pavomag.com

I love words. I use them like taffy when I can, stretching them out, chewing them up and sharing them with others. Lately, I’ve been thinking about their etymology, where they come from, their origins and so on. The word giving, for example, is defined as anything presented voluntarily and without expecting compensation; to bestow; to give a birthday present to someone. A synonym for giving is the word offering, defined as the act of presenting for acceptance or rejection; to proffer: He offered me a cigarette.
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I know the reason for the season.  I know it's not all about X-Box 360s, Flip Cams and collecting your favorite television series on DVD. I know it's a season of Giving. I know it's a season of family and warmth.  But let's face it, it's also a season of traveling across town (or the country) to see your parents, making your famous chocolate cake that no one can live without, housing your in-laws and cousins and siblings, believing in Santa, finding the perfect gifts for your "loved" ones, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc! It's ironic that this season of Giving has morphed into the season that demands more of your time and attention than any other time of the year. You've got it coming at you from all angles.  Your family, your boss, every single television commercial, the incessant holiday movies, everyone you know is pressuring you to enjoy this special time of year, love your family and be Giving and gracious no matter what your situation might be. Instead of going mad...may I suggest a few Two-Birds-One-Stone strategies for Giving this holiday season.  

1.     Clean out your closet.  Read more...

Starving and drowning polar bears? Walruses congregating on beaches by the thousands due to lack of ice? Mosquitoes in places they’ve never lived before? Birds migrating at different times of year? It turns out that the situation may not be quite as ominous as it seems. In fact, according to the animals themselves, many have been coerced to play along with the theory of global warming by members of a coordinated worldwide conspiracy meant to limit the freedoms of the planet’s human population. Some of the creatures are said to be taking part in the deception based on their strong left-wing political sympathies, too. 

These whistleblowers, many of whom spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, have various reasons for “coming out,” as they call it.

There were even some walruses – good friends of mine! – who went along with the charade for a few measly buckets of mackerel! Wallace E. Walrus, one of the first of the dozen or so creatures to reach out to the media, recently told Pavo that it was simply his conscience that made him come forward: Read more...

“We have about 712 volunteers here at the museum,” Volunteer Coordinator Rhonda Hethcox tells me softly as we wait to talk to one such volunteer, Marianne Schoel, who is busy doing her job, namely, discussing a piece of art in the current exhibition,  Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness: American Art from the Yale University Art Gallery, with a visitor. Later, as the three of us sit down in the children’s area following the over-230-masterpiece exhibition, we are joined by another volunteer, Gay Jacobs. These two ladies are often at the museum, either as regular volunteers or to help during a special exhibition, and they are always ready to fill in if Rhonda needs them.  “If you enjoy something, you ought to support it,” explains Marianne. Gay agrees--she and her husband, Marty, have volunteered at the museum for over 20 years, since they relocated from Houston: “This is a lovely environment to work in. It’s a learning experience, too. You meet new people all the time.”  Read more...