This video is brought to you in part by TrueTech Tools. Quality tools, essential support. Good morning, everybody. We have a walk-in freezer that is running warm. So we are going to go in here and see what's going on. I just checked the controller. And it looks like it's been since 1 o'clock in the morning. On the 14th, today's the 15th. So it's been down for a while. I'm going to let this thing calibrate out here. I have a feeling we've got a leak because it's short cycling the compressor. We're zeroed out. Let's get in here and take a peek and see what's going on. Got an HVAC system here. It seems to be working. We've got line sets going up through the roof there and going across to a little compressor room over there. You can hear it kicking on and off. Let's go out here and see what we got this freezer. I'm in super mode, which is way sensitive for a big leak. But this gets me in the general direction. Let me try cloud hunting mode. Sometimes that works good. Sometimes it's better to use the notch feature. Just really depends. If it's super low because you're far away, you may only get one or two parts of a million that wouldn't normally trigger. And getting better as we get closer. As you can see here, we go into our alarms. It's obviously high case temp. Go back, go into circuits. Go into walk-in freezer. Go down to temp, graph that sucker. And zoom in. We've got quite an area here. So we are fine and dandy in about one o'clock area. And it never came back down. And boom, never came all the way down. And boom, you can see we're losing refrigerant. Lose, lose, lose, lose, lose. Pretty obvious what's going on here. There's the mid-strass defeat. See oil right there and here. Let somebody drop it. Just let that good rest because it's not obviously doing much. Don't like that way going around like that. I want to say it's probably not in here. Batteries all gone. Not even on the low. I think it's something that's really not liking it. We're doing our parts for millions to see how strong it is. But that's not going to take the whole thing out, which we don't know how low it really is. But yeah, 50 parts. It's a, ooh, what the heck's going on there? There's quite a bit of oil there. Definitely got one length there. I don't know if it's just the straighter core or what. We're going to have to grab some soap. But we're definitely leaking through the cap because now it's a little tighter and it's not going as nuts. And it's definitely, definitely the cap. We can fix that with a brass cap or put a new straighter core in, which is how I would do it. All right, so pretty sure this here is probably the air conditioning system you've seen down here in the ceiling. So it must be one of these here. First time I've been here, so I don't know where anything's at. Unless that one leaks enough to take it out, I guess that's awful quick procedure for it to get up to what's got going on. And watch this. We're getting a little something there. Something up underneath there in the little rubber boot area that we got to rub through. We're only hitting four parts per million. That could be just what's floating in the building which leads you back to how much did we lose? Have no idea. Think what we may end up doing here is start recharging it, get up and running, see how many pounds I have to put into it and kind of base it off of that. Everything tends to get ran bare bone minimum levels that way. If there's a leak, you know it real fast and you don't lose a lot of refrigerant for nothing. You can see they've already made one repair right there. So it's very probable that there's other places in some of these, it's seeing a huge rack or anything like that. So it's not like it's got, I bet it's got probably 35, 40 pounds in it maybe. This is after I tightened it. See if we got much going on. It's after tightening it in the unit's not running. It's not even running. It's tight as I could get it. I'm not big into spraying solution into the valve core but yeah, oh my gosh. Get a little bit of that on the finger. Watch out, that thing's blowing out of there.  Wow. Well, blow the refrigerant out that way. Let's go ahead and get this core changed. It might have been able to be tightened but honestly I don't even want to deal with it. We're just gonna change it. What usually happens is that discharge gas, it's just so hot, it just kills these things. Use our finger here. I like doing it like that. That way you're not shoving it all in there and then when you're done, you can always just burp it. Get the residual out of there. Like I said, that obviously the cap's worthless. So we're gonna go ahead and put a brass cap on there as an extra precaution. I'm kind of on a kick on this and just so you know, those are flat pliers. Now most of you are like, yeah, you're showing me something I've already seen. I'm still, I get a kick out of that one guy who just ran his mouth. He's like, you got on there with channel watch. I got done watching as soon as I see that. I'm thinking, but get out of the 18th century. And I didn't mushroom that down either. That's what a lot of people do. They crank them down, smash the lips on that thing. Then you gotta drill it out and everything else, total pain of honey. So we've got that. I'm gonna spray this piece here because I don't like the way that's dark and flare fittings. I'm just gonna go ahead and, even though I didn't get nothing on it, I'm gonna do a poor kick it on because once it's running, it's too hot it'll just kind of boil off. We have a low pressure switch on this so it didn't go into a negative. That's why I'm not gonna change the filter dryer. All right, let's get this weighed in here and see how much we end up using. So our discharge side there was at 140. The measuring, go down to charging. We're gonna do manual charging, hit enter again. Weight scale should pop up right there. Zero, wanna zero weight. Now you do have to do an update on this manifold to get all these features too, just so you know. So we're connected there to the test of scale, zeroed out. We're on 404A.  I do not see any leakage signs from any of my big blue. We're connected to our liquid line there. We are having to dump right on the compressor, which kind of sucks, but it's a big boy. We'll go slow and easy, we'll be fine. Unfortunately, I don't know why they wouldn't have put a port back here where the accumulator is at. That would have been a better spot for it that way it could have mixed before it got back here. But either way, let's go ahead and kick that on and go ahead and start adding. You can see we already got acid liquid there. That cyclist looks like crap, but be honest with you, that cyclist over there don't look no better. Through the refrigeration HVAC guys out there, this fan here, you see these usually on compressors that are used for low temp, the compression ratio. Okay, we're already, we just go clear already. Right here at four pounds, looks like we started to go starting to. So right now what's going on is the headmaster outside is starting to open and close because our pressure's finally gotten up there high enough. It's a hundred and eighty pound headmaster out there. Just went through solid, which don't mean a lot. At about 12 pounds and a half. I'm gonna stop for a minute, see how it does because we got to give it a chance to get those evaporator fans on.  That's nice. I'm gonna have to go look and see if it went into a defrost. I assume since there's no clock here, this must be done by the panel downstairs. Okay, it's in defrost. So we're gonna go enter manual defrost. This is a tricky one that I never knew how to use because nobody showed me. Hit that and go to end manual mode, enter, look at that, it's in drip mode. So it's gonna drip for a bit, you're going to set up, you can see when your set points are negative five, defrost, got electric defrost, duration's 45 minutes, down two minute delay, five minute drip time, defrost times, number of schedules, three at one o'clock in the morning, nine o'clock and 1700, which is five. You got two inputs here on the board, outputs there, alarms, high case alarm 20 degrees, delay of an hour, 45 after defrost, and unfortunately this thing is not on the network far as I know. So right about 15 pounds and we're going back through and now that we've got 216 pounds of pressure on it, looking for any additional leaks. Ah, super, let's try it on high, the system is this. There's one leak, so that's not gonna help with none. So I have that leak there, plus that one over there, plus I bet you there's more. Everybody's like, don't do it in high super mode, you don't need no super mode high mode, we're looking for a big leak, we're looking for a really big leak.  You figure you need that super mode when you're sitting here fighting against the fan that's blowing everything away. Well I tried tightening it up and it's still got a little bitty leak there. Let's go ahead and pump this thing down, get that fixed. We've got a receiver valve right here on the back, so let's go ahead and get that done. See, we're pumped down, watch out there. This is a nylog for the rescue. This repair is brought to you by Nylog. You can pick this up with your tech tools and use the discount code survival net checkout to save 8% on your total order. Look at that, get her, get her gutter.  