photo credit: Tim Green aka atoach
Recently, I had the chance to interview John Karczynski-Ferguson. Here’s a guy who looks and acts normal and is anything but normal.
He’s certainly not weird or odd. Quite the contrary. John is extraordinary.
In today’s world where HIPPA and privacy protection laws were created to keep everyone out of your business, those who really do need to know have also been pushed into the vast unknown.
Cellist playing on the lake at Arranmore Center For The Arts in Oswego, IL
Imagine a place where a cellist can be one with their cello on a lake at dusk. Imagine a theatrical performance that shares the air with fire flies. A visual arts opening that takes place in a barn. And…imagine a place that blends historic and modern buildings to enhance the aesthetics of the land.
THAT’S where you’ll find Arranmore Center For The Arts. A place where opportunities to think and work collaboratively exceed expectations.
By nina matthews photography
Do all parents of challenged children want to run from the truth?
When they’re born you expect them to grow up and be happy, contributing members of society. You never expect them to be incapable of formulating a sentence at seven or to be suicidal at nine.
Marlin Keesler wanted to believe what others were telling him - not to be worried…it was a phase. He wasn’t willing to see the red flags. He also wasn’t willing to admit to himself that yelling louder would not help his son learn to spell.
When his children were small Marlin worked an exhausting night shift for the airlines. Gone before the kids got home from school and back home long after they were asleep. Needless to say he wasn’t present in their lives. The combination of his children’s challenges and his inability to be present in their lives was causing his family to fall apart.
Every second of every day parents make choices that affect their entire family. The choice today is about being present. Physically and emotionally present for yourself and the ones you love. Are you?
How far would you go if your child was in trouble and your family was falling apart? Say…26.2 miles? Would you run a grueling, pain inducing marathon? How about two? What about fifty? Would you set out on a quest to save your children by running 50 marathons in 50 states? Marlin did and he didn’t even like to run. Read more…
by xenïa antunes
Ask yourself…“Will you die with just a bunch of cool clothes and stuff or will you make a difference?”
Laurie Nicoll could have all the cool clothes and stuff she wants. Instead, her passion is to help people gain confidence showing their face in public. Laurie knows first hand that when your skin doesn’t look vibrant it’s difficult to feel good about yourself.
Through her Footprints Foundation, Laurie’s vision is to fund research to understand and unravel skin problems that trouble people around the world. Her dream is to send medical teams to foreign countries and help underserved populations clear up skin issues and help people feel good about the way they look.
Imagine… you’re three years old, standing in your underwear in a very small, closet-like room. The walls are covered in tinfoil and large ultraviolet light bulbs line the room. You’re told to stand with your arms out from your side – DON’T TOUCH THE WALLS or you’ll get burned – for three minutes straight. Murder for anyone. Imagine what it’s like for a three-year-old.
Laurie Nicoll doesn’t have to imagine. She lived it at three…and four… Read more…
