Late last night I took Zippy out following the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. When I checked the mail, I was deeply touched to find a check from Pay it Forward Foundation to help me with the devastation from the loss of my home in the flood of 2011. 

Lisa Bartoli, who attended an online class with me, and her daughter Shayla, opened an account for me through Pay it Forward, even though neither had met me at the time. (I've since met Lisa and so look forward to meeting Shayla!) Their kindness and generosity, culminating just as thousands of others are in need, seems God sent. I'm feeling guided to encourage others to follow their lead.

Many didn't have insurance, and even those who did will not be well covered. Flood insurance does not begin to restore living space as it was before the damage. At best, it is fractional. There is also no coverage for out of home living - hotel, meals, etc. Even if homes are not destroyed, there is often no electricity for months. 

If you have escaped life altering damage from the Frankenstorm Sandy, please consider paying it forward. Reach out and make a phone call to let people know you care. A caring word from a friend can turn their day around. Send a cards - even if you don't know where they are, their mail will be forwarded. Cook extra food and take a meals to them. Many have no where to prepare meals and can't afford to eat at restaurants. If you know someone who needs their basement, yard or home cleaned, spend an hour or two helping. If you don't know anyone personally, find someone through your church, United Way or Red Cross. If you can give money, please do. Even $10, from thousands of people, can have a huge impact.

DO NOT call and ask what you can do to help. Just do it. During survival mode, it is difficult to know what you need next, and even more difficult to appear even more vulnerable and ask for help. Please, before you rest your head on you own pillow, in your own bed, in your own home tonight, first find a way to Pay if Forward. 

My dear friend Ramesh Jain posted this in his latest newsletter. It seems very fitting to consider our priorities with the storm approaching. A very insightful message from Dr. Bob Moorehead, former pastor of Seattle’s Overlake Christian Church. 

A Paradox of Our Time . . . 

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness..


We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.


We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes.

I applaud you, Stephen Strogatz, for truly putting the joy back in math! My life might have been very different if I had read this book in high school. Biology was my passion, but I avoided the field because of the math courses required for a bachelor of science degree.
My father was a calculus professor and he made math interesting and approachable. He died when I was 13 and afterwards numbers became a challenge because my teachers never explained them with flair and passion. My dad said, "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it." Strogatz understands it and effectively communicates so that YOU will understand.
Words and art have been my passion all my life, but the world of numbers left me cold. After a life time of being intimidated by numbers, I'm falling in love with math again. 
If you, or anyone you know is intimidated by numbers, find a copy of this book and settle in for a delightful spin on the world of math!