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| (Image from Mothers Day Quotes Messages) |
A Happy Mother's Day!
(Or, "A Song For Mama")
I Just Want To
Wish You "A Happy Mother's Day!"
I Just Want To
Be So Humble In Your Genuine Way!
I Just Want To
Live As Fully As You Do Without Drama!
I Just Want To
Sing A Song For You, "A Song For Mama!"
I Just Want To
Be As Nurturing As You So Patiently Are!
I Just Want To
Wish Becoming As Bright Of A "Day Star!"
I Just Want To
Say "Bless You" For Never Giving Up!
I Just Want To
Say "Thank You" For Raising Me Up!
I Just Want To
Be So Gentle In Your Loving Way!
I Just Want To
Say, "Happy Mother's Day!"
-Paul Whiting
(a.k.a., A Creative Writer)
"I maybe say too much about how life really is!"
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My Writing Notes:
The reason that I wrote this poem can be summed up with the following statement: This poem is a reworking of a poem that I wrote for the 100th Anniversary of Father's Day, which was in 2010.
So, I decided to rework that poem and publish it on my "Small All White in the Forest" blog in 2015, because I started blogging after the 100th Anniversary of Mother's Day, which was in 2008, so I was unable to publish a poem for the same anniversary of Mother's Day as Father's Day!
And since I did not get a chance to publish a poem for the 100th Anniversary of Mother's Day, I decided to delete the post for the 100th Anniversary of Father's Day and publish a poem for both Mother's Day and Father's Day the same year on my "Small All White in the Forest" blog.
Plus, this poem is also inspired by the song "A Song for Mama," which is performed by Boys II Men, and was written and produced by Kenneth Brian Edmonds (better known by his stage name 'Babyface') and served as the theme song to the 1997 motion picture "Soul Food." (Please see the hyperlink below for the video.)
And this poem was also published on my "Small All White in the Forest" blog (please see the hyperlink below for the blog), since I feel that the message in this poem applies to the message that I am trying to convey through "Small All White in the Forest."
This poem was written in Portland, Oregon.
-Paulee
https://smallallwhiteintheforest.blogspot.com
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Watch "A Song For Mama" on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/vdTnuc3ktzo
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May 8th, 2022 Update, Written On May 7th, 2022 (Originally From My Blog Post Titled, "My Point Of View On...Giving Charity And Accepting Charity," Which Is On Both Of My "Paul Whiting — Math Magician" And "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" Blogs): Happy Mother's Day, everyone! I signed a Mother’s Day card to military moms around the world from the USO (United Service Organizations) today, May 7th, 2022, that I received today via an email with the subject line, "Quick favor before Mother's Day", which stated the following:
Tomorrow is Mother’s Day, Paul, and I need your help to make it special for military moms around the world.
When I say “military mom,” I’m talking about mothers serving in our Armed Forces right now, many of whom will spend the day far away from their kids as they work to defend our freedom. But I am also talking about all the moms back home whose kids are service members. Holidays like tomorrow are tough on every member of a military family.
That’s why it is so important to show our support for troops and their families when we can. As an officer in the U.S. Army who has spent countless holidays overseas, I will tell you that it really does make a difference to know that folks back home are thinking of us as we risk our lives to keep them safe.
So please, before midnight tonight, will you be one of the 50,000 signatures we need to meet our goal to honor military moms?***
Thank you for helping make sure military moms know how much they are appreciated on their special day — and for everything you do to support service members around the world as they defend our country.
[Name redacted], U.S. Army
***[I used to include hyperlinks contained within the email messages, or the text messages, to which I am referring in these "Activism Updates"; however, I could not figure out how to include the aforementioned hyperlinks, regarding some relevant action that I had taken—such as signing a petition, sending a letter or message to my representative(s) in Congress, signing a USO 'Thank You' card, and/or making a donation—without including my personal information.]
Plus, after I signed the card, I made a one-time donation on the USO.org website to say to military moms, "We so appreciate the sacrifices you and your family make every day in service of our country and the freedoms we all cherish."
In addition to that, I already make a recurring monthly donation to the USO in order to show my support for our U.S. Military Personnel! You see, I usually make one-time donations to the USO each month—as often as I can manage when they request a donation via email or text message. Therefore, I am planning to continue making one-time donations to the USO in the future, as often as I can manage to make donations, in addition to making the aforementioned recurring monthly donation.
By the way, did you know that the USO is a not-for-profit organization and not part of the Department of Defense (DoD)? The following description of the USO is from their 'About Us' webpage:
"The USO is not part of the federal government. A congressionally chartered, private organization, the USO relies on the generosity of individuals, organizations and corporations to support its activities, and is powered by a family of volunteers to accomplish our mission of connection."
So, that is why I 'volunteer financially' as a member of the "USO Home Team" through a recurring monthly donation, as well as through one-time donations to the USO each month!
