Day 3684: Books and Roger.

"Trust": junk mail collage, ink, digital.

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2GN2S ...  

The gift of reading

When high school English teacher and CNN Hero Larry Abrams began teaching in the under-resourced community of Lindenwold, New Jersey, he was surprised to see how many of his students struggled with reading, or didn't have access to a lot of books. In 2017, when one of his high school seniors told him she wasn't reading to her 2-year-old daughter, Abrams knew he had to do something. He put out a call to friends and family asking for gently used children's books, and in no time, he had more than 1,000 of them. He began distributing the books to young moms and local elementary schools. 

Eventually, his efforts became a nonprofit, BookSmiles. His organization has since collected, sorted, and distributed hundreds of thousands of books throughout New Jersey and the Philadelphia area -- and will soon reach 1 million. "There are millions of kids in America who've never owned a book in their lives," Abrams says. "I want to change that."

 

 

A Hero Steps Down

Tennis great Roger Federer,  recently announced his retirement from the ATP Tour and grand slams and expressed gratitude for his fans, family and fellow athletes.

 

“I am 41 years old. I have played more than 1500 matches over 24 years. Tennis has treated me more generously than I ever would have dreamt, and now I must recognize when it is time to end my competitive career,” the 20-time grand slam winner said in an Instagram post.

 

The last few years of Federer’s career have been marred by a series of injuries, as he underwent two knee surgeries in 2020 and another after he was defeated by Hubert Hurkacz in the 2021 Wimbledon quarterfinal – his last competitive match to date.

 “As many of you know, the past three years have presented me with challenges in the form of injuries and surgeries,” he said. “I’ve worked hard to return to full competitive form. But I also know my body’s capacities and limits, and its message to me lately has been clear.

 

"When my love of tennis started, I was a ball kid in my hometown of Basel. I used to watch the players with a sense of wonder. They were like giants to me and I began to dream. My dreams led me to work harder and I started to believe in myself ... So, I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart, to everyone around the world who has helped make the dreams of a young Swiss ball kid come true."

 

 

 

 

A 3-minute video, Hamilton parody, here.

 

Just because ...

 

  

Yellow Streaked Lory

 

Smiles for Tuesday ...

 

  

 

  

 

 

                             Thanks for coming by today