GGN (Global Good News)
(Established March 16, 2001) © Copyrighted

This Online Newspaper will contain only "Good News!"

Miami-Dade County Mayor's Office & Commission Declares April 12, 2001 "Gideon Day"

Artist Gideon Accepting the Proclamation

Thursday, April 12th marked a great day in the art world; Miami-Dade, one of the largest and most powerful counties in the United States proclaimed this date “Gideon Day.” The Commission recognized Artist Gideon for his lifetime achievements in the arts and his great importance to the history of South Florida.

“I’m honored to receive this award. I’ve been here since I returned home from the war in 1946… that’s a long time for anybody!” Gideon said in a small speech after receiving the award from Commissioner Javier Souto.

This Proclamation signals the beginning to a series of events to hit the South Florida art scene. Efforts are underway to rename one of Miami’s largest roadways “Gideon Blvd” where Gideon has held his private Gallery and Studios for more than 50 years.

Miami-Dade County Office of the Mayor And Board of Commissioners

Whereas: Miami-Dade County takes great pride in recognizing individuals whose contributions serve to elevate the standard of life in our community; and,
Whereas: Gideon, a renowned artist, has lived and worked in South Florida since his return from WW11 in 1946, he has devoted his life to the arts and has been an icon in this community for several years; and,
Whereas: Gideon's studios have become a landmark to local citizens and to hundreds of visitors from all over the world, children have grown up in the Miami-Dade area knowing and being influenced by Gideon and his art; and,
Whereas: He has lectured at schools, universities, art-decorator-photography groups, served as a celebrity judge in art shows, has guest starred on several local TV and radio stations, and has been the recipient of myriad awards and honors among them as the featured artist in "The Holocaust Chronicle", a book documenting this historic event during the years of WW11: and,
Whereas: Gideon's work has been displayed in numerous Museums and Synagogues, such as Beth David Congregation, Beck Museum of Judaica, Boca Raton Museum of Art, and Temple Sinai, just to name a few;
Now Therefore: Be it resolved that I, Alex Penelas, Mayor of Miami-Dade County Florida, on behalf of the Board of Commissioners and this Community, do hereby proclaim Thursday, April 12, 2001, as GIDEON DAY.
In Observance Thereof: I call upon the good people of Miami-Dade County to join me in recognizing this extraordinary artist and citizen for all his contributions to this community, as well as the culture of South Florida.

Signed:
Javier Souto, Commissioner, District 10
Alex Penelas, Mayor

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"People's Status, something to think about"

If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely
100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it
would look something like the following:

There would be:
57 Asians
21 Europeans
14 from the Western Hemisphere, both north and south
8 Africans

52 would be female
48 would be male

70 would be non-white
30 would be white

70 would be non-Christian
30 would be Christian

89 would be heterosexual
11 would be homosexual

6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth and all 6
would be from the United States.

80 would live in substandard housing
70 would be unable to read
50 would suffer from malnutrition
1 would be near death; 1 would be near birth
1 (yes, only 1) would have a college education
1 would own a computer

When one considers our world from such a compressed perspective,
the need for acceptance, understanding and education becomes glaringly
apparent. 

The following is also something to ponder...

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness...you are
More blessed than the million who will not survive this week.

If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness
of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation
...you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.

If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment,
arrest, torture, or death...you are more blessed than three billion people
in the world. 

If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof
overhead and a place to sleep...you are richer than 75% of this
world.

If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in
a dish someplace ... you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.

If your parents are still alive and still married ... you are very
rare, even in the United States and Canada.

If you can read this message, you just received a double blessing
in that someone was thinking of you, and furthermore, you are more
blessed than over two billion people in the world that cannot read at all.

Someone once said: What goes around comes around.
Work like you don't need the money.
Love like you've never been hurt.
Dance like nobody's watching.
Sing like nobody's listening.
Live like it's Heaven on Earth.

