Things that give you hope for humanity (AIB: The Over the Edge Thread)

[el Guapo]

For every ying there must be yang. For every Bill there must be Hillary.

What are the top 10 things that make you see its all gonna be alright.


Mine:
My family is of course #1.

10. Having a good homebrew beer with a friend
9. You still meet highly civilized people if you know where to look.
8. The last few good journalists who write a fair story on a complex topic.
7. Watching trees I planted grow
6. Working with my hands
5. Making a difference at work and with my volunteer hours for my community.
4. Cooking meat with fire outdoors, while having a beer
3. Little people, who are in the right, who stand up to heartless authority figures and triumph.
2. Little kids playing with puppies (If you could only bottle that)
1. A long, slow,.......

























Bicycle Ride

[Michele Zone]

For every ying there must be yang. For every Bill there must be Hillary.

What are the top 10 things that make you see its all gonna be alright.

10. El Guapo starting a thread like this instead of stirring the pot.
9. My health continues to improve even though doctors say "it isn't possible".
8. My sons love me, even if no one else does.
7. I have real friends in recent years, probably for the first time in my life.
6. When I sleep well and have pleasant dreams, everything is much more bearable.
5. The number of online forums and e-mail lists I belong to run by volunteer labor, that you can join for free, which so enrich my life and help me resolve practical problems.
4. As my health improves and I figure out exactly how to manage the oddities of how my cells misprocess certain things, I envision being able to eventually explain to other CF patients how to deal more effectively with their condition.
3. Good sex.
2. Hope (not mere "wishing" but something more substantial) that someday I will find True Love of the romantic variety and not just the platonic love of friends and family that currently sustains me.
1. Looking back on the long, strange journey I have already made, in which I overcame lots of obstacles that other people think are insurmountable and which I really didn't expect to overcome as well as I did.

[safege]

10. Sleep (otherwise known as Sunday)
9. Distance learning
8. Automated systems controls
7. Early spring perenials
6. Slow moving cats
5. Third party politics
4. Cyburbia
3. Cheap pecan rolls for breakfast
2. http://www.mn2020.com/
1. Bill and Hillary

[luckless pedestrian]

my kids
a hug from my husband
my friends
a neighborhood meeting that people say "wow, that was a great meeting" and clap!
stories about charity work, not cash, from ordinary people
Acadia National Park
night sky

[Zoning Goddess]

10. I have great co-workers who make every day in the office fun.
9. The weather here in FL is normally wonderful and I can go to the beach almost any time.
8. I have a great, close family.
7. Our library has an online search and reserve system.
6. There are still great archaeological discoveries being made!
5. RJ is a very inventive shopper.
4. "Bad" politicians are being indicted right and left down here.
3. Great books are being written every day!
2. I have some super friends I can talk with about anything.
1. One of my admin assistants used to say "You are a lonely, bitter little planner". Not any more!

[JNA]

10. Medical research into Diabetes and Cancer.
9. Newspaper Publishers with courage to print Johnny Hart's B.C. comic when it contains a Christain message.
8. Local Farmer's market for fresh Jersey Sweet Corn and blueberries.
7. Courage of Firefighters.
6. MZ # 6
5. e.G. #5
4. AIB e.G. # 4 - fresh grilled saltwater fish and Jersey Sweet Corn.
3. Sunrise specially at the beach where the water is warm and clean.
2. Faith
1. Agree w/ e.G. # 1 - Family first, formost and always.

[Richmond Jake]

In no particular order:

White sand beaches
Dry, red California wine
A single woman
The budget that allows me to travel to San Antonio
My sons
Cyburbia
Mid-day tee-time
Coldplay
Pool
Hot tub -- that reminds me...good night all.

[Zoning Goddess]

The budget that allows me to travel to San Antonio

Your flippin' county budget is doing this! I'm paying my own way, Bubba! Crap, one more thing for me to be mad at the world about!

[Richmond Jake]

Your flippin' county budget is doing this! I'm paying my own way, Bubba! Crap, one more thing for me to be mad at the world about!

Ahhhh, don't you remember the mutual aid agreement between our counties? Relax, take a deep breath, Bubbette.

[Big Owl]

just a few hours ago when all looked bleak. I caught a sympathetic store manager of a local drug store after closing time and did not have to beg him to open the store so that i could go in to purchase the "right" pacifier and for him to say "I've been there it's on me".

[illinoisplanner]

The dramatic rise in pet rescue organizations and concern for animals
Beautiful, sunny days
Fresh snowfalls
College Republicans
The fact that every day we're closer to stability in Iraq
Being able to take it easy with my friends and our buddy Jack Daniels any night of the week
Summer rock concerts at amphiteaters and winter rock concerts in arenas
The pristine shorelines of the Door Peninsula
The warm, white sandy beaches of Southwest Florida
A good ol' fashioned ballgame in the heart of Chicago
Strolling down Michigan Avenue
Drives in the country
Biking along the Fox River
People flying the American flag
Being paid for my planning intern work this summer
Unbiased teachers and professors
A good ol' American cheeseburger
Being able to agree on something with almost everyone here (planning), in spite of all our various political views
Aerosmith and Bon Jovi are still some of the most popular bands around
Having the right to shoot a gun, speak my mind, and talk about God
George W. Bush is my President, Dick Cheney is my Vice President, Denny Hastert is my Speaker, Don Manzullo is my Congressman, and Blagojevich will be sent packing this November
Feel-good comedy movies
My Amish Sim Cities
Bonfires
Taking naps with my dog
My family and all my friends

