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Welcome to our first edition of e-HeartBeat!
Please let us know if you are enjoying the newsletter and about areas you'd like to see us cover. Your suggestions are
most welcome! Michele Orgell
Founder/Executive Director - ALL ONE HEART www.alloneheart.com, michele@alloneheart.com
e-HeatBeat
Topics of this newsletter:
Honoring Dr. Martin Luthur King, Jr.
Let's Learn About...Chinese New Year!
John Rocker
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Honoring Dr. Martin Luthur King, Jr.
Every January, on the 3rd Monday, we honor the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with a National Holiday. Here are some reasons why:
Dr. King was born in Atlanta Georgia on January 15, 1929. He received his
Ph.D. in theology from Boston University in 1955.He was very interested in the ideas of the nineteenth-century poet and essayist Henry David Thoreau who believed in civil disobedience as a way to oppose unjust laws,
and of A. J. Muste, a twentieth-century Catholic priest and pacifist who was against using any form of violence to solve disputes. And when Martin chanced to hear a lecture about a man in India named Mohandas K.
Gandhi (later known as "Mahatma" or Great Soul), who was using the principles of nonviolence to bring about tremendous social change, he was truly inspired.
Dr. King lived by the principles of All One Heart and inspires us to this day. We do not promote or
shun any religion, but will occasionally print words as spoken by others with references to God or gods so that we can better understand the speakers' meaning. We have reprinted here, in it's entirety, Dr. Kings inspirational speech "I Have a Dream" that he delivered in 1963,
with the hope that readers will find their own reasons to honor Dr. King this January 17th -- and
throughout each year. At the conclusion of this speech, there was silence at first among the huge throngs of people. Then the crowd went wild with joy.
We encourage everyone to learn more about Dr. King at your local Library,
or in our video store at:http://www.alloneheart.com/html/historyvideosadults.html where you will also find a search box for the search words "Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr." for additional titles through amazon.com.
I HAVE A DREAM - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
So I say to you, my friends, that even though we must face the difficulties of today and tomorrow,
I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed - we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are
created equal.
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, sons of former slaves and sons of former
slave-owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day, even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering in the heat of
injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged
by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists. . . little black boys and
black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made
low, the rough places shall be made plain, and the crooked places shall be made straight and the glory of the Lord will be revealed and all flesh shall see it together. This is our hope. This is the faith that I go
back to the South with.
With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this
faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brother-hood.
With this faith we will be able to work together; to pray together; to struggle together; to go to
jail together; to stand up for freedom together; knowing that we will be free one day. This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning-"my country 'tis of thee; sweet land
of liberty; of thee I sing; land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountain side, let freedom ring"-and if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.
So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty
mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania. Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.
But not only that. Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let freedom ring from Lookout
Mountain of Tennessee. Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and hamlet, from every
state and city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children-black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Catholics and Protestants-will be able to join hands and to sing in the words of the old
Negro spiritual, "Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, we are free at last."
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Let's Learn About…Chinese New Year!
The Year 2000 (Golden Dragon) is the 4697th Chinese year Chinese New Year starts with the New Moon on the first day of the new year and ends on the full moon 15 days later. The 15th day of the new year is called the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated at night with lantern displays and children carrying lanterns in a parade. The first day of the Golden Dragon year is February 4th, 2000. The Chinese New Year day is on February 5th, 2000.
The Chinese calendar is based on a combination of lunar and solar movements. The lunar cycle is
about 29.5 days. In order to "catch up" with the solar calendar the Chinese insert an extra month once every few years (seven years out of a 19-year cycle). This is the same as adding an extra day on leap
year. This is why, according to the solar calendar, the Chinese New Year falls on a different date each year.
New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are celebrated as a family affair, a time of reunion and
thanksgiving. The celebration was traditionally highlighted with a religious ceremony given in honor of Heaven and Earth, the gods of the household and the family ancestors.
The sacrifice to the ancestors, the most vital of all the rituals, united the living members with
those who had passed away. Departed relatives are remembered with great respect because they were responsible for laying the foundations for the fortune and glory of the family. The presence of the ancestors is
acknowledged on New Year's Eve with a dinner arranged for them at the family banquet table. The spirits of the ancestors, together with the living, celebrate the onset of the New Year as one great community. The
communal feast called "surrounding the stove" or weilu. It symbolizes family unity and honors the past and present generations.
Probably more food is consumed during the New Year celebrations than any other time of the year.
Vast amounts of traditional food are prepared for family and friends, as well as those who have died.
On New Year's Day, the Chinese family will eat a vegetarian dish called jai. Other foods include a
whole fish, to represent togetherness and abundance, and a chicken for prosperity.
The chicken must be presented with a head, tail and feet to symbolize completeness. Noodles should
be uncut, as they represent long life.
Magnificent Fireworks:
Shooting off firecrackers on New Year's Eve is the Chinese way of sending
out the old year and welcoming in the New Year. At the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve, every door and window in the house, have to be open to "allow the old year to go out."