Oh, she's not liking something. That valve's leaking like a sieve, good figure. Oh yeah, look at that. We got a leak of drama going on here. We'll go ahead and isolate it here. Also, that way we don't have any back pressure coming from other parts of the rack or not the rack, they're the parts of the system. It's not the best looking flare I've ever seen in my life. Well, I guess it ain't too horrible. You can tell it wasn't lubricated on the back side very well. Like if you do that with my Navec flaring tool and just do a whole brand new one. All right, so I screwed that back together that way we keep all the evaporating refrigerant inside there that way that nothing's getting displaced by oxygen. We've got the Navec NEF 6LM, this thing is sweet. All we gotta do is get that off, clamp it up, and we're good to go. That's a half inch, which we can look right here at the top. There's half inch, pretty sure that's half inching it. There's that five inch, yep, that's... All right, clamps down, that'll be half inch, yep. All right, and then when we chuck it up it's gonna stop there, boom, slide it on, and good to go, let's watch and see.  Now, I've got two different flaring tools. I bought a rigid one here that does okay. First stainless steel and a few other things. Doesn't do too bad, I paid a lot of money for it, and I don't think it's all that great on some stuff, but honestly, the old fashioned, the deep ring tool here usually does just fine. We're gonna put that copper in there just like this, little stainless steel thing's gonna stop it like that right there. We're gonna slide the tool right down to it, right over top of it, clamp it in like that, hit the button, and then it backs itself back out, and she's done. Release it, pull it straight up. Pull that off, looks like the perfect flare to me. Now, rough edges, a little bit of optical illusion there, I think where I pinched that a little bit, but that's my fault. So, we've got a nice flare there, make sure there's nothing inside that edge corner that I didn't get out. Yeah, there was a little piece there, good, got that. Yeah, that's why you gotta be really careful when you're doing your deburring that you don't get in there and do what I did. But, it would help if I wasn't crammed right in between here. So, put a little bit in there. This is refrigeration oil, so it doesn't matter if it gets inside there, the whole reason for it being blue is that it is made out of polyester oil.  You go out and grab your torque wrench, but less is more, usually about 40, 35 pounds, I think, something like that, but the biggest thing is just having a good flare and having it lubricated. Now, if you're watching that refrigerant, it's, even though we're there, it's boiling out the whole time. Now, we could do a little purge over here to this flare, not over here, but we're gonna be fine. Let's go ahead and open it back up. You don't pull vacuums on this. If you look at my valve here, when you crank it down, it's open to the top side, it's gonna go that direction. This one over here, same thing here.  So, there's no way to pull a good vacuum on it, so that's why you'd be fast about it and let it boil off. So, we've got that opened up, and I'll listen to here, we can check it, it's got a packing that we can actually tighten if we need to.  This one does not have a packing that can be repaired. So, unfortunately, luckily, it's got a metal cap that's actually gonna seal it, so we'll back that out and you can see that I can feel it leaking.  It's got a little copper ring in there, tighten that up. Felt nice and solid, not seeing anything. Lots of vibration. Quite good, these loose clamps. See if you've got anything on it, a king pound leak, but that one up there definitely was. Gotta go up on a roof, you gotta look around up there. Like I said, this thing is pretty slick. You can get this also, True Tech Tools, have that sent it to me, I've been really happy with it. Depending on what size you're doing a flare, sometimes you need adjustments, you can do it right here on that right there and that'll adjust how far it goes in. And then when it locks down, you just push that button right there. And it's an orbiting flare. It's got a flashlight right there when you hit the light button. It's got a readout right there. Comes with a battery charger. The battery, I've only charged it once and I didn't get to when I first got it, it's two amp hours. This thing is just crazy how long it can last. I showed a tar install manager and stuff and recommended they get it just because it's so simple that it's hard to make mistakes and I showed them how easy it was. And I think we got one, I'm pretty sure. The guy burrs it properly and gets that thing into place right where that stops it right there. You just can't do it wrong. And as it starts doing it down, it moves that out of the way. And it's really, really well built stuff. See the pin there locks together like that. And it's slick stuff. I forgot to show you too, there's a flaring gauge here that guarantees you've got the proper flare. You can see there's an edge there that fits in there, it stops after there that way.  It's actually got a measuring device on the back side. But that right here is pretty slick. Comes with that little wrench here. So anyhow, jumping on to what we've got going on here. The refrigerator we've had is 15 pounds. If I had 15% of that, you're looking about two and a quarter. So you need at least two and a quarter at a minimum, probably closer to three or four to make sure we stay solid even in the colder weather. I got to go around and check it out for any other additional leaks just to make sure we've got them all.  The freezer's on this side. The cooler's here. Well, that's cooler for a stand. Like I said, around here, just to make sure it's kind of windy. We're gonna make sure there's no 15 pound or better leaks out here, you know? Yeah, we still got that leakage from down below. It sounds, smells like it's kind of hitting it. But I think that's just left over from inside and that's one of the exhaust points. I have no way of getting up that high to where that's at without a lift. There's where that comes down at. You can see it comes across right there where we are. Come over to here and right there it is. So if we were cranking out refrigerant, you would think we'd pick something up. Get a supermode. I don't, all I can do is put a straight ladder up there, which is not really the safest thing in the world. You would think, okay, if we're leaking bad, it would drip and you would have some oil down here, something, because it's leaking pretty quickly, so it looks like it online on the computer in the graph. But I think what it's done is slowly gotten low and then it did its thing. All right, so we've gotten up here anyway. Gotta do what you gotta do. I don't have anything up here at all, so my place we got is those two spots that I showed you. Well, I went to the trouble getting the ladder up there in the rafters. Might as well go ahead and replace the filter dryer where we're at it too. It's looking less than desirable. I mean, I guess more thought about it's flare, so there's no reason to have gotten overheated and made it brown like that. So let's go ahead and get that changed. Pump the remaining refrigerant in there for winter charge and get out of here. I've looked everywhere I can look for leaks. I've looked up there, I've looked on the roof and I've looked across the ceiling. So let's finish this up. Let's go and clean this backside up a little bit here. Look this up this end here. Any residual refrigerant should push right through the dryer. Get it here. So we can actually bleed a little bit both directions. I'm not sure what all we can really show on that, so easier imagination. Not to use my torque wrench just because I know I've done it enough times with my torque wrench to kind of know and I'd rather start light and tighten it up after the fact than tighten it up tight as you can at first. And then once that's the case and you usually can't go any further. Yeah, let's go ahead and open up our liquid. Then we're gonna date our flare dryer. Gatter's all in there, not seeing any leaks on it. Now that we've got it running, an extra three pounds at first and I've found out my bottle's just about empty anyway, so we're just gonna finish the bottle off in there. So it'll be about 20 pounds. Hard to say if there was anything else. We can box one more time, but with that being completely nothing in there, no hits at all when I was in there. I'm not too worried about it leaving in there. See what we got here. I like that. Sometimes it's easier just to look at the fog. See how fast we dropped. An hour and a half, 39 to there. We really started to hankin' down right about in there.  So yep, she's doing good. If you guys enjoyed the video and you want some more like it, please give it a thumbs up. Check me out on Instagram. And until next time, we'll catch you on the next one later.


