Day 3: At the Wall

Today was the third day of the Run Across Palestine. For some unknown reason, Dave didn't send me a text while I was sleeping last night and my day was almost over when I finally heard from him. I had been pretty concerned most of the day, because, let's face it, the Middle East isn't exactly the safest place in the world and their group has already had one run in with Israeli military. But his text to me and his Facebook posting below put my mind at ease.

Here's what Dave had to say on Facebook:

Today, our third leg, approximately 27 miles. We all did very well, that is until the very end. The 6 miles inside Jerusalem was smooth, as was going through the wall. Having never seen the Berlin wall, I can only speculate as to its similarities, but how different can 16 -20 ft masses of concrete and barbed wire be. Once beyond the wall Reuters or the AP, not sure, wanted to interview Meryl, and she did a great job. I think I can speak for us all when I say that running was much better after the wall. Lots of support and encouragement from so many people we passed, literally hundreds, maybe thousands. I'm sure I have never greeted so many people in a day. As I said earlier the end was not easy. After gradual long climbs and slow descents we came upon a beautiful view from what seemed to be the highest point for miles only to see a very long descent leading to the steepest climb so far. Thankfully we were meet by some of the people and children of Arura that ran the last leg with us. We were greeted warmly, lots of cheers, hand shaking and good will, even the governor of Ramallah was on hand. The ladies of the town prepared a wonderful dinner of chicken, couscous, and soup, perfect after our run, which we shared with town elders. Finally, we met our hosts for the night. Josh and I slept at a home even higher up the hillside where we could see the lights of Tel Aviv and the nighttime darkness of the Mediterranean Sea. This will be spectacular in the morning. Before bed we shared good conversation and we were brought to a neighbors house where Josh jammed with new friends. After 4 days I have learned much, to much to tell it all here, but with absolute certainty I can say there are no invented people here, only real people.

Here's the new video about the day.



And check out this amazing picture of Dave in front of the wall dividing Palestine and Israel.

Run Across Palestine: Day 1 "Not So Fast" and Day 2 Update

Here's the video of Run Across Palestine's encounter with the Israeli military. Once again, Dave and the entire group are fine. I'm so proud of my brother for being involved in such a worthy cause and helping change the world through peace.

As I write this morning, the run on Day 2 is over. I heard from Dave a few hours ago.

We just arrived in Jerusalem. Today was a longer run. Maybe 17-18 miles. Tomorrow probably 26 lies. It has all felt quite safe. Our connections here have taken good care of us.

Frankly, I'm incredibly jealous that my brother is seeing the epicenter of the world's three major religions: Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. So incredibly powerful. I can only wonder if he'll come back feeling differently about religion.

Run Across Palestine: At the Starting Line & Day 1 of the Run

Here's the next installment of The People and the Olive, At the Starting Line. It's about the planting of 500 olive trees the day before the run began and included interviews with some of the runners, including Dave. Then at the 2:30ish mark, you'll see him planting an olive tree. Note the look of joy on his face. I honestly don't remember the last time I've seen that much pure organic joy on my brother's face.

As I write this, Day 1 of the Run is over. I'm honestly not sure how far they got today, but from the article below, it doesn't sound like far. What I can tell you, from the article and from the text message I received from Dave early this morning is that everyone is fine now and that the "food and hospitality have been great" (from Dave's text). He also says he's having a great experience.

From the Glen Arbor Sun:

Israeli Military Stops Run Across Palestine on Day 1

February 4, 2012

Project supporter, two French activists arrested; runners continue

BEIT OMAR, Palestine — The Run Across Palestine had gone no more than 10 kilometers between At-Tuwani and Beit Omar, in the southern West Bank, when the Israeli military and border control stopped the run in its tracks. Confusion over whether the runners had the right to walk on the side of the road culminated in the arrest of Run Across Palestine supporter Nasser Abufarha and two French activists. No reason was given for the arrests, and no reason was given for why the run was stopped.

The Run Across Palestine is a project of Michigan-based On the Ground to support Palestinian fair-trade olive farmers. The Run is scheduled to complete 129 miles over five days, between the Hebron Hills in the southern West Bank and Jenin in the north. The runners are staying in olive farming communities along the way. The initial delegation of 10 Americans, including six runners, three journalists and one musician arrived in At-Tuwani yesterday to a joyous community celebration that included planting olive trees, speeches, theater presentations, live music and dancing. Palestinians, French and other foreign nationals joined the run today.

