This assortment of meanderings from our readings on the internet finishes off 2022’s Meanderings. We have been doing Meanderings for, well, more than a decade. Can you believe it?! May your New Year be blessed.
Photo by Kostiantyn Li on Unsplash
The generosity of a church in Buffalo reveals the true spirit of Christmas and community:
Al and Vivian Robinson added more than 100 people to their family in the last few days – all thanks to the couple’s kindness in the face of a deadly storm.
The couple, both pastors at Spirit of Truth Urban Ministry in Buffalo, New York, rescued and housed a total of 154 people in the last few days as a historic blizzard pummeled the city, leaving thousands without power, others stranded in their homes or cars and left Erie County with a death toll of 39.
“We just jumped into action and was able to deliver up to 154 people to the church, to not freeze to death,” Al Robinson told CNN Thursday. “I wish that I could say that for everyone.”
The rescue efforts began Friday, Robinson said, when a worrisome amount of snow began piling up in the city. Robinson and his wife realized their church was the only building in the vicinity with power.
He said he began calling neighbors, checking on their well-being and inviting them to stay in his church.
Vivian Robinson then posted a simple message on Facebook: “If you’re stuck in the lovejoy area, our doors to the church are open to you.” Her post also included the church’s phone number and address.
From that point, Al Robinson said people who were stranded on a nearby street began trickling into the church.
“It started with like, 10 people, two big families, and then it went to 30, then it went to 60, then went to 90, then it went to 100, 120, 128 was the last time I counted, but it went all the way up to 154,” he said. “We had people sleeping everywhere in our church, but we were the only ones with the electricity.”
And the Methodists of Texas, too:
While the Supreme Court ruled to keep Title 42 remains in place, for now, an overflow of migrants has begun to trickle to other parts of Texas as activists step in to help alleviate the crisis.
Oak Lawn United Methodist Church has accepted migrants from the border for years. They church is preparing to host about 150 more migrants Wednesday.
Like many shelters, the church works with humanitarian organizations to serve as a second stop from the border where shelters may be full, like in El Paso or ICE Detention Centers.
Migrants are bused to the church and volunteers help coordinate travel — a bus ticket or a plane ticket to wherever they have family or friends to stay within the United States while they wait for immigration proceedings.
While they’re at the church, migrants are provided with food, clothes and a place to sleep. Then, they’re transported to an airport or bus depot.
Last week, Oak Lawn United Methodist accepted 30 migrants from ICE Detention Centers and the border, mostly single men from many countries including China, Turkey and Russia. No families arrived at the time.
Volunteers said many of them were exhausted; they had a long and dangerous journey to get to the U.S. and then a 10-hour bus ride from El Paso to Dallas.
A wonderful story about Phantom and Eric Dudash:
Eric Dudash, an Air Force veteran and retired Chief Master Sergeant, dealt with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after being deployed 17 times, including during the Gulf War in Operation Desert Storm.
“It’s a daily battle,” the 30-year veteran said.
However, Dudash’s life was changed “forever” after he got a pet named Phantom through Warrior Freedom Service Dogs. Warrior Freedom is a non-profit organization dedicated to connecting combat veterans suffering from PTSD to trained service dogs.
“They actually saved my life,” Dudash said on “Morning in America.”
While he had good days, some of his bad days got so severe that he had to seek help.
“Warrior Freedom did that,” he said. “Phantom did that. Phantom chose me when he was a year old.”
To help Dudash, Phantom always sits in a position to make sure no one comes up from him from behind — “not to bite them, but just probably lick them to death.”
“If I’m jittery or if my knee starts bouncing, he will lay his paw on my knee and I’ll pat his hand,” Dudash said.
FROM THE OPENING tip, Paolo Banchero asserts himself in his NBA debut, scoring the Orlando Magic's first points after he cuts toward the middle of the paint, makes a hard two-handed dribble and absorbs contact from Detroit Pistons forward Saddiq Bey with a spin move before unleashing a turnaround hook shot. Banchero would go on to score 27 points on opening night, the most by a No. 1 overall draft pick in his first game since Allen Iverson in 1996, in front of a sold-out crowd at Little Caesars Arena.
It's the kind of gaudy stat line Banchero has put up often while averaging 21.7 points during his rookie season, but there's at least one person usually unimpressed by his scoring numbers alone: his mother. Having a former WNBA player as a mom has its advantages, and Rhonda Smith-Banchero's high standard for the rookie is what made him who he is today.
"When I was younger I was hearing it after every game, even if I played well," Banchero told ESPN. "And it'd be like, 'Oh well, you didn't do this,' or 'Your hands wasn't up in the midpost.' She'd find a little stuff to pick at. That's why I love her." She always told me she wanted me to just make it farther, be better than she was. She always felt like she sold herself short a little bit with her career. So, she never wanted me to do that and make those same mistakes."
The Pistons respond to Banchero's opening basket when Cade Cunningham draws a crowd at the rim but finds 2022 No. 5 overall pick Jaden Ivey cutting toward the hoop for a two-handed layup. Less than a minute into their NBA debuts, both top-five picks are on the board.
Yes, for sure, not every day one buys one of these:
It's not every day that you spot a cruise ship for sale on Craigslist. So Chris Willson was immediately intrigued when he stumbled across a 293-foot vessel listed on the classified advertisements website back in 2008.
The retired "pocket" cruise ship, built in Germany, was moored in the California Delta at the time, and its then owner was keen to offload it.
After seeing the listing pop up numerous times Willson, who was working on developing virtual reality tours, decided to do some investigating.
"I kind of posed as a potential buyer, even though I really didn't have any interest in purchasing a ship," Willson tells CNN Travel. "It was a little out of my comfort level, to say the least."
Once he made the trip down to the inland river delta and estuary in Northern California and stepped onboard, Willson was struck by how badly the 2,496 gross ton ship had been neglected over the years.
However, as he began to explore further, he realized that there was a pretty impressive five-level vessel beneath all the "junk" on board.
Sealing the deal
"She has one of the most spectacular layouts of just about any ship I've seen," he adds. "The staircases are magnificent.
"It's almost the same as if you found an old '60s Corvette in the garage. You can see the quality is there, but it's so neglected, you almost feel bad for it."
After doing some digging into the background of the ship, he discovered that it was constructed by the Blohm and Voss shipyard in 1955, and had been the first significant passenger liner built by Germany after World War II.
The more he learned about the ship, which was originally named Wappen von Hamburg, the more convinced he became that this was a project he was willing to take on.
After carefully considering the enormity of what it would mean to own a mini cruise ship, Willson put together a restoration plan and decided to take the plunge.
While he's loath to discuss the amount he paid, he says he was able to "work out a really good deal with the owner of the vessel."
"The next thing you know, I own a ship," Willson adds.
But once he'd signed on the dotted line, he had to figure out where he was going to put it. Thankfully, Willson was able to secure a lease in the California river city of Rio Vista and arranged for the ship to be towed there.
Thank you Scott for these . Have a great new year