Now that Memorial Day has come and gone, I've started thinking about the lazy hazy dog days of summer. And when our videographer Zachary emailed me about this really interesting “sunset” phenomenon called the Manhattan Solstice or “Manhattanhenge” as it’s been dubbed by the head of the Hayden Planetarium here, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, I was intrigued.

The sun would be in perfect alignment with Manhattan’s grid street pattern. You could stand on any street that runs east-west and see a most amazing sunset. We got our vidoecam set up to witness this twice a year event. (I kept humming the Katrina and the Waves song all the while. We were literally walking on sunshine!) Check it out below.
 

Celeste McCauley is a senior editor at GUIDEPOSTS.

Puppy Love

When Valentine's Day rolls around, I think of puppies. Maybe the folks at Westminster Kennel Club do too, because every year around this time they sponsor their big dog show. It's held in Madison Square Garden, just a couple of blocks away from our office.

This year Best in Show went to Stump, a Sussex Spaniel. He is the oldest dog to win, at age 10. Not only did he come out of retirement for one last "walk around the green," as his trainer put it, but he bounced back from a mysterious medical condition five years ago that nearly did him in. (It was 19 days before Texas A&M vets were able to diagnose him.) His trainer and owners weren't even sure they would show him until a couple of days before the event. What a pooch!

The judge, Sari Brewster Tietjen, said she made her decision at the last minute. "I didn't know who he was or how old he was…I couldn't say no to him." (See what she means here.) I like to think that Stump's win will inspire anyone who thinks age or illness is a reason to throw in the towel—or in Stump's case, the bone!

This Valentine's day I'll pass on the puppies and admire an old dog, Stump, who shows us all that your never too old to learn some new tricks. 

Celeste McCauley is a senior editor at GUIDEPOSTS.
 

What Good Shall I Do Today?

I came across an entry in a website called “Daily Routines” about how writers, artists and other interesting people organize their days. (This was a link from another of my fave sites veryshortlist.com.) At 5 a.m. Benjamin Franklin would “rise, wash, and address powerful goodness.” The great thinker and inventor would also ask himself daily: “What good shall I do this day?” In the evening there was supper and music and examination of the day as well as asking himself another question: “What good have I done today?”

This simple, powerful guide to living is from The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin . “What good shall I do this day?” stuck with me. It got me thinking about our popular feature called “Pass It On—People Helping People.” For years we’ve been publishing unique ways our millions of readers are helping others—from getting suitcases to foster kids who formerly carried their belongings in plastic garbage bags to putting a basket of breakfast goodies on the doorstep of a neighbor whose husband was in the hospital. So when I ask myself, "What good will I do today?" I know I can turn to our “Pass It On” feature to get some ideas. For starters I can pass this along. Hope you do too.  

Celeste is a senior editor at GUIDEPOSTS.

Right Place, Right Time

When we heard yesterday that a commercial plane had gone down in the Hudson River we hoped and prayed the passengers and crew would get out safely. It wasn’t for almost an hour that there was news that 155 crew and passengers, everyone, was alive! Our governor and mayor credited the pilot for his masterful skill in landing the plane and the passengers for keeping calm. "We had a miracle on 34th Street. I believe now we have had a miracle on the Hudson," Gov. David Paterson said.

The pictures (a passenger on one of the commuter ferries that rushed to rescue passengers, Janis Krums, tweeted this image he snapped on his iPhone) and video of the passengers standing on the sinking wing of the plane in the icy Hudson are riveting. A local TV reporter asked one of the survivors about the rescue. Wrapped in blankets to help bring his body temperature up, Doug Sanderson, a father of four, told the reporter that even though he was scheduled to be on a later flight, he’s glad he wasn’t. That’s right, he was glad he was on board Flight 1549. Why? There was a mother on the wing with her baby and she didn’t want to let go of her baby and hand him over to passengers in a life raft. Mr. Sanderson said he kept talking with her and calmed her down, assuring the baby would be safe. “God put me on that plane for a reason—to help that mother,” he said. He says he was at the right place, at the right time.

Celeste is a senior editor at GUIDEPOSTS.

One Christmas Eve I Was at a Very Low Point, Then...

It was Christmas Eve, my Dad’s birthday, and I had just learned he had only weeks to live. I don’t know how many times he bounced back from cancer, but this time it wasn’t to be. I was scheduled to fly to Florida to spend the holiday with him. Now it would be a radically different kind of Christmas. I didn’t know what I was headed for. Certainly sadness. 

Sitting in the boarding area, I wondered how I would put one foot in front of the other to get on that plane? How do you move forward knowing you’re going to face heartbreak? Then a little girl named Emily picked me to chat with for some reason. She was with her mom and brother. I didn’t feel like talking to anyone. She sweetly persisted. There was something so interesting about her. Someone knew it was the only way to reach me. She was my angel that Christmas Eve. Read how she and only she could have helped me that day.   

Celeste is a senior editor at GUIDEPOSTS.

Santa Cliff: Our Online St. Nick—800 prayers and Counting!

You may have seen our story in the December issue called The Good Book Santa about Santa Cliff Snider of High Point, North Carolina. He was so jolly and kind! There’s something a little bit different about Santa Cliff. He keeps names of children who visit him in a little red book and says a prayer for each.

We asked him if once the story was out if we could have a link on our site where folks could submit a prayer request for a child in their life. Never did we imagine the response! Currently Santa Cliff has 879 and counting requests from our readers!

Even though this Santa Cliff’s busiest time of year he is reading each request and saying a prayer for the child in need. We are so thankful to our “Good Book Santa” and we know you are too. Just shows again the power of one person’s story in GUIDEPOSTS.

Santa Cliff and I have been emailing each other. He sent me a story about a little boy he met. After reading it I will keep this boy in my prayers…and I know you will too.

Dear Celeste:

I will be delivering a talk at my church on December 21st where I will discuss the impact that all of the requests have had on me and how, hopefully, they have drawn our church family closer together as we have prayed for all of the requests. I know that God has a purpose for this that is far beyond anything I can do on my own.

Yesterday I was visiting with some children at our local Rotary Club meeting. Most of the children asked for X-Box 360s and Nintendo DSs and bicycles. Then one young man of about 10 years old responded when I asked him what he wanted for Christmas, “I want a family.” The response that I gave the boy is that Santa would pray that he would soon have a family to call his own.

When I receive requests such as that one, as well as the hundreds that I have received through your prayer page, it makes it hard to focus on the material things that most children are asking Santa for Christmas. It makes me want to emphasize how fortunate most of the children that I see are to have a family to love and that loves them. 

I have always had a different perspective of what Christmas really means, but now, even my perspective has changed. Now, my own prayer to God is, “How can I make a difference in this world to all of the children that are hurting, sick and without families to share the holidays?” I don’t know the answer as I continue in my role this season, but I am sure that God does. I am eager to hear what He has to tell me.

P.S. Santa shares more of his adventures in Santa's Journey.

Celeste McCauley is a senior editor at GUIDEPOSTS.