Orbs in my Oaks

Check out Orbs in my Oaks, by contributing editor David C. Bailey, in O. Henry Magazine's December/January edition. Click open publication, turn to page 53 and enjoy.

Open publication 

kindness compounds

I took Monday off, following our big Lighted Christmas Balls workshop last Sunday.  Fellow light ambassadors Gardner Sheffield, Daniel Hassell, Jamey Presson and Phil Bullington did the same; throughout the day, each could be seen in his yard, hanging up strings from which to suspend the balls.

Daniel walked over to see how I was doing.  He pulled out a large manila envelope, clasped and sealed. It had no markings.  Said a man in an old pickup truck stopped and asked, "who's in charge of all this?" nodding toward the few lighted Christmas balls up in the trees. "We all help each other," Daniel said, "but he folks across the street started it all." He handed over envelope to Daniel, said "please give this to them," and left as quickly as he came.  And so Daniel handed me the envelope. We turned it over, shook it, and patted it down, felt what could have been a kitchen sponge inside. Deeming it safe, "what's the worst that could happen?" we opened it.

A hand written, unsigned letter:

"I heard of a teenage girl who celebrated her birthday by trading in her presents and converting them to canned goods for your food drive. How special. Please accept this gift as an addition to her efforts. So refreshing to see a selfless act, let alone by a teenager. She obviously is being raised by parents with a solid sense of values. Her parents must be very proud - and lucky!

Thank you and the neighborhood for all you are doing this and every year. We all have things to be grateful for."

And an envelope packed with dollar bills. Not your just-fresh-from-the-teller-machine cash. No, these were older, saved up bills, straightened, all face up and sorted into $20s, $10s, $5s and $1s.

One young person's generosity, canned goods instead of birthday presents, multiplied by an anonymous $300 gift, which under the stewardship of Second Harvest Food Bank of North West North Carolina, compounded further; each Second Harvest dollar buys $12 dollars worth of food. That's the miracle of compounding. One selfless act compounded, transformed into $3,600 worth of groceries. I guess that's why compounding is called the Eighth Wonder of the World."  

the season's first gift

25 lighted Christmas balls up and on, food collection trailer on station and lit up and the first provision for the hungry is just in. Let the season begin. Friends of lighted Christmas balls are grateful we get to do this for our community. Come see us soon.

Lighted Christmas Balls Host Families Coverd Dish Supper

With the Lighted Christmas Balls Party one week away we wanted to get as many of the host families as possible together for a short meeting to tie down loose ends.  Gardner reportred that the hunger problem in NC is showing no signs of letting up.  Second Harvest, which distributes donated food to more than 400 non-profit partner agencies that serve people at risk of hunger and others in need from Boone to Burlington, is experiencing its second consecutive year of unprecedented demand for food.  Last week, WFDD reported that one in six North Carolinians worries about running out of food sometime in the next seven days.  Documented research shows one out of every five children in North Carolina experience food insecurity. 

Sunset Hills Neighborhood is committed to doing something about this.  Jamey and Phil are providing a 2nd food collection trailer at the corner of Rolling and West Greenway North, and can safeguard donated food from the elements and redeliver it to food banks.  John Englar suggested yard signs signs with a simple catch phrase could go a long way to helping connect the experience of enjoying the lighted balls with the bigger purpose of shining a light on the problem of hunger in North Carolina.  Triad sign maker Bravo Signs, who helped sponsor our last two workshops/food drives, will make signage for 2nd food trailer and our new yard signs.  More later.

Jonathan announced that Glenwood Tutoring Program will have their Christmas party December 7, and they'd love us to be part of their effort.  For the last two years, Sunset Hills neighbors worked with the program's tutors and students to make and hang over 50 Lighted Christmas Balls.  Neighborhoods like Glenwood live on life's margins.  Poverty, drugs, and prostitution are in ample supply.  Stability, hope, and joy are scarce.  Glenwood may be on the margins, but it benefits from a huge multiplyer affect: any good done there gets so much bang for the buck.   Just imagine what Greensboro will be like if each student of Glenwood Tutoring Program hangs a Lighted Christmas Ball in their yard 40 years from now, offering stability, hope and joy.  Jonathan will send around a signup memo with some possible dates. 

Everyone signed up for all the working parts of the party.  Despite that the City of Greensboro has offered us an optional "rain date" for the following Sunday, we said if we could take last year's nasty weather, we can take anything.  Besides, our statiscian says, it's rained the last three years and we're overdue for a clear day.  The forecast for next Sunday indicates cold and clear, but that could change.  Stone soup is in the offing again so remember to bring your canned vegatables to add to the pot.   If we have more vegtables than we need, they will be added to the food drive trailer.

