Somewhere Over the Rainbow

I usually hate being accosted by do-gooders. The ones that force me to say things like, "No, I don't care about the fate of orphaned seals." I resent knowing this about myself. But it was an unexpectedly beautiful day and I decided to actually engage one of them in conversation.

"Do you have a moment for gay rights?" He asked, with expected rejection in his voice.
"I do, but I have to run an errand. I'll catch you on my return." This startled him, and to be honest that was most of the fun. Not only was it not the usual brush off, I was sure he didn't expect to see me again and I smiled a little picturing my return.

"OK," I said on my way back. "Tell me what I need to know about the cause."I got such a kick out of the amazement and delight in his eyes. It's like feeding stray cats. They're so hungry and so used to being passed by, that even a morsel of attention is exhilarating. Sure, I believe in the cause, but I believe in a lot of causes. So, why did I stop this time when I'd NEVER stopped before? Something in me empathized with them. I felt bad that they were rallying for a cause and no one was listening. Worse than not listening, people averted eye contact and even hurled abuse at them. I thought they could use a little sunshine. The twist is that I walked away full of cheer.

I've decided that from now on I'm only giving to causes on the sidewalk and will ignore all mailed solicitations. I need to give to people not causes. I need to make someone's day on a personal level. I need the gratification. Anonymous altruism is over-rated.

Dorothy's Wish
(Makes 2 smoothies)
Red layer
1 cup strawberries, frozen
3 tablespoons red juice, such as yumberry or cranberry
Orange layer
1 orange
1 cup cubed mango, frozen
Yellow layer
1 cup pineapple, frozen
3 tablespoons natural lemonade
Green layer
2 kiwis
1 cup cubed honeydew melon
Blue/Purple layer
1 cup frozen blueberries
3 tablespoons blueberry juice/nectar

Blend each layer of ingredients starting on variable #1 and dialing to #10, then high. Pour into two glasses. Place glasses in freezer while blending subsequent layers. Pour each layer over the back of a spoon or carefully spoon in so that it doesn't pour "through" the other color/s.
The effect, as you can see from the picture, is more the appearance of sand art. If you want a cleaner appearance you can make popsicles and fully freeze each layer before pouring the following one.