Ladies? Did you buy a SmartTrip card on Saturday, and you didn’t use it?

Martha’s Table could use it.

To send you on your weekend:

This makes me so happy. I was going to say “proud to be an American,” but this is from Halifax, and here’s why these crazy guys were dancing out in the sow with t-shirts on.

Sickened and saddened by the events in Aleppo?

Here are some charities (and here are some more) that are doing decent work there. I have not vetted them any more than you can, yourself. But Jaysus.

Some good things can come from a bad election.

I wrote this for Mother Courant.

Today is #GivingTuesday

Do you have a favorite charity? Today, I have three and each will receive a small but meaningful donation from me. I’m not saying that to brag (because that would be unChristian to brag). I’m saying that just by way of encouragement.

We don’t give much to charity in Puritan New England

This is the first of a series of columns I’m writing for the New England News Collaborative. Enjoy.

The reductive seduction of other people’s problems

Chris B. shared this, an interesting essay in how we look at other cultures and other people and their seemingly uncomplicated lives. From the essay: If you’re young, privileged, and interested in creating a life of meaning, of course you’d be attracted to solving problems that seem urgent and readily solvable. Of course you’d want …

U.S. suspends Haitian deportation after Hurricane Matthew

The U.S. recently suspended a policy that would have sent Haitians home to a country devastated by the recent hurricane. Meanwhile, Haiti awaits more help.

Check out how one man helps panhandlers

Chris Leamy plays his guitar near people who ask for money in New York City, and that helps them, a lot. This — THIS! — is a creative way to work with people who ask for money on the streets, yes?

Want to help the people of Ecuador?

Here’s one way. A 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Ecuador last week, and authorities there say it will take “years” to recover — even while the country is rocked by more quakes.