A professor and his wife were expecting their first baby on February 25, and, of course, I was all excited about the thought of another new baby coming into the world.
I had to have my column ready and turned in several days before the next edition came out, and it just so happened that the next edition was due out on February 25.
On February 24, I told Dick (the professor--who also happened to enjoy my column) that he and Pat would really love the HODGEPODGE that was due out the next day.
"Oh we will!?!" was his response. If he read my mind and suspected why, he didn't let on.
The next day, I bounced over to his office and congratulated him on the birth of his new baby--and, to my surprise, he told me that there was no new baby.
"I guess your baby will be along later today..." I replied--and was shocked when he told me that there were no signs of this happening.
"But you said that the baby was going to be born on February 25..."
"That was just an estimated time..."
That was news to me. After all, I'd been predicted for December 12, 1952, and I was right on time!
Of course, I'm one of the world's worst procrastinators now. I've started a new blog as therapy to help me to get my life more organized, and I hope that it works.
I went from my prediction to Dick that he and Pat were really going to enjoy my new column to saying something along the lines of, "You're gonna kill me when you read HODGEPODGE today!"
"Really? Why would I do that?..."
"You'll see!"
To make a long story short, neither Dick nor Pat killed me (obviously). In fact, they found it rather amusing to say the least. Sarah Elizabeth Wiehe arrived when she wanted to (just as StoryBaby Jack has done here recently). For years afterwards, Dr. Charlotte Templin used my premature celebration column (along with the more famous one about Dewey winning the election) to show how news stories will sometimes not turn out to be quite the way that they get reported.
Hopefully, this won't be a case of the Wiehes becoming parents before they did or of Dewey becoming President, but I've just got to say it:
Move Over, Elvis! Here Comes Russell!
Yes, chances are good that, later this year, headquarters of IYN will be moved from San Diego, California to Memphis, Tennessee!!!
Russell will be working to get things going in San Diego first, as there's definitely a great need right there that needs to be actively addressed hands-on, but there's also a great need to be addressed in Tennessee and the surrounding area.
This also seems like a place where the community might be more widely receptive (as in a greater number of churches, businesses, clubs, and individuals getting actively involved in our mission) to an organization such as IYN--which, of course, will make IYN more effective all over.
It sounds like a plan to me -- and, obviously, I'm thrilled with the idea of Russell and me living only about 600 miles apart.
But it isn't a done deal yet.
Russell might decide that Memphis isn't the best place for headquarters after all and might start looking elsewhere.
All he knows is that he's getting to the place where he would like to move somewhere with a slower pace while, at the same time, a place that has opportunities to grow IYN.
He won't be cutting all ties to San Diego by any means--just living in another location where he feels that he can live a more restful life and be more effective.
He now has the funds to do this, thanks to an organization called Prosper.
He asked for a loan (won't give the amount here, but, while he wasn't asking for a fortune, he wasn't exactly borrowing money for a hamburger, either) that would take care of his relocation, a new computer and other expenses related to IYN, paying off his current credit card debt (He has a small credit line somewhere between $500 and $1000 dollars available to him.), plus a little for a rainy day.
For many years, Russell has been going into his limited monthly income to do everything from buying snack food for homeless kids to buying them clothing, transportation home or somewhere safe, and telephone cards. He's done this without asking for anything in return except for the knowing that he's made a difference in the lives of these kids.
His goal is to get other people joining him in doing this. Thus, Invisible Youth Network!
He's had a remarkable amount of success in getting people to do this so far, even though it's still just a drop-in-the-bucket compared to how far he'd like to take things.
But he was totally-amazed at how many people at Prosper wanted him to succeed. At this time, he has enough people investing in his loan request that there's no doubt that he'll be getting the loan. On top of that, he will (until the application closes in a few hours) be getting a lower interest rate the more that people bid on him.
Unfortunately, I can't be one of those people because I just joined, and it takes awhile to get set up where you can be a lender. However, I'll, likely, find someone to invest in within the next couple of months.
And, of course, I'll be inviting people to join.
Anyway, I can't say enough nice about it! And, of course, neither can Russell.
I just hope that he decides to settle in Memphis, and I'm totally blown away just thinking about that!!! WooHoo!!!
Russell will be working to get things going in San Diego first, as there's definitely a great need right there that needs to be actively addressed hands-on, but there's also a great need to be addressed in Tennessee and the surrounding area.
This also seems like a place where the community might be more widely receptive (as in a greater number of churches, businesses, clubs, and individuals getting actively involved in our mission) to an organization such as IYN--which, of course, will make IYN more effective all over.
It sounds like a plan to me -- and, obviously, I'm thrilled with the idea of Russell and me living only about 600 miles apart.
But it isn't a done deal yet.
Russell might decide that Memphis isn't the best place for headquarters after all and might start looking elsewhere.
All he knows is that he's getting to the place where he would like to move somewhere with a slower pace while, at the same time, a place that has opportunities to grow IYN.
He won't be cutting all ties to San Diego by any means--just living in another location where he feels that he can live a more restful life and be more effective.
He now has the funds to do this, thanks to an organization called Prosper.
He asked for a loan (won't give the amount here, but, while he wasn't asking for a fortune, he wasn't exactly borrowing money for a hamburger, either) that would take care of his relocation, a new computer and other expenses related to IYN, paying off his current credit card debt (He has a small credit line somewhere between $500 and $1000 dollars available to him.), plus a little for a rainy day.
For many years, Russell has been going into his limited monthly income to do everything from buying snack food for homeless kids to buying them clothing, transportation home or somewhere safe, and telephone cards. He's done this without asking for anything in return except for the knowing that he's made a difference in the lives of these kids.
His goal is to get other people joining him in doing this. Thus, Invisible Youth Network!
He's had a remarkable amount of success in getting people to do this so far, even though it's still just a drop-in-the-bucket compared to how far he'd like to take things.
But he was totally-amazed at how many people at Prosper wanted him to succeed. At this time, he has enough people investing in his loan request that there's no doubt that he'll be getting the loan. On top of that, he will (until the application closes in a few hours) be getting a lower interest rate the more that people bid on him.
Unfortunately, I can't be one of those people because I just joined, and it takes awhile to get set up where you can be a lender. However, I'll, likely, find someone to invest in within the next couple of months.
And, of course, I'll be inviting people to join.
Anyway, I can't say enough nice about it! And, of course, neither can Russell.
I just hope that he decides to settle in Memphis, and I'm totally blown away just thinking about that!!! WooHoo!!!