We encourage you to learn more about Chinese New Year at http://www.chinesefortunecalendar.com/y2k.htm and your local Library, or in our bookstore at: http://www.alloneheart.com/html/culturesbooksadult.html where you will also find a search box for the search words "Chinese New Year" for additional titles through amazon.com.
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"Heart Burn" - John Rocker
Rocker told Sports Illustrated he would never play for a New York team because he didn't want to
ride a train "next to some queer with AIDS.'' He also said, "I'm not a very big fan of foreigners. ... How the hell did they get in this country?'' He called a black teammate a "fat monkey,'' mocked
the driving skills of Asian women and insulted single mothers.
If you care to hear what his team is doing about it, and what he has to say, please
click on the attachment above. *********************************************************************************
We hope you've enjoyed the first issue of our newsletter e-HeartBeat, from All One Heart
e-HeatBeat
Welcome to e-HeartBeat!
(#2 - 2/8/00)
Topics of this newsletter edition:
Random Acts of Kindness - focus on Heartfelt goals of All One Heart
Black History Month - Just one month each year?
Valentines Day - Love story book written by, Joe Tolve
"Courtesy Rules of Blindness" at The BlindNet.com
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Random Acts of Kindness - focus on Heartfelt goals of All One Heart
February is Random Acts of Kindness Month. It is also a time where we of All One
Heart re-focus on our goals and affairs of the Heart.
We are absolutely positive that recipients of this newsletter are regular contributors of
Random Acts of Kindness (RAK). Normally, it is most beneficial and most heartfelt when the RAK is done anonymously. But in order to help give us some more ideas of
what we can do, we thought it might be fun to discuss our experiences in the past... this will also help rev us up for the upcoming month-long effort of the heart!
We're posting at our "Talk about Tolerance" message board: http://boards2.ivillage.com/messages/get/rltalktolerance6.html?outline=-1 and hope
you'll join in - remember, you can do so anonymously if you prefer!
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Black History Month - Just one month each year?
The argument goes that if we didn't focus on Black History one month every year, that
we wouldn't focus on it at all. Do you think that is still true? Do we have to have a month to remind us of the importance of all persons in history? Will just one single month do?
Because we have been down this road for some 25+ years now, isn't it time we stopped
separating and began inclusion in our daily lives? Shouldn't we teach all there is to know, honestly, about all people and matters of historical importance? Perhaps taking
one faction or culture in to account and focusing on it for a week and then showing its/their impact on our world. Perhaps teaching about one historical figure each school
day, blending over a timeline, or highlighting another lesson. We may have lived segregated lives before, and this is a way to show that, but we clearly had an impact on one another.
It is so important that we set an example to our children by holding up these historically
important people and issues in an equally emphasized manner - to put an end to exclusion, and bring light to the truth EVERY DAY.
That's my opinion. What are your thoughts? Please post at our message board, or
e-mail me with your comments. Let me know if I can share your views with our readers - and if you wish to remain anonymous. Your perspective is important!
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Valentines Day - Love story book written by, Joe Tolve
Joe first wrote All One Heart: "I am being published in Gemini Books, Abled Disabled, a book of short
stories in which I talk about the technology of today and also bring the
reader into a loving relationship with the main disabled character. I am a
romantic and my stories have to contain love. My second book, Crossroads
of Discovery, is going to be published this year.
A friend of All One Heart, Joe gives us a remarkable perspective on Diversity and
Tolerance - one that made me gasp at the senselessness of it. We are honored he wanted us to share a "snippet" of this, and other stories in editions of HeartBeat:
***I have an American Love Story of my own, and I would have
loved to been able to share it with you, PBS and the public.
I've put it into my book and hope to get it published this year. I tell
this true story near the beginning of my book and a hundred or two pages later,
tie it in with my Eternal Soul Mate, a woman who I had met on a higher
plane of consciousness.
We learn everything that we will need some time during our life. I lost
my sight at 12, having enjoyed normal sight so that I could visualize true
beauty later. I learned Braille, cane travel and the deaf language, all
for specific reasons. 20 years later I am requested to teach a woman who
had been born deaf, and suddenly went blind, Braille and cane travel.
That's my story of Clair, my true perfect love. The only trouble was that
after we fell head over heels in love, she turns out to be black. Back in
the late sixties this was taboo, a white guy marrying a black.
I'll inform you when this book is published, Crossroads of Discovery, so that you
can read it in it's entirety.***
I, for one, can't wait to read it Joe!
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"Courtesy Rules of Blindness" at The BlindNet.com
Ever feel uncomfortable around a disabled person? We can all use a little help. We
suggest that respect above all else is the surest way to success. For some specific answers, please read the very interesting: "Courtesy Rules of Blindness" at The BlindNet.com : http://www.blind.net/bg000001.htm
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Thank you for reading e-HeartBeat. Please pass along this addition to a friend, and
invite them to request their free subscription!
Michele Orgell
Founder/Executive Director
ALL ONE HEART
www.alloneheart.com
michele@alloneheart.com
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