We mostly talked about dogs, a little about cats, and a smidge about politics, along with a few other topics.

Interestingly enough, they were doing a test run before going live with God today, so they invited me on to make sure their headphones and whatnot were up to speed. We wound up having an hour-long conversation about dogs, cooking, gardening, capitalism, organizing, and media people/talking heads who use Trump as a cash cow to keep folks stuck in the amygdala part of their brains and focused on doomscrolling and devouring bad media about Trump, Trump, Trump. It was a fantastic discussion, and I’ll be sharing it here soon. So, keep an eye out for that.

On a final note, I want to remind everyone how I support a Palestinian family. If you become a paid subscriber, half the proceeds go to that family. Here’s a little bit about them with a picture of their darling son, Elias.

I met the Ibrahim family over 8 months ago through mutual friends on Facebook. I became immediately attached to them. The Ibrahim family consists of 5 core members—Salem, the father; Nourhan, the mother; Elias, their 4-year-old son; and Salem’s two elderly parents.

I am in touch with Salem daily. Sometimes we talk by phone, but because of connectivity issues, we generally text via Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp.

The family has been uprooted countless times. Currently, they are located in Deir al Balah, a city in the center strip of Gaza, Palestine.

The patterns of their life have been imprinted on my own daily activities. Every morning, especially when violence was worse than it is now, I would wake to make sure they were still alive. I’ve seen horrifying moments of Salem trying to collect food for his family, being shot at by countless Israeli snipers in a video he filmed himself. He also sent me a video of the family trapped inside a closet, where I could hear loud gunfire surrounding them, and bright lights flickering between the wooden lines of the closet doors. However, there are moments of levity that Salem shares with me when he sends pictures of his beautiful son, Elias, running on the beach, smiling inside their tent, or waiting for a modest meal in front of the fire the family has made for dinner. (Salem also has a quirky sense of humor, and I like to distract him by sending him pictures of my dogs—he likes them a lot.)

With the fundraising I do on this end on GoFundMe, Chuffed.org, and also my Substack, the family can survive. Salem’s parents often need medication, since they are older. This past summer, for example, Salem’s father had a stroke, so I sent my own money directly to pay for medicine for him. Unfortunately, I am not able to support them on my own, so I also fundraise for them. Pooling money with other donors enables me to buy food, supplies, medicine, and more for the entire family.

Finally, many people will ask me, “But how are they able to receive money in a war-torn area?” That’s a fair question. I have set up a bank account here in the U.S. for the family, so the money goes directly there. After the money accrues on Chuffed.org, I wire it to Salem’s bank account in Gaza.

Every dollar counts and is crucial to helping them thrive.

If you are unable to donate, that is not a problem. But if you still wish to help, you can also disseminate their story and encourage others to chip in. The more people who know about the Ibrahim family, the greater the chance others will donate.

BarakAllahu Feekum | بارك الله فيكم | May God Bless You All

Also, there was a pause on my GoFundMe fundraiser for my Gazan family, but it’s live again, so if you want to pitch in a few dollars, here’s the link to help them out: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-elias-family-survive-and-thrive-in-gaza

Finally, if you decide to become a paid subscriber to my Substack, half the proceeds go to the family in Gaza.

The family’s tent was destroyed during a flood about a month ago, and their 4-year-old son, Elias, was nearly killed, as it happened in the middle of the night, so he almost drowned. They are currently raising money for a new, waterproof tent, food, medicine, and other provisions. The money comes directly to my bank account, and then I send it to the father, Salem; it is deposited in his Bank of Palestine account. (Yes, interestingly, the bank is still functioning.)

Anyway, if you’re interested in chipping in a little bit of money, here’s the link:

For American Donors or People with American Bank Accounts (AMERICAN DOLLARS): https://chuffed.org/project/163551-help-elias-family-survive-and-thrive-in-gaza#prelaunch

FOR UK Donors (UK POUNDS): https://chuffed.org/project/163550-help-elias-family-survive-and-thrive-in-gaza

The family hasn’t eaten food in over a week, which is deadly for Elias.

Solidarity with Palestine!

Yours,

Cryn

The recording isn’t the best, but the information is important, so bear with me. I appreciate you all!

Link: https://apnews.com/article/steve-jobs-19667206b7418099ef6a9a09f8cc575f#:~:text=Steve%20Jobs%2C%20the%20late%20founder,he%20did%20in%20his%20life.