Author: Roger

I'm a librarian. I hear music, even when it's not being played. I used to work at a comic book store, and it still informs my life. I won once on JEOPARDY! - ditto.

Helping Those Who Ask For Money

One of the factors about giving out money isn’t whether it’s a legit request; if they’re lying, it’s on them, not me.

Periodically, but especially in November and December, I contemplate my personal policy with regards to those who come up to me and ask me for money. Some folks, including a former pastor of mine, are adamant that one ought not to; there are registered charities for that purpose. I’ve not been comfortable with that absolutist position, though, and I take it on a case-by-case basis.

There was a day this fall, though, where my instincts were just…off. Something had happened at work earlier in the day that frustrated me. When I got off the bus downtown, a guy asked me for money to buy some food. As it turned out, we were right in front of a Subway sub shop. My first instinct was to say, “Hey, why don’t we go in here, and I’ll buy you a sub?” I had the time (it was a Thursday and choir was in an hour) and the means (a $5 sub wouldn’t break me). Moreover, I wouldn’t have to worry that the money was going to be used for another (“inappropriate”) purpose, and, by going into a well-lit restaurant, I would feel relatively safe and secure. But my answer was “no”; and it was as though I was watching myself say that, because it surely couldn’t have been me. It bothered me for DAYS, because my grumpiness had robbed me of the opportunity to do good.

It didn’t help that the lectionary reading a few weeks later was Matthew 25, all that good stuff about seeing the hungry and feeding them.

That wasn’t the only thing that went wrong that day. After that incident, I then went to the library and gave someone what turned out to be bad advice about whether he had time to get a coffee before his computer time came up; I didn’t realize that the computer clocks were 10 minutes fast, and he missed his turn and had to rejoin the queue, so I felt bad about giving such lousy advice. I was so distraught that I didn’t even end up going to choir, but rather ended up calling a few of my friends, none of whom were home.

One of the factors about giving out money isn’t whether it’s a legit request; if they’re lying, it’s on them, not me. It IS about security, though, and I am loath to pull out my wallet in front of strangers, especially at night. I’ve recently started carrying dollar coins – another good use for them – which I can dig out of my pocket, which is also easier.

Do any of you struggle with this?

Holiday Blues QUESTION

I still remember Christmas Eve in 1990. I was at a choir party when we heard that our tenor section leader, Sandy Cohen, had had a heart attack.

There seems to be this myth – and most every thinking person knows it is – that the holidays are wonderful, joy-filled days for nearly everyone. Au contraire: they can be quite tough for some people. As About.com put it, “It’s okay, however, to admit that [family] get-togethers aren’t always a fancy-free walk down Candy Cane Lane.” Even those who generally love the season can feel worn down by too much shopping/cooking/traveling to do.

A few years ago, my church had a service about a week before Christmas for those struggling with the holidays. It wasn’t greatly attended; a LOT of that was the weather. But I also wonder if one did want to self-identify as one of THOSE people who find the time frame to be a bit of a drag.

I still remember Christmas Eve in 1990. I was at a choir party when we heard that our tenor section leader, Sandy Cohen, had had a heart attack. Soon thereafter, we got word that he had died. And THEN we had to go sing at the 10:30 p.m. service; talk about tough.

So does Advent/Christmas bring you down a little, and if so, how do you combat it? For me, it’s eggnog and amaretto.
***
To Xmas and beyond

What Christmas Means to Me – Stevie Wonder, possibly my favorite pop song Christmas tune.

Snow Days

It was so much easier the year the wife and the daughter went to the same school district a couple years back.

As an itinerant teacher, my wife works in two different school districts. My daughter goes to school in another. The thing that would be most disruptive involves snow days.

Oh, not snow days for me. I got to leave early on a Valentine’s Day storm a few years ago – and a good thing, too, since the buses stopped running shortly thereafter – but generally, I work every day, regardless of the weather.

If wife’s school districts and daughter’s school district are all open or all closed, it’s no problem. If wife’s districts are closed but daughter’s is open, not an issue. But if either of my wife’s districts are open and my daughter’s is closed, that would mean that I would have to take a vacation day off.

The other situation involves snow days not taken. If there are no, or fewer snow days used than scheduled, there may be extra days off and that may mean me taking off in May because it DIDN’T snow. It was so much easier the year the wife and the daughter were in the same school district a couple of years back.

An interesting thing they are considering in Ohio: telecommuting to class. If they did something like that around here, it would help the students not miss so much class because of the elements. I’m not sure, though, how such a program would relieve a parent working outside from missing work, or in the alternative, dragging their children to work in a blizzard.

Jingle Bells – the Fab Four

Kickstarter rules

One can never go wrong by underpromising but overdelivering, while the reverse will cause all sorts of bad will.

I’ve become a big fan of Kickstarter, which prides itself as “A new way to Fund & Follow Creativity.” The very first project, actually, was this from this obscure (to me) record label: Help Polyvinyl Save 10,000 Records From Destruction. “We clear out space, we don’t have to destroy great records, and you get the opportunity to get some awesome music from the likes of Aloha, of Montreal, Mates of State, Joan of Arc, Mike Kinsella, Rainer Maria, and many more,” a total of $26 CDs for $50; wotta deal!

Since then, I’ve backed about a dozen projects, all involving music, film, and/or comics (strips or books), except one.  Having done so, I’m getting a good feel for what will really annoy, or not attract, potential donors:
1!) Not being kept informed, particularly when something is going to be delayed. The Winsor McCay Resurrection Project let us know that the film would be delayed because it was, surprisingly, accepted at a prestigious film festival, and releasing it earlier would have disqualified it. And we got to see works in progress. I was cool with that.
2) The goodies offered at different levels are illogical. Why is THAT worth $20 donation, while THIS is worth $50?
3) Fail to send out stuff by the deadline the creator has set. It also takes time to send out those videos, or CDs, or whatever. One can never go wrong by underpromising but overdelivering, while the reverse will cause all sorts of bad will.
4) Change the terms of the agreement. One entity I backed then asked for additional money for international orders because (surprise) it cost more to ship outside the US. Though this did not affect me personally, the move REALLY ticked me off. Related to this: I get the sense that some participants haven’t calculated the COST of sending out the swag. I get the clear impression that some folks don’t ask for enough in the first place.

On the other hand, one music project, only about halfway to the $5000 goal with a week left, added more incentives targeted at businesses, and it was those that pushed her over the top.

If you’re considering seeking funding for your creative endeavor and are considering Kickstarter, make sure you are consistent with your followers. Here are some answers to common Kickstarter questions.

Ramblin' with Roger
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