–Paul Whiting (written May 7th, 2022, revised May 21st, 2022, revised May 26th, 2022, revised June 18th, 2022, revised June 22nd, 2022, revised June 25th, 2022, revised June 26th, 2022, revised August 16th, 2022, revised September 4th, 2022, revised November 18th, 2022, revised November 24th, 2022, revised December 27th, 2022, revised December 29th, 2022, revised April 11th, 2023, revised April 21st, 2023, revised April 27th, 2023, revised April 28th, 2023, revised May 14th, 2023, revised May 17th, 2023, revised June 14th, 2023, revised July 28th, 2023, revised September 27th, 2023 and revised November 18th, 2023)
–Paul Whiting (written May 7th, 2022, revised May 21st, 2022, revised May 26th, 2022, revised June 18th, 2022, revised June 22nd, 2022, revised June 25th, 2022, revised June 26th, 2022, revised August 16th, 2022, revised September 4th, 2022, revised November 18th, 2022, revised November 24th, 2022, revised December 27th, 2022, revised December 29th, 2022, revised April 11th, 2023, revised April 21st, 2023, revised April 27th, 2023, revised April 28th, 2023, revised May 14th, 2023, revised May 17th, 2023, revised June 14th, 2023, revised July 28th, 2023, revised September 27th, 2023 and revised November 18th, 2023)
[I feel like I need to clarify why there are so many 'revised dates' on this 'update,' just like there are often times so many 'revised dates' on other 'updates' similar to this one! You see, I really try to keep my writing consistent as possible across all of my blogs. Therefore, as I am writing, I try to use the same phraseology wherever possible with regard to similar types of my writing so that, when I am editing my writing, I can change all of the similar writing at the same time and in the same way! Thus, a lot of the revisions indicated above, after my name (–Paul Whiting), and shown right after the original 'written date,' are often times due to these aforementioned consistent-writing revisions.]
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May 14th, 2023 Update: (Originally From My Blog Post Titled, "My Point Of View On...Giving Charity And Accepting Charity," Which Is On Both Of My "Paul Whiting — Math Magician" And "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" Blogs): Happy Mother's Day, everyone! I signed a Mother’s Day card to military moms around the world from the USO (United Service Organizations) today, May 14th, 2023, that I received today via an email with the subject line, "Missing your name on our Mother’s Day card", which stated the following:
Paul: Happy Mother's Day! We hope you and yours are celebrating all the caring moms in your life. But for many military moms around the world, this day can be particularly difficult.
So what is a "military mom"? Military moms are mothers who are currently serving in our nation's military, sacrificing time with their own children to protect our freedoms. Military moms are also the mothers of service members — thousands of miles away from their kids on a holiday like today.
That's why it is so important to show our support for troops and their families when we can, but especially on days like today.
So please, before our midnight goal deadline, will yours be one of the 10,000 email signatures we need to meet our goal to honor and thank our military moms?
Sign the Mother's Day card to honor military moms around the world.
SIGN NOW***
Thank you for helping make sure military moms know just how much they are appreciated on their special day — and for everything you do to support the brave troops around the world as they defend our country.
The USO
***[I used to include hyperlinks contained within the email messages, or the text messages, to which I am referring in these "Activism Updates"; however, I could not figure out how to include the aforementioned hyperlinks, regarding some relevant action that I had taken—such as signing a petition, sending a letter or message to my representative(s) in Congress, signing a USO 'Thank You' card, and/or making a donation—without including my personal information.]
Plus, after I signed the card, I made a one-time donation on the USO.org website to say to military moms, "Happy Mother’s Day! We are incredibly appreciative of the sacrifices you and your family make every day in service of our country and the freedoms we all cherish."
In addition to that, I already make a recurring monthly donation to the USO in order to show my support for our U.S. Military Personnel! You see, I usually make one-time donations to the USO each month—as often as I can manage when they request a donation via email or text message. Therefore, I am planning to continue making one-time donations to the USO in the future, as often as I can manage to make donations, in addition to making the aforementioned recurring monthly donation.
By the way, did you know that the USO is a not-for-profit organization and not part of the Department of Defense (DoD)? The following description of the USO is from their 'About Us' webpage:
"The USO is not part of the federal government. A congressionally chartered, private organization, the USO relies on the generosity of individuals, organizations and corporations to support its activities, and is powered by a family of volunteers to accomplish our mission of connection."
So, that is why I 'volunteer financially' as a member of the "USO Home Team" through a recurring monthly donation, as well as through one-time donations to the USO each month! –Paul Whiting (written May 14th, 2023, revised July 28th, 2023, revised September 27th, 2023 and revised November 18th, 2023)
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May 12th, 2024 Update No. 1 (Originally From My Blog Post Titled, "My Point Of View On...Giving Charity And Accepting Charity," Which Is On Both Of My "Paul Whiting — Math Magician" And "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" Blogs): Happy Mother's Day, everyone! In celebration of Mother's Day, I did a Google search for "Mother's Day USO" and found the following USO (United Service Organizations) search result regarding Mother's Day:
And, after I read the search results above, I clicked on the hyperlink to the referenced webpage, the relevant text of which can be found below:
And so, I signed the USO Mother's Day card "thanking moms in the military for their service and sacrifice." Plus, after I signed the card, I made a one-time donation on the USO.org website to say to our military moms, "Thank you for all you do for our country, and happy Mother's Day!"
