|
|
|
Special deliveries By Randy A. Salas
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | (MCT) The best thing about doing Web Search is hearing from readers, whether it's a question about how to find something online, a tip about a fun site or a comment about a past column. But the e-mail and blog responses in today's column are even better because they had a more profound effect on readers or the subjects of past columns. 'The Letter' deliversJust before the holiday break, I wrote about an online video created by Twin Cities ad guru Bruce Bildsten and others (www.startribune.com/websearch/?p=167). Called "The Letter," it shows a U.S. soldier in Iraq getting up from the desert sand to reveal the imprint of an angel on the ground and the message, "Peace on Earth."Bildsten writes: "As a follow-up, I wanted you to know that at our site [www.brew-creative.com/letter.html] alone, we are approaching 175,000 hits. It's also been the talk of blogs, both liberal and conservative, which was our aim -- to cross the great divide."For special-needs adultsIn mid-December, I received an e-mail from a reader asking if there were any online resources for parenting a special-needs adult (www.startribune.com/websearch/?p=162). I asked Oregon author Peggy Lou Morgan, who runs the blog Parenting a Complex Special Needs Child, and she replied, "There are a variety of blogs and sites relative to children, but few deal with parenting adults with disabilities." That was the gist of my printed answer, but my inquiry got her thinking later.Morgan writes: "Prior to your e-mail, I had been struggling with what book to do next. My in-box had been filled with parents of adults lately, and I had been discussing it with my literary agent. Your inquiry made me realize it is time to get with it and stop wondering what is most needed. This morning, I started a new blog to deal with transitioning into adulthood. Here's the link: parentingacomplexadult.blogspot. com. I just wanted to say thanks."For Veterans Day, I wrote about Maine businessman Merrill Worcester's online campaign to get wreaths placed on the tombstones at veterans' cemeteries across the country, not just at Arlington National Cemetery, where he has had thousands placed each holiday season since 1992 (www.startribune.com/websearch/?p=140). On Dec. 13, I received a heartfelt comment about that column in the Web Search blog to express "humble appreciation." Suzanne Z. McNabb writes on behalf of the Cooper/Zumbrunnen family: "Thank you for honoring our fallen and those who sacrificed. We buried our Mother (Sec 15A,83) at Arlington last Friday and we took wreaths (we got the idea from you) for her and her husband's graves. He was shot down over Carrara, Italy, in 1944, three weeks after my sister was born. My Mom is finally united with her dear husband, and we appreciate what you do to remember. It means more than you know." Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Randy A. Salas is a columnist for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Do you have a favorite Web site or a question about how to find something on the Internet? Send a note by clicking here.
Weight-loss journeys © 2006, Star Tribune Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. |
Mitch Albom | |||||||||||
