The Mystery of the Misplaced Backpack

When I was Sam's age, my favorite, fictional, female detective was 13 year old Trixie Belden.

Trixie and her friends have a club whose motto is to "help others whenever they can." Often, they "find themselves devoting much of their time to helping Trixie solve mysteries or helping her out of various scrapes which come as a result of her overenthusiastic investigations." Hmm. Interesting.

"Trixie Belden is the antithesis of Nancy Drew. Trixie's realness goes beyond that of any other series character."

Recently, Sam gave me the opportunity to relive my Trixie Belden days. We were in the city to get his stitches removed.

We'd decided to spend that evening with my cousin, Ariel. She'd taken us to a lovely park where we saw dogs frolic, admired the view of the skyline and watched the sunset. (photo credit)

Later, we were running around trying to find supplies for Sam's electric motor project. Generously, Ariel had offered to lend her expertise as a lighting tech and designer to assisting Sam with his school science project.

On our way into a hardware store, Sam noticed a backpack. It was half stuffed into the mouth of a garbage can with the other half still hanging out.

Ariel and I exchanged a knowing look. It seemed pretty obvious to us that someone's backpack had been stolen, looted and tossed. We almost just walked away, figuring anything of value would be long gone but decided to stop for a minute and take a look.

When I opened the bag, I saw a college text book. It was brand new with the receipt still in it, showing that whoever bought it had paid over $50 for it, recently. And, there was a big binder holding hand-written notes and syllabi from several college classes. The contents of the bag still seemed to be of value to the owner.

It appeared the owner was studying psychology or social work of some sort. I felt this bag could have been my bag last year when I was taking classes towards a masters in Mental Health Counseling at Roosevelt University. Or could have been my bag a year from now if I am lucky and organized enough to get myself into another graduate program. But would we be able to identify the real owner?

There was a letter in the bag. We tried calling the number on the letterhead but there was no answer. We called 411 in search of a phone number for the recipient. I made calls to a couple people with that person's name but didn't reach the right one.


I figured whoever lost the bag would be looking for it pretty seriously and wanted to let them know as soon as possible that it was in good hands so they could stop worrying. But it didn't seem like I was going to be able to do much on the side of the road.

It felt weird keeping the bag since it wasn't mine and it had been stolen. What if someone though I'd taken it? We could call the police, Ariel suggested but I was afraid that the people at police headquarters would be too busy to bother to hunt down the owner and was confident that with the help of a computer and a quiet place to make phone calls I would be able to.

I might not be able to find them until the person who had written the letter was back in the office on Monday. But still, I figured the bag had a better chance of being returned to its owner with me than it had in the garbage can. So, I threw it in my trunk and went on with my night.

The next morning, I opened the bag again. It was full of clues.
Cameron helped me investigate too. He brainstormed with me for ideas about finding the owner. He figured out where the person was taking classes and suggested I contact their campus police.

The campus police were helpful. They took my info and said they'd see what they could do. However, the school was scheduled to be on break the following week. So, the guy didn't sound too optimistic about finding the person we thought was the owner very soon.

Next, I started emailing the people whose email addresses were in the binder. I wrote several professors explaining that I had found a bag I believed belonged to one of their students. I gave her name and asked them to have her contact me if they reached her.

I was a little discouraged that I hadn't found the owner right away after two attempts but felt good that I had made an effort. I set the bag aside, not planning to think about it again until Monday and we went off on a hike up Slacker Hill.

After the hike, I noticed a missed call on my cell phone. I didn't recognize the number. But since I've started working as as substitute teacher, unknown numbers aren't that unusual. I thought it was someone calling to offer me work. When I listened to the message and realized it was from the owner of the bag and heard how happy and excited she was that we had it, I was pleasantly surprised.

It turned out that her car had been broken into and the bag had been taken from her vehicle. She'd pretty much written off finding the bag and was surprised when she started hearing from people about it.

She was quite a distance from where I was. So, I offered to mail the bag to her. She said she would pay for whatever it cost to ship the bag. I assured her it was no problem.

I was happy to have the chance to gain some positive Karma and teach Sam that it is worth going out of your way to help someone else.

Yesterday, we received a thank you note from her in the mail. Again, she expressed her appreciation and said we "reaffirmed the idea that there are good people in this world."

Thanks for letting me share a story with a happy ending. I'm sort of in the mood to read a Trixie Belden book again.

I saw their faces...

This morning, I saw the faces of some of the victims of this week's tragic massacre at Virginia Tech and started to cry.