In addition to that, I already make a recurring monthly donation to the USO in order to show my support for our U.S. Military Personnel! You see, I usually make one-time donations to the USO each month—as often as I can manage when they request a donation via email or text message. Therefore, I am planning to continue making one-time donations to the USO in the future, as often as I can manage to make donations, in addition to making the aforementioned recurring monthly donation.
By the way, did you know that the USO is a not-for-profit organization and not part of the Department of Defense (DoD)? The following description of the USO is from their 'About Us' webpage:
"The USO is not part of the federal government. A congressionally chartered, private organization, the USO relies on the generosity of individuals, organizations and corporations to support its activities, and is powered by a family of volunteers to accomplish our mission of connection."
So, that is why I 'volunteer financially' as a member of the "USO Home Team" through a recurring monthly donation, as well as through one-time donations to the USO each month!
–Paul Whiting (written May 12th, 2024 and revised May 18th, 2024)
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November 6th, 2024 Update No. 1 [My Writing About No Longer Being An 'Online Activist' In Any Way, Shape Or Form]: Due to Donald Trump winning the 2024 Presidential Election—and until further notice—I am no longer being an 'Online Activist' in any way, shape or form, which includes no longer signing petitions from political, social, environmental and charitable organizations, and no longer sending letters to my Representative and Senators in Congress, as well as no longer making donations to political, social, environmental and charitable causes. Full stop! I am also unsubscribing from any of the emails that I used to receive from political, social, environmental and charitable organizations. In fact, I am even cancelling all of my monthly political donations to the main Democratic fundraising and coordinating organizations, as well as to the USO (United Service Organizations), in addition to cancelling all of my monthly news organization subscriptions, or news organization donations, because I am absolutely terrified of this second Trump administration. And I fully expect that democracy in America as we know it will be over! So, I am choosing to not engage in any 'activism' whatsoever—plus, I am not even sure that I will be exercising my 'civic duty' by voting in any upcoming elections because, as a (formerly) donating and a (potentially former) voting Democrat, I totally fear the retribution of President Donald J. Trump. Full stop!
P.S.: It's July 31st, 2025, and I feel like I need to provide an addendum (that is, "an item of additional material added at the end of a book or document, typically in order to correct, clarify, or supplement something") to this November 6th, 2024 'update!'
You see, a couple of days ago, on July 29th, 2025, I copied the text of this update to use as my reason for unsubscribing from a particular political email that I received that same day!
And so, I actually bothered to read this update—in order to verify that it made sense for me to use as a response to the request on this political email's unsubscribe page which stated, "Please tell us why you are leaving"—during which I realized there was a typo (that is, 'a typographical error') in the text of the update, as I have highlighted below, with the correction in brackets:
Thus, I accidentally left out the word "it" in the sentence above. Hence, I corrected said typo on July 29th, the verification of which can be seen reflected in the addition of the date "revised July 29th, 2025" after my name.
However, as I got to thinking about the fact that I had originally said I may not be voting in any upcoming elections, I realized that, in fact, I did vote in Portland Oregon's Multnomah County Special District Election on May 20th, 2025, just like I usually do! [I always vote in every election (even 'special elections') and I always vote Democrat, which is why I was worried about voting in any upcoming elections given President Trump's clear disdain for Democrats.]
Therefore, I decided to write this "P.S." today, July 31st, as a way to clarify that I am still voting in elections (even 'special elections'), it's just that I am no longer engaging in any 'Online Activism,' during Trump's Presidency, as I explained in great detail above. (I hope that makes sense!)
–Paul Whiting (written November 6th, 2024, revised November 7th, 2024, revised July 29th, 2025 and revised July 31st, 2025)
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Blogger's Note: This is a follow-up to my 'November 6th, 2024 Update No. 1 [My Writing About No Longer Being An 'Online Activist' In Any Way, Shape Or Form]' that is located on my blog post "I Am No Longer Being An Activist In The Same Way That I Was," which can be found on my "Poet, Artist and Philosopher" blog. And that update stated, in part, the following:
You see, I have restarted donating to organizations which support the U.S. Military, including the USO (United Service Organizations)—that I restarted donating to as of April 16th, 2026—which supports our Active Duty Personnel, as well as Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), and Armed Services YMCA (ASYMCA), in addition to Wounded Warrior Project (WWP)—that I restarted donating to as of May 25th, 2026—all of which support our Military Veterans.
So, for the complete updates (with any corresponding ‘My Writing About...’) regarding these restarted donations, please see my blog post titled, "My Point Of View On...Giving Charity And Accepting Charity," which can be found on both of my "Paul Whiting — Math Magician" and "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" blogs, within which you can do a find-in-page search for the updates listed below by their label names (or, by their corresponding ‘My Writing About...' titles, where applicable).
