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CURATED CURIOSITIES
The last time I conducted a smuggling operation was at age 6. My brother Rick and I had a gutsy way to dispose of our scrambled eggs through chopped up bites, napkins, and a hand-off under the table.
Fast forward to yesterday. My friend, who’s a prison chaplain, enlightened me into smuggling 2024 style. Guards were wondering why a certain prisoner seemed to gain weight around his stomach after free time in the yard. It turns out he was stashing contraband inside the elastic of his waistband. How was it delivered? VIA DRONE!
Use what you’ve got to survive. Whether it be a napkin or a drone, “MAKE IT WORK.” I always loved that “Project Runway”/Tim Gunn mantra. He lives it (there’s even a book). I interviewed him way back in the day in NYC.
“Make it Work!” (me filling in for Kelly & chatting with Tim Gunn")
Llamas are making it work for golfers in North Carolina. The alpacas are serving as caddies at two golf courses outside of Asheville. The pack animals are characterized as “patient and incredibly trainable.” Their soft toes don’t even damage the fairway grass like motorized golf carts can!
“PAR-don the Cuteness” Courtesy: Clifford A. Sobel
Solar power through the “Community Lighthouse Project” is carrying the load in New Orleans these days. 85 houses of worship have installed rafts of solar panels on their roofs. This is powering key city sites in the aftermath of Hurricane Francine. Here, storm victims can get cool shelter and charge their devices while they wait for their electricity to return.
IMPROVISATION IS A FORM OF SPONTANEOUS FAITH.”
YouTuber Ryan Trahan’s “Penny Challenge” is the epitome of innovative improvisation and resourceful survival! Trahan’s one-cent feat had him crossing the country with only a penny. The goal was to give a penny to fellow YouTuber Mr. Beast, while raising money for “Feeding America.” He used his first penny to buy a pen, and scaled up from there. He worked as a dog walker, Uber delivery dude, and window washer, among other things. Trahan acquired bikes, hammocks, and McDonald’s and Chipotle gift cards to move across 6 states! It took him 30 days. He went 3417 miles and raised 1.7 millions dollars (providing 14 million meals to the hungry). Ryan is hilarious and awesome!
I was thinking the other day about how savvy the global underworld is. If you’ve ever watched “Trafficked with Mary Ann Zeller”, you know what I mean.
My one cent’s worth is a challenge is for all of us to be just as creative for THE GOOD. I’m convinced we CAN make things work the betterment of humanity and each other. There’s this surprising incident in Luke’s gospel where Jesus praised a crooked manager for his shrewd strategy. Luke explains what Jesus saw in people like the streetwise manager. “They are on constant alert, looking for angles, surviving by their wits. I want you to be smart in the same way—but for what is right—using every adversity to stimulate you to creative survival, to concentrate your attention on the bare essentials, so you’ll live, really live, and not complacently get by on good behavior.” (MSG Luke 16:9)
It’s not all about money. It’s about how we use everything around us. In the end, the best currency is relational. People are the most valuable commodity in the eternal realm. And, when we join our minds together? We are street smart and spiritually smart. Have a resourceful week! 💚
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