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From an IM conversation today with a homeless friend:

“any word on a day center? such a place would be great at times like this when holidays close all the public buildings”

The City libraries are closed Thursday, Friday and Saturday for the Thanksgiving holiday. The downtown library is a de facto day center for our homeless friends. UNCG’s Jackson Library, another refuge for the homeless, is closed Thursday and Friday, and open limited hours on Saturday and Sunday.

Read more on Where Do You Go When You’re Homeless On A Holiday?…

Recently, a friend talked about being at a meeting with a group of veterans when a woman asked, “What can we do for you? What do you need from us?” And one of the veterans responded, “Two words. ‘THANK YOU.’” On this Veterans Day, I respectfully and gratefully acknowledge and say “THANK YOU!” to all veterans of the United States Armed Forces. God bless you all.

Read more on How Do You Thank A Homeless Veteran?…

Update: Well, I thought I was done, and then there was this. OK, the break starts (again) now…

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The cousins are coming! It’s that time again. My big (but tiny) sister and her husband and all the kids (the cousins!) will be here soon, and we’ll begin our annual extended family summer break. (There are already a bunch of us here in Greensboro, plus the folks down east.) I’m planning to do NOTHING but hang out with the whole huge family (grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, and of course, my own kids!) for the next couple of weeks. No computers. No telephones. No work. Just family. And Jesus! Summer break. (We’ll probably go visit some of our homeless friends, though, because they’re family, too.)

Read more on Summer Break!…

Happy Father’s Day to my dad. I love my daddy.

Happy Father’s Day to the dads in my family, and all my friend-dads.

Happy Father’s Day to all the single moms who have to be both mom and dad.
(It’s an impossible task, literally. A mom can never be a dad, no matter how hard she tries to fill those shoes. And every kid needs a dad. So step up, absent fathers. God is watching.)

Read more on Happy Fathers, Gentlemen (and Ladies)…

Are the holidays a “gold rush” for the homeless and hungry? That’s the question YES! Weekly’s John Kirby sought to answer as he became a panhandler for a day. Kirby writes about the world of the chronically homeless in Greensboro: hanging on the block, at Lee and Eugene; lunch at Greensboro Urban Ministry; afternoons on the internet at the Central Library; Wednesday night dinner at Grace Community Church; and more. Read it online here.

Read more on YES! Weekly: “Hungry for the Holidays”…

I know I decided to just blog about homelessness. But I have to make an exception for Valentine’s Day. It has everything I love: pink, chocolate, flowers, friends, family, love. Of course, the best part is LOVE.

Read more on I Love Me Some Valentine’s Day…

I’m feeling subdued on this MLKJ Day, as our town is once again in the midst of strife and division that touches all of us. Some in the blog world have chosen inflammatory rhetoric, while others, thankfully, seek to inform or to encourage.

Read more on A Sad MLKJ Day…