These are the updates regarding my restarted donations to the USO on April 16th, 2026:
April 16th, 2026 Update No. 1
April 16th, 2026 Update No. 1 (Follow-Up No. 1, Written On April 17th, 2026) [My Writing About How I Restarted Donating To The USO (United Service Organizations) As Of April 2026]
April 16th, 2026 Update No. 1 (Follow-Up No. 2, Written On April 19th, 2026)
April 16th, 2026 Update No. 1 (Follow-Up No. 3, Written On May 17th, 2026) [My Writing About How I Restarted Donating To The USO (United Service Organizations) As Of April 2026, Part 2]
April 16th, 2026 Update No. 1 (Follow-Up No. 4, Written On June 15th, 2026, Which Also Discusses June 14th, 2026)
Theses are the updates regarding my restarted donations to Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), and to Armed Services YMCA (ASYMCA), as well as to Wounded Warrior Project (WWP), respectively, on May 25th, 2026:
May 25th, 2026 Update No. 3, Written On May 26th, 2026
May 25th, 2026 Update No. 4, Written On May 27th, 2026, Which Also Discusses May 2026
May 25th, 2026 Update No. 5, Written On May 27th, 2026
Now, to clarify something: I would normally also refer you to my blog post titled, "I Am No Longer Being An Activist In The Same Way That I Was," which can be found on my "Poet, Artist and Philosopher" blog, for these blog post updates (and for the corresponding ‘My Writing About…’, where applicable), but I cannot edit this post anymore—for an unknown reason—as of May 11th, 2026. So, any editing that I have tried to do on this blog post, after May 11th, for some reason won't save...
…Although, on June 20th, 2026, I thought to relocate all of the 2026 updates from my original blog post, "I Am No Longer Being An Activist In The Same Way That I Was," to my newer "I Am No Longer Being An Activist In The Same Way That I Was, Part 2." You see, I had created that 'Part 2' blog post as a backup post, because there was a period of time when the original blog post kept being unpublished by Blogger for being too 'spammy'—I am guessing because of all the hyperlinks that I was providing for news articles that I was referring to my readers!
Anyway, that relocation of the 2026 updates seemed to have worked in getting the original blog post to be "editable" again, at least temporarily... But, then, later on that same day, I tried to add some additional text to the post and it would not save again! However, at least this time, instead of just saying that the "Update failed," it specifically stated, "The body is too large." Thus, I am assuming the 'unknown reason' that I stopped being able to edit the post on May 11th was because I had—apparently—reached some sort of blog post size threshold!
(So now, I am thinking of editing out most of the news updates, which I wrote on that original post, because those updates weren't nearly as pertinent to my "Online Activism" as was responding to the text message, email, and regular mail communications that I was receiving from various political, progressive and charitable organizations.)
In conclusion, then: for the complete updates (with any corresponding ‘My Writing About...’) regarding these restarted donations, I can now refer you to my blog post titled, "I Am No Longer Being An Activist In The Same Way That I Was, Part 2,” which can be found on my "Poet, Artist and Philosopher" blog, in addition to the above-mentioned blog post titled, "My Point Of View On...Giving Charity And Accepting Charity," which can be found on both of my "Paul Whiting — Math Magician" and "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" blogs.
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May 10th, 2026 Update No. 1 (Originally From My Blog Post Titled, "My Point Of View On...Giving Charity And Accepting Charity," Which Is On Both Of My "Paul Whiting — Math Magician" And "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" Blogs): Happy Mother's Day, everyone! In celebration of Mother's Day, I did a Google search for "the USO Mother's Day" and found the following USO (United Service Organizations) search result regarding Mother's Day:
And, after I read the search results above, I clicked on the hyperlink to the referenced webpage, the relevant text of which can be found below:
And so, I made a one-time donation on the USO.org website in order to support the USO's following statement: "This Mother’s Day, the USO is thanking moms in the military for their service and sacrifice. ... Thank you for all you do for our country, and happy Mother’s Day!"
Then, after I made said donation, I received an email from the USO today, May 10th, 2026, with the subject line, "Thank You for Your Donation to the USO", which stated the following:
In addition to that, I already make a recurring monthly donation to the USO in order to show my support for our U.S. Military Personnel! You see, I usually make one-time donations to the USO—as often as I can manage when they request a donation via regular mail, email or text message. Therefore, I am planning to continue making one-time donations to the USO in the future, as often as I can manage, in addition to making the aforementioned recurring monthly donation.
By the way, did you know that the USO is a not-for-profit organization and not part of the Department of Defense (DoD)? The following description of the USO is from their 'About Us' webpage:
"The USO is not part of the federal government. A congressionally chartered, private organization, the USO relies on the generosity of individuals, organizations and corporations to support its activities, and is powered by a family of volunteers to accomplish our mission of connection."
So, that is why I 'volunteer financially' as a member of the "USO Home Team" through a recurring monthly donation, as well as through one-time donations to the USO! –Paul Whiting (written May 10th, 2026, revised May 11th, 2026, revised May 21st, 2026, revised June 21st, 2026 and revised July 7th, 2026)
P.S.: By the way, I wanted to highlight the fact that the very first Mother's Day in America was observed on May 10th, 1908! So, that's 118 years ago this Mother's Day!
Mother's Day (United States) from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia—which is funded primarily through donations from millions of individuals around the world, including this blogger (I make a totally affordable one-time donation if they are requesting donations when I am on their website):
Please see the hyperlink below for the article:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother%27s_Day_(United_States)
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This "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" Post No. 214 was edited on July 10th, 2026.
