I wrote the post below because it is important at this time of year and because of the condition of our economy.  Actually I had it written before our snow hit and the subject matter is even more appropriate with our weather condition.

Now Portland is covered in a blanket of snow and its tree limbs are all sugar-coated with ice. Even though it is an inconvenience, I must admit it is absolutely breathtaking outside.  We had 10″ of snow here yesterday, freezing rain and ice overnight, and now as I am editing this post, the snow is coming down as if someone were dumping snowflakes from a bucket, and there’s more snow predicted to cover us.  I don’t remember when it snowed with such intensity and seriousness.

My memories go back to 1996 when it wasn’t as pleasant and when our temperatures dipped into the single digits.  There was an awful ice storm, freezing pipes and floods.  My house had a pipe burst and flooded my first level as well.  During that winter blast I actually went cross-country skiing in my neighborhood.  Now if I only still had those skis.  What’s great, however, is that the forecasters don’t think we will have flooding issues this time around; they also don’t think we will be getting out of this “arctic blast” until next Saturday, or maybe if we’re lucky on Wednesday.

(The picture is from kgw.com).

So as I sit all cozy and warm, there is lots and lots to do, or that I could do, or rather should be doing.  Fortunately I had all my 1100 business calendars delivered to my home and I am working on getting those ready to be mailed to my clients.  Having purchased “forever” stamps earlier this year, I am prepared to put postage on them (at least if I remember to do so unlike the other day when I didn’t).  When the snow finally does eventually melt, I can mail them, although they won’t get there for Christmas much like my Christmas presents either.  There are presents to wrap, cookies to me made, gifts to get finished, cards still to be written………..or I’ll just grab the hot chocolate, snuggle under a blanket, stay warm and look out the window instead because it is really beautiful outside. I feel I am at a mountain retreat resting in a cabin.  My favorite time is at night when the neighborhood lights shine on the snow and everything glows. I’m staying put as most of us aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.  Stay warm and LET IT SNOW!

PAY IT FORWARD

Being an avid movie fan, when the Academy Awards show is on to present the ”Oscar” to all the winners, I want to have seen all the movies nominated.  When the presenters throughout the show talk about a specific movie, there are so many innuendos made or references that I guess I don’t like being left out on the joke.  Maybe it’s a “Hollywood” thing having lived in Los Angeles and all.

So, when I recently was at the receiving end of someone else’s good deed,  I was surprised that I hadn’t heard of the Pay It Forward film from 2000.  I hadn’t seen the movie, read the book, nor did I know about it.

At dinner one evening with a friend, we got ready to pay for our meal when the server said our meal had been paid for by the couple who had been in line in front of us.  They were a very unassuming couple and had gone to the rear of the restaurant to eat.  However, when they were finished eating and were leaving, both my friend and I thanked them for their generosity at which time the gentleman told both of us to “pay it forward”. It wasn’t an inexpensive meal and both my friend and I were quite surprised by their nice gesture.

I’d never had that happen where a complete stranger had been so generous.  Researching “pay it forward” in Wikipedia I see it actually started with Benjamin Franklin in 1784:

“I do not pretend to give such a Sum; I only lend it to you. When you [...] meet with another honest Man in similar Distress, you must pay me by lending this Sum to him; enjoining him to discharge the Debt by a like operation, when he shall be able, and shall meet with another opportunity. I hope it may thus go thro’ many hands, before it meets with a Knave that will stop its Progress. This is a trick of mine for doing a deal of good with a little money.”

 

Having read more about the concept, Ryan Hyde’s book and the movie describe it as an obligation to do three good deeds for others in repayment of a good deed that one receives. Such good deeds should be things that the other person cannot accomplish on their own. In this way, the need to help one another can spread exponentially through society, creating a social movement with the goal of making the world a better place.

On October 26, 2006, Oprah gave her audience a challenge to Pay it Forward, giving 300 audience guests $1,000 USD on a debit card and a camcorder to record the acts of kindness they did. The rules of the challenge were very specific, the money had to be spent within one week and could only be used to help charitable organizations or an individual person but not a relative.

I’ve been trying to keep that thought throughout the year.  Recently, in the midst of the holiday shopping, there was a lady who was in a parking garage and holding up the line behind her because she didn’t have enough money to pay for her time.  I was over-hearing her conversation with the guard so I went ahead and paid her parking fee.  She was forever grateful and asked how she could repay.  I did what another generous person had done for me and told her to just pay it forward.  I’ve been trying to do this on a regular basis.  On T.V. recently someone back east did the same thing in a Starbucks® drive-thru and it continued on through most of the day.  The employees all said they hadn’t seen it go on for that length of time before.

Wouldn’t the world be a better place if all of us did this on a continuous basis and not just the three times mentioned in the book?  What better time is there than during this holiday season to be paying it forward?  There are lots of opportunities especially at Christmas to pay it forward particularly with our winter storm and snow.  There are people stranded without food, there are elderly alone who need medication or other necessities.  Now’s the time to be paying it forward.   Here’s a blog post from a local Realtor® that I came across with some more ideas.  Not only will the good deed help someone else but it really makes you feel good as well.  But, it shouldn’t just be at Christmas, but all year round.

© Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate by Betty Jung is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.
Based on a Blog at WordPress.

(For more local and national real estate information, go to www.bettyjung.com).