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In Honor of Veterans' Day
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Hey, here's something we didn't know: Veterans' Day, which is observed every year in the U.S. on November 11, was originally called Armistice Day in honor of the armistice that ended World War I in 1918. In 1954, it was renamed and given the added significance of honoring veterans of the armed services. We like how this holiday, coming up on Wednesday, is not so much about war or peace but rather, simply about people...People who have risked everything and made incredible sacrifices to answer the call of duty. Even if you don't fully understand or agree with why U.S. military troops are present somewhere, you can still support the troops themselves. And, of course, their families.
We asked IML'ers to share their thoughts and experiences about having family in the Armed Forces; your stories get us a little choked up!
This Wednesday, November 11, you can also catch a really cool film on PBS' POV series called "The Way We Get By," which tells the story of three senior citizens in Bangor, Maine who volunteer to greet troops as they come home from overseas. It's the kind of show you can watch together with your family, and might lead to some juicy conversations about a range of subjects.
We also encourage you to get involved as a troop greeter yourself! Not everyone's able to head to an airport and greet troops in person (but if you can, how awesome would that be?; check out websites like www.WelcomeTroops.com). You (and friends, or family, or your youth group) can become a "virtual" troop greeter by participating in "The Way We Get By"'s Troop Greeting Poster Activity where you can create your own sign, color one, or order a pre-made banner.
And to those of you who have someone close to you who's a veteran or current member of the Armed Forces, especially those on active duty right now: at IML our hearts are with you, and we thank you!
We asked IML'ers to share their thoughts and experiences about having family in the Armed Forces; your stories get us a little choked up!
This Wednesday, November 11, you can also catch a really cool film on PBS' POV series called "The Way We Get By," which tells the story of three senior citizens in Bangor, Maine who volunteer to greet troops as they come home from overseas. It's the kind of show you can watch together with your family, and might lead to some juicy conversations about a range of subjects.
We also encourage you to get involved as a troop greeter yourself! Not everyone's able to head to an airport and greet troops in person (but if you can, how awesome would that be?; check out websites like www.WelcomeTroops.com). You (and friends, or family, or your youth group) can become a "virtual" troop greeter by participating in "The Way We Get By"'s Troop Greeting Poster Activity where you can create your own sign, color one, or order a pre-made banner.
And to those of you who have someone close to you who's a veteran or current member of the Armed Forces, especially those on active duty right now: at IML our hearts are with you, and we thank you!
Get Your Halloween On!
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Boo! Are you ready for Halloween? Judging by the amazing costume ideas you've posted on our "My 2009 Halloween Costume" You Said It page, it's going to be a funny, spooky, crazy one. Look out for legions of tweens dressed as "Twilight," "Harry Potter," "The Wizard of Oz," and other film and TV characters. We see lots of vampires of all kinds ready for action, and many of you are paying homage to the late great Michael Jackson (along with a WIDE variety of celebs both living and dead). If you're still stuck for a costume idea, here are a few of our faves:
For many people, coming up with a costume is too much pressure. Can you still have fun on Halloween if you don't dress up or feel like your costume is kinda lame? Well, that all depends on what this "holiday" means to you. It's something you can decide for yourself. If you see it as a chance to get dressed up, "be" someone (or something) else, and exercise your creative muscles, then that's great. If it's just about having fun with your friends and scoring loads of candy, that's great too. Maybe it's more appealing to you to stay home and hand out candy to younger kids. And in the end...it IS just a holiday that will be over before you know it.
Halloween can also be about helping children in other countries who don't have stuff like clean water, nutrition, health care, and education. Chances are, in the past you've done some collecting at Halloween for UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund. Now, UNICEF (and spokesperson Selena Gomez) has more options for young people to give as well as get, like creating your own "Trick-Or-Treat Online" page to collect donations from friends and family over the Internet, or ideas for hosting a Halloween party fundraiser. For more information, check out Trick-Or-Treat for UNICEF.
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Boo! Are you ready for Halloween? Judging by the amazing costume ideas you've posted on our "My 2009 Halloween Costume" You Said It page, it's going to be a funny, spooky, crazy one. Look out for legions of tweens dressed as "Twilight," "Harry Potter," "The Wizard of Oz," and other film and TV characters. We see lots of vampires of all kinds ready for action, and many of you are paying homage to the late great Michael Jackson (along with a WIDE variety of celebs both living and dead). If you're still stuck for a costume idea, here are a few of our faves:- Combo costumes. Like "half devil, half angel." Or "zombie cheerleaders" and "dead prom queens." It's fun and easy to take something familiar and kind of boring, then give it a Halloween twist. Make something unique with an existing costume (a great use for hand-me-downs or borrowed ones) accented with lots of scary, gory stuff like fake blood, fangs, pale makeup, etc. For instance, you could buy a simple fairy costume and be an "Evil Fairy" with just a few extra touches!
