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Happy Birthday, Dar! In honor of your birthday this year I'm volunteering for Jamie Raskin for State Senate in my hometown of Takoma Park, Maryland. I've agreed to serve as a precinct captain, to canvass, to host a house party, and to serve on the host committee for a Marriage Equality Fundraiser. Hope it was a great birthday!

Sally (Green) Heaven

For your birthday, Dar, I decided to partake in a highway cleanup in my town. From the streets down to the foliage, we got everything in sight. As a group we gathered over 15 industrial bags full. It felt great to offer this up to you as a birthday gift, Happy Birthday!

Vincent Scarpa

SUBJECT: You Might As Well Pray (Jules Shear, sung with Amy Rigby)

Dear Dar -

"so try to make it like the dream you had
the peaceable kingdom where no one's betrayed"

In a previous birthday project, I spoke of joining the Unitarian Universalist Church of Ft. Lauderdale in 2003 - while I was not actively searching for a spiritual home, circumstances aligned in my life so as to provide a haven whereby I could finally reconcile my politics with my religion.

I've since gone on to become chair of our Sunday Services committee as well as coordinator of The Labyrinth Cafe, our monthly concert series presenting national touring performers in co-bills with local artists - both my roles have high levels of responsibility... but they're equally rewarding...

Everyone at the church knows of my obession with... um... love of... music so I was asked to give a lay-led service last August - it was postponed due to Hurricane Katrina. The rescheduled date, for late-October, was also a wash, due to Hurricane Wilma - I was finally able to follow through on Sunday, February 12, 2006 (what a relief!).

The title was "The Language That Keeps Me Alive", obviously taken from the lyrics of You're Aging Well - I'm not sure what was more enjoyable... preparing for, or finally giving, the service! My musical selections were Joni Mitchell's You Turn Me On, I'm a Radio; Dave Carter's The River, Where She Sleeps; Rachel Bissex's Dancing with My Mother; and David LaMotte's Watching for the Light - I used poems by my favorites, William Stafford and Wendell Berry, as well as finding new (to me) poets Jaime Adoff and Elizabeth Bishop to illustrate my theme (along with relevant chalice lightings and responsive readings).

My sermon basically traced the interweaving of my musical path and my spiritual journey (where does one end and the other begin?), using life anecdotes and song snippets - it segued into You're Aging Well, the tune that jump-started me into the world of contemporary singer-songwriters over a decade ago. To quote from my text: "I've always believed, and continue to be reminded, that music is more than the sum of parts... or the combination of notes - it is the search for truth and meaning, as the individual connects with the universal. It is that a-ha! moment when we hear a song lyric that makes tears spring to our eyes and induces that lump in the throat and we think... I am not alone...".

My birthday present to you this year, Dar, is tri-fold: sharing my love of music with my spiritual community; highlighting the specific impact your inspirational lyrics have had on my life over the years; and creating an outreach for my music friends in a bit of introduction/understanding of our UU faith.

The circle widens and the ripple effect is alive and well - I use contemporary folk music where it's appropriate during our services (we'll be playing The One Who Knows for our Mother's Day service) as I continue to merge my two great loves (music and growth experiences) to gift myself, and the world, with increased and diverse awareness.

Happy, Happy Birthday! - over the Rainbow indeed (someday... :-)

Susan Moss

Happiest of birthdays, Dar.

Volunteering is a large part of my life and so I really went through and thought about what specifically I could do to dedicate to you for your birthday.

I took in my first papillon fosters from Pap911 Rescue (www.pap911rescue.org) near the end of bitter February. Madame is a two year-old little girl whose life until last October was comprised of living in a cage at a puppy mill, continually being bred, having no human contact, and no knowledge of sunshine, grass, or play. She came to me small and frightened. In the last two months, I worked with her to overcome all these fears, and to teach her the joys that life can bring to a little dog. She soon began to walk with her head and tail high, to try and engage my other dogs in play (by backing up to them or pawing coyly at the air with her front paw).

She still refused to come close enough to be petted by humans but flowered in her interactions with other dogs. My work with this little angel got her to the place where we could consider a forever home for her. With joy (and sadness), I approved a forever home and forever mom for her this past Easter Sunday and she has gone to a place where she will never be anything but loved....just one example of what time, kindness, and deep caring can do to change the life of another...

I dedicate this one to you. And hope that there are many more people out there who will consider taking on animal rescue work. I've been involved with rescues and fostering for two years and there is little so rewarding as helping another life find its joy.

Jelena Crawford

Happy Birthday Dar!!!

This year for your birthday I am volunteering the Fund Drive for WFUV. Their spring drive coincides with your birthday so what better way to celebrate your special day with one of the radio stations that has kept you company, keeps playing your songs and has kept me company going to and from your shows. If it wasn't for this local station where would we be.

So I added an extra volunteering session just for you!!!

Happy Happy Birthday
Love to you
sharon

My brother, when he was 14 going on 15 and I was 9, joined a Volunteer Ambulance Corps here in NYC. The summer before he left for college (already having become a certified EMT and worked at a hospital for a semester since he'd joined), he got me to get involved with the Youth Corps. I went, I learned, I had lots of fun, met people, splinted some broken arms and dispatched the ambulances from the station, most of the time. Last summer I went to Europe with my mom for a week and a half and upon my return, seemed to have lost all interest. For months I didn't show up, participate, go to any meetings or events--it did feel like something was missing, I'll be honest. In January, though, when I found out about Dar's birthday project, I got my mom to take me down to the Corps that evening to see when I could sign up for another shift. Since then, I've been there more than any other youth corps member, have accumulated so many community service hours--it's refreshing. It's fun. It's keeping me on track with my life and almost every time I'm down there, I've got a Dar Williams CD with me! I'm so glad I went back--thank's for the nudge. Happy birthday, Dar, I hope it's a good one!

-Savannah Gordon, Queens, NYC

Happy Birthday, Dar!

On April 8, the local Kiwanis Club, of which my mother is a member (and current president) held its annual auction to raise funds for the children's charities they support. Approximately 200 businesses and individuals contributed items, and the Auction raised about $20,000 - every penny of which goes to help kids in the area. The auction is broadcast on the local cable channel.

Leading up to the auction, I spent many hours doing computer work, organizing lists, printing gift certificates, and organizing files. On the day of the auction itself, I ran errands for the Club and appeared on camera at various points throughout the day (gulp) as I recorded bids coming in for various items, as well as doing whatever odd jobs needed to be done.

This work, I dedicate to your birthday. I greatly admire your dedication to kids and the ways we can help them get through these early years with the support they need to be the best people they can be. I try to follow that lead by example with my own three nephews, so that they can grow up with open minds, open hearts, and strength of character. The Kiwanis Club does the same - providing bike helmets, renovating playgrounds, providing scholarships and many other things. It does take a community to raise kids, and this is one thing I am trying to do in my own little corner of the world.

Thanks for all that you do. (and thanks for a great show at Wellesley College!)

Amy Putnam

I set out postcards at my work for folks to write to Bush to protest the inaction of the U.S. and the U.N. concerning the genocide in Dafur/Sudan, Africa

Stella in Davenport, IA