Shoes For Tanzania, Fondue Sets for Namibia

Some years, December 1 means snow. This year, for instance, unlike last year. But not that much; an early breath of winter across the landscape. Just enough to dust the sidewalks and streets, but not cover the grass. As if to say, this is only a taste of things to come, fool.

Got a message from Lilly's junior high today -- at some point we gave them one of our e-mail addresses, and we never stop hearing from them -- about Shoes for Tanzania. At least that's what I'm calling it.

The message went something like this: "Rosa Luxemburg Junior High is currently competing as a school against Saul Alinsky Junior High in a used shoe/boot drive. We will be donating all shoes collected to an organization that sells the shoes, and all funds collected from the shoes puts orphans in Tanzania through school. Feel free to check out those places in your homes where the old shoes collect and send them into school with your child!"

I'd like it better if our shoes went directly to Tanzanian orphans, but I guess that's not how international charity works. Anyway, this is our chance to cull the many, many shoes we have around the house, jammed in closets, stored in boxes, tucked in drawers, abandoned in nooks and left who knows where else. A shoe census would be a daunting task around here, but I don't think counting will be necessary, just bagging them up and giving them to Lilly to take to school.