Welcome back. Just last week the Senate approved the president's request to securitize their 22.7 trillion now ways and means advances provided to the federal government by the CBN protein and enter prolonged discussions that began last year. Now in recent years the FG's fiscal operations have resulted in significant fiscal deficits due to on the performance in revenue, particularly in oil revenue compared to budgeted outcomes. Also resulted has increasingly relied on ways and means financing from the CBN to cover the unfunded portion of fiscal deficit. However this has led to the WNN balance consistently surpassing the 5% threshold of the federal government's prior years revenue chip elated in the CBN Act. I'm not being joined by International Finance and Economics Analyst Mukhtar, Mohammed Mehmed. Thanks for joining us on the business and side in plus TV Mukhtar. Thank you my pleasure. Okay let us start this way. First of all the ways and means advances of the Central Bank of Nigeria to the federal government should it not be a CBN strictly CBN affair under its purview. What's the role of the DMO in all of this? Well it's supposed to be between the CBN and the federal government. But again when you are talking about depth the DMO has to come in because it's the depth that the federal government has to be. The DMO is like the regulator of the the custodian of Nigerian debt so they have the one that plans payment schedule. So that's why they definitely have to be involved in it. So okay fine the DMO says the securitization will involve the issuance of debt securities with a 40-year tenure by the federal government to the Central Bank of Nigeria. I want you to break it down for us because over time analysts say that the federal government seems to abuse their ways and means. They just break down this new development to us. Well you said you have abused it. In the first place the I'm not supposed to go above that limit of about 30% of the budget deficit when we were above it and the CBN was supposed to bring them if they were going to pull above that and said that because of the independence of the CBN said no we cannot give you thus far because you have brought above your limit. The only time you have to go above your limit is in the time situation maybe there's a crisis security crisis. But at this time by the border the court was not in a stance that it was not in one situation. So definitely the border above their limit and the CBN could not act on its autonomy to say no we cannot give you and that's where we have the problem that we keep saying that especially the current CBN has become a tool in the hands of the government. Now the government can know about the revenue. You know we're saying that the problem with Nigeria is not in the GDP is in the revenue. You can have a very low GDP. You can have a very high GDP to borrow more and a low revenue you cannot borrow because it's not the GDP that pays the money it's the revenue that pays the money. Now it had to do that is because it just realized that the government has no money and it's a domestic debt. So what we are seeing is more like a debt reshuffling and saying okay now we are going to be paying CBN 9% of his debt every year is now stands like a security and so they are expecting Nigerians to buy into this product and the Nigerians will begin to benefit from it. I mean from the bond when they invest in that they get 9% and the government will be the CBN will be able to have and the government will be able to have money to pay the CBN. It's using one in legality to co-correct on that because the ways and the means are supposed to go to the national assembly who never had that and now again even if you are going to proceed to bond you still need the approval of the national assembly but as it is now it's it's a policy that the government decided to go on with without getting the revenue approval. All right Mokta but some analysts have pointed out that the executive at the national assembly may have acted prematurely as section 38 of the CBN Act prohibits securitization of the ways and means. Don't you think that consequently we might need an amendment to the act to proceed with this so-called securitization? I think we all need an amendment in any law because the whole idea of a law is no hundred percent and people will always find ways and ways to legitimately beat the law and I think that is what they have succeeded in doing. They didn't just they look at the lapses in the law and they took advantage of it. I keep saying the problem is not in the area of it's not in the area of legislation it's even in the legislatures the legislation we already have we don't seem to do that so definitely don't have how much you try to do the legislation there will always be people find means to beat it. Okay fine let's get more insights now securitizing the ways and means advances and adding them to the public debt balance will raise the total public debt to about 69 trillion Naira or about the 35 from percent of the 2022 GDP from 46.3 trillion Naira or 23 percent you know that we had before you know what's the implication of this adding this ways and means to our general public debts really? What's the implication of it is that you are not owing more debts so we have more debt to pay and that's the implication in we did an analysis on some of the foreign debts Nigeria is owing and we realize that every Nigeria is owing the our debt of 50 dollars so we need to add this to and we need to combat it to Naira and know how much we are owing in terms of Naira every Nigeria is owing and before Naira it was 200 Naira each Nigeria is owing in terms of Naira debts so I think it's not just looking for ways to pay but how you go about looking for these ways to pay I mean there's any administration that have taken advantage of debts with impunity this current administration they've not looked at debt as a they've not looked at debt as something that is going to affect the future generation of the incoming administration they looked it at one side we need that we need to finish projects that we started and most of these projects are physical projects that most of them will not be concluded by them and most of them are economical value if they are given into the private sector to supply the PPP most of these private sector that build and operate for the next 25 years the government would have had a challenge those from maybe to socially investment in health and education but the government that refused to think out of the box and that is why we have the challenge that we have now so for me I think this government that don't think out of the easy way out of the easy way out is to borrow money okay another factor supporting the need for a review of debt benchmarks in the fiscal strategy paper is that the share of domestic debt in the overall public debt split will rise to almost 73 percent compared with around 60 percent previously is this really true yeah it is and again most of this 72 percent government is the highest debt top I mean in any developed economy you see companies are going that are highly in debt because the college is there to expand their business and through their business they're able to service this debt or what we have seen here in Nigeria that the government led the debt to pay salary and also to continue to pay salary so definitely the debt profile keep going up and the means of payment gets slimmer by the day because the only other means they look at okay outside of the put wire which have succeeded regime and they could the NPC denotes given into the federation account so the next thing they're looking is widely it has the tax bracket and when they talk about whether the tax brackets taxing the already tax so definitely I think he calls for signing calls for worry the debt in the set is not bad it is being used for productive ventures but when you look at debt as a means of allowances and salaries for an open blood test civil servants due to the quality there's more to worry about now all right let's look at the flip side because some people still believe there's a bit of an advantage to this but with the rising debt service to revenue ratio estimated by the old bank at approximately 96 percent in 2022 so mandal is saying this move is very good in reducing the federal government's debt service burden how do you reason all of that it's good in terms of when you look at the debt in itself is not bad it's just like any business sometime you need to expand you go to borrow but what we are saying why it's bad in this our instant is that some of this debt are borrowed because they cannot meet their salary and demands so especially with the ways and the means and then they are not able to use this working in synergy between the monthly and monthly and fiscal side to control inflation inflation is every month in every economy in the world but how seems to be out of control because we seem to do nothing about it so definitely I think there is there is a lot to be concerned about when you look at the Nigerian debt profile what we are trying to do it doesn't look workable at all I just before the incoming administration they need to find a way around and begin to see how they can obsess some of this debt and look at those debt that are not productive and get out of it I must say a very big thank you to you Muqtah for your time and of course all the analysis that you have brought in clarity you have made on these ways and means and the implication on Nigerian fiscal policy Mohammed Muqtah Mohammed is an international finance and economic analyst thank you for your time my pleasure thank you I would take a quick break will be coming back in a moment to look at the impact of the CBN's cashless policy visa be the new notes in circulation and all of that how it is in the country and how Nigerians are bearing the brunt in one moment after this quick break stay with us


