Three Phoenix Feathers Floating Free

Every once in awhile I encounter a current event story that makes me regret that I let lapse my Phoenix Feather Project from my early blogging years in which I aimed to occasionally feature an individual or organization whose action or mission was dedicated to 'rising from the ashes'.

In the case of individuals they could be honored for either rising from the ashes of their personal  setback or trauma or aiding and abetting another's rise.  That was my intent anyway tho I don't think I ever did honor an individual.  My previous honorees can be found somewhere deep in the left sidebar. The only one I can remember without peeking is Mercy Corp but I can't remember which disaster was in the news at the time.

The story that has inspired this post and has me feeling called to revive my Phoenix Feathers, if only for this one event, is one in which there would need to be three honorees:

• the individual rising from the ashes--literally--of a mine blast that took half his leg in Afganistan
• the non-profit organization with a mission to help vets
• the business that joined with the organization to fulfill the dream of one wounded vet

The organization is Run for the Wall, known for their annual ten day cross country motorcycle caravan to the Vietnam Memorial in Washington DC every Memorial Day.

Their new Wounded Warrior project aspires to present custom built motorcycles to wounded vets that will give them back mobility and independence and thus hope and confidence..

The business is Rogue Valley OR Thunder Struck Custom Bikes.

Yes the same Rogue Valley from which I'm reluctantly torn and yearn to return.  But that's another story and has monopolized enough of this blog for nearly a year now.

The individual is Retired Staff Sergeant Charlie Linville of Idaho who has long dreamed of owning a motorcycle and is now the first recipient of the Wounded Warrior custom bike gift.

Last Thursday, January 2nd,  Run for the Wall flew Linville and his wife to Medford OR where the Rogue Valley Chapter presented the bike to him at the Thunderstruck shop and measurements were taken for the custom fittings.

It will be several more months before the custom build is complete but Sargent Linville is already riding high on the hope and the 'giddy' joy of having received this lift up out of the ashes.

Anyone wishing to contribute to the Bike Build can send their donations (marked Bike Build) to:

Ken Hargrove
1715 N. 3rd Avenue
Upland, CA 91784

All funds so marked will be used exclusively for the Bike Build.

Watch the local coverage on ABC's KDRV 12 in Medford:



For more coverage see the story at:

• KOBI NBC
• KTLV NEWS 10

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Phoenix Feather: Bead for Life

Oh, I am so drooling over these beads! I can just see them incorporated into my crocheted bookmarks or the braided bookmarks I'm planning.

Why they rate a Phoenix Feather is because the Bead for Life organization is "Eradicating Poverty One Bead at a Time" as these beads are made from scrap paper by Ugandan women and then sold loose like this and as jewelry.

I totally love the concept: Trash to Beauty to Life.

Hoarder that I am I am gratified to see things considered trash by most and some of the very kinds of things I save--bright colored waste paper like magazine covers and junk mail and candy wrappers--turned into something beautiful and useful and in the process supporting families who are typically living on a dollar a day by providing food, medicine, school fees.

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Phoenix Feathers: Big Cat Rescue

Meowloween Video: Big Kittehs Play With Pumpkins

This video was featured on icanhazcheezeburger.com. I loved it so much I watched four times. Then of course I had to follow the link shown at the end of the video and scope out what Big Cat Rescue was all about. They are a sanctuary for big cats in Tampa Florida where they maintain a cat-a-tat on 40 some acres that is an enriched living environment for big cats from bob cats to lions and every size, shape and color in the spectrum. These cats have been rescued from abusive and unhealthy living conditions from illegal home pets and fur farms to various exploitative entertainment situations and incidents in the wild that leave them either temporarily or permanently unable to fend for themselves.

There were more videos to watch on BigCatRescue.org where you can subscribe to their newsletter alerting you to new videos.

Alternatively you can

• subscribe to their YouTube channel
• follow them on twitter
• friend them on facebook
• and myspace
• download their podcasts on itunes
  
• or visit their blog

They also have guided tours of their sanctuary on which you can watch the tenders feeding the cats as seen in a few frames of the Meowloween video.

