We probably know at least someone who was affected by the wildfires in some way. I know three people personally who had to evacuate, but thankfully they were able to return to their homes with little or no damage. But there were countless others who lost everything, including their homes, and my thoughts and prayers go out to them.

You always hope that there is no loss of life with these events, but unfortunately, two people died from the wildfires, and my heart goes out to their families as well.

Even if many of us weren’t directly affected by the tragic events of September 11, 2001 in the sense of losing loved ones or friends, I don’t think we can ever forget the sense of horror and outrage we felt when the terrorists struck. Our country was being violated, and it didn’t matter whether you lived in New York or Austin, if you saw the images on television or heard about it on the radio, you felt as if you were right in the thick of it.

The dominant thought running through my mind as I ran through both events this week is the way people pull together in times of tragedy or great crisis. We worry and complain daily about our local, state, and federal government, about the economy, the unemployment rate, health care, etc. But when something or someone threatens our community, state, or country, all that goes out the window. When you hear about people opening their homes to total strangers because they had to evacuate, or give generously of their finances or material possessions, it shows more than just a sense of duty or responsibility. It demonstrates real compassion, a feeling of togetherness. It’s one of the many reasons I’m proud to be an American.

Most of us are familiar with the Miss America pageant, which has been crowning winners from all over the country since 1921. There is another pageant you may not be as familiar with, but is no less important in its concept. The Miss Plus America pageant is dedicated to celebrating the inner beauty of women, along with their commitment to the communities in which they live, and the 2011 Miss Plus America Elite winner lives here in Austin.

Spruce Dickerson competed with women from all over the United States last month to capture the Miss Plus America Elite crown, which is the highest honor in the Miss Plus America pageant system.

I first met Spruce several months ago, when we were paired as co-emcees for the Statewide Independent Living Council Convention. Her positive, energetic personality and passion for advocating for the voice of plus-sized women is both refreshing and unmistakable.
“All women are worthy, and all women have a voice,” she told me as we talked in my office recently. “It doesn’t matter what our size is. All women are beautiful.” Her mantra: “love who you are, where you are.”

All contestants are required to choose a platform, and Spruce chose volunteerism, because, as she put it, “I already do that. It’s not a hat that I put on and take off. My life is volunteerism.”

Spruce is excited about her opportunity to represent the Miss Plus America Elite crown, which is not affiliated with the Miss America contest. She will have numerous opportunities throughout the year to promote her volunteerism platform, and her theme, “give… so that others can live.” In December, she will travel to Nigeria to speak and emcee at the Miss Plus Nigeria pageant. While there, she will visit orphanages and schools, where she’ll be passing out school supplies. She is also currently working on a campaign called Flip Flop To Nigeria, to collect flip flops to hand out to people during her visit.

For more information about Spruce, or to line her up for a guest appearance, email Melissa Stamper at:
 director at missplusamerica.com

You may also visit Spruce’s website at:
 http://www.sprucedickerson.com/

The 89-year-old actrss was invited to a Marine ball through a YouTube video from Sgt. Ray Lewis. Check it out here:

Your chance comes this Saturday, June 25, as the Austin Council of the Blind hosts a Braille Awareness Day at Barnes & Noble, 10000 Research Blvd. in the Arboretum from 1 to 4 Pm.

Come see what the alphabet looks like in Braille, along with books that contain both Braille and print so blind and sighted children can read together, and watch a demonstration of different writing tools used to write Braille. As a special treat, have your name or a special message written in Braille for you to keep.

For more information about the Braille Awareness Day, visit:
 http://www.acbaustin.org/bn_braille-awar…

In conjunction with Braille Awareness Day, Barnes & Noble is also hosting a Book Fair, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the Austin Council of the Blind. The Book Fair will run from June 25 through June 30. Virtually any item purchased at Barnes & Noble can be used to support the Book Fair. If you shop online, all you have to do is enter the code 10512481 at checkout, and a percentage of your purchase price benefits the Austin Council of the Blind.

For further instructions on how to shop in support of the Book Fair, visit:
 http://www.acbaustin.org/bn_bookfair_201…

In the midst of all this activity, we sometimes forget that not everyone is able to do these things, particularly people who are homebound du to illness or other reasons.

That’s why Meals On Wheels and More is so vital to our community, providing meals for people who are otherwise unable to cook for themselves. The organization relies on dedicated volunteers to transport 90 percent of the one million meals it distributes each year throughout the Austin area.

With summer approaching,MOWAM is facing a shortage of drivers to cover its routes, and more cancellations are expected due to summer commitments. 40 of these routes are currently open, which means they don’t have regular drivers assigned to them, and are having to be covered by paid drivers. This raises administrative costs, including gas.

Meals On Wheels and More is looking for both regular and substitute drivers, particularly in north Austin and areas east of I35. If you can help, visit their website at:
 http://www.mealsonwheelsandmore.org/volu….

Find out more about the princes’ military garb at:
 http://www.people.com/people/package/art…

and let me know your thoughts.

The city has launched a program called Dare to Go Zero. Four local families have accepted a five-week challenge to reduce the amount of trash they generate, and will document their progress on camera. Each family is competing for a chance to win a sustainable home improvement package worth over $2000!

Dare to Go Zero airs Friday nights, 7 Pm, on Austin’s local Government Access Channel 6, as well as on YouTube.

For more information about the Dare to Go Zero project, visit
http://www.cityofaustin.org/sws/daretogozero.htm

I downloaded an app recently called the LookTel Money Reader. It takes a picture of a dollar bill using the phone’s camera, recognizes the bill’s denomination utilizing Optical Character Recognition (OCR) , and says it aloud.

Being visually impaired, this has vastly improved my ability to count and sort money independently. The app cost $1.99, and it’s been money well spent.

For now, LookTel only recognizes U.S. currency, and it doesn’t detect counterfeit bills, but they are working on updates to make that happen.

Check out my video of a review an demonstration of the LookTel Money Reader, and visit
 http://www.looktel.com/products#products…

for more information.