* The white candle stands  for peace     

* The white cloth  honors a soldier’s pure heart when our country calls him/her to duty     

* The lemony salt shows a captive soldier’s bitter fate and the tears of families waiting for his return     

* The empty chair is for the missing soldier     

*  A turned-over glass represents a meal that will never be eaten     

* The black napkin signifies the sorrow of captivity     

* And the red rose exemplifies hope that all missing soldiers will return someday

…………………………

Since the story represented all wars, but especially Vietnam, I gave Ben my copy one year for Veterans Day. Happy Veterans Day to my hero…my brother!

*I did discover a link containing a slide -show of the story…Please take a minute and follow it. I used to tell the story as each student brought up one object to put on the table….the whole time the song “My Country Tis’ of Thee” would play (and you will see why when you watch the slide-show.)

*America’s white table – SlideShare

I thought my story for today would end here…little did I know it was just starting. Stories are funny that way, aren’t they?

………………………

If you ever heard Margot Theis Raven tell the story of America’s White Table you probably know that this book lead her to find the love of her life. Tom Hanton. (a Bronze Star recipient for his outstanding conduct during his nine-month tenure as a prisoner-of-war in North Vietnam.)

Carol and I got to meet Hanton on one occasion when we were all presenting at the same conference. I remember sneaking in and taking a back seat to hear Raven tell her story and introduce Air Force Colonel…Thomas Hanton. (You could already tell that sparks were flying between them…what a fitting union!)

The presentation was titled: “A Five-Corner Hero.” It all started with a story Raven had heard from her parents. It went like this:

There is  a story of a little girl with a piece of paper that had four corners. The girl treasured her four corners until she met a friend who only had three corners. When the friend asked for a fourth corner, the girl reluctantly gave her one corner from her paper. The girl thought she would have only three corners, but then noticed her paper now had five corners — two were in the place of the corner she had cut out to give to her friend.

Raven concluded with the statement “Sometimes, what you lose just comes back… and in abundance.”  

She then began to tell the story of Air Force Colonel Thomas Hanton and she brought the “Five-Corner” story literally full circle. She began again by saying:

…Hanton looked at what he had and found a way to boost the spirits of other prisoners, Raven said.

Using dead mosquitoes, Hanton created an American flag on the wall in the prison..

“He had time and there were plenty of mosquitoes,” she explained.

Hanton was punished when guards discovered it, and the wall was whitewashed, she said.

“Three days later, (Hanton) started a new flag,” Raven said. “That’s what you do when you’re a fifth-corner person.”

Raven encouraged everyone in the audience  to be” five-corner people” and to look for heroes among themselves.

“By giving away all your corners, you will change the shape of what you are holding,” she said. Eventually, the paper becomes a circle, the shape of the world, she said. Yes…each of you can change the world!”

Margot and Colonel Tom Hanton married soon after the conference and they had several happy years together.

But you can imagine my shock, while researching Raven’s biography yesterday, when I  discovered an  obituary notice  for author, Margot Theis Raven. She died last year….August 16, 2014 from Triple Negative Breast Cancer. Raven had asked for contributions to be made to this foundation in lieu of flowers.

There was a memorial service at St. Benedict Catholic Church in Mt. Pleasant…today, however, her body is interred at Arlington National Cemetery. She is certainly deserving of that honor for all the contributions she made for Veterans everywhere with her book.

So for all the schools and restaurants that will set a white table today in memory of this book and what it symbolizes-our brave veterans…Please take a minute and give thanks to the creator of this wonderful story – Margot Theis Raven. Her life might have come full circle  between birth and death…but what she left behind…all her wonderful children’s stories… will continue to circle the globe.

So until tomorrow…Let us all share our corners with everyone so we can all become circles of giving.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*Jackson received some wonderful news yesterday that makes a mother’s heart swell with pride! After everything she has been through since the “1000 Year Storm”….this noteworthy information could not have come at a better time!

Our new President of the Board of Director

 It’s my pleasure to introduce our new President of the Board of Directors, Matt Lynn. Matt was the Director of BiblioWorks in Bolivia for 5 years. During this time he was dedicated to growing and improving the organization, opening 3 libraries under his direction.

 Matt defines himself as an educator committed to dialogue and service. He is a creative, passionate and detail-oriented leader, who has dedicated his professional life to service through nonprofit work.

He has shown his commitment to BiblioWorks for many years, as Director in Bolivia and also by serving on the Board for the past three years. His passion comes from the personal belief in the power of education and literacy to transform communities.

*Gin-g and I met at the Triangle Restaurant across from the Oakbrook Walmart (not too far from Chilli’s) yesterday for lunch and it was delicious. It was my first time eating there. We split a yummy salad and hamburger so we could be just a little bad and just a little good.

I loved the decor with barn doors and exposed beams and wood…everyone was so friendly and gearing up for Saturday- their one year anniversary. (See t-shirt) So far…so good!