"Poetry is using the fewest words possible in order to describe all that is possible to describe." –Paul Whiting [June 1st, 2022]
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May 12th, 2024 Update No. 1 (Originally From My Blog Post Titled, "My Point Of View On...Giving Charity And Accepting Charity," Which Is On Both Of My "Paul Whiting — Math Magician" And "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" Blogs): Happy Mother's Day, everyone! In celebration of Mother's Day, I did a Google search for "Mother's Day USO" and found the following USO (United Service Organizations) search result regarding Mother's Day:
United Service Organizations
Sign the card: Thank the mothers moms serving our country this Mother's Day
This Mother's Day, the USO is thanking moms in the military for their service and sacrifice. Sign the card to military moms!
And, after I read the search results above, I clicked on the hyperlink to the referenced webpage, the relevant text of which can be found below:
★★★USO★★★
50,000 signatures needed to hit our goal!
→→→→→19,857
This Mother’s Day, the USO is thanking moms in the military for their service and sacrifice. Sign the card to military moms!
Thank you for all you do for our country, and happy Mother’s Day!
Sincerely,
First Name: Paul
Last Name: Whiting
Email: [redacted]
SIGN THE CARD
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Thanks for signing the card! Will you take a few minutes to complete a quick survey about supporting all of our nation's heroes?
The USO supports America's men and women in uniform at more than 200 locations around the world, including on the front lines in places like Djibouti and Afghanistan. How important is it to you that Americans continue supporting our deployed service members?
[✓] Extremely important
[ ] Very important
[ ] Somewhat important
[ ] Not at all important
The USO is more than concerts and airport lounges. Which of the ways we support our military men and women do you believe are valuable? Check all that apply.
[✓] Providing connections to family, home and country during deployments.
[✓] Helping military personnel and their families transition back into civilian life.
[✓] Supporting military families whose loved ones are deployed.
[✓] Providing support and rehabilitation for wounded, ill and injured service members.
[✓] Delivering special gifts and cheer to our heroes through programs like USO2GO.
Thousands of service men and women are currently deployed overseas, including in combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan. Have you or a family member or friend ever served in the U.S. military?
[✓] Yes
[ ] No
How important do you think it is to support our nation's heroes and help them stay connected to family back home during deployment?
[✓] Extremely important
[ ] Important
[ ] Somewhat important
[ ] Not at all important
A Navy lieutenant commander recently told us that USO Care Packages are a "constant reminder to those of us out 'in the sandbox' that we are not forgotten and folks back home actually care."
Now, as we work to deliver our brave service members a touch of home, we need to ask for your support.
It takes a lot of time, coordination and money to get our care packages to more than 200,000 service members who are away from their families, sacrificing so much defending our freedoms. The USO is not a government agency we rely on the generosity and patriotism of citizens like you.
But right now, time is running out before our midnight deadline, and we need your support. Help us make sure that we have the resources to support our troops. Will you please donate by MIDNIGHT tonight to send a little bit of home to our service members and show them how thankful you are?
[ ] Yes, I'll donate $35 or more. Send me a T- shirt!
[✓] Yes, I'll donate but don't want a T-shirt!
[ ] No, I don't want to donate to support our service members today.
---------------------------------------------
Help Connect our Heroes to Home
It takes a lot of time, coordination and money to get our care packages and other essentials to more than 200,000 service members who are away from their families, sacrificing so much defending our freedoms.
Will you please donate by MIDNIGHT tonight to send a little bit of home to pur service members and show them how thankful you are?
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS
[ ] $25
[ ] $50
[ ] $75
[ ] $100
[ ] $250
[ ] $500
[ ] $1,000
[✓] $ 10.00
And so, I signed the USO Mother's Day card "thanking moms in the military for their service and sacrifice." Plus, after I signed the card, I made a one-time donation on the USO.org website to say to our military moms, "Thank you for all you do for our country, and happy Mother's Day!"
In addition to that, I already make a recurring monthly donation to the USO in order to show my support for our U.S. Military Personnel! You see, I usually make one-time donations to the USO each month—as often as I can manage when they request a donation via email or text message. Therefore, I am planning to continue making one-time donations to the USO in the future, as often as I can manage to make donations, in addition to making the aforementioned recurring monthly donation.
By the way, did you know that the USO is a not-for-profit organization and not part of the Department of Defense (DoD)? The following description of the USO is from their 'About Us' webpage:
"The USO is not part of the federal government. A congressionally chartered, private organization, the USO relies on the generosity of individuals, organizations and corporations to support its activities, and is powered by a family of volunteers to accomplish our mission of connection."
So, that is why I 'volunteer financially' as a member of the "USO Home Team" through a recurring monthly donation, as well as through one-time donations to the USO each month!