As you guys see, there's a dude with a lion in the background named Andy Elliott.  Andy is quite the sales trainer, but he used to actually do sales. He was making about, I'd say, 700,000 in the car business, which is obviously in the top 1%. Then he took over the car business, took it from a million to two or three million, and then he finally just realized he was making everybody a ton of money, so he started his own business a couple of years ago, and now he's one of the top sales trainers in the industry. Let me introduce Andy Elliott. What's cracking Andy? Hey guys, what up? I appreciate you Brad. Hey, number one, look, it doesn't matter what you do, whatever you do, just do it all the way. If you're in sales, it's because you like income, right?  I started selling cars when I was 18. Everybody starts somewhere. The deal is I started at 18, literally went to training, and it took me from making two grand a month to 10,000 a month. Went to training again, took me from making 10 to 20. I was like, damn, no one else is training. If I train, I just get better and I make more money. As I see salespeople, men and women, it's like there's a person that you've never met that's inside of you that you've never gone all in on, and I'm sure Brad talks about it all the time.  Would everybody agree? What is the difference between you playing all the way or not? What is it? Do you have the potential to make more money? Yes or no? You all said yes. Why aren't you? Look, write it down. The difference between where you are and where you want to go is the gap in your skill set. I'm pretty sure you've heard that a lot in your life. Some of you, it could be work ethic.  It's just the way it is. Would everybody agree? If you're in sales, you got to work like hell. Okay, cool. So everybody's got to make the decision, am I working like hell? That's between you and you. Do you got more to give? Go give it. And I'm going to tell you what I meant, which was what your question was, is what does that mean if your competition knows your business better than you? I'm not in your space, but if I said today, I'm going to start coaching people on how to sell high ticket items, guess what? All I would have to do is push more energy than you. That's it, and then I would run you over.  Now, here's the deal. You need to learn how to beat your own so your competition don't beat it. Does that make sense? No, that's the part I need to help with. Okay, all right, so it means this. What holes do you have in your game? Number one, you need to increase your energy. Okay, can you do that for me? Hey, would everybody agree he needs to increase his energy? All right, do me a favor. Take your hands and put them up in the air like this. Can you use them when you're talking to me? Can you say, hey, Andy? Andy, let me ask you a question.  That's what I'm talking about. Can I ask you a question? Hey guys, now we've closed the deal. Now we became alive.  See, that's my deal. You were asleep in the beginning.  Dude, but you got to wake up, man. I mean it. That's a good point.  Somebody's going to clean your clock if they have more energy, more conviction, more enthusiasm. And by the way, they may not even be as good as you. But other people believe they're better than you based on their presentation. Look, do you need to motivate your people?  Right?   Right? Wake up. Let's roll. Anyways, I'm playing with him, but I am. Dude, are we telling them the right advice? Andy, you're awesome, man. Thank you. Appreciate it. You're all badasses, man. Just unleash. I don't care. Most people have a glass ceiling on their head and we do these little training deals. And you know that there's a better version than you, but inside you got self-doubt. Right? Knock that off.  Okay? That glass ceiling, shatter it. Shatter that sucker. Okay? You have no idea what's capable for you when you stop putting limits on yourself.  This is the real deal. It's about being driven. Look, how you wake up when the sun don't shine. How you wake up when you just lost your best customer.   How you wake up on that day is how you should wake up every day. Freaking jacked up, driven, motivated.


as I read the proclamation, and then when I've done, I'll just turn it over to you all. Okay, and then we'll be in time when you can do it. Okay, all right. Okay. Not a mayor approach, let me get my seat. That's fine. I'll just, I'll just sit here. So when he calls it, I got these extra copies. I'll just give that to you. You can give it to the clerk right here. She's the clerk. This is angry, right? Thank you. It's all straight. Good evening. We like to call the Durham City Council meeting the daughter at 7 o'clock PM on January the 4th, and certainly want to wish all of you a happy new year and pleased to have you here this evening. We probably have a pretty short agenda, but what I like to do is take a moment of solemn meditation, please. Thank you. I'll ask Councilman Davis, who would lead us in the pledge. Madam Clerk, would you call the roll, please? Mayor Bell. Present. Mayor Pro Tem Cole McFadden. Councilmember Davis. Councilmember Johnson. Councilmember Moffitt. Councilmember Rees. And Councilmember Schul. We have two proclamations this evening, and I'm going to ask first if Councilman Davis would introduce first. Thank you, Mayor Bell. I'd like to ask if we could have the representatives from the Benjamin and Edith Spaulding Descendants Foundation and any representative from the George White Bar Association and any representative from the Durham City Workers Association if you would come and stand with me. This is a proclamation recognizing George H. White Remembrance Day. Whereas Durham and Duke University will be the site of the 115th anniversary banquet of George Henry White's famous farewell to Congress speech on January 29th, 2016 at the Searle Conference Center on the Duke campus with Congressman G.K. Butterfield as the keynote speaker. And whereas this banquet will be sponsored by the Phoenix Historical Society, the Benjamin and Edith Spaulding Descendants Foundation, the George Henry White Bar Association and the North Carolina Grand Lodge of Prince Hall Masons which is headquartered in Durham and other partners. And whereas the North Carolina NAACP has its state headquarters in Durham and the George White and George Henry White was a founding member of the Philadelphia Pennsylvania branch of the NAACP. And whereas George Henry White served in the North Carolina House of Representatives as a member of the North Carolina State Senate, but most famously represented the second congressional district of North Carolina in the United States Congress. And whereas George Henry White was born in 1852 in Bladen County, North Carolina before the emancipation of the enslaved community. And whereas he attended the Rehoboth Freedman School before matriculating at Howard University in Washington, D.C. And whereas George Henry White worked as a teacher and principal in Newburn before studying for and passing the North Carolina Bar Exam and becoming a lawyer in 1879. And whereas George Henry White later became a state legislator, a state solicitor, the grand master of the North Carolina Prince Hall Masons, he ultimately was elected to and was sworn into the 55th United States Congress in 1897. As a representative, as a U.S. representative, he appealed to his congressional colleagues for federal assistance for the African-American victims of the 1898 Wilmington massacre and sponsored anti-legion legislation. And whereas due to the institution of racially restrictive state laws, state constitutional amendments, and the United States Supreme Court rulings including Plessy versus Ferguson, George Henry White became the single remaining African-American member of Congress at the end of the 55th session of the United States Congress in 1901. And whereas during his final floor speech at the final speech on the floor of the United States House of Representatives on January 29th, 1901, George Henry White gave his famous farewell address in which he