The power of one

At a time when any one of us can easily feel discouraged and powerless, distraught that our individual voices and actions make no difference — drowned out by lobbyists, large corporations, well-organized special interest groups, and wealthy individuals who amplify their voices with money — along comes Granny D.

At 89, Granny D Haddock walked 3,200 miles across the country to witness for the public financing of political campaigns. Four years later, she ran to represent New Hampshire in the U.S. Senate. While Judd Gregg, the well-financed incumbent, beat her handily, Granny D’s energy and example harkened to the ideal of a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

This year, on January 30, Granny D turned 100. Still very active, she attended a celebration of her centurial milestone in the New Hampshire Executive Council Chambers. She told Kevin Landrigan, reporter for The Nashua Telegraph,

“I have nothing to leave behind for my grandchildren and great-grandchildren, but I can give them a legacy and a lesson they can carry through their own lives.”

She called this the power of one.

Not long after, on March 9, Granny D died in her home, her family present.

She leaves us the legacy of the everyday hero: doing what one believes to be right, no matter how outnumbered, regardless of age.

May we all be grateful and inspired to follow her example.

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(Read the Telegraph tribute to Granny D)

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Perfect spring day

Spring DayIndeed, it was a wonderful spring day in the neighborhood, Mr. Rogers &#151 sunny and warm.

And an unexpected gift.

Planning to be in Europe all next week, I expected to spend a manic weekend packing and catching up around here, after being on the west coast much of last week. Late Thursday, starting to stress, I recognized that I didn’t have to go to Europe, that I should tend to the more pressing priorities at work and couldn’t afford to lose a week traveling.

Friday morning I pulled the plug, canceled my reservations, apologized to my co-workers whom I was to accompany, and shifted my focus to those more pressing priorities.

That decision allowed me to awaken this morning to a day of relaxed and infinite possibility, especially with my family in Florida. Just the dog and me. Both of us took advantage of the beautiful weather for walks, I wrote two blog postings, and I finished migrating this blog from Blogger to WordPress (not a pretty process but I’m basically there — assuming you’re reading these words).

It’s also nice to officially express gratitude after an absence of some four months. Not that I’ve been ungrateful. Just lousy spiritual discipline.

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