50th Week Update - Miles Neighborhood Food Collection Project

Hi Folks,

Wishful Thinking
Thursday my friend Mike Bolchalk forwarded an email to me from Roger Yohem, a reporter and columnist with Inside Tucson Business. Roger was looking “for thoughts of a select group of business leaders” here in Tucson of which Mike is surely one. The question? “…what is at the top of your “Business Wish List” for 2010? The wish must (can) be for your business, the community, the overall economy, or some other business-related topic. Mike wanted to know what I thought about the request because I am never at a loss for words when it comes to community or business. I sent him a couple of opinions and put it out of my mind.

In the mail that same day Al my neighbor who lives just 3 houses down sent me a sparkly, very warm Christmas card of an old pickup truck with a Christmas tree in its bed driving down a snow covered residential street. Al loves old pickups. He’s got a couple of them in various stages of disrepair in his driveway along the side of his house. He doesn’t care, they are pickups. He also loves his religion, the Republican Party and cats…lots of cats. We met when I asked him if I could help him spay and neuter his brood which was expanding because his back troubles slowed him down so much he couldn’t get to the vet. Sixteen fixed cats later we are friends and neighbors who look out for each other.

The note inside Al’s Christmas card made me think again about Mike’s “Wish Lists for 2010” email. Al wrote: “Whether or not you realize it, you have been fulfilling Jesus’ command in Matt 25 verses 35 to 40, as well as your kindness to animals.” Every Sunday as I was growing up I heard priests read lots of verses from all of the Books of the bible so I was sure I knew the lesson but I wasn’t familiar with that particular location in the good book. Google quickly told me what Al was referring to and I was right, I had heard the verses before. “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink…”

On my drive home from the office on Friday afternoon I finally decided what my wish for 2010 will be. I would like to live in a world where we take care of each other; then we will all experience at least one heaven for sure.

First Christmas

Just wanted to wish everyone who helped the Miles Neighborhood donate thousands upon thousands of pounds of food to the Community Food Bank a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

More Cereal and More Food

In addition to her regular food donation, Kelly on Miles Street had five huge double pack boxes of Cheerios waiting for me when I stopped by Sunday. Her sister Debby is a member of the East Side Domestic Divas and they heard the Community Food Bank’s call for cereal so they decided
to do something about it. The boxes are so big that Kelly had to help me carry them to the Cabriolet. Thanks in part to the Divas, we collected 222 lbs. of food, 10 lbs. of produce, $22 in cash, $35 in checks and a partridge in a pear tree. Lists make me capricious this time of year.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

See you Sunday,

Peter