declared that though he was departing, the African-American would rise up like the mythical Phoenix bird and serve again in the United States Congress. And whereas the city of Durham, North Carolina, commemorates and remembers the life, legacy, and the 115th anniversary of the 1901 Phoenix speech of George Henry White. Now therefore, William V. Beal Bale, Mayor of the city of Durham, North Carolina, does hear by proclaim Friday, January 29th, 2016, to be George Henry White Day in Durham. And he encourages all citizens to recognize and remember the accomplishments of this great and historic man. Witness Mayor Beal's hand and the corporate seal of the city of Durham, North Carolina on this day, on this fourth day of January, 2016. And it's signed by William V. Beal Bale. And here is the proclamation as read and I will turn the podium over to Mr. Spauldin. Thank you, Council Member Davis for sponsoring this proclamation on behalf of the organizations that I represent. I have a short testimony I would like to read that is presently being passed out to the mayor and other members of the council at this time. Mayor Beal and the members of the city council, my name is Vincent Spaulding and I'm the past president and the current chief operating officer of the Benjamin Union Spaulding Descendants Foundation, which was established for educational, literary and charitable purposes among other functions. Tonight, I'm here to speak in support of honoring George Henry White while establishing a George Henry White day in Durham in order to recognize the 115th anniversary of his farewell speech to the US Congress January 29th, 2001. My organization is among six other organizations located mostly in the United States in North Carolina who have come together to take action to promote the life and accomplishments of the United States Congress and George Henry White. Other organizations in addition to the organization I represent are the Phoenix Historical Society of Talboro, North Carolina, the George Henry White Bar Association of Durham, North Carolina, the North Carolina Grand Lodge of Prince Hall, Masons, Concerned Citizens of Whitesboro, New Jersey, the Ebenezer Presbyterian Church of Newborn, North Carolina and Living Descendants of George Henry White in North Carolina and Durham. In addition to these representatives, these organizations have come together to use the combined prestige of their organization to uplift the name and legacy of George Henry White. In George Henry White's farewell speech to the Congress in 1901, he was a sole voice in Congress for some 10 million Afro-Americans. In the opinion of many congressmen, Congressman White's farewell to Congress speech is as significant as the American, in American history is Reverend Martin Luther King's I Have a Dream speech over 62 years ago. White's farewell to Congress speech includes the best summary of the progress of African-Americans achieved in 35 years. At that time, since slavery and detail the fraud and violence of white supremacy who disenfranchised Afro-Americans across the South by 1900. His final and prophetic word that Phoenix like he, the Negro, would rise up someday and come again were fulfilled by Dr. King in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Congressman White was the highest-ranking Afro-American elected official in the United States when he served in Congress in his courageous advocacy for the equal rights of all citizens has not yet received recognition in the mainstream of American history. A testimony is a flyer that provides an overview of the banquet we are sponsoring at the Duke University Serial Conference Center on January 29, 2016 to celebrate and mark the 115th anniversary of George Henry White's farewell dress to the U.S. Congress. I sincerely hope that the members of the Durham City Council will vote to pass a resolution establishing the George Henry White Day and Derm on January 29, 2016 in connection with the 115th anniversary of George Henry White's farewell dress to the U.S. Congress January 29, 1901. Thank you for this opportunity to testify in support of this resolution. Well, thank you, Vincent.  He's a recent comment from his office. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Let's recognize the Mayor Pro Tem. Good evening. Good evening. Good evening. I will be reading a National Mentoring Month proclamation.  Whereas in 2002, the Harvard School of Public Health and Mentor, M-E-N-T-O-R, the National Mentoring Partnership created National Mentoring Month. And whereas the goals of National Mentoring Month are to raise awareness of youth mentoring, recruit individuals to mentor, encourage organizations to engage and integrate quality in youth mentoring programs, and seek to highlight effective mediation in preventing juvenile delinquency. And whereas a mentor is a caring and supportive individual who devotes time to nurture youth by promoting the discovery of personal strength and potential in a structured and trusting relationship. And whereas quality youth mentoring encourages positive choices, promotes self-esteem, supports academic achievement, and introduces young people to new ideas. And whereas mentoring programs have shown to be effective in combating school violence, discipline problems, substance abuse, incarceration, and truancy. And whereas development experts agree that youth mentoring is critical to the social, emotional, and cognitive development of our young people and helps them navigate the path to adulthood more successfully. And whereas research shows that young people who were at risk for not completing high school, but who had mentors were 55% more likely to successfully enroll in college. 81% more likely to participate regularly in extracurricular activities, more than twice as likely to hold leadership positions in a club or sports team, and 78% more likely to volunteer regularly in their communities. And whereas mentors help young people by promoting networking, connecting with industry professionals, setting career goals, and ultimately assist in finding gainful employment. Now, therefore, I, William V. Bill Bell, mayor of the city of Durham, North Carolina, do hereby proclaim January 2016 as National Mentoring Month in Durham, and hereby call upon public officials, business and community leaders, and educators, and encourage all citizens to observe this month with appropriate ceremonies, activities, and programs in order to, number one, recognize the men and women who serve as staff and volunteers at quality youth mentoring programs, and who encourage our youth to find inner strength and reach their full potential. Secondly, acknowledge that mentoring is beneficial because it encourages educational achievement, reduces juvenile delinquency, improves life outcomes, and ultimately strengthens communities. Third, promote the creation and expansion of quality youth mentoring programs across Durham to equip young people with the tools needed to lead healthy and productive lives, and lastly support initiatives to close the mentoring gap. Witness my hand in the corporate seal of the city of Durham, North Carolina, this fourth day of January, 2016, William V. Bill Bell, mayor. Would you like to give a few words? On behalf of the Durham County Juvenile Crime Prevention Council, we would like to thank mayor and mayor for this proclamation. The future of our young people really does depend on our community providing them with the support and the resources they need to identify and achieve their goals. And one of the reasons we're highlighting mentoring is because mentoring is an effective strategy that keeps our young people from the juvenile justice system and ultimately out of the career to prison pipeline. So thank you all so very much. We'll be having additional events throughout this month, one of which will be working with the book harvest to solicit donations of gently used children's books, as well as having a breakfast and recognition of mentors in this community in February. Thank you so very much. Thank you. Well, we certainly appreciate both proclamations this evening and certainly focusing on young people is very important in this community. And Vince, I want to appreciate you again for allowing us to honor JLJ Dwight at the banquet, but you aren't us by bringing it here to Durham. We think it's very appropriate person for events such as this that to happen. Glad to Duke University is supporting you also. I'm not going to, some of you here for the first time, we're getting ready to get into the agenda so don't feel you've got to sit through a meeting if you have something else to do. I'd like to recognize members of the council for comments, recognize the council of Moffitt. Yes, sir, thank you, Mayor Bell. Many of us have known over the years Dr. Sharon Elliott-Bynum, who has worked very hard here in Durham to provide healthcare and other services to everyone regardless of their position in life. And very sad to announce, I mean, I'm not announcing, very sad to relay that Dr. Elliott-Bynum lost her fight with a relatively long illness at far too young an age. And so we lost her yesterday. Well, we took a silent meditation for her, if you don't mind. Thank you. Recognize them there, Proto. I was going to recognize the loss of my sister, Sharon Elliott-Bynum, but thank you, Don, for that because we serve on a committee together and we work so tirelessly to get her some money to help with her programs. I'd like to recognize another sister, Lois Caraway. You might recall Mr. Nathaniel White, who had a tailor business? I'm sorry, no, no, no. Mr. Nathaniel Walker. He had the tailor like this, okay. Still had white on my mind. After he died, Lois Caraway took over the business. And I just wanted to have a moment of silence and commemoration of her life. She passed on Christmas Eve after a fight with cancer. She was the gentle spirit of love, God, community, and family, and I met her because she was doing some work for the police department when I was an employee. Thank you. Recognize newest Abe Lincoln Counselor. