Here's a lovely skipping story I recently received that I just love....

As I recently walked home through the MIT campus, I had a small skipping adventure that I thought you might enjoy.

As I headed east on Massachusetts Avenue, a father with young son approached holding hands. The boy started to skip, tugging at his dad's arm to join him, but Dad was much too sophisticated and was resisting. So I, a white-haired, 60-year old man, began blithely skipping toward them. Sure enough, dad loosened up a bit and joined in the fun. I didn't turn around to see how long the skipping continued, but am hoping it will be a little easier for the father next time the boy wants to do some skipping.

I love it! Skip on! And be sure to email me whenever you have an interesting skipping encounter of your own!

Here's the most recent skipping video I uploaded to You Tube! This one was from October of 1999 when I was in Los Angeles as part of a big multi-city skip day.

I love hearing from Skippers around the world...So be sure to email me whenever you see a skipper in the media, have a skipping story to share, etc. Skip on!

This just in from the skipper mail bag....

Hi! I just read your website and you said that if anyone knew how to
say skip in languages other than those you've shown there, one should
contact you!! Well, I'm Brazilian, and we speak portuguese here! Skip
here translates do 'bater punheta'!!! Or you can translate 'let's go skipping' as: eu bato punheta com o dedo no cu!' ' cute isn't it? Kewl website, by the way!! Keep skipping!

And in response to the Who's Skippin' section of iskip.com...

Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter movie (and book) always skips when walking.

Just for the sake of completitude ;)

Loved this fun video and thought I'd share...Check out Granny and Grampy's cool skipping moves! Should be called Ghost Skippin' if you ask me. Oh yeah! Skip on!

glumbert.com - Ghost Ridin' Grandma

Hooray! I am finally learning how to convert all of the television interviews I did about iskip.com into digital formats! That means they are up on You Tube...and I can share them with you here.
This one is from the first ever happy hour skip I organized in San Francisco. The SF Chronicle did a big story about it the day before, and much to my amazement 50+ skippers and television crews from CNN and the local NBC station showed up.

Stay tuned for more fun skipping video to come!! Skip on!

Independence Day was really special for me this year.

Several weeks back, I met a guy named Don Foster at Downtown Novato's weekly farmer's market. He was there recruiting volunteers to participate in a group called PeaceNovato's entry in the annual 4th of July parade. I signed up right away!

Whenever an American soldier is killed in Iraq, PeaceNovato volunteers hand fold a paper crane and write the name, rank, and hometown of the deceased on its wing to honor that person. Then they attach the red, white, and blue cranes to portable display stands that are carried along the parade route. They needed over 20 people to carry the cranes this year.

I just love how the intention behind their project is one of honor for fallen soldiers. I also love how it puts a visual reminder of the cost of war in front of our faces so we have to look at it. I'll admit on the day I met Don I didn't know what the casuality count of the Iraqi war was. I'm glad I know now. I'm also glad to be contributing my energy toward raising awareness about the realities of the war in such a positive way. The more angry end of the peace movement spectrum has never really worked for me because I believe we literally must "be the peace we wish to see."

There were about 3,700 cranes in this year's parade, which was 1,000 more than last year. Julie, one of PeaceNovato's organizers, read off the names of soldiers over a megaphone as we walked. Since I was waearing my festive Betsy Ross dress, I also was given the honor of carrying a large sign at the front of cranes that included the number of Iraqi's that have been killed....conservative estimates say 70K....as well as the number of injuries, coalition deaths, etc.

A reporter from the local paper interviewed me at the parade for the story she was writing..and I made the paper. Here's an excerpt from the article...

If you've been to the parade before then you know what happens: Basset hounds dressed up in festive garb lope along Grant Avenue, dancers from Love2Dance perform a festive routine and the crowd soars with respect and adulation as the Pearl Harbor survivors ride by in a military vehicle.

But for Kim Corbin, a recent Novato transplant, this was her first parade. Corbin decided to not just be a passive observer, instead she put on a Betsy Ross costume she purchased in San Francisco and joined PeaceNovato with its crane entry.

“It's really nice seeing what America is all about, which is nice because there's a lot I don't like about America right now,” Corbin said.

“What I like about this entry is that they're honoring soldiers that have died. It's so important to give people a visual representation of the war,” she added.

The cranes were well received by the crowd with applause and genuine appreciation. My heart swelled with emotion in response to the warm reception we received. It was truly a magical day and I am proud to officially be a part of PeaceNovato's efforts.

Onward and upward! Together we CAN change the world

I hardly consider myself a bible thumper, which is why I found my recent impulse to take the Bible off my shelf somewhat peculiar. But I learned long ago how fun and interesting my life becomes when I honor my spirit-fueled impulses, so I picked the good book up and dusted it off.

I randomly flipped it open to any page could hardly believe the words I read. I had no idea just how closely Jesus' propehecies match what is happening in our world today. Check out these passages from Luke Chapter 21...

"Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name claiming, 'I am he,' and 'The time is near.' Do not follow them. When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away."

"Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines, and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven."

"When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city."

"There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the rearing and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redepemption is drawing near."

All of the above are quotes directly attributed to Jesus! Crazy stuff.

Now, fear not, I'm not about to veer off into an evangelical "Come to Jesus" rant....While I certainly think Jesus is the coolest, I personally believe the "second coming" involves the awakening of Christ's consciousness within our own hearts more than that one man who will somehow magically descend from the clouds one day.

But, regardless of what you do or don't think about Jesus, you have to admit it's pretty eerie reading such an accurate description of some of the scarey stuff that has been going on in our world lately. Man. Just sayin'!