Almost immediately after leaving At-Tuwani, a Palestinian village next to two Israeli settlements that are deemed illegal according to the United Nations, Israeli soldiers stopped and questioned the runners. It quickly became clear to the runners that the authorities didn’t have laws opposed to, or a policy relating to, foreigners running along public highways. Nevertheless, the runners were told that if a single participant touched the pavement, Abufarha, a Palestinian-U.S. dual citizen, would be arrested.

No more than 2 kilometers later, at the top of a hill overlooking the West Bank’s vast olive groves, Israeli military and border control vehicles stopped the Americans, French and Palestinians again, though they had not stepped on the pavement. Reinforcements arrived, increasing the police force to approximately 15. The Americans’ passports were temporarily confiscated, Abufarha was arrested and driven away by the police, and calls were made to the Palestine Solidarity Network in Beit Omar to bring the passports of the three French citizens. Two of the passports were located, but the Israeli soldiers grew impatient when the third couldn’t be found, and arrested two of the French activists, Florian and Tomas, who locked arms while lying on the ground and were forcibly dragged into a police vehicle. Immediately after the French citizens were driven away, the third passport was located.

Abufarha and the French activists were all released later in the day. Abufarha was charged by the Israelis with “ordering an illegal demonstration and march” even though he didn’t organize the run, which wasn’t political in nature.

Reuters photographers and videographers, Run Across Palestine’s media team and a smattering of other journalists documented the entire scene, which took place over two hours. Shortly after the Israeli military left, the runners took busses up the road, and then resumed their run.

“Why is it that we’re allowed to run on roads in any other country in the world, but not here?” asked Chris Treter, runner and organizer of the Run Across Palestine. “What’s different about this country?”

Last year, for example, On the Ground organized the Run Across Ethiopia, which featured 10 U.S. runners logging 250 miles over 10 days to raise money for, and awareness surrounding, fair-trade coffee farmers in Yirgachefe. The event raised approximately $200,000 to build three schools in the impoverished rural region. That run, in January 2010, was without incident, and featured hundreds of Ethiopian farmers and children running together with the American ultra-marathoners. Not so in the Holy Land.

The Run Across Palestine is a complement to the Run Across Ethiopia. In the politically volatile West Bank, 45 percent of arable land is devoted to growing olive trees, employing some 100,000 Palestinian farmers. Hundreds of thousands of olive trees have been uprooted in recent years by the Israeli military and Israeli settlers.

Videos of the arrests to come soon. Follow news from the Run Across Palestine at www.RunAcrossPalestine.org.

Run Across Palestine - Day 1 Before the Run

As I write this, my brother Dave is starting his 3rd day in Israel and Palestine and is preparing to run the first of five marathons he is running through Palestine over the next five days.

Dave is one of a handful of runners from Northern Michigan participating in the Run Across Palestine, an effort to raise money and awareness for olive farmers in Palestine, where olive farming is the backbone of the economy. As they run throughout the country (?), they'll donate 500 olive plants in each village and even help plant them in many of them.

Some highlights of journey include:

Day 1 begins in At-Tuwani, a small village in the Southern Hebron Hills where many people live in caves. They will end the day in Beit Ummar.

Day 3 finds them in East Jerusalem including the Old City and some of the holiest places to Judiasm, Christianity, and Islam, such as Temple Mount, Western Wall, Al-Aqsa Mosque, & the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

This morning I received an email with the video below which gave me a far greater understanding and appreciation for the journey Dave is on and the impact his trip will have on families for generations. I think you'll be moved too. I've said it before and I"ll say it again: Words don't do justice to how proud I am of my brother and his desire to make the world a better place.

Want to donate to support Dave's run? Visit the Run Across Palestine donation page, choose "Donate As A Gift" and donate in honor of David W. Gardner.

When Did "Liberal" Become a Dirty Word?

You may have seen this picture of Lawrence O'Donnell of MSNBC's The Last Word next to a quote about the word "liberal" attributed to him. I've seen it a bunch of times over the past week, but was never sure if it was really something he said, although the words seemed familiar to me.

And then tonight, while I was watching The Last Word, Lawrence O'Donnell explained the quote. For years, he has been outraged at the way Republicans throw around the word "liberal" like an ugly epithet. During the last season of The West Wing, when O'Donnell was one of the writers, he finally had the opportunity to write what he believes every liberal political candidate should say when a Republican tries to use liberal against them.

