Week 12 Inspiration: Your Place

I am at 430,000 pennies with about 2 1/2 months left to go.
If you have not made a contribution yet, do it this week. Help me get over the
500,000 penny hump! I am only 700 dollars away or 7,000 pennies! We have come
so far, let's get that much closer this weekend!

But wait...here is your inspiration

"Last week, I was watching my older son Joshua play
lacrosse. Joshua is 11 years old and the goalie on his lacrosse team. He is the
one in the picture with the Maryland Lacrosse t-shirt. He started playing lacrosse
this year for the first time ever after never having picked up a lacrosse stick
before. He plays for a team in Prince Georges County called the PG Pride. He
loves it.

Joshua has always loved sports. Soccer, basketball,
baseball, football, diving, skateboarding... he plays everything. That's
Joshua. He has always been most comfortable on the field in the middle of the
action. As I was watching him out there, I marveled at his focus. Josh is a
different person on the field. He is focused, deliberate and determined.

Gone is the 11 year old kid who my wife and I need to remind
to brush his teeth and take a shower. Gone is the kid who's afraid of dogs and
crickets. Gone is the kid who won't pour himself a bowl of cereal and finds
spreading cream cheese on a bagel a complex task involving a blend of dexterity
and coordination that only I or my wife seem to possess. In his place is the
goalie of the PG Pride. Standing tall in front of the goal. Loudly directing
the other players to get back on defense. Calmly stopping the balls being
thrown his way with his body or lacrosse stick. Carefully and decisively
slinging them down field to an open defender. I watched him and so proud
because he had found his "place."

You know your place because you feel at home there. You are
not sure why, because you've never been there before or done it before, but it
just feels right. Like the right pair of shoes. Like you were meant for this
place. All those things that people told you were wrong about you are suddenly
right in your place. They are actually strengths now and qualities that are
envied by others. This is place your crucible you confront your fears and
anxieties at full strength and live to see your hopes and dreams come true.

It is the place where you realize that real strength comes
from being part of something bigger than yourself. You are not the whole thing
or the most important thing. You are part of a team. You are an important piece
of a much larger puzzle You are grateful to have this opportunity.

That is how I feel about Pyramid Atlantic. Its ironic
because as I have said before, I am not a printmaker, but I feel I belong here.
It is the place where I feel most alive. It is the place I go to improve the
quality of not only my life but the lives of my friends in the community. Its a
place where I go to demonstrate to the businesses in the area the power of the
arts to bring people together to activate their shops and restaurants. Its a
place where I go to show politicians that the arts transform the lives by
unlocking hidden potential and a love for learning. That this love you discover
makes you want to go out and be more and do more.I am so proud of my son and celebrate his joy in finding his
place. I know what that's like."

We are almost halfway to raising 1,000,000 pennies for
Pyramid Atlantic folks. The pennies will help support art classes and
workshops, internships, studios for artists and events for people of all ages
at Pyramid. Its easy to be a part:

•Contact me to pick up your pennies I will pick them up,
count them and give you a tax receipt for your charitable contribution!

•Make a Penny drop. Drop your pennies off at Pyramid. I will
count them and give you a tax receipt.

•Visit a Penny Partner and drop your pennies. Go to Fillmore
Silver Spring, Kefa Cafe, Velatis Caramels, ArtSpring,Plaza Artist Materials,
Zipcar, Firestation 1 , The Toole Design Group, and Statland & Katz.

If all this penny stuff is too complicated and you just want
to make a contribution, you can donate in any form of currency to Pyramid
Atlantic by clicking here. I will add up your donation in pennies and include
it in my campaign.

Come to Pyramid, this Friday April 20th at 6:30 pm for
Yuri's night: a space party. For $5, you can enjoy a cocktail, space treats,
make a print, gaze at the stars from the roof of Pyramid and celebrate Yuri
Alekseyevich Gagarin, a cosmonaut & the first human to journey into outer
space.

Bring your pennies on Friday too and I will take them to my
friends at Eagle Bank.