As this page opens, the first word I always is "Blogger" but the first word I read is "bigger" Of course, the word is Blogger but each time, I am taken back to my first significant interaction with a bum(begger) It was 1954 and I was sitting on the 4th avenue steps to the Downtown YMCA. An older man in rumpled, dirty clothes and long unshaven face that asked about the rubber thongs I had on my feet. We talked for a considerable time and when finished, the "bum" put his hand in his pant pocket and extracted what proved to be $1.83. Before he handed me this small fortune, we had enjoyed what I considered a fun time together so I asked why the money and he answered. "Because I took the TIME to talk with him. During the past 69 years, I have often recalled that incident favorably - not for the money but rather for the simplicity of a few kind minutes spent with a lonely older man and the joy of knowing the fortune that it was worth to that person, a person who is certainly long gone now, and how I wish that I could have spent more time with him; not for money but because it was so valuable to him that I have enjoyed it for a lifetime. I hope that I never forget that experience because i get such joy from it and I continue to be as generous as I possibly can be, indirectly I believe because of this experience, so many wonderful years ago... So, as 2014 comes rushing down the path, I do wonder how I can, with my limited old age resources, make life better for the developmentally disabled (my brothers lifetime situation) in the comming year, in part because I miss my brother terribly and because I cannot say that I've nearly had the 1954 learning experience since, except in the community of the developmentally disabled, a very special community. But now, as my time may be expiring, I need to continue and expand whatever good I may have done to this point. Please make your 2014 the best year ever.