Day 5001: Grandma's Stand & Carrots for Australian Wallabies.

"Everybody needs a Grandma": old photo, digital collage.

                                                                       

  

Want music?

    Click: Bill Withers, Grandma's Hands.

2GN2S

Grandma Stand

I wonder if you have ever heard of Grandma Stand? 

I hadn't, but just happened to see it on PBS and watched 

a delightful hour documentary from Central Park in NYC.

 

Every week there's a rotation of grandmas, discussion prompts and locations where the Grandma Stand pops-up. So, anybody passing by can spend a couple minutes with an anonymous, non-judgemental grandma who is there to listen.

How did this come about? In 2012, on a beautiful day in NYC, a hipster co-worker walked into Mike Matthews' office and broke down in tears over a recent break-up. Mike was completely caught off guard as he'd never seen this cool co-worker so vulnerable. 

 Struggling to say the right things, Mike had an impression to connect her with his 96 year-old grandma, Eileen, who lived in Samammish, WA. Mike slid a piece of paper across his desk and said, "I know this sounds crazy, but here's my grandma's landline number. If you feel up to it, she's pretty incredible to talk to." 

The co-worker replied, "yes, that IS crazy! You want me to call your grandma whom I've never met, and talk about a breakup?". However, she accepted the pieced of paper. Mike knew from past experiences that Grandma Eileen could talk to anybody from NYC teenagers to college professors. She was full of love and empathy that completely disarmed you.

​The following week, the same co-worker came bouncing into Mike's office, shut the door and said, "Grandma Eileen is incredible. I feel lifted. I can't explain it, but she just made me feel like everything was going to be ok. "For the next several months, a 26 year-old hipster and a 96 year-old grandma spoke every week and became best friends.

​It gave Mike a simple, but crazy, idea. He could literally buy a lemonade stand, put it on any NYC street corner with a laptop to video conference, headphones and a chair for Grandma Eileen to meet anyone walking from the comfort of her brown leather chair in Washington state.

​It worked. From 2012 until she passed away in 2018 at near 102 years-old, Grandma Eileen lifted thousands of New Yorkers each week from inside Central Park to people waiting on subway platforms. After her passing, Mike retired the stand. 

But, one afternoon in early 2024, Mike thought about how almost every friend he had was struggling some level of disruption in their family or with job insecurity, political division, loneliness, mental health, the list went on. It was time to bring back the Grandma Stand. To honor Grandma Eileen, Mike painted the portable stand purple (her favorite color) and ensure's her face is always present on the stand itself.

Today, every week there's a rotation of grandmas, discussion prompts and locations where the Grandma Stand pops-up. So, anybody passing by can spend a couple minutes with an anonymous, non-judgemental grandma who is there to listen.

*See 20 diverse people candidly share their feelings. “Just a little love, a little talking. She's speaking to my soul,” said a visitor. This film shows how a brief encounter has a strong impact and gives us insight into our own lives. here.

 

After the bushfires tore through parts of Australia, the damage did not end when the flames died down. Large areas of forest were left burned and empty. The ground was covered in ash. Plants that animals depend on for food were gone.

For wildlife, that created a second crisis. Many animals survived the fire itself, but they were left with nothing to eat. Wallabies were among the hardest hit. They rely on ground vegetation, and in many burned areas, that food simply did not exist anymore.

Rescue teams knew this would happen. So they acted fast. Using helicopters, they dropped over 2,000 kilos of carrots into remote bushfire zones. These were areas that people could not easily reach on foot or by vehicle. The drops were spread out to give animals a chance to find food across a wider area.

This was not about comfort. It was about survival. Without help, many of these animals would have slowly starved in the days and weeks after the fires.

For a wallaby that made it through fire and smoke, finding even a small patch of food could mean everything.

It is easy to think the crisis ends when the fire is out. But for wildlife, the struggle continues long after. Recovery takes time. Food takes time to grow back.

This effort shows something important. When humans cause damage, we also have the ability to step in and help. Even a simple thing like dropping carrots can give animals a fighting chance to survive and rebuild.

Sources: Operation Rock Wallaby: photos Australians 'food bombing' bush animals

 

  

 

A 2 minute video, Rolling Safe, here.

 

 

Just because ...

Malabar trogon

Monday's Smiles ... 

 

Hoping you feel all the good things in your day.