–Paul Whiting (written May 12th, 2024 and revised May 18th, 2024)
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November 6th, 2024 Update No. 1 [My Writing About No Longer Being An 'Online Activist' In Any Way, Shape Or Form]: Due to Donald Trump winning the 2024 Presidential Election—and until further notice—I am no longer being an 'Online Activist' in any way, shape or form, which includes no longer signing petitions from political, social, environmental and charitable organizations, and no longer sending letters to my Representative and Senators in Congress, as well as no longer making donations to political, social, environmental and charitable causes. Full stop! I am also unsubscribing from any of the emails that I used to receive from political, social, environmental and charitable organizations. In fact, I am even cancelling all of my monthly political donations to the main Democratic fundraising and coordinating organizations, as well as to the USO (United Service Organizations), in addition to cancelling all of my monthly news organization subscriptions, or news organization donations, because I am absolutely terrified of this second Trump administration. And I fully expect that democracy in America as we know it will be over! So, I am choosing to not engage in any 'activism' whatsoever—plus, I am not even sure that I will be exercising my 'civic duty' by voting in any upcoming elections because, as a (formerly) donating and a (potentially former) voting Democrat, I totally fear the retribution of President Donald J. Trump. Full stop!
P.S.: It's July 31st, 2025, and I feel like I need to provide an addendum (that is, "an item of additional material added at the end of a book or document, typically in order to correct, clarify, or supplement something") to this November 6th, 2024 'update!'
You see, a couple of days ago, on July 29th, 2025, I copied the text of this update to use as my reason for unsubscribing from a particular political email that I received that same day!
And so, I actually bothered to read this update—in order to verify that it made sense for me to use as a response to the request on this political email's unsubscribe page which stated, "Please tell us why you are leaving"—during which I realized there was a typo (that is, 'a typographical error') in the text of the update, as I have highlighted below, with the correction in brackets:
"And I fully expect that democracy in America as we know [it] will be over!"
Thus, I accidentally left out the word "it" in the sentence above. Hence, I corrected said typo on July 29th, the verification of which can be seen reflected in the addition of the date "revised July 29th, 2025" after my name.
However, as I got to thinking about the fact that I had originally said I may not be voting in any upcoming elections, I realized that, in fact, I did vote in Portland Oregon's Multnomah County Special District Election on May 20th, 2025, just like I usually do! [I always vote in every election (even 'special elections') and I always vote Democrat, which is why I was worried about voting in any upcoming elections given President Trump's clear disdain for Democrats.]
Therefore, I decided to write this "P.S." today, July 31st, as a way to clarify that I am still voting in elections (even 'special elections'), it's just that I am no longer engaging in any 'Online Activism,' during Trump's Presidency, as I explained in great detail above. (I hope that makes sense!)
–Paul Whiting (written November 6th, 2024, revised November 7th, 2024, revised July 29th, 2025 and revised July 31st, 2025)
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Blogger's Note: This is a follow-up to my 'November 6th, 2024 Update No. 1 [My Writing About No Longer Being An 'Online Activist' In Any Way, Shape Or Form]' that is located on my blog post "I Am No Longer Being An Activist In The Same Way That I Was," which can be found on my "Poet, Artist and Philosopher" blog. And that update stated, in part, the following:
"Due to Donald Trump winning the 2024 Presidential Election—and until further notice—I am no longer being an 'Online Activist' in any way, shape or form, which includes no longer signing petitions from political, social, environmental and charitable organizations, and no longer sending letters to my Representative and Senators in Congress, as well as no longer making donations to political, social, environmental and charitable causes. Full stop! I am also unsubscribing from any of the emails that I used to receive from political, social, environmental and charitable organizations. In fact, I am even cancelling all of my monthly political donations to the main Democratic fundraising and coordinating organizations, as well as to the USO (United Service Organizations), in addition to cancelling all of my monthly news organization subscriptions, or news organization donations, because I am absolutely terrified of this second Trump administration. ..."
You see, I have restarted donating to organizations which support the U.S. Military, including the USO (United Service Organizations)—that I restarted donating to as of April 16th, 2026—which supports our Active Duty Personnel, as well as Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), and Armed Services YMCA (ASYMCA), in addition to Wounded Warrior Project (WWP)—that I restarted donating to as of May 25th, 2026—all of which support our Military Veterans.
So, for the complete updates (with any corresponding ‘My Writing About...’) regarding these restarted donations, please see my blog post titled, "My Point Of View On...Giving Charity And Accepting Charity," which can be found on both of my "Paul Whiting — Math Magician" and "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" blogs, within which you can do a find-in-page search for the updates listed below by their label names (or, by their corresponding ‘My Writing About...' titles, where applicable).
