Be the Love

Carefully I planned out my attire for this walk; red corduroys with matching top, my daughter’s pink poncho with hearts and peace signs all over it and a pink bow in my hair. I wanted to wear a sign on my back that said “Honk if you #LoveLansing” but Pat thought it was too much. The night before I had finished creating 24 Hershey Kiss rose buds. Today I planned to pass them out as I walked one of my final east side routes. I’d learned before that giving away things to people isn’t as easy as you’d think. A few months back I desperately tried to hand out 5 Biggby cards. People tend to be wary of a stranger walking around asking if you like coffee. I knew with this give away I would look the part and act the part; happy City Saunterer (it’s a noun now) dressed like a Valentine Card, handing out homemade treats. It mostly worked. I had a slow start as the streets I needed to walk were residential. As I worked my way closer to the busier streets I began to find more and more people to flower/candy bomb.
Here’s my route:
http://www.mapmyrun.com/workout/232707078
My recipients:
1. Lady walking her dog. The dog growled at me.
2. A man in a wheelchair on his front porch. He was feeding about 5 squirrels peanuts.
3. The mailman on Allen St.
4. I placed one on a set of delivered packages on a decorated home on Allen St.
5 & 6 I crossed the street where a man and woman whose disabled car left them abandoned in Lansing from out of town. I told them I couldn’t fix their car but I could try to cheer them up. It did.
7 A woman walking out of Ronald McDonald House.
8 & 9 Two girls walking down the street. Their response was ; “How sweet”.
10. A man walking on Kalamazoo St.
11 A young girl on Jones
12. A young guy on Holmes
13. Another guy on Pennsylvania
14 A girl walking down Pennsylvania with heart shaped balloons trailing behind her. She also had a package in her arms. When I gave her the flower she announced that it was also her birthday! What a treat!
15. Lady carrying packages into Rite Aid
16. & 17 Two girls getting on the bus on Michigan Ave.
18 A man hurrying across the street from Sparrow. He had a red coat on. I couldn’t resist.
19 Burcham Hill driver
20. A well dressed woman waiting outside Sparrow Professional Center
21 & 22 A couple also waiting outside the Sparrow Professional Center
23 & 24 A couple waiting for the bus down the road from Sparrow.
What a great day of giving!

To Have and to Give

To be able to give, you first must have. I really don’t see any way around that. You cannot give away something that you don’t have. Interestingly my walk today started out on Nottingham Rd adjacent to The Country Club of Lansing. Nottingham of course calls to mind the tales of Robin Hood, who took from the rich and gave to the poor. Some today may even believe that those behaviors are still alive and strong in our taxation system. Whether that is true or not, or even whether I believe the rich have a responsibility for enhancing the welfare of the less fortunate or not isn’t really what my point is. As I walked today through gorgeously manicured streets meandering through this prosperous neighborhood and then later joining the MarketLansing group at The Country Club of Lansing, I became very aware of how much I appreciate the success of others. Without the people who are doing well and accumulating some type of wealth there would be no giving. Sometimes that wealth can come in non monetary forms as well such as time or connectivity, but it is still something that they’ve made choices to acquire. It’s through their ability to have just a little more than they need for themselves that so many great things are accomplished. And as I make my way through Lansing and learn more and more about the generosity of the community that I realized I appreciate what they have to give.
At today’s luncheon the speaker was David from Pure Michigan. He spent almost an hour showing us how he and his staff promote Michigan; the lakes, the beaches, the sports, the night life. He played Pure Michigan ads one after the other showcasing all the glorious places Michigan holds. He didn’t promote the downtrodden or the unfortunate. There wasn’t a boarded up house anywhere. He definitely didn’t let us know how many kids are on welfare or how many veterans are homeless. To do so would take away from what they are trying to do which is bring tourists to Michigan. We all know those things are out there. We know that not every Michigan resident is in a good place. Just like when you meet someone for the first time and are getting that first impression you don’t want them to tell you that they have an ingrown toenail, might be suffering from hemorrhoids and that their hair is thinning a bit. You want to know if they’ve been healthy and happy. You want to know if they’ve got kids or a good job. You want to know about the good stuff first. Sometimes our goal is to puff something up; to explain to others what the good things are so that they aren’t immediately turned away without giving it a chance. So as I walk everywhere, I’ve come to really appreciate the lovely places, the well to do places, the hopeful places and all the people who can and do give. It really makes my City Sauntering worth sauntering.

Urban Gardens are located throughout Lansing and help the community

Rizzi Design’s office. With help of the Land Bank they were able to return this School of the Blind administration building into a spectacular office suite.

Urban Garden as part of Village Summit. The micro center owner used his retirement as a teacher to fund both areas. 

The Marshal Street Armory was recently restored by the Gillespie Group to house multiple non profits in one unique environment.