Here is food for thought. You know that I hate those "fu man chu" lines that I have around my mouth.. Well, let me tell you how I got them. When I was about 7 years old, I was walking to school. On the corner, waiting to turn her car, was this lady. She was not dressed in fancy clothes but she was extraordinary, in that, she had the most beautiful smile I had ever seen on someone's face. Today I know that the smile had to come from her soul, and she was smiling at me. I can't tell you how that smile made me feel...I am 50 now and I remember that morning like it was yesterday. I knew that if I could make one person in this world feel the way that she made me feel I would have accomplished something in my life. So I began to smile with all of my heart and have smiled for the last 50 years. Thus, the "fu man chu" lines. Somehow, there is satisfaction in seeing the lines on my face. Others think it is age . I see that beautiful lady with a smile that captured a child's heart.

Peace, LC

PEBBLES ARE WE

Deep resonating flowing water,
cooling the fevered earth.
Terra breathing fog over
the river at dawn.
While the rocks
are shrinking
to pebbles.
Streams can't
choose to change
direction.
Only people can
go against the tide.
The defiant reasons belong
to the many, to the few.
Intelligent pebbles are we,
slowly, smoothly
becoming serene.
Life is wearing the sharp
edges making a real
person softly emerge.

Written by Brena

One of my best warm-fuzzy memories is of a little Hispanic boy who came with his family to a yardsale we were having. This is an area where the division between the haves and the have nots if very dramatic, and I could tell these people didn't have a lot of money to spend, and certainly not on just a toy. This kid took one look at an old, beat up red teddy bear of mine, though, and fell in love. Giving up a whopping 25 cents to see the look on that kid's face when I gave him the bear still feels pretty good.

Maybe that's all we can do: share the spirit of generosity, and hope it keeps getting passed along.

Rebecca Ann Brothers (Rab)

In my 40's now, I have been doing volunteer work with young people in my church and community since I was 21 and it has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. After having been trained and certified by my Catholic Diocese to teach religion in Catholic schools, I also spent several years working with junior high students. There were plenty enough situations to practice conflict resolution as a junior high teacher as I stood watch on the playground or watched the children interact with each other in school related activities

In one situation I remember, I called a group of girls to come to my classroom immediately after school. It was a situation where one girl was being ostracized from the group and there was obvious tension when I would see them at recess and outside of class. I had spoken to the girl and now it was time to hear the other side from the group. I asked each girl to take a desk and we put them in a circle and sat down to talk. I tried to be impartial and listen without making a judgement or making them feel like they were being accused of anything and told them I had noticed a problem and asked them to tell me what was going on. I then began to ask questions, trying to get them to understand how the other girl may have taken what they said and did. There were more questions, as we tried to sort through how they might want to be treated if they were in the same place. In the course of talking things through, we all realized some things that helped to make things better and easier to fix among the girls. Helping the students see the other side of things made them think about their actions towards one another. It might take some time, thought and creativity to find ways to help young people deal with conflict but an ounce of prevention is definitely worth a pound of cure.

Peace, Gemma

Normally, I'm a pretty scrappy person. This is not to say that I go out of my way to find "trouble"; just that I don't take much guff. Those that are my dear friends know that I will fight to the death for them. My family (though sometimes we don't get along well) knows the same. But when I see someone in trouble; having a hard time, I can't help but attempt to help. (Or maybe I'm just nosy!)

At the last big Dr. Who convention in Chicago, after a midnight cabaret, I was sitting in the lobby of the O'Hare Hyatt, waiting for my hubby to pick me up. There are several chairs around the lobby, and in one of them was a woman who seemed very upset. Before I got the chance to get up and ask her what was wrong, she made for the telephone banks. When she came back, it was obvious that she'd been crying, so I went over to ask if she was ok. She said her brother was supposed to pick her up (keep in mind this was about 1 am), but he'd gone out with his friends, wasn't home yet, she'd been calling for over half an hour, and she had to get up at 6 am the next morning to get to work! The more she talked, the more upset she got.

I didn't want to obligate Tom to driving her home (she lived in a suburb that was completely opposite to the direction we were going), so I offered her the last cash from my purse and told her to get a cab. The convention was in mid-November. Two days before Christmas, I got a lovely letter, which I still have, a check to cover the cash I'd given the woman (she'd insisted on getting my address, to pay me back, although I told her it wasn't necessary), plus a small vial of perfume as a gift. Because she'd gotten enough sleep before work, she didn't even yell at her brother for not being there. And it shows that there are still good, honourable people in this world.

Dragonfly (Elizabeth A. Kowols)

Being a religion teacher in our parish religious education department, I am continually on the prowl for additional topics or activities to share with my students. These topics and activities can range from the the normal course of study for second grade, to the Peace and Justice units I have incorporated into my curriculum. In the Peace and Justice units the students examine some of the problems which encompass the world today along with devising doalable solutions which they can participate in even at thier tender age.

Upon reading Adrian's Christmas Message on the PEACE Website. I began contemplating on the words, "Christmas is a time for giving to the less fortunate and make a difference in the lives of others." It inspired me in thinking, it is not only our role as adults to work on social justice issues, but also guide the children entrusted to our care in giving of themselves for the enrichment of others without expecting anything in return.

As a class, we decided to focus on the homeless children residing at the Lima Samaritan House. Being a non profit organization, it relies on donations of monies and supplies for its daily operation. Being located in Lima, the students could visually see where their generous efforts were going. For three weeks the students collected supplies which would not only aid the children's physical needs, but also their emotional needs as well. The students were extremely excited about this endeavor and demonstrated it by the amount collected. Their outpouring of love and dedication to children they didn't even know was overwhelming. Their hearts and minds glowed knowing they were helping other children have a brighter Christmas. On December 21st, my co-teacher and I transported two car loads filled to the brim with the supplies they had collected. Due to Adrian being the inspiration behind the charity event, all supplies were donated in his name, along with PEACEAPFC.

Adrian, along with the visions and ideals of PEACE, challenge the adult members in becoming "team players" in discovering solutions to the many social justice problems plaguing the world today. Through adult members, the younger generation are enabled to become part of the solution in a positive manner.

Peace, Fitzkaren MacWench

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