These are the updates regarding my restarted donations to the USO on April 16th, 2026:
April 16th, 2026 Update No. 1
April 16th, 2026 Update No. 1 (Follow-Up No. 1, Written On April 17th, 2026) [My Writing About How I Restarted Donating To The USO (United Service Organizations) As Of April 2026]
April 16th, 2026 Update No. 1 (Follow-Up No. 2, Written On April 19th, 2026)
April 16th, 2026 Update No. 1 (Follow-Up No. 3, Written On May 17th, 2026) [My Writing About How I Restarted Donating To The USO (United Service Organizations) As Of April 2026, Part 2]
April 16th, 2026 Update No. 1 (Follow-Up No. 4, Written On June 15th, 2026, Which Also Discusses June 14th, 2026)
Theses are the updates regarding my restarted donations to Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), and to Armed Services YMCA (ASYMCA), as well as to Wounded Warrior Project (WWP), respectively, on May 25th, 2026:
May 25th, 2026 Update No. 3, Written On May 26th, 2026
May 25th, 2026 Update No. 4, Written On May 27th, 2026, Which Also Discusses May 2026
May 25th, 2026 Update No. 5, Written On May 27th, 2026
Now, to clarify something: I would normally also refer you to my blog post titled, "I Am No Longer Being An Activist In The Same Way That I Was," which can be found on my "Poet, Artist and Philosopher" blog, for these blog post updates (and for the corresponding ‘My Writing About…’, where applicable), but I cannot edit this post anymore—for an unknown reason—as of May 11th, 2026. So, any editing that I have tried to do on this blog post, after May 11th, for some reason won't save...
…Although, on June 20th, 2026, I thought to relocate all of the 2026 updates from my original blog post, "I Am No Longer Being An Activist In The Same Way That I Was," to my newer "I Am No Longer Being An Activist In The Same Way That I Was, Part 2." You see, I had created that 'Part 2' blog post as a backup post, because there was a period of time when the original blog post kept being unpublished by Blogger for being too 'spammy'—I am guessing because of all the hyperlinks that I was providing for news articles that I was referring to my readers!
Anyway, that relocation of the 2026 updates seemed to have worked in getting the original blog post to be "editable" again, at least temporarily... But, then, later on that same day, I tried to add some additional text to the post and it would not save again! However, at least this time, instead of just saying that the "Update failed," it specifically stated, "The body is too large." Thus, I am assuming the 'unknown reason' that I stopped being able to edit the post on May 11th was because I had—apparently—reached some sort of blog post size threshold!
(So now, I am thinking of editing out most of the news updates, which I wrote on that original post, because those updates weren't nearly as pertinent to my "Online Activism" as was responding to the text message, email, and regular mail communications that I was receiving from various political, progressive and charitable organizations.)
In conclusion, then: for the complete updates (with any corresponding ‘My Writing About...’) regarding these restarted donations, I can now refer you to my blog post titled, "I Am No Longer Being An Activist In The Same Way That I Was, Part 2,” which can be found on my "Poet, Artist and Philosopher" blog, in addition to the above-mentioned blog post titled, "My Point Of View On...Giving Charity And Accepting Charity," which can be found on both of my "Paul Whiting — Math Magician" and "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" blogs.
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May 10th, 2026 Update No. 1 (Originally From My Blog Post Titled, "My Point Of View On...Giving Charity And Accepting Charity," Which Is On Both Of My "Paul Whiting — Math Magician" And "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" Blogs): Happy Mother's Day, everyone! In celebration of Mother's Day, I did a Google search for "the USO Mother's Day" and found the following USO (United Service Organizations) search result regarding Mother's Day:
United Service Organizations https://action. uso.org»
Sign the card: Thank the mothers moms serving our... USO This Mother's Day, the USO is thanking moms in the military for their service and sacrifice. Sign the card to military moms! Read more
https://action.uso.org/1804_MD
And, after I read the search results above, I clicked on the hyperlink to the referenced webpage, the relevant text of which can be found below:
★★★ USO ★★★
50,000 signatures needed to hit our goal!
→→→→→19,860
This Mother’s Day, the USO is thanking moms in the military for their service and sacrifice. Sign the card to military moms!
Thank you for all you do for our country, and happy Mother’s Day!
Sincerely,
First Name: Paul
Last Name: Whiting
Email: [redacted]
SIGN THE CARD
---------------------------------------------
Thanks for signing the card! Will you take a few minutes to complete a quick survey about supporting all of our nation's heroes?
The USO supports America's men and women in uniform at more than 200 locations around the world, including on the front lines in places like Djibouti and Afghanistan. How important is it to you that Americans continue supporting our deployed service members?
[✓] Extremely important
[ ] Very important
[ ] Somewhat important
[ ] Not at all important
The USO is more than concerts and airport lounges. Which of the ways we support our military men and women do you believe are valuable? Check all that apply.
[✓] Providing connections to family, home and country during deployments.
[✓] Helping military personnel and their families transition back into civilian life.
[✓] Supporting military families whose loved ones are deployed.
[✓] Providing support and rehabilitation for wounded, ill and injured service members.
[✓] Delivering special gifts and cheer to our heroes through programs like USO2GO.
Thousands of service men and women are currently deployed overseas, including in combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan. Have you or a family member or friend ever served in the U.S. military?
[✓] Yes
[ ] No
How important do you think it is to support our nation's heroes and help them stay connected to family back home during deployment?
[✓] Extremely important
[ ] Important
[ ] Somewhat important
[ ] Not at all important
A Navy lieutenant commander recently told us that USO Care Packages are a "constant reminder to those of us out 'in the sandbox' that we are not forgotten and folks back home actually care."
Now, as we work to deliver our brave service members a touch of home, we need to ask for your support.
It takes a lot of time, coordination and money to get our care packages to more than 200,000 service members who are away from their families, sacrificing so much defending our freedoms. The USO is not a government agency we rely on the generosity and patriotism of citizens like you.
