big, big beast, blaring horns, consideration, danger, dark, darkness, Disneyland, farming, farming communities, Four-wheeling, glaring lights, headlights, Interstate 5, kind, kindness, lesson, lessons, lessons in kindness, lonely, long and lonely, men, night, scared, SUV, swaying, terror, tip over, top-heavy, Travel-All, wobbling wildly | Leave a comment

Getting Along Just Fine

Posted on March 29, 2012 by russtowne

A woman in Alaska has a fairly crowded back porch. A Bald Eagle, fox, and her two cats are all sharing the space in peace. I wonder how much longer it will be until humankind can do the same? The … Continue reading →

Posted in Dogs & Other Wonderful Creatures, Optimism, Vids & Stories That Touched Me | Tagged Alaska, Bald Eagle, can't we all just get along?, cats, critters, fox, humankind, peace, porch, sharing space, space, video, woman | Leave a comment

“Expressing the Inexpressible”

Posted on March 28, 2012 by russtowne

“After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.” – Aldous Huxley A friend who has music as a primary passion in his life posted this on Facebook. It is certainly true for him, and I suspect, … Continue reading →

Posted in Quotes I Love | Tagged Aldous Huxley, desire, excite, expressing the inexpressible, Life, moment, move, music, need, passion, primary, primary passion, relax, Romance, romance you, silence, you | Leave a comment

When a Good Idea Goes Very Badly Wrong (Part 2 of 2 of Courage Comes In All Sizes)

Posted on March 25, 2012 by russtowne

I was surprised and disappointed that considering all that Mary had risked and done for the armored car company they just gave her two dozen roses. The more I thought about it, the more I became determined to fix what … Continue reading →

Posted in Courage, Forgiveness, Humor, Random Thoughts | Tagged armored truck, bonus, bravery, children, dinner, Hero, Mary, newspaper, newspaper article, reward | Leave a comment

Courage Comes In All Sizes

Posted on March 23, 2012 by russtowne

This is a true story. Because it happened about 20 years ago it is likely that some of the “facts” that I seem to recall have likely been blurred by the mists of time. Any inaccuracies are unintentional. I came … Continue reading →

Posted in Courage, Vids & Stories That Touched Me | Tagged accident, armored car, cage, children, courage, COurage comes in all sizes, crowd, engulfed, engulfed in flames, free, guard, metal cage, mists of time, mob, Money, Mother, news, newspaper, police, rob, robbed, tempting, time, trapped, woman, young children, young mom | 2 Comments

Cheer Up! Dare to Be An Optimist!

Posted on March 23, 2012 by russtowne

Author Ridley makes a bunch of compelling arguments why things keep getting better. If you need a dose of emotional sunshine or just like to focus on the bright side, I highly recommend the article from the Reader’s Digest, th … Continue reading →

Posted in LIfe Lessons, Optimism | Tagged article, Author Ridley, compellin$g arguments, emotional, emotional sunshine, focus, focus on the bright side, highly recommend, Reader's Digest, Ridley, sunshine, URL, why things keep getting better | Leave a comment

Speak Softly and Carry a Big Heart

Posted on March 23, 2012 by russtowne

(Below is a re-post of one of my earliest postings to this blog from back in mid-2010. I’ll occassionally re-post something to give newer followers an opportunity to see it without having to wade through many old posts to find … Continue reading →