Today I turned 10. Yes I was born on 9-11-2001. My mom worked in the World Trade Center but wasn't at work that day because she was giving birth to me. MMT

Today, there was a massive power outage in all of San Diego County and the surrounding areas that left 1.5 million people without power for over 12 hours. As I was driving home this evening I saw 2 separate locally owned grocery stores in a poor side of town with lines out front. The grocery store owners were using the unfortunate circumstances to feed the homeless before their perishable food spoiled. MMT

Today, after several kids teased a less fortunate girl (who lives in a poorer neighborhood) this morning for always wearing the same clothes, seven students in my class went home at lunch time, emptied their drawers and closets and brought this girl 16 pristine and beautiful outfits to wear. I found out about this after I asked her why she changed her clothes after lunch today. MMT

Today, I was sitting on the steps of church waiting for a bus when I saw an old Catholic nun being assisted up the steps by a young man wearing a Muslim turban. Once they were at the top, the nun turned to the young man and said, “I can see both of our gods raise beautiful children. Thank you.” The young man smiled and nodded. MMT

Today, our high school basketball team has a senior player who uses a wheelchair. He lost both of his legs from the knee down in a car crash when he was a sophomore. He was one of the best basketball players on the team at the time, so the coach insisted that he stay on the team to help coach the other players. He’s now the assistant coach, but he’s also the designated free throw shooter for injured players. When a player gets injured during a foul and can’t immediately shoot the foul shots, he rolls out to the foul line and takes the shots for the injured player. I’ve never missed a home game, and I’ve never seen him miss a shot. MMT

Today, 15 years after my dad passed away in a car accident, his best friend, Josh, who helped my mom financially after the accident when nobody else would, and helped raise me, filled in for my dad during the father/daughter dance at my wedding. And as strange as it may have seemed to others, Josh is not only a father figure to me, he’s my hero. MMT

Today, after working for him for the last several months, I asked the owner of our company why he chooses to keep his hair so long (right now it touches his shoulders). “When I was 17 my baby sister began to sufferer from a medical condition that made all of her hair fall out. I had long hair at the time, so I shaved my head and donated my hair to make a wig for her. Ever since, I have grown my hair out and donated it to Locks of Love every couple of years.” MMT

Today, I ran into the college student I pulled out of a dormitory that was burning to the ground back in 2005. She is now a nurse at the city hospital. She recognized me, held my hand when I was nervous, and checked up on me every 30 minutes before and after my surgery. MMT

Today, my cousin and I met for lunch for the first time in almost a year. He sat across from me with the biggest smile I’ve ever seen across his face and updated me on all the things going on in his life. He said all of his hard work was paying dividends and his small business was thriving. He also mentioned that he was thinking of proposing to “the most amazing woman he had ever met.” “I don’t know how else to say it,” he said sometime toward the end of our lunch, “I’m happy. I’m finally feeling comfortable in my own skin.” My cousin lost his life in a car accident on the way home from work this evening. MMT

Today, as I was struggling on crutches with a broken left ankle, one of my classmates, who happens to have a prosthetic left leg, helped me carry my backpack down the hall to my next class, then he showed back up after class to see if I needed more assistance. He helped me get to my car in one peice and then we exchanged phone numbers. MMT

Today, for the first time since my mom died five years ago, my wife used my mom’s banana bread recipe to bake me some banana bread (one of my favorites) for my birthday. And as the smell hit my nostrils from the other end of the house, I found myself sitting at my desk reminiscing and crying. MMT

Today, I was driving home with my grandfather when he suddenly made a u-turn just before we entered my grandparent’s community and said, “I forgot to get your grandmother a bouquet of flowers. I’ll pick up one from the florist at the corner down here. It’ll only take a second.” “What’s so special about today that you have to buy her flowers?” I asked. “There’s nothing specifically special about today,” my grandfather said. “Every day is special. Your grandmother loves flowers. They put a smile on her face.” MMT

Today, I paid my landlord back in full. Ten months ago I lost my job and couldn't cover my rent for two months. Instead of putting my son and I on the streets, my landlord said, "You've been a good tenant for ten years and I know times are tough. Take your time, find another job, and pay me back as soon as you can." MMT

Today, in class we were discussing philantrophy and how to contribute to building a better world. "I wish there was an easy way to change the world," one of my classmates said. "There is," our teacher replied. "Make at least one person smile every single day." MMT

Today, I had a blind date planned with one of my dad's younger colleagues, Jake. My dad really likes Jake and has been trying to set me up with him for over a year. Tonight, as I was sitting alone at the dinner table wondering why he was running late to our date, my dad called me and told me he just got a call that Jake was in a bad car accident 30 minutes ago on his way to this end of town. Now I'm sitting beside his bed at the hospital typing this on my iPhone as he rests in a coma. My dad and other visitors are already gone, and I don't really know why I'm still sitting here, but I can't seem to bring myself to leave. MMT

Today, my brother lives with our dad in San Francisco and I live with our mom in New York City. It's an arrangement we agreed to when we were younger when our parents got divorced, but the separation hurts. My brother and I miss each other. This evening we were both standing outside on the rooftops of our apartment buildings, talking on the phone as we stared up at the starry night sky together. We were marveling at how clear the sky was in both cities tonight when two shooting stars simultaneously shot across sky. We both saw them. Experiencing that moment with him, despite the geographical distance MMT.

Today, my mom learned to swim. We’ve both been scared of the water our entire lives. In fact, until this afternoon I had never seen her swim. But when we were sitting on our porch this afternoon and saw our neighbor’s kid slip on their dock, bang his head on the edge and fall into the lake, facedown and motionless, my mom told me to dial 911 and then she ran over to him, grabbed a rope that was tied to the dock and jumped in after him. She let go of the rope when she had pulled him into shallow water where she could stand. He came back to consciousness a minute later and was diagnosed with a concussion. MMT

Today, my dad saw the tears in my eyes and asked, “You’re not crying over him again, are you?” “Just let me be,” I said. He started walking out of the room, then turned around and said, “If someone won't lift a finger to call you, see you and spend time with you, it's time for you to lift five fingers and wave goodbye.” MMT

Today, I asked my younger brother who has been in and out of rehab over the last year, “Why do you always insist on taking the hard road?” “Why do you assume I see two roads?” he replied. MMT

Today, I crawled out of a smoking, twisted pile of metal on the side of the road without a scratch. When I hydroplaned on the freeway going 75 mph and wrapped my Toyota Corolla around a telephone pole, the only part of the vehicle that wasn’t smashed to smithereens was the space around the driver’s seat. I had just dropped my little brother off at school, and I was the only one in the car. MMT