Save Seeds

    My Aunt Ruth in Flat Rock, West Virginia raised me to save seeds. A child of the Great Depression, my aunt Ruth was teaching me the virtue of thrift when she showed how to harvest, dry, and save seeds from veggies and flowers. Thrift was an important survival skill for that time and I see it as a forgotten virtue whose time has arrived once again. I remember being very impatient about how long it took for spring to come so I could sow the marigolds, alyssum, and four o'clocks that I had collected.

Free Hugs for All!

    Covid has been hard for those of us who thrive off of hugs. So once everything is lifted, be an indiscriminate hugger. When I first moved to California, I was bit taken aback by all the feelings of comfort, contemned, and security. Hugs are one of the most beautifully human things we can do, and it's definitely on the top of everybody's list once this pandemic is over. So prepare yourselves by hugging what you can around your house, whether it be your pet, a pillow, or a stuffed animal lying around!

Be a Fixer-Upper (Plus Weeding is Good Therapy)

    Assist seniors near you with tasks like raking, shoveling, or doing minor home repairs through Volunteers of America's Safety of Seniors Handyman Program (voa.org). I pull my 98-year-old neighbor's weeds and it is a good exercise for me, it benefits the neighborhood, and she appreciates the weekly attention she and her yard enjoy!

Have a Mission and Live By It

    Tucker Hiatt, one of the Bay Area's most beloved teachers, has been running Wonderfest- a nonprofit science education program- with his own donated funds since 1997 (Wonderfest.org). The mission is based on the insight, inspired by Voltaire, that "societies will continue to make mistakes as long as they continue to misunderstand how the world works. When people comprehend nature and each other, through science, they make smarter decisions about virtually everything: personal and social relationships (psychology), our environment (biology and chemistry), and technology (physics)." Wonderful promotes the scientific outlook so that mistakes- even atrocities- are gradually relegated to history. Since retiring from teaching, Tucker has devoted himself full time to bringing science to the public in non-school settings. Whenever I'm at an event with him, I meet former students of who who have become physicists, engineers, professors- and still talk about how influential he was to them. Now his mission is to expose those of us who didn't get to have him as a teacher (my words, not his!) to that same sense of inspiration.

    Some cool things Tucker and his organization have accomplished:

    

    *Wonderfest has presented hundreds of free (or nearly free) science events for the general public- young and old.

    *Wonderfest ran a high school team science competition that gave students $70,000 in prizes and scholarships.

    *Wonderfest has rewarded local, public-spirited scientists with $45,000 with its Sagan Prize.

Make Beautiful Music

    If you're a musician living in New York City, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Nashville, or Miami, you can volunteer through the nonprofit Musicians on Call (musiciansoncall.org) to deliver live, in-room or virtual Zoom performances to patients underdgoing treatment or unable to leave their beds. With so many people in hospitals because of coronavirus, why not bring some good-hearted tunes back into their lives? Add a dose of joy to a healthcare facility by bringing the healing power of music to people who need it.

No Strings Attached

    Write down the things that someone has given you, no strings attached, for which you are grateful. It can be an old sofa, some sound advice, a spare mask or hand sanitizer, or a lift to the airport. Now list ten things you would like to give someone yourself, and see how many of those things you can cross off a week. 

    Examples:

    *Drive a friend to the airport

    *Carry groceries for an elder to their car

    *Babysit for a relative

    *Buy a friend a cup of coffee

    *Volunteer at a soup kitchen or covid clinic

No Foolin'

    I don't know the history of April Fool's Day trickster antics but they always make me cringe. I suggest a "reverse prank" instead, where you do something really nice. Heard through the Random Acts of Kindness network about a good deeder buying lottery tickets, adding a sweet little note, and placing the onto a car door where they could not be missed. Can you imagine if you were the recipient of this delightful act and won the Big Scratch Off for a cool million or so?

    Have fun and bring some joy into this early spring day. It may be April Fool's Day but don't fool yourself! Today is about laughter rather than pulling pranks on others. Tell your coworkers a joke you enjoy; find a way to make someone who looks unhappy put a smile on their face.