It's National Friendship Week.
Happy friendship week everyone!

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Choices

At a fund-raising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children, the father of one of the school's students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question. "Everything God does is done with perfection. Yet, my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is God's plan in reflected in my son?" The audience was stilled by the query. 

The father continued. "I believe," the father answered, "that when God brings a child like Shay into the world, an opportunity to realize the Divine Plan presents itself. And it comes in the way people treat that child." 

Then, he told the following story:

Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, "Do you think they will let me play?"

Shay's father knew that most boys would not want him on their team. But the father understood that if his son were allowed to play it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging. Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance from his teammates. Getting none, he took matters into his own hands and said, "We are losing by six runs, and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him up to bat in the ninth inning.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. At the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the outfield. Although no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base. Shay was scheduled to be the next at-bat.

Would the team actually let Shay bat at this juncture and give away their chance to win the game?

Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat.. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball. However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher moved a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least be able to make  contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. 

The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly toward Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball to the pitcher. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could easily have thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have ended the game. Instead, the pitcher took the ball and threw it on a high arc to right field, far beyond reach of the first baseman.

Everyone started yelling, "Shay, run to first. Run to first." Never in his life had Shay ever made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled. Everyone yelled "Run to second, run to second!"

By the time Shay was rounding first base, the right fielder had the ball.
He could have thrown the ball to the second baseman for a tag. But the
right fielder understood what the pitcher's intentions had been, so he threw
the ball high and far over the third baseman's head. 

Shay ran towards second base as the runners ahead of him deliriously circled the bases towards home. As Shay reached second base, the opposing shortstop ran to him, turned him in the direction of third base, and shouted, "Run to third!"

As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams were screaming,
"Shay! Run home!" Shay ran home, stepped on home plate and was cheered
as the hero, for hitting a "grand slam" and winning the game for his team.

"That day," said the father softly with tears now rolling down his
face, "the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of the Divine Plan
into this world."

And now, a footnote to the story.

This was sent to me in an email. We all send thousands of jokes through e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending messages regarding life choices, people think twice about sharing. The crude, vulgar, and sometimes the obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of decency is too often suppressed in school and the workplace. If are thinking about forwarding
this message, you are probably thinking about which people on your address
list aren't the "appropriate" ones to receive this type of message.

The person who sent this to me believes that we can all make a difference. 
We all have thousands of opportunities a day to help realize God's
plan. So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people present us with a  choice: Do we pass along a spark of the Divine? Or do we pass up that
opportunity, and leave the world a bit colder in the process?

You have two choices now:
1. Ignore this.
2. Forward the URL of this page to the people you care about.

You know the choice I made.

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The Miracle of a Brother's Song

Like any good mother, when Karen found out that another baby was on the way, she did what she could to help her 3-year-old son, Michael, prepare for a new sibling. 

They found out that the new baby was going be a girl, and day after day, night after night, Michael sang to his sister in Mommy's tummy. He was building a bond of love with his little sister before he even met her.

The pregnancy progressed normally for Karen. In time, the labor pains came. Soon it was every five minutes, every three, every minute. But serious
complications arose during delivery and Karen found herself in hours of labor.

 Would a C-section be required?

Finally, after a long struggle, Michael's little sister was born. But she was in very serious condition. With a siren howling in the night, the ambulance rushed the infant to the neonatal intensive care unit at St. Mary's Hospital, Knoxville, Tennessee. 

The days inched by.

The little girl got worse. The pediatrician had to tell the parents there is very little hope. Be prepared for the worst. Karen and her husband contacted a local cemetery about a burial plot. They had fixed up a special room in their house for their new baby but now they found themselves having to plan for a funeral. 

Michael, however, kept begging his parents to let him see his sister. I want to sing to her, he kept saying.

Week two in intensive care looked as if a funeral would come before
the week was over. Michael kept nagging about singing to his sister, but
kids are never allowed in Intensive Care.

