Since I get my meds
delivered to the house through the state HIV med pharmacy, the UPS
truck stops by once a month. Of course, every once in a while the
truck will come by on another visit if Mom or I have ordered
something online. But it wasn't the right time of the month for my
meds to come, nor had we ordered anything, so when I was lying out
by the pool the day reading another book, I was very surprised to
hear the cacophony of barks from inside the house as the UPS truck
expectedly rolled up the driveway. (when Mom's four dogs see someone
out the front window and start barking, which increases when my
three join in, then no one is able to sneak onto our property.)
So it wasn't a med delivery or something we had purchased, but a
surprise gift from my friends Loretta and Bob, who own and run
the gift shop "The Cottage Gate" back up in Ohio. I often think of
Loretta as she gave me a little dog statue from her store as a gift
once. Every time I take off my rings, when I shower or when I go out
to the pool, I put them in a safe place where I can't lose them - on
the dog's tail.
Loretta and Bob have kindly contributed
to my "Save ReigningPages" campaign (my request of donations to pay
for my server space and domain name) many times through the years.
Inside the delivery box was another donation from them towards that
fund, along with another personal gift for my desk.
But this isn't just any ol' mug, MOUSEOVER to see the inscription on
the other side. Since I don't want my klutziness to accidentally
break this gift, I think I'll be keeping it on my desk also. I know
the perfect thing to keep in it with that sentiment emblazoned on it
- my reading glasses.
MouseOver
Thank you Loretta and
Bob!
Butterfly
Tree
The pear trees are obviously not twins
of each others. The one, which has the huge limb break off during
the summer, is still green while its companion has already turned
yellow for the Fall.
As I was out taking the picture of the
trees, I noticed the most astounishing thing. At first looking at
the camera's screen, I thought it was small birds flitting around
the trees; but then I realized what it was - hundreds of
butterflies!
MOUSEOVER these pictures
(below) for CLOSEUPS
There seemed to be several
types of butterflies in the trees. There was only a handful of
small, solid yellow butterflies, many more golden/brown ones, and a
large amount of butterflies that were brown with orange spots on one
side and royal blue on the other side.
These pictures are of the
same butterfly with it's wings folded and opened.
The Growing
Season Ends
Between the clay soil, the
early and hot Summer, and the lack of rain, my garden which was
never all that much (except for an over abundance of cucumbers!),
has come to the end of it's growing season.
Just like the single red pepper
from earlier in the year, these three never grew very large before
turning red and then shriveling up. Argh!
The last of the plants in
the garden was an okra plant, a squash, the cantaloupe vine, and a
butternut squash
The final produce with
this miniature butternut squash and cantaloupe
(neither much bigger than a softball though)
All the beds are empty
again, except for a few leeks, some parsley and the last of the
dried up lemon balm.
Helping
Hands
A Catawba Care Health Fair Event
Thursday (9/9/10) Catawba
Care set up a booth at the "Helping Hands" volunteer event at
Winthrop college in Rock Hill York, South Carolina. Being very
proactive in the community and teaching their students to be the
same, the college held this event so that organizations in the area
could recruit volunteers from the student body. Catawba Care has had
a successful relationship with the college for many years and with
many volunteers that have come from the school.
I got to be upfront and center this
time, telling the passing students about the opportunities - from
stamping envelopes, to assisting with client socials, to even
helping with the display at health fair events (better be careful,
or I'll work myself right outta this job LOL).
I took requests from nearly 2 dozen students, many who seemed
genuinely interested in helping Catawba Care in it's mission of HIV
prevention, education, and support. Many thanks to all of you
students who offered their time! I hope to see you again around the
agency during the coming year.
The "new and improved" display!
(Thanks Mom for your time and effort with all the improvements!)
Pay special attention to
the pictures I took from this event. Last time I had tried a few new
ideas (banner for the table and small signs about the pamphlets);
those are all here again - but jazzed up! My mom herself recently
volunteered with CC, so when I came home with the display material
the other day, she whipped out her promotion/advertising experience
and made my lame attempts super-duper! (WooHoo Mom! Thanks again for
your help!) I know having the items marked and displayed better
helped me talking to the students, and I saw that they were able to
scan the table and find the material that interested them much more
readily.
Please notice the new table tags
describing the literature, and have a piece of candy, it's free!
After a previous suggestion of mine, we
now have pens, with the agency's contact info listed on it, to pass
out. But please, take only one! ;)
Even though it was a
volunteer-recruiting event, I passed out over a dozen "safer sex
packets". WooHoo, if the college kids are gonna "do it", at least
I'm making sure they do it safely. ;) A few red ribbons ended up
pinned on some of the strolling students supporting HIV awareness as
they went on across the campus.
