In his blog “Apesma’s Lament” Tim Harris, one of my favorite Seattle people (not yet met in ‘real time’) wrote:
Today, a close friend called to say their family was sending Real Change $1,000. It’s been a tough year for them, but they’re doing it anyway. I’ve been hearing that a lot lately. It’s inspiring. It’s also a lot of responsibility. This year, more than a thousand people valued our work enough to send a check, and lots of them stretched to do it. It’s an enormous honor to be supported in this way. 2008 was a hard year in many ways.
and …
Yesterday, one of our guys said he felt more loved at Real Change than anywhere he’d lived in five years. This is what we call a Real Change moment. A lump rises in your throat. You get a little misty, and you say something like, “Thanks. That makes me happy.” Then you do a little hug or handshake or whatever, and feel lucky for having work that lets you be a real human being. You then go back to doing the best you can with what you have to work with, and push those rocks up those hills. Because that’s what you do.
The friend who called also mentioned a local hip-hop band that’s made it big. She’d been listening to their Long March EP. “Did you know the Blues Scholars mention Real Change?” Um, no. “Well, they do. They say, ‘Real Change, rock rock on!”
Read Apesma’s Lament: Real Change Rock Rock On
and find out more about Real Change
Happy new year, Tim. Maybe we’ll meet sometime in 2009.