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. When I was elected to this office two months ago, I knew that we had some of the best city employees in the world, but since my election in November, my respect and appreciation for the employees of the city of Durham has only grown. Whether it was from the time between my election and my swearing in a month ago, when city staff here in this building and all over the city bent over backwards to help train me on exactly what the city does and how it does it. Or if it's been in the last month, I've tried to figure out how to do my job and they've ably assisted me in doing that. I have come to respect and appreciate so much the work that they do. I know all of us received an email last week about our city inspectors and how hard they work and how heavy a workload they have and how much they go beyond the call of duty to help folks in Durham. I just wanted to mention that, but the main reason I wanted to say something tonight is that over the last week and a half, we experienced some really heavy rains and really difficult flooding. And as I drove around the city of Durham during those storms, I saw the employees of our department of public works everywhere in the city blocking traffic in order to keep people off of flooded roadways, going into very deep undrained areas to try and unclog drains to help keep areas safe, keep roadways open. And as I just wanted to extend my appreciation to all the city staff, but especially in light of the difficult hazardous work that they did last week to the members of the staff of the department of public works for some really extraordinary efforts to keep our city up and running and keep us all safe. So thank you. Thank you, Council Member Johnny. Any other comments? I think I'm supposed to be sworn in. I'm sorry, so much. This is Mayor Pro Tem. Who's gonna swear? Oh, she didn't know if you wanna do it tonight. Are you ready? Yeah. Okay. She's just playing the process, what's up? Yes.  At the advice of the Institute of Government, they are suggesting that that be done. This is a new process for those who may or may not know that as a clerk indicated, the Institute of Government has suggested, and maybe the city attorney might add to that, the swearing in of the Mayor Pro Tem of the City Council versus. Yeah, and because it is new, let me just add that the question really is that the Mayor Pro Tem is there to serve in particular if the Mayor becomes incapacitated and the question then becomes, could he or she actually act in the official capacity without being sworn in? And that was the question that was in front of the Institute of Government and they suggested in that emergency situation to go ahead and do it now when it's not an emergency. So if something does come up, we don't have to worry about whether she is actually sworn in to serve as the Mayor. For a cold McFadden. I call her cold McFadden. Do hereby solemnly swear. Do hereby solemnly swear that I will support and maintain the Constitution of the United States. That I will support and maintain the Constitution of the United States. And the Constitution and Laws of North Carolina. And the Constitution and Laws of North Carolina. Not inconsistent, they're with. Not inconsistent, they're with. And that I will faithfully and impartially. Discharge the duties of my office. Discharge the duties of my office. As Mayor Pro Tem of the City of Durham. As Mayor Pro Tem of the Great City of Durham. Yes, so help me God. So help me God. Are there any other announcements by the Rims of the Council? If not, we'll proceed with the agenda as printed. The first item will be the prior items by the city manager. Thank you Mr. Mayor. Good evening. Thank you Mr. Mayor. Good evening everyone. Happy New Year, no priority items. Likewise, City Attorney. Thank you Mr. Mayor. On tonight's general business agenda, item number 15, Carver Street Extension Contract ST257 Award. As you recall at our work session last year, there were some questions that were raised about this particular contractor that we had in place. But because of the timing of the questions, we really didn't have the opportunity with the holiday to meet with the contractor until this afternoon. We met with the contractor at two o'clock. And by we, it's myself, along with the Fred Lamar of my office and staff from the Public Works and the Finance Department. But we did sit down with Triangle Grading and Paving to get some responses to the questions that you asked. And then we had a separate meeting after that of just city staff members. What we'd like to do and what I'm proposing to do is to refer item 15 back to the attorney's office to give us the opportunity to synthesize our notes and provide that information to you, along with our legal analysis based on the facts that we gleaned from the meeting today. That gives you some time to review the information. If you've got other questions or concerns, I'd be happy to call a closed session on Thursday to discuss the items more in detail with you. I did want to recognize, however, that members of Triangle Paving and Grading are here today. And I appreciate the meeting with us this afternoon and we'll continue our conversations if you're so inclined to refer this back to the attorney's office. Thank you. You've heard the priority item about a city attorney recommendation, entertain a motion on? So moved. Second. It's been properly moved. Second, Madam Clerk, will you open the vote? Close the vote. It passes, seven is zero. I would recognize the city clerk for any priority items. My item has already been taken care of, Mr. Mayor. Mr. Mayor. I recognize Councilman Moffitt. Would it be appropriate to move referring item 15 back to the city attorney's office at this time? Now I'll make that motion. It's been properly moved. Second, Madam Clerk, will you open the vote? Close the vote. It passes, seven is zero. Okay, we'll move to the consent agenda. The consent agenda may be approved with a single vote. If the item is removed by city council person or someone in the public, we'll discuss that later in the program and I'll just read the heading between the consent agenda items. Item one is Durham Homeless Services Advisory Committee appointments. Item four is the passenger vehicle for higher commission reappointment. Item five is street infrastructure acceptances. Item six is physical year 2016-2017 budget development schedule. Item seven is grant project ordinance amendment historic preservation fund grant. Item eight is urban ministries of Durham, Inc. 2015-2016 community development block grant contract for community cafe meals for emergency shelter residents. Item nine is November 2015 bid report. Item 10 is contract between Musco Sports Lighting LLC in the city of Durham for sports lighting at CM Herndon Road Park Baseball Fields. Item 11 is land lease between the city of Durham and Durham Regional Association of Religious Inc. Item 12 is request for lien and civil penalty waiver or cancellation for the properties at 2401 and 2403 Orange Street. Item 13 is general services contract for the Durham Armory. Item 14 is sewer only utility extension agreement with Unufo, Agaya, and Yania, Guadal, Pina. Wow, I hope we got that right. To serve 2639 East Geer Street. Item 15, this item can be found on the general business agenda. Item 17 is commercial meter replacement project phase three, MR9, award of construction to Vanguard Utility Services Inc. Item 16 is contract for purchase of installation maintenance of water management, laboratory information management systems, LIMS. Entertain a motion on approval consent agenda. Second. Second, Madam Clerk, we open the vote. Open the vote. Close the vote. Pass the seven. Move to the general business agenda. Item 15, Harbor Street extension contract ST 257 award. The meeting is adjourned at 728 p.m. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.


