Denial is the defense mechanisms of choice of our generation. So many people sit back and watch problems surround “others,” waiting to address an issue until it is obviously out of hand. I believe I can safely assume that everyone knows someone whose struggling with a deprecating habit or thought process of one form or another, whether it’s an addiction, a mentality, or a prejudice. I am currently residing in Utah, a state where the popular trend is to brush many critical issues under the table until affected directly. I am sure there are many communities, not just Utah, which project promises of perfection that its residents cannot live up to.

Utah is the leading abuser of prescription drugs in the country; this statistic is often unacknowledged because it contradicts the image as well as many of the values that the state tries to embed within its culture. We are also one of the national leaders of Meth use and production. I’m sure most readers of this article are aware that the LDS (Mormon) religion is very prominent in Utah, and because of its strong presence many victims of drug abuse and addiction feel they must endure their addictions incognito, unaware of where to turn for help without being judged.

A few weeks ago I was sent an e-mail invite to view the premier of a documentary entitled “Happy Valley” on March 26th. This documentary gives a voice to an expanding addiction and drug abuse problems that the majority of the culture denies. The film won the grand prize at the 2007 Breckenridge Film Festival in Colorado, competing against many films from around the country. The movie identifies and intensely interviews many Utahans who have been affected by drug-induced tragedies, and follows their steps to recovery. Ron Williams, the director, gives the audience an honest and raw portrayal of how lives are altered and lost due to denial and unawareness of this globally growing phenomenon.

The film is soon to be released nationally, aiming to draw attention to the drug epidemic plaguing our populace. My goal in writing about this is not to necessarily to inspire everyone to see this documentary, but to encourage communication, support, and outreach to those who may be struggling with a self-deprecating habit of any kind. Often, I find myself so absorbed with general topics of concern (ex. Literacy, Planned Parenthood, etc.) I sometimes neglect to remind those who surround me on a local level (friends and family) that I am available to help pacify their problems as well. So please, lets all try to reach out on a local level and remind our friends that we are there to hear and help appease their problems.

TAGS: chickens, cats, The Cylons Have A Plan

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232 years ago, a group of people just like you and me got together and decided to start a country based on he idea that the thought and dreams of each and every one of us mattered.

The world’s gotten a lot bigger since then, so big that I think a lot of people have begun to feel very small. I think a lot of people have come to believe that they DON’T matter, that their opinions don’t matter, that their votes don’t matter, and that their hopes and dreams were just some childish things they had to give up on the way to adulthood.

This year Counting Crows, with the help of eBay, is expanding our Community Outreach Program and establishing the GreyBird Foundation to try and remind each and every one of you that this just isn’t true.

We founded our Community Outreach Program over 10 years ago We found issues that we cared about and then we went out on a local level and found people in each and every town we visited who were dedicating their time to doing something about those issues. We found that in every town, your friends and your neighbors and the people living down the block from you had decided to do something to help out THEIR friends and THEIR neighbors and the people living down the block from them. And so we talked to our promoters and we got them booths at all our gigs and we talked to you about them from the stage both because we wanted you to know that there was something YOU could do to help, but also because we wanted you to know, in some cases, that if you needed help, there were people there to help YOU.

On a National Level we’ve been piecing together a network of organizations so that we can run a nationwide food drive at every concert. We want you to be able to bring a can to any concert and make sure it ends up on the table of someone who needs it to feed themselves. We also bought the tools to set up voter registration on our website. Come to CountingCrows.com and click on the flag and it will help you to register to vote anywhere in these United States. You think your vote doesn’t matter? You think you don’t matter? Well, it does… because you do. And there isn’t anything else that makes this country what it is or will make it what it can be except me and you and our decision to be a part of it.

And I really don’t care who or what you vote for. If you show up on Election Day and you cast your ballot against every single thing in this world that I believe in…then you and I are still on the same side. Because we showed up. America isn’t about winning or losing elections. America is about showing up. In fact, when we lose an election and still all manage to live together, we prove the concepts and the compacts that our country was founded on:

This is a democracy. We live here TOGETHER, we make our decisions TOGETHER, and then we all live with them TOGETHER.

On an international level, The GreyBird Foundation is teaming up with Kids For Tomorrow. You can visit their website at KidsForTomorrow.org. They help fund and build schools for kids in Africa. At the moment, they’re helping to operate several schools in Nairobi, Kenya. The idea isn’t to solve all the problems all at once. It’s just to try and give them a few extra years. At the moment, they maybe get to stay until they’re 7 or 8 years old. We’d like to try and keep them in school until they’re 11 or 12. It’s not enough. We know that but we just wanna try and give them a chance. They’re just little kids, after all. They deserve a chance.

Because the GreyBird Foundation is a strictly non-partisan organization, we’re going to try and offer our services to any other bands out there who’d like our help. You tell us your issue and we’ll find you an organization in every town YOU visit. We’ll set it up with the promoter and we’ll get them out to your gig. You want to help register Americans to vote? We’ll buy the voter registration tools from the government and set ‘em up on your website to make it easier for your fans.

Already, we’re going to be working with Dashboard Confessional, Sugarland, and Augustana.

All these bands have joined with Counting Crows because, for all our difference (and there are plenty), we all agree on one thing: that wherever you are, this is your town, your, country, and your world. And nobody will ever be able to make as much of a difference in it as you can just by waking up and being a part of it. Get involved with the idea of being involved. You don’t have to change the world; you just need to be a part of it.


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What "good" means to me?

The question perplexes me to no end! Odd since I only need to answer "What does good mean to me." I could be "sarcastic" Robin and say good means I keep my designer handbag addiction to one new... Prada, Valentino, YSL - take your pick... a month.

Or, you could think of good in the context of giving which to me would be the feeling you get when through your actions, you know you've made a difference or changed things for the betterment of others.

But, if I truly examine the word, good would mean being gracious, kind and benevolent. Through acting with good intentions, one not only makes others feel good, but an added benefit is feeing completeness and happiness yourself. For example, as a volunteer with Team In Training, I mentor new runners to help them be successful with fundraising and guide them through the marathon training. What a feeling of completeness we both will inherently get upon realizing the accomplishments of successfully fundraising and successfully completing an event! That's what's so great about a finish line!

Good to me means raising and donating money for worthy causes such as the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society; good to me means volunteering in any variety of capacities, such as wrapping gifts in support of a toy drive; good to me means being a great listener and being supportive of friends, family, and colleagues... or canceling plans to help someone who is in need.

These are some of the things that I keep in mind and strive to do so I can experience good, which, in the end... luckily... helped me to define the word and answer that perplexing question. To being good!

TAGS: chickens

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