Carnival of Courage, July '07 Issue

Welcome to the July '07 Carnival of Courage: A Cavalcade of Superheroes!

Greetings, All!

This Carnival was on the chopping block with my ax raised this time when I received the first few submissions. They were truly awful, poorly written,off topic, link seeking, self-serving and...well you get the idea.  But I persisted in looking at everything sent just in case and, man oh man, there were some beautiful posts hidden in all the muck.  Do check these out, some will make you laugh, and some...well there be dragons there.  Let's just jump right in, shall we?

THIS Is Why I Am Doing This Carnival

I hate to say it but we can blame it on George Bush's endless conjuring up of 9/11 as some ace in the hole to justify every power play and shit storm he wants to stir up.  The result of that for me is that it numbed me to hearing references to it. Maybe even more than numbed me. It actually started to irritate and annoy me because it has become such a strategic political card.  And then I got this post.  The first line? I was at the World Trade Center when it fell. Penelope Trunk presents 9/11: Digging myself out of the debris posted at Brazen Careerist by Penelope Trunk. Thank you, Penelope, for making this a human event once again and reminding us that individual people who were living every day lives are still finding ways to do that very thing in the ongoing wake of this devastating event. And best of luck in your soon to be new home. Godspeed.

My Favorite Post

I absolutely loved this post.  Just grinned through the whole thing. Well written, charming and made me so glad I'm a woman. Anmol Mehta presents Today I Finally Passed the Test and Have Officially Become a Man posted at Mastery of Meditation, Enlightenment & Kundalini Yoga. Anmol says this post is about "How I finally passed my big test and hints to help you pass yours."  Good luck, gentlemen!

The Best Jobs

I enjoyed reading this for the simple reason that it reminded me of one of my favorite jobs: working in

forthe dish room in my college dorm's cafeteria.  Nasty work as college kids can be particularly creative with ketchup bottles, salt shakers and the like but I loved the women who worked there.  Working poor if there ever were, to be sure, all in their 60s and 70s.  I couldn't stand seeing them subjected to the demeaning behavior of the kids so I took the grossest jobs I could from them. I loved every minute of it and I'd do it all over again. Marc and Angel presents A Garbage Man: The Greatest Job I’ve Ever Had posted at Marc and Angel saying, "It’s not that I love the idea of being a garbage man, or even that I enjoyed picking up smelly bags of trash. I enjoyed the job because I loved hanging out with the guys I worked with."

What Goes Around Comes Around

And yet another great post.  You never know what touches a life. Callum had an unexpected chance to get a glimpse of the ripples of a random act of kindness, though.  Samir submitted guest blogger Callum's article Reciprocity - What we do in Life always comes back to us | Develop & Grow posted at Develop & Grow.

David and Goliath

As someone who had a horrendous experience with Citibank many years ago this story resonated with me. Credit cards are so commonplace anymore, much moreso than actual cash that we can easily forget all the downsides captured in the fine print.Larry Russell presents PIRATES OF THE CREDIT SEA - Part 6: Default under the Citibank credit card contract posted at THE SKILLED INVESTOR Blog stating,"I have finally recovered all my treasure from Citibank. I have received a refund of well over $2,000. Yet, I still have never received any reasonable explanation or justification for this whole mess. My previous articles in this series have detailed this time-consuming ordeal. This final article in this series discusses the seven conditions of default under the Citibank / AT&T Universal card agreement. It also expresses my opinions about contractual relationships in general and about the Citibank / AT&T Universal credit card contract in particular."

World News

"I have taken a stand by overoming my own indifference!" announces Charles Modiano. Very well done post on Darfur. The picture alone... "The Devil" Brings Death in Darfur... and to Indifference posted at CLEAN OUR HOUSE! - Killing the Bigotry in all of US.

Unsung Heroes

In a touching tribute to her husband, Leticia Velasquez talks about his more subtle, or simply quieter, role in raising their Down Syndrome daughter in Special Needs Dads posted at cause of our joy. Leticia states "Special needs dads display courage in quieter ways than their vocal wives, as they meet their children's many needs."

therapydoc presents Women in Pink posted at Everyone Needs Therapy.

In the Blogosphere

What does courage mean in the blogging community? To civil rights attorney JHS,Esq. the meaning is the same as in our daily lives: Blog and live responsibly, treating all persons with dignity and respect. JHS,Esq. presents Breaking My Own Rule in Order to Speak Out posted at Colloquium.

This is just cute and contains some very valid concerns. Please zip over and welcome a newbie blogger whose knees are a knockin' and tell Ruby not to sell out! Ruby presents Musings of a new blogger posted at Advice and Rants.

Turning Life Around

Quite a dramatic turnaround in a year's time. Chris614 presents 12 Months of Change posted at The Philosophy of Change.com.

GP presents The Journey is the Quest posted at INNside Innkeeping in Montana adding, "Whether it's pursuing your life's passion, your business, the journey and the lessons learned help me press through the tough spots."

Keepin' the Faith

Leslie Williams presents Do You Weary in Well Doing?: I've Been Thinking posted at Do You Weary in Well Doing?. Leslie is coming to realize that life is all paradox, good and bad and everything in between. She talks about coming to terms with that and how her faith has helped sustain her through multiple difficulties.

That concludes this issue. Thanks again to all who submitted!

Ready to join us?

I'll switch this to a monthly carnival, next one will come out in August when I have sufficient entries to make a decent read for you.You are welcome to submit any courage related post you like, whether it's your own act of bravery, big or small or that of someone who has inspired you. Share your tales from the trenches as you wrestle with those things that are stretching and challenging you. General coaching or inspirational articles and "how to" submissions will be unceremoniously dismissed. I'm tired of restating this. 

SUBMIT TO THIS CARNIVAL

Because I am so awesome: I know several of my readers do not have blogs but do have stories to share. If you feel inspired to share, please e-mail me your spell-checked and well-written submission for me to consider posting on your behalf. I want to give everyone a chance to participate but I'm a one-woman show here so pieces that require heavy editing will be returned to you for fixing.

For more on me, visit Wellspring Coaching.

Comments

[Anmol Mehta]

Hi Laura,

Am glad you decided not to chop chop this carnival. Thanks much for including my post and am glad you enjoyed it.

Will also be linking back to it.

Cheers,
Anmol

:-)

[GP]

thanx for including me yet again... great lineup from everyone as always.

gp in montana