As always there was lots of stories and lots of laughter as this is just the start of the season when we all meet new neighbors, get to know neighbors better and make new friends. The Lighted Christmas Balls no longer just Christmas decorations, they are the cord that binds a neighborhood, one more thing that makes living in Sunset Hills so very special.

While we adjourned to the living room to enjoy an open fire, a glass of wine, and friends, Janet and Jeff took over the kitchen and scraped, scrubbed, and washed evey pot, bowl, plate, fork, spoon and glass in sight, and left us with a spotlessly clean kitchen. What a wonderful treat. What a joy. Thank you, guys.

FAQ - Lighted Christmas Balls

Why are the Lighted Christmas Balls so important to you? It has been a great neighborhood project for Sunset Hills. We know more neighbors than we ever would under 'normal circumstances.'  Lighted Christmas Balls are beautiful (in the dark), they encourage the old, thrill the young, amaze all in between. We have laughed with our neighbors and family and spent hours of enjoyment putting them up, keeping them lit, and eventually taking them down for another season.

What have you enjoyed most as this tradition has continued? We love that they are used in the spirit of increasing fun, joy, hope, beauty, and encouragement. We like to help people make them. We are touched that the regional cancer center in Greensboro sends their cancer patients, who have just recieved chemo, radiation or other therapy, to our neighborhood for an extra dose of hope. Many of the retirement communities in the area drive their little buses through the neighborhood to delight their residents. And finally - people who want to show gratitude to the neighborhood for the lights leave canned food in a trailer in front of our home and other collection points in the neighborhood. Those canned goods are then taken to 2nd Harvest Food Bank and Urban Ministry in Greensboro. Last year we collected close to 2 tons of food thanks to the generosity of those driving through. This year we hope to double that amount.

Do you care that other neighborhoods have also done this? We love that most of all, we would love to see them all over the city, county, state and beyond.

What else is fun about them? The emails and phone calls we receive from as far west as California, as far south as Florida, and as far north as the UP of Michigan. We have put those letters on this blog, look around for them with their photos. This week we received a box from a family in Laurel Mississippi who sent over some equipment and new ideas about getting the balls installed and getting electricity to them. We can't wait to share them with you at this year's workshop.

The photo of Jonathan with the box of goodies from Mississippi is shown above.

Lighted Christmas Balls on Current TV

fcproducer's producer/editor andy coon and and blake faucette, dp, came to see us Christmas Eve with their video cams, spirits of adventure, and filmed this treasure of a documentary (with no rehearsals or retakes). Truly they captured the spirit of Christmas, but hearing their stories about how the Lighted Christmas Balls brighten their lives was a real gift. Thanks Andy (and Blake), for sharing your gifts and talents, and for spreading the Lighted Christmas Balls.



enjoy it, share it, and tell the folks at current tv how you like it.

if you haven't already seen it, check out video andy made in 2006 of the Lighted Christmas Balls.

How all this chicken wire came to be

Last year about this time we were out in the front yard hoisting lights and a car stopped and unrolled its window. That wasn't unusual but what happened next was. Turns out the couple inside were Bill and Laura Womack from Raleigh. Bill grew up on Ridgeway, played all throughout Sunset Hills, and graduated from Greensboro Senior High School. Laura grew up on Sherrill Street in Lindley Park. Turns out Laura and Pat Wilcox (whom Daniel and Bethann Hassell bought their home from) have been friends since they were little girls. When we asked Bill and Laura how long they've known each other, they answered, in unison, "since 2nd grade." I guess when two people have known each other since 2nd grade they can finish each other's sentences. Bill made a career out of distributing hardware to retail stores. And when he said, "I can get you that chicken wire," Anne was quick to ask for his contact info. When Lowes didn't have any, Anne called Bill, who gladly obliged, and so Bill and Laura asked if we wanted to meet in Siler City and have lunch and transfer the wire. And so it was, Anne and I got to meet Bill and Laura for cheeseburgers and French fries at Johnson's Restaurant, which, as far as I could tell, holds 1st place in the cheeseburger category, and has for 62 years. After having more fun than the legal limit (Jon and Bill had 2nds on their cheeseburgers) we moved seven rolls of 150' wire (that's 3 1/2 football fields) from Bill's car to Anne's. When you see this couple at the workshop, be sure to stop and say Hi!

(This wonderful surprise took place on 11/19 but I forgot to post it then. I'll change its post date in a few days.)