But right now, time is running out before our midnight deadline, and we need your support. Help us make sure that we have the resources to support our troops. Will you please donate by MIDNIGHT tonight to send a little bit of home to our service members and show them how thankful you are?
[ ] Yes, I'll donate $35 or more. Send me a T- shirt!
[✓] Yes, I'll donate but don't want a T-shirt!
[ ] No, I don't want to donate to support our service members today.
---------------------------------------------
★★★ USO ★★★
Donate to support our service members
Our service members keep our nation safe. And we work hard to keep them connected to home — but we can't do that without support from military supporters like you. Our heroes are counting on you to be a part of this important work for our country. So please, donate now.
By donating, you agree to allow the USO to use your gift, combined with others, in a matching gift fund.
Secure donation
[✓] Give once
[ ] ❤ Monthly
[ ] $1,000
[ ] $500
[ ] $250
[ ] $75
[ ] $45
[ ] $30
[✓] $10
Become a monthly supporter
Would you consider becoming one of our valued monthly supporters by converting your $10 contribution into a monthly donation.
Ongoing monthly donations allow us to better focus in our mission.
[ ] ❤ Donate $10/month
[✓] Keep my one-time $10 gift
Enter your details
First name: Paul
Last name: Whiting
Email address: [redacted]
Phone number (optional): [redacted]
Donate as an organization: N/A
Double your impact
Many employers have a donation matching program that will double or triple the value of your donation.
Just enter the name of your employer, and we'll see if your impact can be amplified!
Your company (optional): N/A
Enter your address
Street address: [redacted]
Apartment/suite/floor: [redacted]
City: [redacted]
State: [redacted]
Zip code: [redacted]
You donate $10 USD
[ ] Cover transaction costs
Donate
And so, I made a one-time donation on the USO.org website in order to support the USO's following statement: "This Mother’s Day, the USO is thanking moms in the military for their service and sacrifice. ... Thank you for all you do for our country, and happy Mother’s Day!"
Then, after I made said donation, I received an email from the USO today, May 10th, 2026, with the subject line, "Thank You for Your Donation to the USO", which stated the following:
★★★ USO ★★★
[Picture of "a soldier kneeling to embrace a child in an airport setting, conveying a message of reunion and support, with the USO logo on the left."]
Thank you for your generous $10.00 USD donation!
Dear Paul Whiting,
Thank you for your generous tax-deductible gift in support of the USO.
Donation Amount: $10.00 USD
Donation ID: [redacted]
Donation Date: May 10, 2026
Email: [redacted]
Your gift honors the service and sacrifice our troops make for us every day and will provide comfort and support to them and their families.
As a reminder, your donation is tax deductible to the extent allowable by federal law. And if there is a premium associated with your donation, please allow 4 to 6 weeks for delivery.
If you have any questions or would like to contact the USO, please call [phone number redacted].
-Your friends at the USO
In addition to that, I already make a recurring monthly donation to the USO in order to show my support for our U.S. Military Personnel! You see, I usually make one-time donations to the USO—as often as I can manage when they request a donation via regular mail, email or text message. Therefore, I am planning to continue making one-time donations to the USO in the future, as often as I can manage, in addition to making the aforementioned recurring monthly donation.
By the way, did you know that the USO is a not-for-profit organization and not part of the Department of Defense (DoD)? The following description of the USO is from their 'About Us' webpage:
"The USO is not part of the federal government. A congressionally chartered, private organization, the USO relies on the generosity of individuals, organizations and corporations to support its activities, and is powered by a family of volunteers to accomplish our mission of connection."
So, that is why I 'volunteer financially' as a member of the "USO Home Team" through a recurring monthly donation, as well as through one-time donations to the USO! –Paul Whiting (written May 10th, 2026, revised May 11th, 2026, revised May 21st, 2026, revised June 21st, 2026 and revised July 7th, 2026)
P.S.: By the way, I wanted to highlight the fact that the very first Mother's Day in America was observed on May 10th, 1908! So, that's 118 years ago this Mother's Day!
Mother's Day (United States) from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia—which is funded primarily through donations from millions of individuals around the world, including this blogger (I make a totally affordable one-time donation if they are requesting donations when I am on their website):
"Mother's Day is an annual holiday celebrated in the United States and, since 1914, in Canada on the second Sunday in May. Mother's Day recognizes mothers, motherhood and maternal bonds in general, as well as their positive contributions to their families and society. It was established by Anna Jarvis, with the first Mother's Day celebrated through a service of worship at St. Andrew's Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia, on May 10, 1908. Popular observances include holiday card and gift giving, churchgoing often accompanied by the distribution of carnations, and family dinners. In the United States, Mother's Day complements similar celebrations honoring family members, such as Father's Day, Siblings Day and Grandparents Day. ..."
Please see the hyperlink below for the article:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother%27s_Day_(United_States)
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This "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" Post No. 214 was edited on July 10th, 2026.
"Poetry is using the fewest words possible in order to describe all that is possible to describe." –Paul Whiting [June 1st, 2022]