a published author, artist, and creative leader here in Maine. So we're really excited to have her join us. And I will stop my screen share and hand it over to you, Helen, to get started with your presentation. Thank you. Thank you very much. Let me put it my view in gallery view. OK, that's better. We didn't welcome Gary, but I can see Gary. I can see his picture, so I hope he is there listening. Thanks for having me come today. We're a small group, so I'm not going to do a whole big introduction. Just tell me, I guess, are all of you involved? Just raise your hand if you're involved with the Sierra Club in any way or what? Yes, OK, great, great. So in the dedication of my book, I wrote, with gratitude for all who work toward a healthier planet, and I'm honored to be with members of the Sierra Club and through my involvement in helping the world is limited because of my age and my health issues. I cherish all those in the front lines working against a corporate system that only looks for profit. For those who haven't thought of it from this angle, it's just something that I realized recently. Religion has had a big part to play, and I'm an interfaith minister. I used to be a nun. Religion has had a big part to play on how the Earth is viewed. When religion began concentrating on heaven as the only important place to focus on, Earth became a place where we struggled to avoid sin. And care of the Earth took a back seat. And exploitation became the norm. So exploitation of peoples as well as the land. So it's a long time passed to reverse that ideology. I'm going to read from the introduction, just a short section. And this is where, as I do practice some Buddhist meditations and the concept of being aware of all sentient beings has really struck me. And so this actually is a feeling that I've had very often walking on, riding on the concrete roads. Sometimes when I travel on roads covered with asphalt, I can almost hear the ground below it crying to me. My breath fails me. My voice is silenced by the noises overhead. My land is barren for lack of sun and rain. I once was rich and beautiful with grasses, flowers, and trees. But progress has meant covering these lands, free for millions of years. This does not stop me from springing up whenever I sense a crack in the roads or sidewalks. I seek the fresh air and the warmth of the sun, and I endure. And this past summer, in the gravel around my building, there was this one flower that poked up around July, right through the gravel. And it went up about two feet and had the most beautiful, it ended up with three beautiful yellow flowers on it. And that was my symbol for the summer of the hope of the earth and the ability of the earth to renew itself. I'm not going to do a lot of talking. Part of my thinking and my drive to write these poems and was from the environmentalist Greta Thunberg, who I'm sure you're all familiar with, who spoke to the United Nations and said, our house is on fire. And then I started gathering these poems together that I had written about global warming and the loss of animal habitat and so forth. And just hearing her speak to the United Nations, hear that little energy and that anger just was very inspiring to me. So I figured the way that I can relate is to write poetry. And I just want to share. I've also been very influenced by some recent books. Well, this one's not so recent. The One of Embraiding Sweetgrass by Robinwell Kimmerer. And that is such a wonderful book. She captures the true reverence between Native Americans and the earth, the relationship that we need to survive. And also the Dalai Lama's new book, Our Only Hope, A Climate Appeal to the World. That is a very wonderful book. And it was great to see him taking on that challenge. And last but not least recently, a friend gave me a book called World of Wonder. And the author, I don't know if I can pronounce her last name, but it's Amy Nezukumatatio. I think she's from Indian descent. She introduces us to some endangered species and ones we have never heard of but who are vital to life. And she said that when she taught to a class of suburban children, elementary school, out of 22 students, 17 had never heard or seen fireflies. They thought she was kidding, simply inventing an insect.  And in areas where there's too much light, fireflies will only be found at the edges of town. She also said that in her college classes, many students can't tell the difference between a maple and an oak leaf. And that really made me sad, you know? So today I'm just going to read some poems. And I read somewhere that poems aren't meant to be eaten in swallowed whole. They're meant to be savored, taking time to get to the rich flavors of the poem.  And they realized when they got to certain poems, they had to sit and take it in. And I was just telling Marina that I had a call from this wonderful gentleman who had read an article about me in the paper. And he kept talking about my poems. And he really, really got it. He really got where I was coming from.  And I was like, wow, this is really, and he was really feeling. He says, sometimes I just cry for the earth, he said. So I'm going to begin reading. I have my book divided into three sections. And I'll read a few poems from each section. And it won't take long. Last time I had a poetry reading. And I told people I'd read five poems from each section.  But they're not long poems. So let me share with you where my spiritual life has led me. And I think anybody with a deep spiritual life cannot help but be concerned about the earth. This one is called trust. In fear, I contract, fold in on myself, creating barriers I presume will make me safe. Keeping it bay what scares me, I forget that an embrace of fear releases its bindings. Like a butterfly, I work to uncoil from the cocoon, which protected my fragility. With trust, I expand, arise from the silence within, move forward to spread my wings, trusting I will be held aloft by life, where the winds of change challenge me in new directions. The next one is called creative solitude. And in this book, when I put this book together, it was mostly about global warming and the earth and everything. And then when COVID-19 came along, I just began getting more and more poems or inspired by that. And then I finally realized I needed to put them all into a book. This one is called creative solitude. With few distractions and no commitments during this time of social distancing, I am challenged by my solitude. It calls me to live deeply with an inner strength I didn't know I had. Ordered to stay inside to stop the spread of a virus that challenges the best medical minds, every decision I make to live safely is a gift to myself and others. In this quiet space, I access the creativity that becomes my partner in isolation. I accept the opportunity this presents aware of how lucky I am. When the cocoon becomes too confining, a butterfly emerges. When the rain stops and the sun appears from behind the clouds, a rainbow is painted across the sky. When death becomes a daily event, life feels more precious than ever. The next one is called this perfect summer day. It is the end of a perfect summer day, a day of gentle breezes through my windows, pickling cucumbers from my garden, and snuggling with my cat, who keeps me living in the present moment. I decide to end my day at the beach, uniting my rhythm with the eternal waves. It is less crowded than usual, since tourists are limited in coming here. I relish the ocean smells, the gull screeches, the children playing, the people swimming, not far away in the local hospital and at hospitals around the world, doctors, nurses, and other staff are doing all they can to keep people safe. Such a contrast is not lost to me, as I share my journey with two friends challenged with illnesses determined to bring them down. But they know as I do that in every moment, there is a choice of how we will respond. This one's called the masses have awakened. The days of the prophets are passed, long gone into the annals of history. The fear of the Lord no longer a tool to keep the masses in check. Some keep trying to resurrect the old ways of control in the name of an unseen God to further their own purposes and unfounded beliefs. But the masses have awakened to the truth of human connection. We all survive together or perish from the idolatry of money and power. The next section is called challenges. And the first poem is a world on fire from which this book title was chosen. War in the name of a cause, a God, or a perceived truth is a travesty to the humanity that calls us as brothers and sisters to a world community. We are the saviors the world is waiting for. We are the ones who are called to act, speak up, join hands across perceived barriers and work to prevent the useless destruction of forests, homes, and natural habitat in the name of causes that have lost their relevance in a world on fire. Six feet apart, no hugs hello or goodbye, only caution as we place our feet, our chairs six feet apart. 12 months since this virus began and moved steadily around the world. 10 months since we heard the command to quarantine, wash hands, wear a mask, a flu that was supposed to disappear, attacked with fury instead, not giving up control. Wary of being careful, we want to break out of detention but the daily numbers keep us home. In my solitude, I ponder the grace of each moment, the time to be present to myself unconditionally. It is the time for patience and courage to renew commitments to hope in the present and for the future. Again, this one is another relation to the COVID virus, no battle plan. We know we are at war with no unified battle plan, the death count rises, 50 states with 50 different ideas how they should be handled. It's citizens at the mercy of politics which present no reasonable plan at all. How long will the people wait until their lives become more important than the ideologies of their leaders? How long must they suffer the loss of loved ones who die alone and in immense pain? The beloved community is shattered. Or was it ever there at all? And in thinking of that, it makes me think that how hard it is to get things done even for the simplest things like recycling, for example. We have, I'm at a senior housing and we have recycling bins but they don't empty them. And so there's no way to put my recycling except in the trash. And every time I do that it upsets me very much but it's kind of beyond my control. And that's such a simple thing is recycling that we could do our plastic bottles of water and it's so hard to get a unified plan and people, you're either to the left or you're to the right instead of looking at the facts of what needs to be done. That's just, that's me. So this is my answer to no battle plan. It's called returning to balance. Mother Earth's heartbeat, heard in the ebb and flow of the ocean speaks to us of a failure to honor her gifts. Her family of animals losing habitat, rainforest destroyed for farming, feeding the hunger for beef. Coral reefs are dying because of human interference that continues to warm