How are things? To all my lady readers out there, Happy International Women’s Day! I’m really positive this week. I’ve been so supported by the people around me. And Adrian, doing his own thing living his dream, becoming an actor. I haven’t heard a peep from love birds Kate and Jeffrey for a while… I still have to tell you about poor Steve’s disaster date though!

Do you remember me mentioning how excited Steve was to go on a date with his long time crush Carole? Well, it turned out the date wasn’t really what he expected. Poor Steve, as good as he is with computers and machinery, he’s not very good at reading people. Steve got to the restaurant pretty early and spoke to the hostess about how his friend might propose that night so he ordered champagne, flowers and the works.

The time came and Carole showed up. All the waiters were a bit giddy and excited for Steve. Of course he told them about the superstition about leap days and how girls usually propose. But how many centuries ago was that? Steve being the geek that he is, never questioned which century he’s in and just assumed. Well, we all know when you assume–disaster! Carole arrived and started telling him that she really wanted to thank him for all that he’s done with her computer and all the help he gave, blah, blah, blah. Then she goes on to say that she’s getting married and showed him the ring!

“Whaaat?” went Steve. And all the waiters are coming in with the champagne and flowers, and congratulating the two. It was really awkward for Steve. Even more awkward for Carole, because she didn’t know what was going on. They had a quiet dinner after that. They had their champagne, “I mean, what was I supposed to do, leave the champagne? I might as well have it–I ordered it,” recounted Steve. “It was a bit weird after all that. I just told her, I figured since it was Leap Day, that I’d surprise her by doing something funny. It’s a cover story, but I’m not sure how well it worked.” Maybe it’s time Steve gets on the dating scene officially and stops talking to computers all the time.

I felt really good after my talk with Mrs. Bradley last week. I wanted to do something so I started saying ‘Good Morning’ to people I met on the street. Now, I live in New York, and you’ve probably heard that this is a cold city. I mean, New Yorkers have a bad rep for their meaness, not hospitality. But I felt, what the heck, I see these people every day when I walk around the neighborhood or on my commute, when I take the subway–I might as well greet them some day, right?

I greeted the Korean lady who runs the deli, where I get my morning coffee–she just smiled at me. Come to think of it, I’d never seen her smile until then. Boy that was a nice feeling to get, when you see a stranger smile at you. Then again, she’s not really a stranger, I mean, I see her every day. I came outside and said, “Good Morning” to the guy who walks the dogs–he always has at least ten dogs around him. He just nodded but he looked satisfied.

I decided to take the subway to the office, so I took a turn and saw an older lady with a red cart stuck at the curb. I recognized her because she lives near my block. I approached her and said, “Hi, good morning. Let me help you pull that cart up.” It looked like she just did her weekly grocery shopping. She sighed and said, “Why, thank you young man. It’s so nice to see young people helping out. You don’t see that often anymore.” Sometimes, we’re so busy with ourselves, we forget to look around, greet or help others. I told her, “You’re welcome. Have a great morning.” She gave me a big smile and said, “You have a lovely day.” Then she left with her cart down the sidewalk. I felt really happy after that. It was a great way to start my day.

Hey, talk about empowerment, International Women’s Day is coming up on March 8th. This year the United Nations (UN) is focusing on “Investing in Women and Girls”. Donna invited me to a commemoration ceremony at the UN today. I think it’ll be really interesting, especially since I’ve never really been to a UN ceremony before. Donna said, “Young women and girls in third world countries are more vulnerable to the impact of poverty than anyone else. They are not going to have access to education, healthcare, nutrition and jobs. That’s why this year, the UN is focusing on having infrastructure in place in those countries for girls and young women.”

I remembered the female GI telling me about women in Iraq and Afghanistan and how the GIs and non-profit organizations are helping them get basic needs like food and setting up computer centers, so children can learn. The stuff she told me isn’t something you hear in the news–normal day-to-day stuff that goes on out in the war zone, where people are trying to rebuild their lives. I really admired her and I asked her what a guy like me can do to help. She introduced me to pet therapy, a technique that people are using in hospitals to help our wounded veterans. Maybe Kong would be good for that. I’ll tell you more about it later. For me, it’s really remarkable to be around women like her and Donna (and oh yeah, my mom!). They enrich me in so many ways and they’re so positive that I’m really influenced by them. They make me feel like I can get up and do something too. Plus remember March 8th is just a day, but we have plenty of time to celebrate the whole of Women’s History Month this month!

I have to tell you about another remarkable woman, her name is Lisa, Mrs. Bradley’s daughter-in-law. I met her at Andrew’s christening. Mrs. Bradley’s been concerned about Mike and Lisa for the past year. “They had been trying to conceive for a long time, but they weren’t successful until now,” explained Mrs. Bradley to me. “I’m just glad they’re all healthy and fine.” It was a baptism with a small gathering. Mike, Lisa and little Andrew flew to New York just to have the baptism in the same church that Mike had his. I was happy just to be asked to be a part of it.

The good news for Mrs. Bradley isn’t just that Andrew is healthy. Mike is going to be moving back to New York soon, too. I really enjoyed the christening. The priest talked about how a child is a gift from God. He said that even John the Baptist’s parents didn’t have children and were barren for many years. Then, right before Jesus was born, they were blessed with John the Baptist. “A child is like a gift that keeps on giving,” said Mrs. Bradley. “I feel so very lucky.” And I could see in her twinkling eyes that Mrs. Bradley was really happy. Finally her whole family will be near her.

Folks, I have to close here. For your Zen moment, as one of my favorite quarterbacks, Jim McMahon once said, “Yes, risk taking is inherently failure-prone. Otherwise, it would be called sure-thing-taking.” Sometimes, just saying hello can feel like a risk. Just remember that Daylight Saving Time begins on March 9th–don’t forget to turn forward your watches and clocks!