Leatherman (aka mIkIe) -
working on his
tan,
encouraging the kiddies to have safe sex,
and rounding up
volunteers.
You might remember from my
York Summerfest entry(8/28/10), that we were offered a chance to
attend another event. Well, after I got back from Winthrop today and
was showing off the new banner and table tags (What a mess! LOL I
had all this stuff set up and scattered about in the front waiting
room. LOL), everybody loved it so much that I got "invited" to help
out with all the new stuff this coming Sunday (9/12/10, 2pm-6pm) at
the "Unity Festival" being held at Winthrop Lake Park (near the
Winthrop Coliseum).
After the volunteer
recruitment event, Winthrop provided all the vendors with a lunch in
the university's cafeteria/restaurant. Not only was the food good;
but it gave us all a chance to network between agencies in the area.
Sitting at the lunch table across from the lady who headed up the
"Helping Hands" event, I gave her some ideas about the event that
she could use for next year. I also spoke with a few other vendors
who showed interest in Catawba Care coming to their organization
with our education/prevention programs. Several were even interested
in having little ol' me come out to speak. Of course, I referred
them all to the staff back in the clinic; but did make sure they
knew my name and knew that I was willing to speak at their
organization if requested.
Client Advisory Board
It was a busy day for me.
Right after the luncheon at Winthrop, I headed over to the Catawba
Care office to drop off the booth materials, and take part, for my
first time, of being part of the Client Advisory Board. As a
non-profit organization, Catawba Care is run by a board consisting
of our doctor, several staff members, several volunteer members, and
even a few clients. To stay in touch with even more clients and
their opinions, the Executive Director of the clinic, Anita Case,
periodically convenes another board - a board comprised of only
clinic clients known as the Client Advisory Board.
We discussed things like
the upcoming move into a new building, how well the clinic serves
its clients, and even a little bit about the exhibition booth. Some
of the issues that I already brought up about the booth and have
been working on were echoed by other members. Not only was it
satisfying to hear that others agreed with my thoughts; but it was
even better to know that we were already working on resolving issues
that weren't just "my" issues.
Although we didn't
accomplish anything earth-shattering, I really appreciated the fact
of the Director convening such a board. Too often, AIDS Service
Organizations (ASO) around the country have collapsed because they
have lost their basic goal of caring for people with HIV. Once it
becomes more business-orientated and just a way for people to earn a
paycheck, the less it becomes an agency that really assists people.
Often those agencies that lose their way end up collapsing into
chaos and crime, as directors and employees are accused of theft and
graft, and clients lose health care and access to medications. In
just the last few years, this scenario has happened in places around
the nation like in California, Washington DC, and even closer to
home, Charlotte NC. Just last December, Metrolina AIDS Project (MAP)
imploded leaving HIV-infected citizens of Charlotte struggling to
get access to Infectious Disease doctors and meds. I believe that
having clients on the Directing Board and the Client Advisory Board
can and will keep such a disastrous event from happening to the ASO
in my area.
Unity
Festival
Another Catawba Care Health Fair Event
Although I wasn't
scheduled for another health fair event, after showing off the new
banner and table tags, when I got asked to help out at another event
this weekend, I sure couldn't say no. I wanted to show off, and put
all the new display stuff in action.
Sunday (9/12/10) Catawba
Care set up a booth at the "Unity Festival" held at Winthrop Lake
Park behind Winthrop Coliseum in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Although
it had rained some the previous night, it was a beautiful late
Summer/early Fall afternoon with perfect weather for an outdoor
event like this. It was the first... time for this family event -
with food, merchandise and service vendors, musical acts, and kids
play areas - and the attendance was very good. One of our partners
and frequent sponsors, Piedmont Medical, supplied tents and tables
for some of their regular partners - including Catawba Care.
Latisha, the Director of Support Services (the supervisor over the
case managers and over the Volunteer Services dpt.), and I set up
our display, passed out candy, pens, pamphlets and safer sex packets
while speaking to quite a few people about the services Catawba Care
provides - such as free HIV testing, prevention and education
programs and medical care to those infected with HIV
I had actually met the
promoter for this event when I was at Summerfest in York, SC last
week, and he passed along an invitation for us to attend. However
the information that I brought back to the office got lost in the
shuffle. Luckily, the promoter knows Latisha and called Catawba Care
to confirm his invitation. I had kept the date open just in case; so
at the last minute when Latisha asked me if I'd like to join her at
the event, I was already ready to go. After showing off the new
banner and table tags to the her and some of the staff on Friday, I
was more than ready to take it on the road again, and show Latisha
how all of it was easy to set up and how it enhanced our
presentation.
