Do One Nice Thing: Little Things You Can Do to Make the World a Lot Nicer [精装] 0307453804

A few years ago, Debbie Tenzer was feeling overwhelmed by all the crises in the news. But rather than give in to despair, she thought, Maybe I can’t solve our big problems, but I know I can do something. She realized that helping doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive or time-consuming. You can help simply by doing one nice thing. So that’s what she vowed to do, one day a week. Not every day–she says she’s not that nice–but once a week was a promise she could keep. So she started a website, DoOneNiceThing.com, and each week she posted an easy way to help people around town or across the globe. Good news traveled fast, and now Debbie is the leader of a worldwide kindness movement with fellow Nice-o-holics in ninety countries. They’ve sent . . . •cans of food to food banks and schools •notebooks to soldiers who will give them to Afghan children •gifts to foster children whose birthdays are overlooked • and much more Do One Nice Thing has many new, easy ideas for small deeds that anyone can do (and includes explicit information on how exactly to execute the ideas, so you don’t have to go digging for information or resources). There’s even a chapter of nice things you can do in minutes without leaving your desk. Join Debbie and her army of Nice-o-holics, and give the world some help–and some hope. Best of all, the more help you give, the more hopeful you’ll feel. And before you know it, you won’t be able to stop. From sending a phone card to a soldier in Iraq to simply bringing an extra snack for the colleague in the next cubicle, Tenzer offers readers more than 100 ideas for small deeds that can yield big results. DEBBIE TENZER lives in Los Angeles with her husband and children, and she answers 1,000 e-mails a week from Nice-o-holics around the world. She is donating a portion of this book’s proceeds to charity. Chapter 1 Do One Nice Thing with Friends and Family It’s been said that friends are the people who know all about us and like us anyway. True! But they are so much more. They get our jokes, they’ve got our backs, and they know what we’re thinking even when we don’t say a word. Sometimes all we need from them is a hug, a squirt of laughter, or a reality check. At other times, industrial-strength caring is required— like long phone calls into the night and special deliveries from the Casserole Brigade. And even if we don’t hear from them for months or even years, when we need our friends, they come. So, what do you give those who give so much to you? This chapter is full of nice things to do with and for your friends— from surprising them with a treat on their desk or doorstep to creating a group charity project or a priceless gift from the heart. Contrary to what some think, friends are not “a dime a dozen.” They are the family we choose—precious and irreplaceable. And if we’re really blessed, our family members are also our friends, so this chapter is for them too. What’s Cooking? Cook a meal for a friend who recently moved into a new home, is recuperating from an illness, or just needs some love. Mmmmm. Nothing says love like chicken soup. Its steamy golden goodness always makes us feel better. So when one of my friends needs some TLC after a family-rocking event, I head straight for the kitchen, pull out my big soup pot, and get busy. Here is my favorite chicken soup recipe, given to me by my dear friend Ziva, which I now give to you. It is so easy that even I can’t spoil it. I’m not sure that it will cure what ails you, but it will definitely warm some hearts. Ziva’s Chicken Soup You will need these ingredients: 6 chicken legs or thighs 2 peeled onions, whole 1 peeled parsnip, whole 6 celery stalks, chopped into 1-inch pieces 6 carrots, peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces 1 bunch of flat-leaf parsley, whole 1 bunch of fresh dill, whole 1 bay leaf 1 tablespoon salt 1 teaspoon pepper 1 chicken bouillon cube Toss everything into a big pot. (I told you it was easy.) Cover with 10 quarts of cold water and heat. Bring to a boil; then simmer for an hour. Discard the onions, parsnip, parsley, and dill. Strain the carrots, celery, and chicken; store in a covered container in the refrigerator. Cool the broth and store it, covered, overnight in the refrigerator. Skim off the fat. When cool, cut up the chicken. Then return the carrots, celery, and cut-up chicken to the broth in a big pot. You may also add other vegetables, noodles, rice, or dumplings. Heat thoroughly and adjust the seasoning. “We had just moved into our new house when I came down with the flu. My two toddlers had it too. When my husband arrived home from work he was greeted by our next-door neighbor, a widow in her seventies. He mentioned that we were sick. An hour later she knocked at the door carrying a pot of homemade potato soup, just like my mom used to make. What a healing effect that had—on the tummy and on the soul!”—Sharon Hooked on Running Run or walk with your friends in a charity marathon. Or if you’d prefer to exercise your administrative muscles, how about assisting the staff? Sharlene Wills is a devout distance runner. She trains regularly, competes in marathons, and enjoys training off the beaten path in the hills. She also happens to be blind. She said, “I couldn’t pursue this wonderful sport without the unselfish and voluntary help of many very nice people.” She often runs with a runners’ organization called LA Leggers. Some of the Leggers members volunteer to be tethered to her in order to guide her during her runs. Sharlene explained, “One of the volunteers, Maneesha Bhate, is a pretty fast runner, having finished the LA Marathon in about four hours. She’s very unselfish, though, and often paces or runs with slower folks like me, even when they don’t have to be guided.” “Technically, I participated in the AIDS Run, but I’m not sure if what I did qualifies as running; maybe it was the AIDS Waddle. It may be a cliché to say it was one of the hardest things I have ever done, but also one of the most satisfying, but it’s true. I developed a family unit with the group of strangers from a

出版社	Crown Archetype
作者	Debbie Tenzer