I will also wear the label "liberal" as a badge of honor. I'm liberal and I'm damn proud of it. And I agree with Lawrence O'Donnell. All liberal political candidates should memorize Senator Santos's words (aka Lawrence O'Donnell's words) and use them each and every time Republicans attempt to use it against us.

As always, if you read Little Merry Sunshine via the daily email which does not include the videos, hop on over to the actual blog and spend 2 minutes watching the video.

Does Your Day Need Some Warming Up?

Image via Huffington Post

It's Monday. In January. It's cold and more or less cloudy in Chicago. Maybe it's snowy or rainy in your neck of the woods. Either way, it's Monday and January, so your day is bound to need a quick warm up.

As always, Little Merry Sunshine has you covered thanks to David Beckhan being nearly entirely uncovered.

Watch the new H&M commercial set to officially debut during the Super Bowl (yes, it will be super with this to look forward to) and just try to tell me your day didn't get a little brighter and your winter chill didn't warm up just a bit.

Sweet Lord in Heaven, thank you for the gift that is David Beckham in his tighty whities.

So You Think We're the Center of the Universe?

Guess again. We're hardly a speck of dust.

Watch this cool video, The Known Universe, to see exactly where we stand. If nothing else, you'll enjoy 6 minutes of relaxation.

Thanks for posting this on Twitter Scott Kleinberg! If you don't follow Scott on Twitter, you should. He's one of smartest and most interesting tweeps I know. He's also a fierce Words With Friends opponent.

Must See TV: State of the Union Address

You may know that I love politics. One of the things I never miss, other than voting in every election, watching all the election coverage, and getting educated on the issues and candidates, is watching the President's annual State of the Union Address.

As you also probably know, this isn't just any old speech. This speech is actually constitutionally mandated. Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution (that's the section outlining the duties of The Executive Office, for those of you who don't just know the Constitution backwards and forwards) specifically states,

"He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States."

Tuesday, January 24, 2012 (in 2 days) is State of the Union day this year. It will be aired at 9pm ET on all major broadcast channels and cable news channels, although I prefer to watch it on CSPAN due to the lack of color commentary before and during the speech. Sure, I enjoy hearing the spin and opinions of the talking heads, but I prefer to form my own opinions first. You can also watch it on the White House's website where you'll be able to see "charts, stats and data that helped inform President Obama's policy decisions as he delivers his speech to the nation."

No matter what your political beliefs or whether you like or plan to vote for President Obama, you should watch the State of the Union because this year's speech in particular will begin to educate you on many of the issues that will be debated in this year's presidential election.

Before you watch on Tuesday night, you can watch a preview of the speech below:

I'll be on my couch in my pj's taking notes. I hope you'll join me from the comfort of your couch.

Guess Who's is Quoted in Make It Better!

Do you read Make It Better? It's a wonderful magazine with the sole mission of making it easy for people to make the world better. In fact, to date, the magazine has made 67,173 lives better and helped to raise $1,464,657 for its partner non-profits, according to the Make It Better website.

I enjoy reading Make It Better, follow the magazine on Twitter, and am a fan on Facebook.

A few months ago, the magazine posted the question "Who or what on the North Shore makes you happy?" on its Facebook page and I commented that I love "sitting on the swings on the beach in Lake Forest."

It's true. I do. I love swinging on the swings at the Lake Forest Beach. It's been one of my favorite activities since my days at Lake Forest College. Looking out over the water while swinging always brings me a sense of calmness and allows me to release all my stress. Swinging on the swings is a simple pleasure from childhood that I think most adults don't do enough of, but put a swing set in front of me and I'll hop on. I don't care where it's located, but it's it's on the beach, I dare you to try to get me off the swings.

Anyway, this month, Make It Better selected nine of its favorite responses to print in the magazine. One of my co-workers brought my new fame to my attention a couple of weeks ago. I honestly had no idea my happy place was being shared with readers all around the North Shore.

Frankly, I'm relieved they didn't shorten or revise my quote. Just think how "swinging on the Lake Forest Beach makes me happy" would have sounded! ;)

You can read my quote on page 86 below. And yes, that's Julia Sweeney formerly of Saturday Night Live on the cover. She lives in Evanston and writes a delightful blog.

Open publication - Free publishing

That's My Man . . . President Obama Sings

Did you hear President Obama singing last night? I had no idea he could sing, but he can serenade me anytime.