Skip to main content

Wish-Granting

Last June I took a mini-van full of seventh grade girls to see The Fault in our Stars at the AMC theater at the Columbia Mall. I gave all of them mini-packets of tissues, just in case. I didn't realize that I would need one for myself.

Around me in the theater the sound of teens crying was actually audible. They cried for young love thwarted by the horror of a disease that cares nothing for the beauty of human existence. But when I cried, quietly, tears sliding down my face in the dark, I cried the tears of a mom. That could be one of my daughters, my heart said to me as I looked at Hazel Grace. What would I do? How could I live if that were one of my children?

I am thinking of that moment today as I write. I am asking you to help out an Oakland Mills family that is living their own version of that story.

From the Oakland Mills is Awesome FB page:

Remember when I said it was a good day to care for your neighbors? And remember that article that said that Columbia is one of the most CARING places to live? Meditate on that a minute and then think of what you can do to help one of our own young people Mai Bird-Walker.

From the Second Chance event page:


Mai, a vivacious 17 yr old senior from Oakland Mills High School, has been diagnosed with follicular carcinoma and with her current insurance being up for renewal this past October the deductible for the new insurance is astronomical! Please help raise money for Mai's cancer support and treatment!

50/50 raffles, 10% of all sales will go to Mai and more!

The Second Chance event is tonight, January 17th, beginning at 5 pm.

If you can't make it, please take a moment to gofundme page and donate. In addition, Mai's mother, Christina Bird-Walker, is selling her original artwork to help the family make ends meet during this financially challenging time.


So there are three different ways you can help: have dinner for a good cause, send a donation, or buy some art. I hope you are able to chip in for this family and their daughter. This could be any one of us. But it isn't. Our children are healthy, and our neighbors need help.

Augustus Waters says, "Apparently, the world is not a wish-granting factory." True. But a community can light a wish-granting fire to warm their neighbors when times get rough, okay?

Okay.



 

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Getting Fresh

One of my favorite days in the Spring comes when this year’s list of Farmer’s Markets is released. That happened this week. New this year are markets in Old Ellicott City and the “Merriweather Market” which, according to the address, will be located here . I mistakenly thought at first glance that it was in the new-construction part of the Merriweather District. I find the name confusing considering its actual location. I’m going to guess that this market is an initiative of the Howard Hughes Corporation because the name seems chosen more for branding purposes than anything else.  Alas, the market in Maple Lawn is gone. The thread on the markets on the County Executive’s FB page will provide you with quite the education in who actually runs the Farmers Markets vs what people often think is going on. Short answer: they are not  chosen nor run by the county. Each market is an independent entity, sometimes started by community volunteers, other times supported by local businesses...
1 comment
Read more

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...
1 comment
Read more

What Kids Are Thinking

  It’s a Monday in February, and if you guessed that a lot of Howard County students have the new cell phone policy on their minds, you’d be right. It will mean big changes and it will be stressful, no matter how much good we hope it will do in the long run. But on this particular Monday cell phones might not be top of mind, as amazing as that seems. Some kids will go to school wondering if they or family members will be seized by ICE. Some will fear that their parents’ employment will be purged by the ongoing rampage of Elon Musk and his cronies through Federal Government. Some fear heightened and renewed racism as programs that supprted Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are vilified and destroyed.  Some worry that it soon won’t be safe for them to use the bathroom in school anymore. It goes without saying that some kids fear going to school every day because of the prevalence of school shootings.  And look! Here’s something new to fear. That old hate group, Libs of TikTo...
1 comment
Read more