My daughter goes to a Quaker school. If you don’t know much about Quakerism, just look at the Quaker Church near us: https://adelphifriends.org/who-we-are/

If you scroll down even a little on that page your see in big bold letters on a rainbow background “We are LGBTQ Affirming.” They want our community to know that we are not only accepted, we are wanted. Nice people, right? Very nice, actually. They are proudly raising what some would call ‘snowflakes’ without any embarrassment. Why? Because those are the people who will change the world for good.

You’re probably thinking, get to the point (if you even have one). Right, sorry. So my daughter’s teacher has a sister who teaches orphans in Uganda. ‘lil q’s class signed up to be pen pals with other children there. As the school year is ending, the children in Uganda sent their new friends little toys they made for them. Think about that. These kids have nothing and our kids have everything and they found the supplies to make the kids toys. Imagine how valuable those resources are to the kids who so little, and yet the did it. The little doll ‘lil q got will be something she will always remember because it is probably intrinsically worth more than anything else she will ever own.

Unknown to the pen pals in Uganda, ‘lil q’s class is making greeting cards that they are selling to raise money to send their pen pals. It is the most amazing thing to watch these 5 & 6 year olds focused on finding a way to help their new friends.

I bring this up because usually it is those who have the least who tend to give more freely. I’ve seen it time and again in our community. And yes sometimes people prey on the goodness of people to get money by feigning illness or hardship. They lie and manipulate the emotions of those who believe in helping not taking. It sucks. We rightfully feel taken advantaged of. And we hurt.

But let me offer a different take. To everyone who was taken in by the most recent con artist – remember, YOU acted out of kindness and love. YOU gave, even though none of us are super rich. YOU are the goodness we should all strive to be. There are no suckers or fools. (other than the creeps who misled you.) Those who were taken in by the lies are the examples of kind hearts and true lights for others. Yes, we need to be careful and we can be cautious, but we should still, as Bill and Ted once said, “be excellent to each other.”

Let me end with this. For the winter concert, ‘lil q’s entire school sang, “Stand in the Light.” It definitely sums up how the kids are taught. If you’re not familiar with the song, have a listen. The song is quite nice, but watching the kids do it was inspiring.

Andrew Q. Gordon wrote his first story back when yellow legal pads, ball point pens were common and a Smith Corona correctable typewriter was considered high tech. Adapting with technology, he now takes his MacBook somewhere quiet when he wants to write.

Since devouring The Lord of the Rings as a preteen, he has been a fan of all things fantastical. His imagination has helped him create works of high fantasy, paranormal thrills and touch of the futuristic. He also writes the occasional contemporary story.

He currently lives in the Washington, D.C. area with his husband of twenty-three years. Together they are raising their daughter and three dogs. Andrew tries to squeeze writing time in around his most important jobs, being husband and ‘Papa.’ Along with teaching how to kick a soccer ball or ride a scooter, he has become fluent in cartoon characters and children’s books. To find out more about Andrew, his writing and his family, follow him on his website or on Facebook.

You can also sign up for his monthly newsletter and get an exclusive short story only available to subscribers. Use the link below to join:

http://andrewqgordon.getresponsepages.com

Follow Andrew:

website: www.andrewqgordon.com

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Twitter: @andrewqgordon

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email: andrew@andrewqgordon.com

Books:

From DSP Publications:

The Last Grand Master: (Champion of the Gods–Book 1)

The Eye and the Arm: (Champion of the Gods–Book 2)

Kings of Lore and Legend: (Champion of the Gods–Book 3)

Child of Night and Day (Champion of the Gods—Book: 4)

Purpose:

Self published:

Ashes of Life