They hold a fund raising event every October called the Fur Ball which looks like a purrtasitic pawtrotting extravaganza. Video of the 2010 event can be found here.

Bobcat kittens fostered by domestic mama cat.

From the moment I saw the video on icanhazcheezeburger I knew I would be posting it but after a few minutes on BigCatRescue.org I knew I had to do more than a post in haste drop and run as per usual with fun vids or LOLcats. I wanted to do something to feature the work Big Cat Rescue does and honor them for it. Then I remembered the Phoenix Feather, a kind of kudos post about individuals and organizations doing unselfish things on behalf of the vulnerable or victimized which I'd set out to make a regular feature of my blog in the early months of its existence. But I'd been distracted and let it slide into oblivion after only a few posts.

This has inspired me to revive the Phoenix Feather as a regular feature at Joystory.

The 2nd, 3rd and 4th videos I've posted here give some highlights of the kind of work Big Cat Rescue does. Above is the story of a litter of orphaned bobcat kittens fostered by a domestic mama cat--a match facilitated by Big Cat Rescue.

Below is the story of an abused and exploited tiger which they are trying to rescue. Tony the tiger is a prime example of why the need to stop patronizing such entertainment venues is as urgent as the need to stop buying real fur--in both cases the animals are bred for a short unhappy life in cages. This includes those businesses who provide baby lions and tigers for appearances at malls, birthday parties and such where petting and other play by the attendees is allowed. I mean think about it! The kittens are small enough to play safe with humans for only a few weeks and then what becomes of them?

The video at bottom shows one of the ways 'going green' has been implemented at the sanctuary.

Tony the Truck Stop Tiger

Tigers go Green

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Phoenix Feather #3: Electronic Frontier Foundation

The Electronic Frontier Foundation

This post accomplishes two things I've been meaning to do for a long time:

1. Plug the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the great work they are doing in monitoring Government and Corporate infringement of the people's rights and freedoms in the digital arenas.

From EFF's about page:

From the Internet to the iPod, technologies are transforming
our society and empowering us as speakers, citizens, creators, and consumers. When our freedoms in the networked world come under attack, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is the first line of defense. EFF broke new ground when it was founded in 1990 — well before the Internet was on most people's radar — and continues to confront cutting-edge issues defending free speech, privacy, innovation, and consumer rights today. From the beginning, EFF has
championed the public interest in every critical battle affecting digital
rights.

Free speech and privacy are two issues I've a strong affinity for. Which is why I have added EFF's blue ribbon to my sidebar. I am especially impressed with the work they have done to protect the rights of bloggers. The blogosphere would be a much different place, if it existed at all, without their foresight, dedication and courage. Check out the work they have done on behalf of bloggers, read the litany of blogger rights they have helped establish and protect and if you haven't already, pick up a blue ribbon for your own sidebar.

2. The second thing this post accomplishes is to revive my Phoenix Feathers Project which I'd hoped, when I began it two years ago, to make a regular feature of Joystory. You will find in the sidebar a link list titled Phoenix Feathers. There are now three links where there have only been two for a very long time. I hope there will soon be many more. I have been collecting them all along but have not gotten around to writing the posts and adding the links.

One of the things hindering me was intimidation with working with the HTML in the side bar after one of my early attempts had resulted in making a mess of it. But I rectified that over the weekend by switching my new blogger platform over to the layout option and getting comfortable with using its features.

The Phoenix Feather list is meant to feature links to organizations which are doing work that support progressive visions for communities from the local to the global and champion the interests of the vulnerable against the oppressor. This definition leaves room for the fact that sometimes the 'vulnerable' one is the community while the 'oppressor' could be a sociopathic, egomaniacal or a just simply selfish individual. Which fits with my conviction that the needs and rights of the one and of the many must be like finely tuned musical instruments in order for the individual notes to contribute to harmonious melodies and the melodies to an exquisite symphony that in turn inspires its members to remember that they are a part of something that is greater than the sum of its parts.

A phoenix feather is a symbol of hope and courage and resurrection from the ashes of the refining fire.

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