Town Refuses Junk Food

Who'd ever thought a fast food restaurant would close up shop because of lack of patronage? That's exactly what happened to the McDonald's in Tavistock, Egnland. They'd been in financial trouble for seven years, but decided to go out of business this year.

A business going bankruptcy isn't exactly a cheery story. In this case, we give three cheers--and not because it's McDonald's! What happened in Tavistock? The town is known for good food and good produce. In fact, they won the "Best Food Town in South West" award this year. So, perhaps McDonald's wasn't the right restaurant for the area.

The final nail in the coffin may have a change made by the local school district. 18 months ago, they change the school lunch menu to a healthy one. It appears the results are now showing. Kids weren't patronizing McDonald's because they weren't interested. And, if the kids aren't dragging their parents to fast food, well then, the parent's probably aren't going either.

This may be the first example where kids junked the junk food for carrot sticks and baked food. Kudos to the town of Tavistock for putting health first!

A Christmas Eve Wish

My Christmas Eve wish for you...

May your celebrations be festive.
May your feast be enjoyable.
May you be surrounded by family and friends.
May you remember those whose Christmas may not be so merry.
May the spirit of giving shine through you.
May their be peace at your dinner table and peace in the world.

Merry Christmas!

In Search of the Holiday Spirit: Giving the Gift of Books

Over at Paperbackswap.com we have quite a community of book swappers. We exchange great books and through the forum we learn about each other's lives, dreams, disappointments, and share a laugh now and then.

Last week through the forum, I learned that a friend of a member could not provide Christmas gifts for her children. They wouldn't have anything under their tree this year. The member asked if anyone had giftable books would they send them to her friend.

My nieces and nephew will get so much this Christmas. Even if their parents were unable to provide presents this year, the rest of the family would pitch in to make sure they had a celebration and plenty of gifts.

I makes me feel so sad for those who will have nothing. I can't help everyone. I'd have to be Bill Gates to do that (I wish I was Bill Gates!!! LOL) But, I could help this one family. So, I went through my swap stack for children's book. I found about 8 that looked brand new, wrapped them up, and sent them off.

I hope that this small token gift will brighten their Christmas morning.

In Search of the Holiday Spirit: Give to a Soldier

It's easy to forget during our holiday festivities that their are Americans stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are far away from their families and friends wondering if they will survive another day.

There are a couple of really easy (and cheap) things you can do to brighten their day.

Donate a Phone Card:
The USO has a program where you can donate a phone card to a soldier. Each card costs $10 and allows a soldier to phone home. The cards can be ordered online at: http://www.uso.org/whatwedo/specialprograms/usooperationphonehome/ The USO will distribute the cards for you.

Another program the USO has is the Exchange and Commissary Gift Cards. These cards allow soldiers to make purchases through their bases. Here is the link for the gift cards: http://www.uso.org/whatwedo/specialprograms/giftsfromthehomefront/

Troop Talk Radio, the Jones Radio Network, and the USO have teamed up to provide free music downloads for the troops. A $1 donation will give a soldier one free music download. You can find out more information about the program at the Troop Talk Radio website: http://www.trooptalkradio.com/

If you have other ideas post them in the comments. We can bring a little home to our soldiers for the holidays.

In Search of the Holiday Spirit: Donate a Toy

Many children won't get a visit from Santa this year and their won't be any presents under the tree from their parents. Their might not even be a tree.

The holiday season is expensive. Christmas gifts, Hannukah gifts, Kwanzaa gifts...But think about those who won't have anything.

When you go shopping, buy one extra toy (a doll, a board game, a stuffed animal), then donate it to Toys for Tots. If your local Toys for Tots has already delivered presents this year, you might take it to a local homeless shelter or the children's hospital. If there is a family in your neighborhood who are down on their luck, you can leave the toy anonymously--compliments of Santa.

Giving is the joy of the holiday season. You could make one child happy this year who won't be getting anything.

In Search of the Holiday Spirit: Give to Your Local Food Bank

Food Banks provide meals for our poor during the holidays. This year food donations are down across the United States. Shelves are empty in some places. The bags and baskets that your local food bank hands out may be empty this year.

When you go shopping for your holiday meals, add a few things for the local food bank. Then drop them off on your way home.

Your donation will allow another family to share in the holiday season with a little food on the table.

