“When It Looked Like The Sun Wasn’t Gonna Shine Anymore..."

“When it looked like the sun wasn’t gonna shine anymore, God put a rainbow in the clouds..."

That's what Maya Angelou sang in opening her opening talk, the famed poet and educator's appearance marking the 50th anniversary of integration at The Florida State University.

Ever since I was in high school and first read I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, I had always wanted to see this phenomenal woman, so I jumped at the opportunity when she came to Tallahassee.

I couldn't help but think the powerful lobby of librarians were in her pocket by encouraging us to visit libraries, interact with librarians (and make them our new best friends) to research, learn, and truly savor the joy of poetry. That would be a daring feat in this modern age, where libraries have undergone a transformation from society's central station of learning to an odd hub that combines a day care napping center for the homeless, the invasion of after-school crowd of teens logging onto Facebook, and the one-stop movie shop (especially since all the Blockbusters and Hollywood Video stores closed).  Books seem to scream for attention in libraries these days.

So, I felt it a personal challenge to tackle on more poetry... to read it more and learn to appreciate it as she has.

Dr. Angelou concluded with an excerpt from her piece, "Brave and Startling Truth." Check it out!

Disaster Training & Florida's AmeriCorps Conference

Last weekend, I was invited to provide disaster training at the Florida AmeriCorps Conference, hosted by Volunteer Florida, in Orlando.  It's coming on 10 years now since I began facilitating disaster training across Florida (and occasionally, nationally) for AmeriCorps members, Senior Corps, Volunteer Centers, county/city governments, and a wide variety of community and faith-based organizations.

I co-facilitated three disaster trainings during the conference, one of which was the largest I'd ever done with 140+ participants from the City Year programs in Orlando and Miami.  They were an awesome group! Here's a minute-long video from the Disaster Volunteer Reception Center simulation:

That evening, we were all entertained by Syesha Mercado, a former American Idol contestant and a number of very talented AmeriCorps members:

Members also participated in several service projects, including creating this mural of service:

And I'm on it too!

Powerful What A Child Can See

In an earlier post, I mentioned that I took my nephew to visit my auntie and uncle buried at Barrancas National Cemetery.  He enjoyed running around this field of heroes, and thought it was interesting he'd stop at the occasional grave and start talking as if someone was there.  

I caught this very powerful encounter, and I can not help but believe the little man was playfully talking to his guardian angel:

My Biblical People

I recently completed an Equal Opportunity Questionnaire, and I couldn't believe my eyes:

My people are quite biblical.

Someone in Human Resources needs a geography lesson.