“I was grocery shopping one afternoon and made a bee line for the shortest line. The couple ahead of me had a full to overflowing carriage and a screaming, red-faced 2 year old, clearly in need of a nap, which her mother kept calmly repeating, each utterance met with another wail from the child. I hate screaming like that, but I remembered that I had put a couple of free passes in my pocket before i went into the store. Instead of suffering in silence along with the family, I approached the mother and asked her if she needed a free pass, and handed her one. She smiled, said yes and expressed interest in the project…I gave another to Dad. As I was packing my groceries into my car, I happened to look over my shoulder to see Dad pushing the carriage of groceries, and Mom carrying her giggling daughter. Made MY day!” Cranston, RI … [Read more...]
Co worker….
“Last Friday I got angry at a coworker in accounting who declined twice to be helpful to me in my hour of personal need. She refused to verify my employment at the office or to reprint lost pay stubs for me when asked. I find my frustration stems from being powerless and having to ask for help in the first place from someone who is known to be bitchy and uncooperative. My frustrations fester, and it becomes difficult to let go of them. I wish I would handle myself better and not lose sleep over petty problems that arise, even when they affect my personal finances. I think I would like a free pass both to reserve the right to be justifiably angry at this colleague for jeopardizing my livelihood as well as to be forgiven when I am.” Priscilla, Cape Cod. … [Read more...]
Conference photo…
"Thoughts?" Boston, MA … [Read more...]
For my Mom…
"My mom was out of town all weekend. A few hours before I knew she was due home tonight, I snuck into her house and set up this little Mother's Day display. Two Free Passes! Dear Mom, you are totally off the hook for some unintentional childhood trauma, like my irrational fear of centipedes. Love you lots, Gooselet (That's not what the card said, but it should have...)" Martha's Vineyard, MA … [Read more...]
Free Pass blogger…
Keep Working on Love (Blogger from Maine: link) TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2014 Free Pass A ref friend of mine sent me this funny little poker chip in the mail the other day. "Free Pass" was stamped on its face. The enclosed note described how it was a part of an interactive art project, the idea being that everybody needs a free pass on SOMETHING once in a while. But what on earth could I use it for? I spent days thinking about this. I have a tendency to both work very hard and be very lazy. When I'm lazy, I give myself a hard time for not working harder. When I work too hard, I give myself a hard time for not being gentler with myself. (Being a Pisces isn't easy.) In the end, the Free Pass inspired me to do the exact opposite of what was intended: It got me to finally get some decent work done on the query letter for my books. Writing about grief is hard, especially when it's rooted in your own experience. Sharing that with others is difficult, but EXPLAINING it to strangers is excruciating. At least, that's what it's felt like for me for the last 42 days as I tried to both gather the courage and organize my thoughts to write this all-important letter so that I can take the next step toward getting my books out into the world. Tonight, I felt exhausted from the moment I got home from work. I ate dinner and then sat on the couch watching TV and futzing around on the Internet. I read a little more of the book I've been reading. I was going to use the Free Pass … [Read more...]
Random token found…
“Just found a random Free Pass in Central Square, Cambridge MA. Glanced briefly and almost walked by. . . then I realized it was just what I needed and so do many!” Cambridge, MA … [Read more...]
Made my own project…
"I mentioned that I wanted to share them with my two sons and my niece, each of whom was joined by their significant others at our family Christmas and all of whom are setting in to new lives and new cities. I hoped the tokens would offer a fun way to do that.I created a scavenger hunt and sent emails to two "teams", with clues that included pop references as well as some inside family jokes and that sent them to outdoor sheds, attics, freezers, recycling bins, etc. I wouldn't give them a direct answer when they asked if it was a competition but the truth was they needed to combine their clues to find the final package....I am happy to report they figured that out.My father was really taken with the whole project - it's just the kind of thing that he loves, so I gave him some tokens as well. All together, tokens are now in Providence; Vienna, VA (outside DC); Berkeley and Cupertino, CA; and Haddam, CT. I've attached a picture of some of the "teams" as they read about The Free Pass Project and one of my dad with his proud quarry. Below is one of the teams' clues... There once was a fine hunt scavenger, With hints divided 'tween him and her. Ah, with goodies at stake, All winners will partake, And their version of stories confer." … [Read more...]
Free pass token jar…#765
“Token found at 3 Sisters cafe watching the general public eat ice cream. After checking out every flavor combination of ice cream there is, I saw the token jar resting by the door. Curious, I took one as an ‘opportunity’ to pass onto someone else. I look at it as a “free ticket” to well, free yourself, and be as expressive as you can be at that moment. I plan on using the token for just that reason for someone who may be in a moment where they feel constrained by whatever rules they abide by. My plan is to carry it at all times and use it when the moment is right. I will know when that moment is upon me.” Joe, Providence, RI … [Read more...]
My photo project…
I'm really loving the project. I'm looking for photo ops of things that can be interpreted as needing a free pass, so maybe folks will see the photos and go" I needed a free pass for that today as well. Today was "you know what, it's okay not to make your bed every morning." But after I took the pic I thought there's lots of reasons to have rumpled sheets that you might need a pass on. Sickness, depression, nightmares, a one night stand etc. Providence, RI … [Read more...]
Free pass one to another….
"This guy walked by and accidentally knocked over someone's chair. I handed him a token in real time so he would not feel embarrassed. We started talking about forgiveness and compassion. He would not share what he felt he needed the pass for. It was a deep issue. That was amazing." Providence, RI … [Read more...]