Lauren McCain, Hampton, Va










Brian Bluhm, 25, master's student in water resources.

He had already received his undergraduate degree in civil engineering and accepted a job in Baltimore.




Austin Cloyd, 18, International Studies student









Juan Ramon Ortiz, Engineering grad student, 32









Ryan Clark, 22, Biology and English Major









Kevin Granata, Engineering professor









Jocelyn Couture-Nowak, French instructor, wife








Jarrett Lee Lane, 22










Reema Samaha










Matthew Joseph La Porte, 20










Jeremy Herbstritt, 27










Daniel Perez Cueva, Peruvian student, shot during French class, 21









Daniel O'Neil, Lincoln, R.I.










Liviu Librescu , Holocaust survivor, saved the lives of several students by blocking the gunman from entering his classroom.







Everyone who was lost is not pictured here. These are the faces I saw this morning.

I grieve for the loss of these individuals and their futures as well as the victims I have not learned about yet.

A dear friend of mine and one of my aunts have each lost a husband tragically, leaving children behind. Knowing the devastation the loss of a loved one brings, I grieve for the families and friends of the victims.

And I grieve for the young man who was so angry and alone he turned to violence.

Offer kindness to a stranger today.

I just wrote a post asking you to help "Make Poverty History" by visiting www.one.org and considering signing The One Campaign Declaration.

Here is a video of theirs I wanted to share as well.

Make Poverty History

Nearly two years ago, I was introduced to The ONE Campaign. I probably learned about it from a friend who had recently signed their ONE Campaign Declaration and urged me to do the same.





At that time, I read more and when I learned they were trying to "rally Americans to fight the emergency of global AIDS and extreme poverty," I quickly added my voice to their resolution.

Undoubtedly, they asked me to let my friends and family know about my actions and encourage them to follow suit. I think I shared the information with a few close people I thought would be receptive. But didn't send it to everyone I know.

Why not? I guess I felt that while most of us are vaguely aware of the situation of extreme poverty, since many of us struggle with our own finances, we don't think there is much we can do to stop it.

The Girl in the Cafe poignantly articulated that we can win the fight against extreme poverty. The movie highlights the fact that:

Young children and pregnant women bear the brunt of inadequate health systems. Every year, 10 million children die before their fifth birthday, nearly all of them from preventable causes. Each year, more than 500,000 mothers die from complications during child birth. There are affordable technologies and interventions in existence that would prevent nearly all of these deaths."

And that's one of many issues. With statistics like these, I believe we must do what needs to be done now. I have been moved to speak up, speak out and ask you to do the same.

Nearly 2.5 million people "are already standing as one. " Bono and Brad Pitt are involved with this cause, as well as many other "notable signatores." Even the Kaiser Chiefs, Cam (see photos #11 & 21).

Please visit www.one.org, review the ONE Campaign Declaration. Thank you for considering joining us.

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We Are African

Let's get back to talking about caring for kids...

(photo credit)








Before Christmas, this ad in Wired magazine caught my attention.

Was that Lenny Kravitz? If so, "What cause was he involved with?" I wondered.

I read on and learned about an organization called Keep a Child Alive.





Kravitz and numerous others have joined forces to launch "an urgent response to the AIDS pandemic ravaging Africa. They are "dedicated to providing life-saving anti-retroviral treatment to children and their families with HIV/AIDS ." (photo credit)

I'd like to help but isn't this problem overwhelming? "What can one person do?" I lamented.

On their website, I learned that "although life-saving AIDS medicine often costs less than a dollar a day, very few families can afford it."

They are asking each of us to give one dollar a day. They ask us to "please help them survive." The message is compelling. (photo credit)

Cam and I have discussed making the commitment. We haven't made it happen yet but I haven't lost site of the goal. The Girl in the Cafe movie brought the idea to mind again and I wanted to share it with you.

"Each and every one of us contains DNA that can be traced back to our African ancestors."

If you can Keep a Child Alive, please do.

(photo credit)

Strong Chicks

The topic of outspoken women meeting hostility for speaking out about a cause they feel strongly about also made me think of the Dixie Chicks.

Before, I wrote about being inspired by the Dixie Chicks' defiant attitude and refusal to submit to oppression. Call it spunk, tenacity, chutzpah... They've got it and I admire it.

We finally watched their movie, Shut Up and Sing a couple of weeks ago.