Karen decided to take Michael whether they liked it or not. If he didn't see his sister right then, he may never see her alive. She dressed him in an oversized scrub suit and marched him into ICU. He looked like a walking laundry basket. The head nurse recognized him as a child and bellowed, "Get that kid out of here
now. No children are allowed."

The mother rose up strong in Karen, and the usually mild-mannered lady glared steel-eyed right into the head nurse's face, her lips a firm line.

"He is not leaving until he sings to his sister" she stated.

Then Karen towed Michael to his sister's bedside. He gazed at the
tiny infant losing the battle to live. After a moment, he began to sing.
In the pure-hearted voice of a 3-year-old, Michael sang: "You are my 
sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are gray."

Instantly the baby girl seemed to respond. The pulse rate began to calm down and become steady. "Keep on singing, Michael," encouraged Karen with tears in her eyes.

 "You never know, dear, how much I love you, please don't take my sunshine away." As Michael sang to his sister, the baby's ragged, strained breathing became as smooth as a kitten's purr.

"Keep on singing, sweetheart." 

"The other night, dear, as I lay sleeping, I dreamed I held you in my arms".

Michael's little sister began to relax as rest, healing rest, seemed to sweep over her. "Keep on singing, Michael." 

Tears had now conquered the face of the bossy head nurse. Karen glowed.

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. Please don't take my sunshine
away..."  

The next, day...the very next day...the little girl was well enough to go home.

Woman's Day Magazine called it The Miracle of a Brother's Song.

The medical staff just called it a miracle. 

Karen called it a miracle of God's love.

NEVER GIVE UP ON THE PEOPLE YOU LOVE. LOVE IS SO INCREDIBLY POWERFUL.

Life is good. Have a Wonderful Day!

Send the URL of this page to anyone you know. There is no cost, but
lots of rewards. Spread the GOOD NEWS!

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Grace at McDonald's

This is a good story, please read it all the way through.

I am a mother of three (ages 14, 12, 3) and have recently completed my
college degree. The last class I had to take was Sociology.

The teacher was absolutely inspiring with the qualities that I wish every
human being had been graced with. Her last project of the term was called
"Smile."

The class was asked to go out and smile at three people and document their
reactions. I am a very friendly person and always smile at everyone and say hello anyway, so, I thought this would be a piece of cake, literally.

Soon after we were assigned the project, my husband, youngest son, and
I went out to McDonald's one crisp March morning. It was just our way of sharing
special play time with our son. We were standing in line, waiting to be
served, when all of a sudden everyone around us began to back away, and then even my husband did. I did not move an inch... an overwhelming feeling of panic welled up inside of me as I turned to see why they had moved. As I turned around I smelled a horrible "dirty body" smell, and there standing behind me were two poor homeless men.

As I looked down at the short gentleman, close to me, he was "smiling." His beautiful sky blue eyes were full of God's Light as he searched for acceptance. He said, "Good day" as he counted the few coins he had been clutching.

The second man fumbled with his hands as he stood behind his friend. I realized the second man was mentally deficient and the blue eyed gentleman was his salvation.

I held my tears as I stood there with them. The young lady at the counter asked him what they wanted. He said, "Coffee is all Miss" because that was all they could afford. (If they wanted to sit in the restaurant and warm up, they had to buy something. He just wanted to be warm).

Then I really felt it - the compulsion was so great I almost reached out and embraced the little man with the blue eyes. That is when I noticed all eyes in the restaurant were set on me, judging  my every action. I smiled and asked the young lady behind the counter to give me two more breakfast meals on a separate tray. I then walked around the corner to the table that the men had chosen as a resting spot. I put the tray on the table and laid my hand on the blue eyed gentleman's cold hand. He looked up at me, with tears in his eyes, and said, "Thank you." I leaned over, began to pat his hand and said, "I did not do this for you. God is here working through me to give you hope."

I started to cry as I walked away to join my husband and son. When I sat
down my husband smiled at me and said, "That is why God gave you to me, Honey. To give me hope."