- Time machine costumes. Every era has a look, it seems. 20's Flappers, 60's Hippies, 70's Disco Queens, and 80's New Wave/Punkers. These are fun costumes to put together because you can raid a relative's closet or thrift store for all the makings.
- Pun costumes. Play with words and have fun watching people guess what you are! We love the "Cereal Killer" idea one IML'er posted (a cereal box with knives sticking out of it). What can you do with things like "Pig Latin," "Anchorwoman," "Black-Eyed Pea," and "Butterfingers"?
- Black to basics costumes. Dress all in black and you'll be surprised by how you can turn yourself into a background for something simple yet hilarious. One IML'er posted about how she's using an all-black outfit and glow sticks to become a Human Stick Figure. Cover yourself in dryer lint and you're Static Cling. Wrap a fake cobweb around yourself, along with some plastic bugs, and you're a Spider Web. Tape socks all over your body and carry a laundry basket, and you're The Missing Sock Vortex. You get the gist!
For many people, coming up with a costume is too much pressure. Can you still have fun on Halloween if you don't dress up or feel like your costume is kinda lame? Well, that all depends on what this "holiday" means to you. It's something you can decide for yourself. If you see it as a chance to get dressed up, "be" someone (or something) else, and exercise your creative muscles, then that's great. If it's just about having fun with your friends and scoring loads of candy, that's great too. Maybe it's more appealing to you to stay home and hand out candy to younger kids. And in the end...it IS just a holiday that will be over before you know it.
Halloween can also be about helping children in other countries who don't have stuff like clean water, nutrition, health care, and education. Chances are, in the past you've done some collecting at Halloween for UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund. Now, UNICEF (and spokesperson Selena Gomez) has more options for young people to give as well as get, like creating your own "Trick-Or-Treat Online" page to collect donations from friends and family over the Internet, or ideas for hosting a Halloween party fundraiser. For more information, check out Trick-Or-Treat for UNICEF.
Add Your Drop To The Bucket
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Wow. When it rains, it pours. Or in the case of people living in the Philippines...it devastates. Typhoon Ketsana has affected hundreds of thousands of Filipino families, leaving countless children without shelter, food, clean water, and in many cases, their parents.
Then a 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia, and the death toll keeps going up. And a major tsunami in Samoa too? Flattening villages and killing probably hundreds? That's just way too much bad stuff happening at the same time.
When headlines like this pop into our lives, it's easy to say, "Oh, that's awful," and then go back to IM'ing our friend about how our crush smiled at us today. After all, these countries are half a world away, and the numbers of dead, injured, and homeless...well, they can just seem like numbers. With tragedies so huge, it's also normal to feel that there's no way you, as one single person, can help.
But what if you could help? What if it were easy? What if it weren't easy but still totally worth it? Here are some ways to reach out across cultures and all those gajillions of miles and actually do something:
- Stay current on news about the recent natural disasters on websites like www.unicef.org. Share your knowledge with friends and family. The very least we can all do is be aware of what's happening.
- Donate your own money. Look at what you have saved up. Can you spare $10? Then encourage family members to follow your example and collect "pledges" to create a lump donation to relief efforts (even if it's a small one, more like a glob). Websites like www.unicef.org, www.redcross.org, and www.greatergood.org all collect donations for disaster relief efforts.
- Do something fun with friends that will raise a little money. A lemonade stand, a garage sale, things like that. Make a Saturday out of it and you'll be surprised at what a good time you'll have. Read more of IML's tips for fundraising.
- Find out if your church, temple, or community center is organizing relief efforts and ask how you can help. Someone might be collecting money, clothes, supplies, etc. to send overseas.
Other links that you can check out:
Yeah, whatever you do might be small, just a drop in a ginormous bucket. It might only help one person. But to that one person, you are a hero. And regardless of the results, you'll feel fantastic doing it!
September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance
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Eight years ago, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 changed the U.S., and the world, forever. IML was created not long after that, and on the first anniversary of the attacks we created a section called simply "September 11th." Some of the issues we talked about back then still apply today (we especially love reading Sam and Harry's story again and again).
Last April, President Obama signed into law the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, officially recognizing September 11 as a National Day of Service and Remembrance. We can't explain the importance of this as well as the President and First Lady can, so here's part of their call to service:
"We call on all Americans to join in service on September 11 and honor the heroes of that dark day as well as the brave men and women in uniform who continue to protect our country at home and abroad. Whether you have devoted a lifetime to service, volunteered for the first time this summer through United We Serve, or have yet to lend a hand in your community, we hope you will take part in this effort. We encourage you to visit www.serve.gov and find a volunteer opportunity in your neighborhood or download tools to create your own project with family and friends...This September 11, and in the days, weeks, and months that follow, let us recommit ourselves to service, renew America's promise, and work together as one people and one Nation."
We hope you and the people around you are able to volunteer some time tomorrow. If not, then we hope you find time in the near future to jump into a volunteer opportunity! For ideas, check out IML's guide to Volunteering.
