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Positive News was handed the guardianship of Global Village News and Resources in summer of 2004. Although we would like to continue to make the archives available to subscribers and readers we would like to point out that stories published prior to issue 89 were not under our editorial guidance and would like to make a distinction that these are not necessarily a reflection of the current opinions of our editorial team. Invite 300 Strangers to Your Home for Thanksgiving Dinner? USA - Victor Villaseñor believes in creating his own wonderful world. In November, 1993, his world expanded to include any and all citizens who wanted to come by his Oceanside, California mansion for Thanksgiving. He put up fliers at the local bookstores. And by word of mouth the news spread until hundreds of strangers landed on his doorstep that Sunday afternoon. This year marked the 11th annual event founded for the purpose of “bringing all people together in a day of peace, music, dialogue, and sharing of foods from everyone's kitchen.” Why? Because Victor Villaseñor, famous author of Rain of Gold , a Latino “Roots” about his family's history, believes in peace and harmony...believes that world peace begins with a hug. And there is plenty of hugging at his Thanksgiving celebrations. Each and every arrival to his exquisitely decorated 19-room home is greeted by Villaseñor with a hug and kiss. They come bearing trays of roasted turkey, tamales, and desserts. They lounge on his sofas and traipse down the halls and stand in line to use his private bathroom. He even personally guides a group across the grounds to his mother's house to use her bathroom when the waiting grows too long in front of his own. After dinner the author/lecturer gathers the guests on his front lawn to share a passionate speech about the good deeds which abound in life but never make the headlines: “The last 5000 years have been mostly Peace and Harmony, not war and violence. History (creates) a lie, an illusion- In reality, history is only 10 percent violence. Ninety percent has been good: cooking and birth and family and kids.” The smiles turn to laughter when he charges them each to do as he does...to hug the stranger standing next to them, to look them directly in the eye. As the crowd begins to buzz with light-heartedness, he shouts, “Not only is peace and harmony possible, it's impossible to stop it!” The cheers erupt. “We've got to trust in the good that's inside us.” When questioned days later whether anything had been stolen from his home, he answers, “We haven't looked. I'm just working on the assumption that no one would take anything. In fact, we ended up with an extra chair- a real pretty plastic one. And some extra tupperware too.” Villaseñor's book, Snow Goose Global Thanksgiving, and its corresponding Web site (www.snowgoose.org), have inspired similar Thanksgiving events to be held in the Oceanside Amphitheater as well as in homes across America. “The only admission price is a dish baked by warm, loving hands.” For more information, go to www.VictorVillasenor.com (Source: Good News Network
http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org)
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