For me, this was a very
educational event because I learned a lot from watching how Latisha
broke the ice with visitors to our booth, and how she explained our
ASO and discussed the services. Thanks for a great opportunity to
work with you, Latisha, and to learn from you.
We did have a little bit
of a breeze problem at this event; but the "Safer Sex Kits" (filled
with about 6 condoms, 2 packets of lubricant, and condom usage
instructions) were just heavy enough to weight down each stack of
pamphlets. After moving the board to the ground and putting a few
stakes into the tent legs, things were fine for the rest of the day.
Week Two:
WAD
Committee
In a few months, the world
will take a moment to think about the AIDS epidemic marking December
1st as "World AIDS Day" (WAD). Last year I watched as Catawba Care
put on a production, co-sponsored by Winthrop University, detailing
a timeline of the AIDS epidemic in America over the last three
decades. During this last week, I attended a meeting as part of the
committee made up of Catawba Care staff and Winthrop staff to help
plan and produce this year's event/performance.
This year, to involve the
community, Catawba Care has decided to sponsor a video competition
requesting from the high schools of the three counties we serve, and
the four colleges in Rock Hill, to create videos about prevention
and education of HIV or STDs. On World AIDS Day, we plan to screen
these videos throughout our event and award prizes to the First,
Second, and Third Place Winners in both the High School and the
College categories.
While others on the
committee had contacts with sponsors, schools, and advertising to
speak to, I started work on the duties that were more suited to my
abilities. First, I worked up a document of contest rules,
regulations, information, and contestant release forms. Then I put
together a preliminary flyer that will be used to announce our
contest. Of course, the committee will be reviewing that document,
along with lawyers from Winthrop and Catawba Care, to make sure all
our bases are covered before we kick-off the start of the video
competition.
A test photo at a recent "photo shoot"
I had already been talking to Catawba
Care prevention and education staff about video projects over the
last few months. This began with a meeting in which I
discussed not only YouTube videos, but websites in general,
encouraging the staff to update not only the CC website but also
their FaceBook page.
Once the Director began discussing the idea of videos with me, I
started putting together a few of my own. I have already worked up a
couple longer video demos - one about "HIV in SC" and another one
about "The Catawba Care Exhibition Booth" - and I have a couple more
in the works.
After our committee meeting, I realized that I also
needed to work on a couple more short videos too, as more than
likely many videos that we get for our competition will be more like
the length of a commercial - of less than a minute
No Rest for
the Wicked LOL
When one of the other
volunteers had to call off, I volunteered to fill in an extra day at
the Pantry. Since the other day Mom signed up to be a volunteer
herself,
the Volunteer supervisor called her to come in and do some data entry,
so we both rode in together to put in some volunteer time.
I had a good time filling
in at the pantry and working with another volunteer/client named
Ken. Since both of us are on the Client Advisory Board and both of
us have been working the exhibition booth, we compared notes - and
made a lot of new notes. LOL
Since I finished early, I
got put to work with another job - all voluntary, of course. LOL
It's only fair that they stuck me with this job as I had a hand in
the problem. It seems the "Safer Sex Kits" that the clinic gives out
are running low (perhaps because of all the ones I've been passing
out in the last month's run of exhibitions
).
A few days later, when I was down at the clinic for another WAD
committee meeting, Mom went with me to do some volunteer work
herself (entering data into their database). After my meeting and
her work, we both stayed busy a while longer making up several
hundred more kits.
Week Three:
WAD Video
Competition Materials
With the help and input
from the committee, my Mom, other staff at Catawba Care and Winthrop
University, I spent this last week creating, refining and working on
some documents to announce our video competition. After final
approval, we have ended up with a flyer, a poster, a jpeg image, and
a document explaining the guidelines and rules, along with legal
release forms and the video submission forms.
(used for display on video monitor
at Winthrop University)
8.5x11 Flyer
1900x600 jpeg
11x17 Poster
submission packet document of rules,
guidelines, and release forms
(Click on any item if you wish to see the actual Word
document)
Now that the guidelines
have been worked, and a packet of material to announce the
competition, we all have the job of spreading the word. Many of the
staffers, from the ASO and University have contacts to reach to the
local school systems and colleges in the area, so they'll be taking
around these packets of information and connecting with school staff
to help us promote the event. Other staff have contacts to local
media (newspaper, TV, and social agencies), so they'll be hitting up
those contacts in the upcoming weeks to get our competition as much
advertising as possible.
