Toastworthy Teens - Samantha Manns

Samantha Manns, 89 Acts of Kindness

Samantha Manns had perhaps the most poignant and productive response to the loss of a loved one that I’ve ever heard. 

When the 18-year-old’s grandmother passed away, Samantha thought, “Maybe I can’t be happy right now, but I can do things to make other people happy.”

Specifically, 89 other people; Samantha pledged to perform one act of random kindness for each year of her beloved grandmother’s life. 

So far she’s done everything from giving blood to baking a cake for a lonely senior, and to both share her progress as well as “inspire people to commit their OWN acts of kindness,” she’s started a Facebook page. 

To check in with Samantha, offer her suggestions for future kind acts, or get ideas to follow in her footsteps, visit:

https://www.facebook.com/89Acts

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Toastworthy Teens - Joey Prusak

Joey Prusak, Eye Witness

Maybe what Joey Prusak witnessed while at work in Dairy Queen wasn’t a major crime, but it sure violated the law of human decency. When a visually impaired customer unknowingly dropped a $20 bill, the woman in line behind him wordlessly picked it up and put it in her own purse! 

Luckily for the man (and the future of the human race), 19-year-old Joey was on duty. 

Joey first calmly asked the woman to give back the money, but she actually had the audacity to create a scene of denial. The astonished teen then informed the woman that she was “extremely disrespectful” and asked her to leave. When she exited without returning the cash, Joey took the extra beautiful step of giving the victim $20 from his own pocket. 

Even better is how surprised Joey’s manager was to later receive a praising email from a witness to the scene. Joey’d never even thought to tell his boss about the incident where he’d just done what “felt like the right thing to do.”

I’m certainly glad so many folks have not let this young hero go unsung. :)

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FOODFIC: Please Welcome Lorena Bathey, Author of Beatrice Munson

In my first novel, Beatrice Munson, food has a big part in the book. It's a novel about women, friendship, love, laughter, change, chocolate cupcakes, and even Bunco.

That's just the tip of the iceberg really. Beatrice Munson, as a character is loved by all who read the book. She's a big personality whose defining moment in life was to either travel to Egypt or get a boob job...she chose Egypt.

When she moves into the neighborhood where Marissa, Deidre, Lily, and Andrea live she brings color, flavor, and transformation to their world. Beatrice is a person that knows what she wants and how to get it.

Marissa's character went to high school with Beatrice. To Marissa, Beatrice was the nemesis that stole the boy she loved and lived the life she wished she had. We all knew girls like this in high school, the ones that seem to have it all. Now with Beatrice living across the street from Marissa, she feels the old insecurities visiting which are exacerbated by the fact that her husband left her for another woman.

But through the senses, Beatrice opens these women up to change and they begin to discover their passions, loves, and joys again. The simplicity of a chocolate cupcake can explain the new excitement Beatrice brings to the women of Vista Heights.

     I felt the warm cupcake in my hand and inhaled the sweet scent of the cake. There was something more to the fragrance. It did not smell just like chocolate. There was a bitter undercurrent that I couldn't put my finger on.

    Beatrice noticed my confusion and said, "Taste it."

    I took a bite of the cupcake and felt the explosion that the smell awakened. There was more to this cupcake than meets the eye. I looked at Beatrice and she could see the surprise in my eyes.

    "It's Mexican chocolate. It has cinnamon and chili peppers in it. What do you think?"

    What did I think? It was phenomenal. Beatrice took my mother's ordinary cupcake and created an even bigger taste explosion in my mouth.    (Beatrice Munson, LorenaBBooks.com)

This book was my first novel and filled with not only wonderful women characters, but the influences that I was going through as I struggled to become the woman I wanted to be. It's the story of women who have lost their way to duty of being wives, mothers, and who they think they should be. But when Beatrice arrives, all that changes and these women discover that who they always wanted to be when they grew up is exactly who they should be now. 

Thanks for stopping by to share your food for thought, Lorena!

Find her at www.LorenaBBooks.com

Lorena Bathey attended St. Mary’s College in Moraga graduating with a degree in English.

She started writing her first book, Happy Beginnings: How I Became My Own Fairy Godmother when her world fell apart and she needed to process changes in her life.

Lorena found characters Marissa, Andrea, Lily, Deidre and Beatrice were visiting her and wouldn’t leave and that’s how her first novel, Beatrice Munson, came to life.

After finishing that book she was inspired to write more novels and she knew that pursuing her passion was the best way to live her life. So a writer she became. She is also a wife, mother, grandmother, grilled cheese aficionado, and avid photographer.

Today Lorena has written several novels, Beatrice Munson, House on Plunkett Street, The X, Coaster, and Meeting Ms. Monroe. She is currently working on four novels, three of which are historical fiction.

Toastworthy Teens - Miranda Fuentes

Miranda Fuentes, Surfers for Autism

Miranda Fuentes may not have founded Surfers for Autism, but she certainly took it to the next level. When she discovered the Florida-based group that uses surfing as a means to enable autistic kids to blossom, she herself was struggling to communicate with her own autistic brother. Surfers for Autism was able to help Miranda’s brother open up, which in turn strengthened their sibling relationship.

But what’s even more significant is how Miranda herself bloomed, evolving from a volunteer to a master instructor who teaches 150 kids a year! Further still, she has worked to turn the organization’s one small annual exhibition into a regular event involving thousands of kids, instructors, and spectators.

See Miranda’s success – beautiful photos and PAGES of thankful testimonials – here:

SurfersforAutism.org

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