up our only home. I pray that her heart continues to beat with hope as she waits for humanity to finally realize what she has always known. The laws of nature are sacred, must be honored or suffer the consequences. Only humility will return us to balance. The next one is called the grief of the earth. The grief of the earth rises through our bodies, spills out through our eyes. She no longer can tolerate the destruction of her glorious body, her rivers and streams, her animals and plants, and of us, her beloveds. We have seen the decline in animal species and habitat, pollution of water and air, the migration of millions seeking a better way to live. And yet we persist in our ways. She sent a 16 year old prophet who didn't mince her words, who was listened to by the masses, but not by the leaders. And here we are today in a trial by fire, a pandemic loosed upon the earth. She now has our attention, begging us to act while there is time. Well, we finally listen. The next section is hope. So I end the book with poems on hope. And this one is called a paradox. Hummingbirds sip the nectar from the feeder provided them. Squirrels run to and fro chasing each other and raiding the bird feeders. Rory, my black cat sleeps in the sun knowing only comfort. Hospitals are overburdened, loved ones die alone, fear a great motivator for wearing masks and social distancing. Yet some choose self over the great of good. Let safety begin with me. Love guide my every choice as I keep moving with hope toward a better future. This I believe we are one community that will survive or perish together. We're going to read, I think the last section, you know, to have hope, we need time to have reflection. I think when we're working on important causes we can be overwhelmed and sometimes not take the time to nourish ourselves. And so that's why at the end of the last chapter I really wanted to focus more because I could read more poems on global warming and about the COVID-19. And it just keeps bringing up the same issues, but for ourselves as workers or who are empaths and sympathetic to what is going on in the world, we need to take time to renew ourselves. This is called walking the labyrinth. I, how many of you have ever been familiar with the labyrinth, walk the labyrinth? Yes, yes, just one. Okay. I leave my cares at the entry to this inviting labyrinth built with stones, hope and a deep intention for renewal. My feet not used to walking slowly must be told to take their time. The goal to experience fully the journey I've begun. I walk a circular path, but I'm not going around in circles. Unlike a maze, the way is clear, carefully marked. I come into the center. I breathe slowly letting go of things that no longer serve me, no longer bring me joy and peace. I leave a shell to represent this walk, to show I was here with intention. I walk back the way I came with lighter, hot and renewed purpose. The labyrinth was any labyrinth? Have you ever walked a labyrinth, Deborah? Yes, I was just talking about any labyrinth, about the whole purpose of going into the center and being able to find time to renew. Thank you. You're welcome. The next one is a merry Oliver walk. I'm taking a merry Oliver walk, this splendid September morning. Only the usual animals in this neighborhood, squirrels and chipmunks, but they give me pause, bring me the awareness of how all beings fight for their lives. Even the spider I took from the tub with a piece of cardboard and gently laid outside. The neighbor's gardens delight me as I try to identify the many different flowers blooming there, sweetly placed near the sidewalk for passersby to admire. For these few minutes, I can drink in beauty in the life around me, thank the flowers for their colors and shapes, speak to the strong trees, thank them for their shade. All this is a part of the whole of life. Even the trees burning in California, the animals displaced are dying, forest fire from fires out of control, the yin and yang of existence on this earth, what has always been and always will be as we move slowly but steadily to a gentler, more conscious approach to life and each other. And that is really what I pray for as a more gentler and more conscious approach to life and each other. The lack of butterflies in the summer is really being felt. This summer, I think I saw two butterflies and I keep looking for them, but I have to do a butterfly garden, hopefully I can get more back. But it's all connected, so much of it is connected. There's just nothing that's not connected, whether it's religion and the misuse of the earth or the corporate greed or not having butterflies, it's all connected. And sometimes I feel the simple things that I do aren't enough, but I do support some causes that are doing what they can, like the orangutan project in Indonesia. And if I was a philanthropist, my greatest joy would be to be a philanthropist and to be able to all these emails I get from these organizations, send them a huge check and that would be so rewarding for me. Anyway, I continue with another poem on hope and ways that we can renew ourselves. This is called the morning glories. Sitting with morning glories in my garden as before an altar of hope, a sacred moment. I planted morning glories wherever I've lived in Maine. Being with them, I experience a holy calm. They look at me and seem to say, all is right in the world, Helen, all is right in the world. Right here, right now, this moment when you are totally present, nothing else matters. The world around you can be rotating in a vortex that is self-defeating. Let it do that. Just be here, absorb the beauty we offer you, the peace and wholeness you feel whenever you sit with us. And don't forget us when the season is over. Remember what happens when we are together. Remember, trust that next summer we will meet again in this garden where hope begins. And the last poem I would like to read is called On This Beach.  Let me forever hear the lapping of the waves, music in my ears like none other, calling me to stay here and rest. Return to my original home. No loneliness or sense of loss as I feel the embrace of the tides, salt air. As I breathe free and release all that does not bring me peace, changing fear to trust, holding on to letting go. I want to rise like that kite and fly. Thank you for listening. It's been a pleasure to read my poems to you and you can learn more about me on my website, HelenRusso.com. I have my books for sale there. And thank you for, I can tell by your faces your reaction to the poems it meant a lot. And I think that we have to balance our lives. That's what my, we have to balance our lives between working as hard as we can and believing that we can change things around. And also giving ourselves the nourishment we need because we can get burnt out. If we constantly just think about all the things that are going on in the world that are destructive or discouraging. So thanks again for listening and are there any questions? Helen, one question I had. So you mentioned, you know, feeling burnt out and like feeling that we're, what we're doing may not be enough. I'd love to hear what keeps you going day to day. Well, I, one of the biggest thing that keeps me going is for example, watching Greta Thunberg speak, speech at the United Nations, getting regular messages from the, the orangutan foundation. They, you know, they just told me, I just got a letter saying they were able to release two more orangutans into the wild. You know, they saved the babies. I also get, I get emails from different places where they talk about the work that they're doing. And I know that, I get comfort from that and I get courage from that because I know that there's a lot that I can't do. And I do, I do believe in prayer and I pray for all those who are doing that. And I, like I said, I send money when I can. But that's what really keeps me going is seeing, you know, seeing about people who are finding, going into very poor countries and being able to dig well so people can have water, you know. It's very difficult, especially at this time and in the past few years when so much, when, I mean, but, you know, corporations are rich people. They might have been kings or queens. They've always been in control and the little guys have always worked hard. But we've gotten so far, you know, with Black Lives Matter, when I see all these people in the streets, you know, all these different nationalities working for Black Lives Matter, the realization from people white like me who really realize more than ever what the Black people have had to go through in this country. So I do see, I do see hope. I do see hope. Thank you for sharing that. No. Any other questions for Helen? I'm wondering how frequently you write. Is this part of like your daily work? Do you make a schedule and write or is it just sort of when it comes to you? When it comes to me, I'm not a scheduled writer. You know, I do, I am writing a book with four other women. We have a creativity circle and we've been, we read the book. If any of you are interested to creativity, A Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert is a wonderful book and we discussed that for two years and now we're writing a book about, we do all the writings that we did. I lead writing groups and so I lead with prompts. But in that group, we did write regularly. So we are putting a book together. But for me, very often it comes, it comes in the middle of the night. It comes when I wake up in the morning. It's very much like when I went and sat with the morning glories. I just sat out there and then all of a sudden all these words came to me. So I went in the house, get my paper and pencil and started writing. So the emotion of the moment, I was able to capture in the poem. And you know, that's just how I write. It's through the inspiration more than anything. And that's why when COVID-19 started, there were just so many. And that's how I could express my anger at things that weren't being done. And I'm hoping to be able to share that and be able to help. I did a workshop last night on writing as a spiritual practice and writing as being, using writing to be able to work through the things, so that it doesn't stay inside. So thanks for coming and thanks for sharing and listening. I really appreciate it. Thank you, Helen. I enjoyed it very much. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Thank you so much, Helen. I really, really appreciate your time and sharing your poetry with us. It's my pleasure. Yeah, so I've shared on the screen if anyone is interested in purchasing a copy of Helen's book. You can email her directly. Her email is up on the screen. And if you mentioned the Sierra Club, Helen has actually generously offered to donate a portion of the sales to our work here at Sierra Club Main in protecting our environment and helping to combat climate change. So thank you, Helen. Yes, you can also send out that notice to the other people on your mailing list if you want. Yes, definitely. We will do that and spread the word. Thank you so much. And thank you everyone for joining us.