Tag Archives: tribute

Dolly

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Thomas Gusky shared this on LinkedIn:

“Imagine spending 80 years on the planet, writing over 3000 songs, winning 11 Grammy Awards, 10 CMAs, 1 Emmy, countless nominations, having 55 top 10 hits…and at the end of your life, no one talks about that.

Instead they talk about the kind of person you were; how you loved others well, how you stayed true to yourself, how you were generous and would champion others, and how you inspired others to do the same. If that’s not the goal, I don’t know what is.

RIP Dolly.”

And earlier I saw this post by Pearlmania500 on TikTok:

https://www.tiktok.com/@pearlmania500/video/7678083962782125343

Paraphrasing: She could have been a billionaire, but chose instead to send kids in her state books to read. Books to encourage not only reading but good values too.

There are so many good people in this world. I think it’s worth taking a moment to pause and appreciate how wonderful someone was when they pass away… Maybe inspire some of us to do a few more kind things than we normally would.

Dolly Parton will be missed by so many more than just those who loved her music.

Earth Day

I remember watching this video years ago, on a large screen, in a gym filled with middle school students. It gave me goosebumps when the shark jumped into the air and there was a collective sigh of awe from the kids.

Our planet is a thing of marvel. While I have no doubt that with billions of stars in the universe, there are other blue planets out there that inhabit life, there is also no doubt that we are still a statistical anomaly. I’m sure that we will discover more and more planets in the Goldilocks Zone, where we can find an atmosphere with liquid water that isn’t too hot or too cold, but none will be just like earth. None will have the same reign of dinosaurs for millions of years. None will have a perfectly proportioned moon to influence the tides just like ours. None will have the same species of flowers, beetles, butterflies, and Beluga whales.

We live a one of a kind existence on a one of a kind planet. Let’s do our part to keep it spectacular.

Sharing appreciation for their teacher

My wife, Ann, teaches a grade 4/5 class in our community. Yesterday at 4pm, while she was still working from home, a parade of cars started honking their horns. About 20 cars, driven by the parents of her students, slowly drove by with Ann’s students waving and holding signs.

I was given some advanced notice that this was happening and was home to make sure Ann went outside when the horns started. I shared some video live on Twitter:


But the quality of the video was quite poor. Luckily my kids and I captured more video and shared some on Facebook.

This was a wonderful gesture that brought tears to all of our eyes (my kids too). I actually had to tell Ann to pull herself together after they passed by because I knew they were turning around and driving by again. This allowed Ann to really enjoy the moment and thank the families as they drove by, since she was overwhelmingly surprised during the first drive-by.

Remote learning has been really challenging for students and parents, and it has also been challenging for our teachers. This gesture was heartwarming and so special. This was a moment our whole whole family will remember and cherish.

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Thanks to all the teachers out there who are giving their best, and caring for their students, as they face the challenge of teaching from a distance. I’ve seen some wonderful ways that teachers have gone above and beyond to connect with their students at this time, and they deserve to be recognized for doing such an amazing job during these challenging circumstance. Thank you teachers, principals, and support staff!