Helping Saint Nick...

 Nick is a blogger friend from Louiseville, US whom I know from my early blogging days of 2005. I've been reading his blog posts---regularly in the beginning and on-off recently. His 'too bad it's monday' jokes are a perennial favourite, which never fail to bring a smile even in my most strained moments. He blogs about his daily life, his rich memories, his views on current affairs, some family matters and not to forget, the adventures of his cat, Alex. When we had the Light channels world movement five years ago, I requested him to write a few words about it and he graciously wrote a post, attracting a stream of comments and responses. An endearing oldman, nonethless. Connected across continents through this medium of penning down our lives in words!

His recent posts had streaks of his failing health and family neglect... but even in the middle of the gloom and loneliness, he would unfailingly ignite a spark of life with a cheerful word or a positive twist. So when I went over to his blog yesterday, I was struck sad by his current situation. In his own words....'I am sitting at my desk, shaking. Earlier today I was cuddling with Alex—and crying. My life since early December has been a nightmare: continued illness (constant pain in my left leg), no caregiver (because Congress cut VA funding for the program), financial stress (I do not have enough money for more than 3 weeks food), and loneliness (I am rejected by my sons, not even allowed to visit my grandchildren) have more than taken their toll on my life. .'

 I donno in what way anyone of us here in India or anywhere else can be of service to Nick. His problems seem too numerous and enormous for any one individual to assist him with. The only thing that came to my mind was to send a donation to his account, and Just pray for him. Then, another thought...why not ask others also to do the same? Maybe my small contribution might not be of much help but a few more helping hands, and his burden might ease just a little bit.

 I wrote to him to confirm his paypal account details etc and he has put a widget on his blog, through which anyone can make a donation. Today, some of us contributed a bit(quite substantial for us, but maybe just a few hundred dollars in his currency). I request each one of you reading these words to checkout his blog, and if you feel inspired, consider making a Donation...any amount that you feel makes sense to you. Please!

You may use the Donate button on the top right corner of his blog page.(under the heading Gifts for Sometimes Saintly Nick)

 I've added a post on facebook, so please share it on your walls and request your friends. I've also pinged a few friends living in US to pool up some donations to help this bubbly old(?)man  spend his sunset years peacefully. Any help...even the smallest, would add up to give him the required medical care and assistance. Perhaps more than anything, the compassion and prayers of strangers would by itself boost his confidence and give him much Cheer and Joy. Thank you and God Bless!

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Update:  Heart felt thanks to some friends who have posted about Nick on Facebook and also have donated a bit.

 There was some expectation that many more friends would comment and also volunteer to donate! It takes some heart to feel empathy, to loosen our purse strings, but... as someone said.... Money should flow like air, like river through our lives. To receive generously from the Universe, we should also be generous in giving!!!

 Making a donation through paypal is slightly tricky, especially for a first time user. If you haven't used paypal before, and want to make a donation to Nick:
   1) Go to www.Paypal.com and create an account with your email id. Ensure that your name is the same as it appears in your bank account/Credit Card.
   2) Add your Bank Account Details or Credit Card details to your account (Login to Paypal and click on Profile)
   3) Wait for a day or two for Paypal to make a couple of transactions in your account.
   4) Then log into Paypal and Get Verified by entering the details of the above Paypal Transactions.

 All set! Now you can make transactions using Paypal. Go to Nick's blog, click on the Donate button, enter your paypal credentials, and you'll be able to make a Donation.