How does Giving Tuesday inspire you?

I feel overwhelmed, choosing among all the charities vying for donations during the holidays. My strategy is to choose charities that reflect my values and interests. 

I enjoy giving to local arts, museums, and my ala mater which have enriched my life. Primarily I support organizations that help feed families, promote literacy, and protect nature. But hundreds of groups fit into these broad categories of food, books, and animals. 

Every day, I receive a plea from worthy groups to “be the change,” “save the bees,” “feed my neighbors,” “protect the Chesapeake Bay.” The messages are urgent, compelling, and often heartbreaking. Many requests come with gifts of notepads, cards, address labels, and bookmarks, reminding me to act on their behalf.  

Many of my friends and family members practice planned giving. Every year, they donate to the same charities because they believe in the organization’s mission. I admire their ongoing steadfast commitment. They embrace giving throughout the year, not just at Thanksgiving or after a natural disaster. They serve as role models and advisors for me to invest wisely.  

How can I best invest in the community where I live and work? That’s a critical question for me. Investing includes giving time and is a meaningful gift. Early in my career, I volunteered more because I had the time but earned little money. I joined the KC Jazz Ambassadors, an enthusiastic group of jazz lovers. This nonprofit is dedicated to preserving jazz, from supporting student scholarships to fundraising for jazz musicians who had fallen on hard times. I met many Kansas City musicians working for the group and writing for their monthly magazine, which still exists.

Nonprofits operate thanks to dedicated volunteers. However, they survive only if well-run and well-funded. Today, I proudly volunteer at a nonprofit community bookstore Hilltop Books whose proceeds benefit the library.

But back to Giving Tuesday. I will donate to groups that reflect my values. I will give to charities both in honor and in memory of those people whom I value.

Time flies like an arrow. 
Fruit flies like a banana. 

Have you heard: Everything’s 

Punny in Philadelphia?

    The act of being punny has found a home in Philly, the city known for brotherly love and sisterly affection as well as for booing Santa Clause. So, it’s not surprising such a critical audience welcomes pun-offs. Contestants compete in a three-round pun off event. 

    Sounds like fun to me.     

   Not everyone appreciates the art of the pun—what is unfairly dubbed as the lowest form of humor. In order to pull off a pun, one has to be witty and wise. 

   "The first thing I do in the morning is brush my teeth 

and sharpen my tongue." Dorothy Parker 

    Paying attention matters. Although many can unintentionally exploit an expression or word, few have the innate ability manipulate words on purpose. I admire those nerds whose wacky wordplay makes me groan. The it’s so bad it’s brilliant effect.  

    Some people can’t control their punning. The puns pop off at breakfast, slip out during a serious activity, or pour down like a thunderstorm. Other pundits wait until there’s an opportunity to dust off a favorite pun for a subtle snicker. Their patience pays off if they get an eye roll or a guffaw.

    My hubby and I love playing around with puns. It’s the same irresistible feeling I get when splashing through puddles on a summer day.

    One of my former coworkers could fling puns all day. I remember his go-ahead-and-pun- ish me smile. Unable to resist the challenge, we battled back and forth, faster and faster, until the last pun won.

    I’ll skip explaining types of acceptable puns, from homophones to mixing up metaphors. But I will offer some guidelines when volleying words about. Puns should exploit the situation, surroundings, or the context but not the person. Be kind, and don’t engage in cruel punnery.  

·         A pun is most effective when spoken.   

·         It takes two to pun. More than two people can make it punnier.

·         Be deliberate, direct, and daring when you pun.

·         Keep the wordplay clean.  

·         Evergreen puns work: you don’t have to branch out. (Get it?)

·         Know your competitor, your audience, and yourself. But the most important is knowing when to stop or risk being asked: Do you know what a pun is spelled backwards? A-nup is a-nup.