We held hands for a moment and at that time we knew that only because
of the Grace that we had been given were we able to give. We are not church goers, but we are believers. That day showed me the pure Light of God's sweet love.

I returned to college, on the last evening of class, with this story in hand. I turned in "my project" and the instructor read it. Then she looked up at  me and said, "Can I share this?"

I slowly nodded as she got the attention of the class. She began to read and that is when I knew that we as human beings and being part of God, share this need to heal people and be healed. In my own way I had touched the people at McDonald's, my husband, son, instructor, and every soul that shared the classroom on the last night I spent as a college student. 

I graduated with one of the biggest lessons I would ever learn: UNCONDITIONAL ACCEPTANCE 

Much love and compassion is sent to each and every person who may
read this and learn how to LOVE PEOPLE AND USE THINGS - NOT LOVE THINGS AND USE PEOPLE.

If you think this story has touched you in any way, please send this URL
to everyone you know.

There is an Angel sent to watch over you. 

An Angel wrote: Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.

To handle yourself, use your head, To handle others, use your heart.

God Gives every bird it's food, but He does not throw it into it's nest.

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TAKE THE TIME TO RUN THROUGH THE RAIN 

She had been shopping with her Mom in Walmart. She must have been 6 years old, this beautiful brown haired, freckle-faced image of innocence.

It was pouring outside... the kind of rain that gushes over the tops of rain gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the Earth it has no time to flow down the spout. Drains in the nearby parking lot were filled to capacity and some were blocked so that huge puddles laced around parked cars. We all stood there under the awning and just inside the door of the Walmart. 

We waited, some patiently, others irritated because nature messed up their hurried day. I am always mesmerized by rainfall. I get lost in the sound and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world. 

Memories... of running, splashing so carefree as a child ... come pouring in as a welcome reprieve from the worries of my day. 

Her voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance in which I was caught. 
"Mom, let's run through the rain," she said. 
"What?" Mom asked. 
"Let's run through the rain!" she repeated. 
"No, honey. We'll wait until it slows down a bit," Mom replied. 
This young child waited about another minute and repeated "Mom. Let's run through the rain." 
"We'll get soaked if we do," Mom said. 
"No, we won't, Mom. That's not what you said this morning," the young girl said as she tugged at her Mom's arm. 

"This morning? 
When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet?" 
"Don't you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, 'If God can get us through this, He can get us through anything!'" 

The entire crowd stopped dead silent. 
Honestly, you could hear nothing but the rain. 
We all stood silently. No one came or left in the next few minutes. 

Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say. 

Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. 
Some might even ignore what was said. 
But this was a moment of affirmation in a young child's life. 
A time when innocent trust can be nurtured so that it will bloom into faith. 

"Honey, you are absolutely right. Let's run through the rain. 
If God lets us get wet, well maybe we just needed washing," 
Mom said. Then off they ran. 

We all stood watching, smiling, and laughing as they darted past the cars and (yes) through the puddles. 
They held their shopping bags over their heads just in case. 
Of course, they got soaked...and were followed by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars. 

I believe that somewhere down the road in life, "Mom" will find herself reflecting back on moments they spent together, captured like pictures in the scrapbook of her cherished memories... maybe when she watches proudly as her daughter graduates, or (hopefully) as "Daddy" walks her daughter down the aisle on her wedding day. 

They will laugh again....their hearts will beat a little faster.. their smiles will tell the world they love each other. 

But only they will share that precious moment when they ran through the rain, believing that God would get them through. 

And Yes, I did. I ran. I got wet. I needed washing. 

Circumstances or people can take away your material possessions, they can take away your money, they can take away your health. But no one can ever take away your precious memories. 

So, don't forget to make time and take the opportunities to make memories every day! 

To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven. 

I HOPE YOU STILL TAKE THE TIME TO RUN THROUGH THE RAIN 

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