Wade on Birmingham

Archive for January, 2011

seasonal schizophrenia

Sunday, January 30th, 2011

Cycle of winter
in Alabama: colder,
snow, ice, then heat spell.

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he fought the so-so fight

Saturday, January 29th, 2011

Misunderstood by
his contemporaries, he
tilted at straw men.

• • •

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perspectives from devils and angels

Friday, January 28th, 2011

Is the world good or
bad? Or does that depend on
if you’re good or bad?

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through the earth

Thursday, January 27th, 2011

A seedling poked his
head through hard dirt to see if
winter had left town.

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the rattling

Wednesday, January 26th, 2011

The rattling was
eventually traced back
to a soul dislodged.

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a tin of salt

Tuesday, January 25th, 2011

No tiny gift goes
unnoticed, even a tin
of coarse gourmet salt.

• • •

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the lovebug nest

Tuesday, January 25th, 2011

They sit alone, an
unnatural state for them,
these social insects.

• • •

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the new new new normal

Sunday, January 23rd, 2011

Panic, snark, outrage
are all outmoded. Time for
full-on terpitude.

• • •

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hooked on a feeding

Saturday, January 22nd, 2011

Some eat for pleasure.
Some take pleasure in cooking.
At the center, food.

• • •

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40

Friday, January 21st, 2011

The ship left port some
40 years ago, steering
by the stars above.

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the routine

Thursday, January 20th, 2011

The monotony
continues unhindered while
others break patterns.

• • •

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the day the blackberry died

Thursday, January 20th, 2011

No beeps, no flashing
light, no interruptions, no
crises, no love lost.

• • •

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art on demand

Thursday, January 20th, 2011

“We want more art now!”
the audience bellowed. But
the artist demurred.

• • •

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MLK Day spotlight: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Birmingham

Monday, January 17th, 2011

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Birmingham, William Bell

Birmingham mayor William Bell meets several “Littles”
at Glen Iris Elementary School during a Big Brothers Big Sisters
of Greater Birmingham media conference.

In honor of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, I want to turn the spotlight on one of my favorite Birmingham nonprofit organizations …

I’ve worked with a few nonprofit organizations in Birmingham over the years. But the group I spent the most time with was Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Birmingham. As a member of the junior board for 5 years, I recruited volunteers, raised money, organized events and helped the agency get the word out.

Many of you are likely familiar with the core program: matching adult mentors with children who need quality time in their lives. The commitments start at a year, but many “Bigs” in the program stick around with their “Littles” for years afterward. Bigs can take their Littles to fun events, to parks and arcades, but the most important thing Bigs do? Listen.

Surprising how that simple act can make such a major difference in a child’s life.

But one point I made over and over to potential volunteers was that Big Brothers Big Sisters need mentors in other programs, too. An interested adult could recruit her company to match up with a school to provide an hour a week per child on campus throughout the school year.

Though the needs of the agency continue to be more volunteers and more donations, it was interesting to me that they always needed more men to step forward. Another challenge was that the agency needed to reach more girls who might be interested in having a mentor, but not know how easy it was to enroll in the program, all for free.

If you’re interested in helping a really great cause and want to know you’re making an immediate positive contribution to Birmingham, I encourage you to take a look at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Birmingham. You have so many options on how you can help, but the first step is to get in touch with them at (205) 939-5590 or e-mailing chief executive officer Sue Johnson at sjohnson@bbbsbhm.org.

Video: Big Brothers Big Sisters … start something.

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

Monday, January 17th, 2011

This was the final speech of Martin Luther King Jr., on April 3, 1968, in Memphis.

Go in peace on this day.