I'm doing my part to get out the word
too. First, I added my demos and one completed short video (also
presented here for your viewing pleasure) onto my
YouTube channel (http://youtube.com/users/leathermanmikieoh)
and started promoting that. (You'll also find all my old
Pooltag
videos there too!)
Then I posted my video at my Facebook site. Next
I created a
Facebook fan page for the competition and posted info about the
competition along with posting a link to my vid at youtube. Finally,
then I went looking and posted a blurb about the competition in as
many Facebook sites of as many local cities as I've been able to
find.
Of course, over the next
few weeks I'll be posting remainders to all these sites about the
contest - and looking for more places to hopefully get more of the
local communities involved with our project.
Week Four:
Upcoming:
TV, Volunteer Luncheon, and the HIV/STD Conference
My ASO has kept me busy over the last
two months now, and I have definitely enjoyed all the things I've
done from giving out paper products and cleaning supplies from the
pantry to all the outings with the exhibition booth to stuffing
paper bags with condoms and lube to helping them kick out a video
competition.
And it looks like they'll be keeping
me busy next month too.
First up will be my television debut
in an interview by the Lancaster County SC school system.
The schools have an in-house television channel and they plan to run
a special about HIV prevention along with a personal story of
someone living with HIV - and that would be me.
On the monthly agenda after that is
the semiannual Volunteer Luncheon (the last one was held in
April), where the agency not only
feeds the volunteers, but recognizes and honors them with various
special awards (ie recognizing the college student who had
volunteered the most time and the volunteer who had helped the most
with client transportation, etc.) and a basic award to each of them
for their work and support to the agency. I enjoyed the last
luncheon (that one was BBQ!) and enjoyed hanging out with the other
volunteers. This time I'll know more people than I did last (because
I've actually worked with more of them) plus I feel like I earned
the basic award more this time since I've done a lot more than just
work in the pantry a couple of times.
Although I'm not certain
what else I'll be doing for the ASO next month, I do know that I'll
be taking two trips to Columbia. In the middle of the month, I'll be
going down the ASO Director to sit in on a meeting of the SC
HIV/AIDS Task Force. That's the group that sponsored the rallies
back in Mar and May. I've already had some contact with them (mainly
by email, and a quick hello at the rallies), so this will be a good
way to be formally introduced to the organization. Of course, I
don't have a clue as to how I can help; but being in the loop will
give me the chance to offer my help, even if it's just holding a
sign, or starting a letter-writing campaign.
At the end of the
month I've got a special trip in the works that hopefully will help
me be an even better, or at least more knowledgeable, volunteer.
Every year, a SC conference is held in the state capital (Columbia
is in SC, Columbus is in OH. LOL I have such a hard time saying
Columbia as the state capital after 25 yrs of Columbus as the
capital LOL) discussing the topics of HIV and other STDs. The South
Carolina HIV/STD Conference (http://www.schiv-stdconference.org/)
offers "scholarships" that
cover the cost of the conference admission and luncheons. Over a
month ago I put in my application with a letter of intent that I
wrote and a letter of recommendation from my Catawba Care case
worker. Recently the letter of approval finally came back, so I'll
be attending the conference at the end of the month (Oct 27-28).
Fall isn't
quite here yet!
Although some leaves have been falling
into the pool, Summer doesn't end until Sept. 22 and I've still been
enjoying weather in the low 90's.
I will own up that the
water has chilled down a bit, so I don't stay in the pool that much.
The water temp though is a constant 80, so I stay out in the sun
reading until I can't stand the heat and sweat and then I jump in
for a while to cool off.
Of course, I didn't get
all this posted in time, and the rain has finally come to town.
Although we sure needed the rain (the ground is baked and filled
with gaping cracks in the red dirt/clay), the rain has brought Fall
and cooler weather. As it won't even get back into the 80s according
to the weather forecast, it looks like Summer is over and I'll be
closing the pool soon. Though I'm sad about that (and I'll probably
cry a bit thinking about closing up Jim's pool in the past),
I really can't complain. I was in the pool unbelievably early (May
1st) and I kept the pool open and in use for an amazingly long time
(until Sept 25th).
)
The schools have an in-house television channel and they plan to run
a special about HIV prevention along with a personal story of
someone living with HIV - and that would be me.
),
I really can't complain. I was in the pool unbelievably early (May
1st) and I kept the pool open and in use for an amazingly long time
(until Sept 25th).
