Inspiration and Admiration

It's been a long time since I consistently tuned into NPR. For that matter, I had also stopped reading the Miami Herald and only yanked coupons when it came in. I even stopped checking into CNN at work and would only glance at the Top Stories box on my iGoogle. At least, until the past week or so.

Now I'm slowly making my way to news junkiedom again and while for the most part it has been a depressing and infuriating return, today I was finally glad I had my radio tuned into NPR and not one of the random pop stations I aimlessly click through whenever my mind is looking for noise. I was on the way home from my adventures in buying a jacket that was more than half an inch thick in February in Miami and The Story was on. I've always liked that show because, well because I like a good story! At first, it wasn't a positive experience this tuning into NPR because I caught the end of a piece on a very successful man who makes video games and who has been doing it for 25 years and who is doing oh so very well despite the fact the economy is going to hell (probably because people in this country stupidly pay $2 for mindless applications for cell phones instead of saving money, myself included) and he sounded so stinking happy and in love with what he is doing with his life that he made me very jealous and thinking very mean, undeserved, painful thoughts that may have included assault by iPhone.

However, it all turned out to be worthwhile when the next piece came on (if you go to the site and listen to the program, this piece starts at 19 minutes) and it was about a man who left a very nutty and wealthy job as a consultant to start a non-profit called the Children's Literacy Foundation. What the foundation aims to do for the children of Vermont and New Hampshire touched my soul. His reasons for starting the foundation made so much sense to me because they were simple-- he loves reading and writing and he values that he can read and write. Me too Mr. McDougall! The city of Miami needs something like this desperately. I have been looking online and have found nothing even remotely similar. Not to mention what I have found is slightly embarrassing in that it is all quite dated and in most cases quite defunct. Also worth mentioning is that the Children's Literacy Foundation receives NO state or federal funds. This makes so much sense right now! So I am left to wonder if there is indeed anything remotely similiar to CLiF here in Miami that I am simply not finding and if not it leads me to a thought-provoking question: Are there no Mr. McDougall's in Miami? If not, can I become a Mr. McDougall?