It was interesting to learn that Natalie's comment against the war was made on the eve of it. She knew at the outset the frustration, loss and high cost the war would bring.

That someone would face extreme hostility for speaking out against violence is mind-boggling to me.







I was thrilled to watch them win five Grammy Awards this year. They found a way to ride the wave and come out on top.

Congratulations, Chicks. Thanks for staying strong.

"Well-Behaved Women Rarely Make History"

This quote by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich came to mind while I was writing my post about The Girl in the Cafe.

In it, I mentioned my admiration for strong women who stand by their views even when they are met with opposition. The topic made me think of times when I have faced hostility as an outspoken woman.

Likely, there are countless women who could be places in the "less well behaved woman" category. I wanted to touch on my experiences as one.

I have stood up and been smacked down for a range of issues. On at least two occasions, my job was threatened because I questioned and challenged.

To others, some issues I've made a fuss about seemed inconsequential. Like when I spoke out against a "new revised business casual dress code" that still required women employees to wear pantyhose.

I thought I was fighting for women and our right to choose the undergarments we would or wouldn't wear. Ironically, many of the people who were most offended by my stance were other women.

The CFO laughed with me when I asked him if I could expense pantyhose but the CEO didn't think it was a humorous question. When I was told I needed to, "Either shut up and comply with the dress code or leave." I decided to do both. I would comply until I was able to leave. But I was hurt that they were willing to disregard all of the good work I'd been doing because of this disagreement. (pantyhose photo credit)

One of the times I was most perplexed about facing hostility was when I was trying to get dental care for a child who is deaf. (toothbrushing photo credit)

This beautiful young boy (not pictured) had a radiant smile but he also had obvious, serious dental issues including a large hole in one of his permanent front teeth.

For three months, I had looked past it thinking it was someone else's responsibility and hoping they would take care of it. When I finally asked him about his tooth and he told me that it hurt but his family had "no money," I started calling it to people's attention.

When I asked the social worker about it, she told me the child came from a "very eccentric" family. I'm all for eccentric and if they couldn't pay for it they couldn't pay but I wasn't comfortable ignoring his pain anymore.

I found information about free dental care for kids and offered it to the social worker, trying to follow the appropriate chain of command. She suggested I give the information to the school nurse. I did.

Around the same time, I was working with a child who has Autism.




Because of his family's transportation issues, he regularly missed hours of school. People at the school often complained but when I asked if there was anything we could do to help, on multiple occasions I was told no. I even asked if I could transport the child but was again told no.

A situation was approaching where the child was going to miss an entire week of school because his father was going to be out of town and no one else was willing or able to bring him to school. I found information about a public transportation service that could have picked him up at his front door and delivered him to the door of the school for the cost of regular train ride.

I provided the information about public transportation for people with disabilities to the parent of a child. He was excited about the possibilities and thankful for my help.

For these things, I felt proud. I thought I was really making a difference. For these things, I was called into an office and reprimanded. When I stood up for myself, I was asked to resign.

I refused knowing they had no grounds to fire me and that my leaving would be hard on the kids I was helping. I was dismayed and perplexed. Thinking I should have been thanked rather than berated for my efforts.

I was allowed to stay but had to deal with tension for the rest of the school year. For some reason, the child with Autism was turned down for transportation but the child who is deaf did get his tooth fixed and showed it to me proudly.

I had been told that my greatest strength was my greatest weakness. I had been told that I cared too much for the kids. If that's the case, I'll wear that badge with pride.

The Girl in the Cafe - My New Favorite Movie

I have a new favorite movie. Yesterday, Cam and I watched The Girl in the Cafe.

I hadn't heard of the movie before seeing it at Blockbuster.

The sweet graphic caught my eye and when I read that it was written by Richard Curtis, the writer of Love Actually, one of our first date movies and another favorite, I was interested.


Then, when I read the tag line "Love can't change what's wrong with the world. But it's a start." I was further intrigued.

And there was Bill Nighy who we like a lot too.



I figured it was just going to be a cute love story and wasn't sure why this beautiful young woman was being paired with the much older looking Nighy but was open to finding out.

While the movie is indeed a humorous, romantic love story, it also addressed issues more profound than I had dreamed.

Both characters had more to them than meets the eye.

He has some of the noblest intentions I can imagine.







She speaks out in support of his ideas, bravely challenging apathy, the status quo and powerful men who are quick to become offended and hostile.

The outspoken woman fighting for a cause in which she believes is probably my favorite heroine and someone I aspire to be.