Nelson Daily Stories

 YORK’S STATUE – Erected in February 2021                      Defaced in June 2021                               Toppled and damaged in July 2021  In February, this year (2021) I wrote an article about a statue that mysteriously appeared in a forested area in Mt. Tabor Park in Portland Oregon, USA. It was a statue of a black man, the first African American to cross North America and reach the Pacific Ocean. The man’s name was York. He was the slave of William Clark “an enslaved member of the Lewis and Clark expedition.” York  was forced to take part in the Corps of Discovery Expedition 1804 – 1806 to find an all water route to the Pacific. No one in the community knew how the bust of Clark got there. What was even more peculiar was that the statue of the black man, York, replaced one that was toppled - one of a white man, named Harvey Scott....

 “TAKE OFF YOUR SHOES!” “Moses, also known as Moshe Rabbenu is considered to be the most important prophet in Judaism, and an important prophet in Christianity, Islam, and a number of other Abrahamic religions,” (Wikipedia.) He is well-known for the experience he had (recorded in Exodus 3:5 in The Bible) when he went to look at a burning bush and God called out to him: “Take off your sandals for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Another important historical figure, Joshua, was named as Moses’ assistant in the books of Exodus and Numbers (in The Bible).  Later he became leader of the Israelite tribes after Moses died. Joshua also heard an order to “Take off your sandals for the place where you are standing is holy.” At that time, the order came to him from “the commander of the Lord’s army.” Fast forward many centuries to the year 2021 and we find an 18 year old African-American young man, Daverius Peters who is happy – over-the-Moon happy. Why? This was the day...

                              LOVE IS NOT JUST FOR THE YOUNG On the same day that the  BBC reported  French President Emmanuel Macron had been "slapped in the face on an official visit to the south-east of France" and the UN court had rejected "Mladic genocide appeal"    the New York Times carried a story about Wedding Bells. Joy Morrow-Nulton and John Shults Jr. celebrated their wedding! The article (published on June 7, 2021) is written by Tammy La Gorce and accompanied by a photograph taken by Lauren Lancaster. I had been waiting for the story. Ever since I read about the romance that began on May 14, 2019 between the two 95 year olds who had "both been widowed twice after 60-plus years of marriage" I wanted to hear about their wedding. "I hope I can make it to 100 so we can have five years together," Joy said just after the wedding to Mr. Shults in Ulster , N.Y....

 THE STORY BEHIND THE DIVYA On December 23, 2019 Newsround on the BBC carried a story headlined “New hand cranked washing machines could help refugees.” The article began: “Hand washing clothes can be a really hard task but it’s even harder in a place with little water or electricity – somewhere like a refugee camp.” It continued to explain that fifty new low-cost hand cranked washing machines designed by student Nav Sawhney from the University of Bath, in England would be trialled at a refugee camp in Iraq in the Middle East that week. “It’s hoped that they will help families living in the camps who struggle to wash their clothes.” How did this all begin? It was during a sabbatical in southern India that Nav had spoken with a woman there who told him it was extremely hard for her and others to get their clothes clean.” He had seen for himself “women and children enduring many backbreaking hours washing clothes by hand.” Nav felt prompted to help the people there “with their daily ...

HOW DO WE CHANGE THE WORLD?           ONE RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS AT A TIME                             Morgan Freeman     “It just blows my mind that someone could be so generous to a stranger,” Savannah Stoneman said. “I just want to thank them from the bottom of my heart and let them know that their kind act has relieved so much stress I have been dealing with.” Who is Savannah Stoneman? A famous actress? A politician perhaps? No! Savannah is a student at Coastal Carolina University in the USA now doing her student teaching internship. Savannah works twice each week at the Outback Steakhouse in Conway to help herself as “money is very tight.” Savannah’s father was deployed in Iraq sometime ago and she has a tattoo of his handwriting done on her wrist. As she was serving a young couple last...

      MILLIONS IN YEMEN ARE IN CATASTROPHIC NEED They are the forgotten people.     And many more will die for absolutely no reason.   “Unless this moment is seized we’re going to see many more people die for absolutely no reason” David Miliband said to Becky Anderson yesterday, March 29, 2021 on the TV program “Connect the World. David Miliband is a British Public Policy Analyst and President and Chief Executive Officer of the International Rescue Committee. Do you want to guess what place in the world they were discussing? That should be easy. Yemen , of course! Where else in the world have children been dying from hunger and lack of medicines for years now? Where else in the world are millions said to be in catastrophic need? Millions? Yes some 3.3 million human beings are in catastrophic need as the Civil War rages on. There are many sides in the conflict, but the war is a man-made catastrophe. Miliband says the opening of ...

 “MORE THAN A HERO, A BLOOD BROTHER!” “It doesn’t take much to help another human being. You just have to have some compassion.” These words come from Army veteran Dan Reynolds, a man who has had his own share of difficulties in his lifetime.  Difficulties? Like what? Like having to live in a van, instead of a house or an apartment, for some time. Dan is a handyman in Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA. He fixes things. One day after doing some yardwork he noticed that Tony Antonelli, who lived nearby, did not look well, he looked pale and tired. Was there a problem, Dan wondered? He decided to find out. Yes, there was a problem. Tony explained that four years ago he had undergone surgery to replace one of his failing kidneys. He had been given one from his wife, Mary. But now the kidney had started to fail. He did not have much time to find another donor. Without a donor he would have to go on dialysis for the rest of his life. Finding a match is difficult. Without a moment’s hesita...