It does my heart good to see anybody but especially young people step out of their comfort zone to help others, selflessly, compassionately and without the need for accolades.
Ismael Caudle, Mateo Miller and Rieve Randall are three Silverton Cub Scout Troup 113 Webelo 2 pack boys who saw a need to help kids less fortunate through a wonderful program called “Lydia’s Love,” a nonprofit that celebrated its fifth anniversary at the Carousal at River Front Park in Salem. Lydia’s Love is a program inspired by two children who passed away much too soon and provides birthday celebrations for homeless and underprivileged children. They do parties every two months at a shelter, and shortly before each event, post the ages of the birthday children, what their interests are, and a few things on their wish list.
In conjunction with Alpha Kappa Omicron Chapter of international honor society Phi Theta Kappa at Chemeketa Community College, the Webelos helped celebrate five years of giving hundreds of birthday parties to children in need Nov. 12 by making four dozen cupcakes and almost five dozen cookies. The treats were handed out at the anniversary celebration.
“It was really fun baking with the Pack and having everyone over to my house. There were so many cupcakes it was crazy,” Ismael Caudle said. “I wanted to help my mom and Phi Theta Kappa because I thought getting to help with Lydia’s Love was a good way to help the community and kids like me that maybe can’t have a birthday party. It was just really cool to hand out free carousal rides to all the kids and see them having so much fun and smiling.”
Three kids giving up a Saturday to help serve their community. Amazing.
It is so hard to avoid talking about Donald Trump, the president-elect, who will be sworn in Jan. 20. But let me say something positive: When a group of elected people from his party wanted to gut the nonpartisan Office on Ethics Oversight as their first agenda item when the new Congress convened, Trump and a bunch of rational people from both sides of the aisle, put the kibosh on it, saying there are more important things to tackle. Good for him.
The bad news is he is still listening to the drum beat of those who wish to repeal the Affordable Care Act “to make America great again.” Two things to note – there is no plan to replace it with and we got it because there was no alternate plan proposed back then. Now there is a plan except we don’t know what it is. A word of advice from someone who has been in the healthcare and insurance world for 20 years: Fix it. Make it better. Make up a new name for it. But don’t repeal it and not replace it. There are 20 million new people insured. The numbers don’t lie. Make it better.
And to finish on a high note regarding perhaps the greatest event of this century (see “hyperbole,Webster’s Dictionary). Lucy Leigh Hupp was born at 11:43 p.m. Dec. 19, 2016. With a full head of dark brown hair, a fighting weight of 7 pounds, 13 ounces, and a lanky 20.5 inches long, with a remarkably beautiful countenance and calm demeanor, the young lady is smothered with love. Being totally unbiased, I can say without hesitation she is flawless.
Lucy Leigh, welcome to the world. Your mom and dad, “Papa” and “Lolli,” Uncle Big Bird, Jan-Pa and Gramma Cindy, as well the rest of Western Civilization, have been waiting for you. Life was good. Now it’s great.