Beliefnet.com Most Inspiring Person of the Year Winner

The people have voted. The winner of the 2006 Most Inspiring Person of the Year is...
The Amish Community of Nickel Mines, PA

We all heard the tragic story of a gunman killing innocent school children in this Pennsylvania Amish Community. The Amish could have withdraw further into their closed community. Instead, they reached out not only to the victims, but the murderers family as well. They taught us all a lesson in forgiveness.

Here is their story at beliefnet.com: http://www.beliefnet.com/index/index_914.html

Update: Jane Doe May Have A Name Soon

You may remember a story I did on Jane Doe last August. She was the young woman found dead behind a Castro Valley, California restaurant in 2003. She had no identification, no name to bury her under, no family to inform.

The Alameda County Sheriff's Department headed by Sgt. Scott Dudek have continued the investigation for 3 long years. Some ask why? After all, Jane Doe was an unknown. The trail to her murderer went cold a long time ago. But, the people of Castro Valley and the police investigating her case could not let it go. Maybe it was the fact that she had no name or that she was so young (teenaged). It seemed so sad that this young woman was brutally murdered and no one was looking for her, no one was mourning her. It was if she never was.

Dudek and his crew kept up the investigation. Over the summer they had a breakthrough. They found out that the young woman was seen with a man in the Hayward area. He had been an employee at the restaurant where her body was found.

With the help of the Mexican government, Sgt. Dudek and others travel to the home town of this new suspect. They took the bust of Jane Doe and passed out fliers all over town. They visited schools and spoke to the students. They went door to door to see if anyone remembered the young woman.

It appears that all their hard work has paid off. A woman has come forward claiming she is Jane Doe's mother. She has details about Jane Doe that convince the police she is, in fact, her mother.

Jane Doe was just 16 years old. In March of 2003, right after her birthday, she told her mother she was going to America. Her mother couldn't stop her, so let her go with her blessing. She heard from her once she settled in Hayward. Then there were no more phone calls.

After six months of silence, her mother stopped believing that she was too busy with her new life. She started up an investigation with the police, but evidentally, they had not been in contact with the Alameda County's Sheriff's Department--despite the fact that Sgt. Dudek had conducted a missing person's search through the US, Mexico, and other Central American countries.

When Jane Doe's mother saw the flier she knew it was her daughter. She didn't want to believe it, but in her heart she knew it was her. She contacted the police who arranged a meeting with Sgt. Dudek.

They firmly believe they have the right family. They are waiting for the results of the DNA tests to confirm it. If the DNA is a match, Jane Doe's name will be released to the public.

At this time, the prime suspect is still at large. Jane Doe's mother is grieving. But, there is one silver lining. Because of Sgt. Dudek's team and their hard work, 67 other missing persons cases were solved. People have been put in touch with each other and those families know what happened to their loved ones.

CNET Pays Tribute to James Kim

If you've been following the news, you learned of the story of the Kim family. James, Kati, and their two children went missing right after Thanksgiving. They were driving home from Oregan to San Francisco, but they never reached their destination.

The family drove down the wrong road and then ran out of gas. They were lost and snowed in. They survived for several days on the food they had in the car and berries they found. Kati breastfed both children (a baby and a four year old) so they would stay nourished.

This weekend, Kati and their children, were found by the family's car. Rescuers came to their aid after a "ping signal" from Kati's cell phone was tracked from the tower to the phone. James Kim's father was instrumental in getting rescue teams out to the area, renting helicopters, and preparing rescue packages to be air dropped.

But this rescue story has turned bittersweet. Two days before the rescue, James set out on foot in hopes of finding help and saving his family. He had walked 8 miles, swam the creek, tore off bits of clothing in the bitterly cold, snowy weather, to mark his trail. But the rescuers were too late. He was found dead in a creek bed.

James Kim worked for CNET.com. The website carries a tribute to their employee--a person who sacrificed all in hopes that his family would survive. Here's the tribute: http://news.com.com/2009-12-6141617.html?tag=cnetfd.ld1

Vote for Belief.net's Most Inspiring Person of the Year

Each year belief.net nominations people who inspire us for their "Most Inspiring Person of the Year" award. You can read about each nominee and why they've been nominated. Then vote for who you think should win the award.

Some of the nominees are Russell Simmons, Warren Buffett, Adam Zuckerman, and the Amish Community.

Go to the website to read about these inspiring individuals and then cast your vote: http://www.beliefnet.com/index/index_914.html