1. Really Happy:  He was standing on the sidewalk at an intersection of Dutch Neck Road.  He had a little stand and a big umbrella with a sign proclaiming, “Lemonade”.  The first time I passed by because a number of cars had stopped; his little business was booming.   I smiled, cheered at the enterprise of the young man, an up and coming entrepreneur, I thought.

When I passed by the second time, on the other side of the street, I saw that he was, for the moment, customer free, so I turned around and went back.   He politely and cheerfully asked if I wanted pink lemonade or the regular yellow.   I chose pink and he told me it would be 25 cents.  Then I noticed a little pamphlet he had tented on his stand, from the Mercer County Wildlife Center.    His name is “Jack” (“really John but everyone calls me Jack”).  He related that he and his Dad had been housesitting for a neighbor when they found a baby squirrel had fallen from a tree and was hurt.  They attended to it as best they could and then took it to the center where it was cared for, returned to health and its natural habitat.  

Now, Jack, impressed with the Center’s mission and work was spending a hot Saturday afternoon, selling lemonade for a quarter.  Needless to say, I did not ask for change from my dollar bill and I noticed that I was not alone in this deed.

I left with a good feeling about this young man, his parents, and the hope for our future.  I also looked up the website http://www.mercercounty.org/mcwc/
mcwc_foundanimal.html

 for the The Mercer County Wildlife Center which states that it is a  “state and federally licensed facility that cares for injured, ill, and displaced native wildlife. The Center provides these animals with medical treatment and a temporary refuge before releasing them back into an appropriate wild habitat.”

“The Center strives to preserve our natural wildlife by accepting and rehabilitating birds and mammals from the central New Jersey area. As human development continues along the east coast corridor, the suitable habitat that is available to wildlife decreases. This leads to more human contact, resulting in an increased risk of injury to both animals and humans.”

Jack said, beaming, “Oh, you don’t have to do that,” when I asked him if it was all right if I wrote about his endeavor.   Perhaps others will be drawn to help, or enter into an enterprise like you have, I explained, and he eagerly agreed.

Joy, happiness, I know from experience, comes when we help others and when we are engaged in a worthy venture, particularly so when it engages compassion for those who are somehow powerless or less powerful than ourselves, such as young children, the poor, the ill, the elderly, and

            (cont.)

animals.    I have witnessed it many times a day at Better Beginnings and I saw it again Saturday in Jack’s warm smile.

W. Beran Wolfe says, “If you observe a really happy man you will find him building a boat, writing a symphony, educating his son, growing double dahlias in his garden. He will not be searching for happiness as if it were a collar button that has rolled under the radiator.  -W. Beran Wolfe

Jack’s Dad must be “really happy”, I think, since he has done a great job of “educating his son”.

2. Spreading Happiness This Week  also are:   Loida Wilson, a Cranbury resident, who shared her talent professional expertise with our staff, on the eve of departing for an appointment in Los Angeles.   Her enthusiastic presentation is reflected this morning, as each of us has improved our skills at communicating with each other as one of the results of her leading us to greater understanding of ourselves and teammates.  Little wonder that so many businesses and corporations engage her for workplace seminars.

Cranbury relates to Better Beginnings in a number of ways.  The Women of the United Methodist Church, for example, have just sent, again, an abundance of much need paper goods, snacks and school supplies which they collected since their last donation, just two weeks ago.  Such sharing makes us all happy.

Similarly, Ondina and Wilfred Jeffers send their regular generous monthly contribution for “our kids” Roger Hummel donates a Gateway computer with keyboard, mouse, camera, monitor, printer, microphone and software, which will help yet another of our students and family bridge the digital divide; Paola Delgado again donates snack food and Sherry Watkins and Jeanette Berman shared their loving presence as volunteers.  

Thank you, all, for spreading the joy, and helping Better Beginnings in its mission of “encouraging families and children reach their full potential”.

3. Penny Pincher is a cheerful giver, too:   The result is that many worthy charities have sent her an abundance of address labels, more than she can use in several of her lifetimes.   Since she is also frugal, she does not throw them away.   She now has stacks of them.   She is looking for a way of finding a use for them.  If you have any ideas, please share them.

4. Two Cents Wordth:  wonders what an address label is.   He thought that it was the title of an address that someone was going to give, such as for a commencement address.  He wonders how they can stack up.  He has heard the expression “stack up” as in doubting veracity, “That just doesn’t stack up.”.  Confusing?