Work In Progress Newsletter
Edition 39 | February 13, 2023

WRITE THIS WAY…
Greetings and welcome to a special pre-Hallmark day edition of the Work In Progress newsletter! I’m Ryan McCrary, your hopeful host for the day. For the last 39 weeks and counting I’ve been scouring the news, interwebs and the occasional archived AOL Messenger group chats to share stories of hope and joy and triumph. 

THANKFUL FOR THIS
One of my favorite seasons is Girl Scout Cookie season. At times it can be a challenge to find the mini mint entrepreneurs when your cookie cravings hit. Enter Girl Scout Troop 6000, a New York City troop composed of girls in the state’s shelter system. The troop was founded in 2017 by Giselle Burgess, a single mother of five who lost her home. For the second consecutive year the troop is accepting and filling online orders with all proceeds going to badge activities, uniforms and field trips. → READ MORE

Bonus Girl Scout Cookie Power Rankings: 1.) Thin Mints 2.) Thin Mints 3.) Trefoils 4.) Tagalongs

THREE DOTS… GOOD NEWS ONLY
Talk about a huge ROI… 13 years ago at the age of five, Juliette Lamour emptied her piggybank to make a donation for Haiti earthquake relief in the aftermath… flash forward to today and the Canadian won Ontario’s second largest jackpot of $48 million (Canadian)… A lot of yarn to knit… Met Patty Reitz, a busdriver for the Clarence Central School District, who over the course of 13 years has crocheted more than 7,100 hats for students who ride her bus… “Miss Patty” picked up the hobby in 2005 and has no plans to slow down and is planning for a busy spring… A couple of amazing stories of hope and survival in the aftermath of the horrific Turkey-Syria earthquake… 45 countries have sent rescue crews to the region, including Ukraine… A seven-year old Syrian girl named Mariam protected her young brother, Ilaaf for 36 hours before both were rescued… The greatest miracle of all… Two-year old Aliye Dagli was rescued from the rubble of a collapsed building after surviving for more than 133 hours. 

BEST THING I SAW ON THE ‘GRAM LAST WEEK
Yet another example of a tiny human dancing far better than I am capable → CLICK

See more

BEST THING I SAW ON THE TWITTER LAST WEEK

What… you’ve never seen a priest execute a go route? Travis Kelce… take a seat. → WATCH

OTD – FEBRUARY 13
Enjoy yet another notable historical snapshot in the latest edition of On This Date… 

Notable Historical Moments… Apparently not adjusted for inflation… Notorious bank robber Jesse James held up his first bank, pilfering $15,000 from Clay County Savings Association in Liberty, MO in 1866… Calling the whole thing off… After failing to secure air superiority during the Battle of Britain and the general ineffectiveness of the Blitz in breaking the British resolve, Hitler canceled Operation Sea Lion, the planned invasion of England in 1942… 

Famous Birthdays… Former First Lady Bess Truman (1885-1982)… Noted talk show host and former Cincinnati mayor Jerry Springer turns 79… Rock innovator Peter Gabriel turns 73… Hall of Fame receiver Randy Moss turns 46.

Famous Deaths… “Outlaw Country” music pioneer Waylon Jennings (1937-2002)

Bonus Waylon Jennings Track: → LISTEN


SHAMELESS PLUGS
I’ve been working on a Thursday update, called “Thankful”. Think of it as a boost of good news to fuel the end of the week. Latest edition → HERE

WHAT I’M READING NOW
For Improvement: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a…  by Mark Manson

**One sentence review: “Talk about a refreshing reset to the conversation about not listening to the noise and nonsense around us.”  

Embracing my inner history nerd: October, 1964 by David Halberstam

**One sentence review: “A masterful retelling of the 1964 World Series between the aging but potent New York Yankees and the brash upstart St. Louis Cardinals.”

For an Escape: With A Mind To Kill by Anthony Horowitz

**One sentence review: “In a return to the Cold War at its most frigid, notorious British spy James Bond goes deep undercover in the Soviet Union to sample vodka and caviar while saving the world from the brink of nuclear winter.”

WHAT I’M LISTENING TO AS I WRITE
I’m listening to a 2019 Train concert from KeyBank Pavilion in Pennsylvania. Highly recommended. → HERE

WHAT I WATCHED
Just finished watching the Netflix limited series “Treason” and it was excellent. British spy Adam Lawrence completes a meteoric rise in MI6 to director when his boss is poisoned by a former contact who threatens his career and his life along with the rest of his young family. Treason is available exclusively on Netflix. → TRAILER

CLIP OF THE WEEK
Today is the 56th anniversary of the release date of the classic Beatles hit “Penny Lane” a song Paul McCartney said was inspired while he was waiting for a bus in the rain.  →  WATCH

MY GIF TO YOU
Another gentle reminder that it’s a marathon not a sprint… → CLICK

QUOTABLE
“If you win a Super Bowl before you’re fired, you’re a genius, and everyone listens to you. But a coach is just a guy whose best class in grammar school was recess and whose best class in high school was P.E. I never thought I was anything but a guy whose best class was P.E.”
– John Madden, Super Bowl winning coach

THIS WAY OUT
Thanks for reading the latest edition of my Work In Progress newsletter. My goal is to spread inspiration and hope in a world that needs both more than ever. My goal is to release these newsletters each Monday – because who doesn’t need a shot of good news to start the work week? Look for a new article on my timeline later this week. Special thanks to Kim Kaupe and Terry Rice for encouraging me to launch this into the universe. As always, feedback is welcomed!