[imaplanner]

The dramatic rise in pet rescue organizations and concern for animals
Beautiful, sunny days
Fresh snowfalls
College Republicans
The fact that every day we're closer to stability in Iraq
Being able to take it easy with my friends and our buddy Jack Daniels any night of the week
Summer rock concerts at amphiteaters and winter rock concerts in arenas
The pristine shorelines of the Door Peninsula
The warm, white sandy beaches of Southwest Florida
A good ol' fashioned ballgame in the heart of Chicago
Strolling down Michigan Avenue
Drives in the country
Biking along the Fox River
People flying the American flag
Being paid for my planning intern work this summer
Unbiased teachers and professors
A good ol' American cheeseburger
Being able to agree on something with almost everyone here (planning), in spite of all our various political views
Aerosmith and Bon Jovi are still some of the most popular bands around
Having the right to shoot a gun, speak my mind, and talk about God
George W. Bush is my President, Dick Cheney is my Vice President, Denny Hastert is my Speaker, Don Manzullo is my Congressman, and Blagojevich will be sent packing this November
Feel-good comedy movies
My Amish Sim Cities
Bonfires
Taking naps with my dog
My family and all my friends

I hate people that list more than 10 things!! Oh wait. Wrong thread

Actually I aagree with you one some stuff - my ten for now (in no particular order):

A good cheesburger
taking a nap with my dog
taking a nap(ish) with my fiance
playing guitar with friends
hanging out at the beach
relaxing on a mountaintop enjoying the view
catching a fat steelhead/salmon on a fly rod
bbq with a beer
getting a smile from a stranger

skiing on a bluebird powder day! (that ones probably my favorite )

[mendelman]

A good pizza
Going to the dog beach with the pooch and playing endless frisbee
Swimming with the pooch at said beach in Lake Michigan
My wife
A good rootbeer
Being outside on beautiful days
Watching good development being constructed
A cold lemonade after a long good bike ride
Kayaking in the northern Great Lakes
A good and appreciative workplace

[Maister]

- planting vegetable seeds in the ground, watching them grow and then harvesting them. Engaging in the process gives me immense satisfaction, and the activity is analogous to human activities/futures on multiple levels.

- the small nucleus of humans who Have a Clue is growing in number (too bad it's not in percentages).

[Salmissra]

In no specific order:


My husband (most of the time )
My dog (I think all dogs should give us hope)
Tamales
Early spring weather
My family
Friends
City-building computer games played on fast computers
Watching good movies on DVD with good friends and good food
Planting a garden, tending it and watching it grow
Advocacy groups for children and animals

[jmello]

Tamales

We cannot find them anywhere down here. Not even the frozen Goya kind. I have been craving tamales topped with poached eggs and salsa for months now. I guess I will have to pick some up in Atlanta this weekend.

As for things that give me hope:

-Ever increasing racial integration and tolerance
-Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
-Growing China and India
-Waning France and Germany
-Strong British alliance
-Increasing gas prices
-Reinvestment in downtowns
-Increasing awareness of the flaws in low density automobile-oriented development
-Thomas Friedman
-KRS-ONE

[Whose Yur Planner]

The 6 year old and 2 year old
My nephews and niece
The first month of the baseball season
Spring
The Sierra Club et al who keep up the good, if hopeless, fight for the enviroment
People who help out during disasters, in spite of the inept federal government. W should have left FEMA alone.
People who help the abused, homeless, poor and down trodden.
People who listen instead of talk
A good sermon at church

[otterpop]

1) Yes, I can get a permit to float the Smith River
2) My son, who is the smartest and best-looking kid ever!
3) My wife, who loves me even when I am not so loveable.
4) That our sleazy senator may be on his way out.
5) People who remain pleasant and respectful even when they do not agree with me.
6) Coworkers who gladly help you out, knowing it will be reciprocated.
7) Scarlett Johanson (no other reason than she is very pretty and seems cool.
8) My Toastmasters club
9) Day-care workers and pre-school teachers -- who get paid squat to take care of our kids and sometimes get yelled at because they aren't perfect.
10) Those people that you hear about or read about who devote their time to helping others, and especially helping those people most of us don't what to deal with.

[SkeLeton]

Cyburbia gives me hope for humanity... it's good to know that you're not that weird
Now what else?

[kjel]

My List (not in order)

My 12 year old daughter Emily
Getting admitted to graduate school
True friends
Omnipresent media sniffing out the rats
George Bush is in his last term
Walking barefoot in the grass
The non-governmental response to Hurricane Katrina
Michelle Bachelet, first woman to be president in Chile
Kindness of strangers
Bono

[jaws]

We have the Internet now. No matter how bad things get, we at least know what's going on.

[Bear Up North]

1. Technology, especially medical tech (I am here because of it! )
1. My family
1. De Noc, Northern Michigan (Population Estimate, Metro Area, 2006: 2,021,969) (Bear's "fake" city.)
1. Musical variety: All of those "alt." types. Rock and roll didn't die. Southern rock still lives.
1. The sun didn't blow up.
1. Capitalism in China.
1. The Internet.
1. Environmental laws that work for all parties.
1. Little kids giggling.
1. The "Baby Boomers" are gonna die.

Bear