Calling Clarence the Angel

I have been given an assignment by my therapist.  After I told her about my list of fifty things that were good in the world, she gave me homework:  list fifty things I have done to make the world a better place. The problem is, I am having a difficult time thinking of fifty.

My first attempt:

1. I have raised three pretty decent human beings.  In some sense it saddens me that the first thing I think about is my kids: I'm not sure it is helpful to be so totally self-identified in terms of other people.  But there it is.  And raising decent human beings is a lot harder than one might think. (Also, does this count as one thing or three?)

2. I have supported Rocket Scientist, and in some ways made his work possible.  His work may well change the future, and in my own indirect way I have made this possible.

3. I have written words which have changed people's lives.  I have written about my experiences, and had other women tell me that my candor allowed them to talk about their own, and start to heal.

4. I have talked to people whose lives are falling apart, and I have been there to let them talk about all the ways in which the loss of their loved one is almost beyond bearing.

5. Given the particulars of the biggest blog hits here, I have introduced a large number of people to the work of Wilfred Owen and the story of Harry Burn and the ratification of the 19th Amendment.  I think both of these are good.  Now if I could only get more people interested in Alice Paul and the women of the Occaquan workhouse.

6. I have written about matters of ethics and morality such as torture.  Whether anyone's opinion was swayed by what I wrote I don't know, but putting things out there is important.

7. On occasion, I have made my friends and the people who read my writing laugh.

8. When I was working as a paid trivia question writer, and later when I ran my LiveJournal dedicated to trivia questions, I provided entertainment and knowledge to my friends and others.  (I suppose my appearance on Jeopardy! could fall under this category, as well : ) .)

9. I have written to my Congressional Representatives and Senators.  I have even written to the President, when I thought a matter of national importance was at stake. Not to mention letters to the editor.

10. In 2006 and 2008, I posted extensive voting information regarding registration, absentee balloting and "Voter's Bills of Rights" (for all fifty states) on this blog and my LiveJournal, at least some of which was accessed by other people.

11. Through my piece in the Stanford Lawyer, I helped other people understand how simply learning law changes lives for the better.

12. In 2004, I was an election monitor in Tampa, Florida, doing my part for democracy.

13. I was a hard worker for the Census, which in its own way was in support of American democracy.  Yes, I was paid, but I put my whole heart into it.  I have a terrific work ethic.

14. I led adult education workshops at my former church.  Whatever my current issues with my faith, I helped others find out more about theirs.

15. I wrote quite a number of Bible studies -- good ones -- that were used in my parish and beyond.

16. I read in church, bringing joy to many, and helped teach others to read aloud properly.

17. I sat on the Committee on Ministry for a women who has gone on to be a priest.

18. I have been a thoughtful fellow student. I am not sure I have done enough with my education to justify its existence, but in class I raised questions that I hope made other people think. Sometimes asking the right question is as important as finding the answer.

19. For several years, I ran a program which brought community leaders into an elementary school to read.  It introduced and reinforced the importance of reading to many schoolkids in an important point in their lives.

20. When I volunteered at the elementary school, for a few months I helped children with memory problems begin to learn to read.  My child was not among them.

21. I have made lots of very good brownies for a great many people.

22. I have taken food to the hungry in the form  of tangerines from our tree for Second Harvest Food Bank.

23. I have helped raise money for charity.

24. I hold doors open for people, usually, unless they are holding them open for me.

25. I am polite to waitstaff.  Correction, I am polite to pretty much anyone. And I have raised children who act likewise.  (In a recent Facebook discussion, a friend called my kids "some of the best-behaved kids I've ever seen.")

26. I helped rescue birds on a couple of occasions.

27. I have made jewelry that has brightened women's lives, including some sold at auction for charity.

28. I have supported the local Starbucks, making it more possible for the only gathering in our neighborhood to continue to be healthy. : )

That's all I can think of right now -- 28.  A little over halfway through.  I don't know how I am going to find the other 22. And I'm not sure if some of them -- all the writing, for example -- should not be lumped together.  If I consolidate all the things that come out of this blog together, that reduces the count to 23, and if I put together the ones involving charitable/volunteer work, that knocks off another two. And all the church ones together, again that removes another three.

At any rate, fifty seems an insurmountable number.  Clarence, are you out there?