Madge & Co

I feel like I am incredibly lucky have such smart, kind, talented friends around me. Today I thought I would give a couple of them a little blog shout-out.

Today is World Autism Awareness Day. I have a close friend whose son was diagnosed with autism about a year ago. She is really an inspiration to me - not only does she work full time, but she takes care of her two kids with love, humor, and as much grace as she can muster under the trying circumstances.

She is also an amazing writer. She puts me to shame. Check out her blog, Rooster Calls. And if you're inspired, you can learn more about autism at Autism Speaks.

Another good friend of mine, Amy, also has an incredible talent - photography. On Saturday, she and I took a drive out of town, and ended up in a compound of farm-worker's homes. The people there were so welcoming and friendly, and generously allowed us to photograph their lives and children.

You can see some of Amy's photos (including one of me, with Milo in his chitenje) at AmyGottlieb.net. Hers are a heckuva lot better then mine. I guess I will have to keep practicing.

Amy also writes in her blog about the big news item of the week - Madonna is in Malawi again! Thanks Madonna for marginally increasing the percentage of Americans who have ever heard of this little country! You are a credit to your pop-star people. You are the Bono of small-African-nation geography.

Madonna is trying to adopt a little 4-year old girl. Why she would want another baby at her age is a whole 'nother issue, but hey, to each their own. (Rawr.)

There's a bit of controversy, as Malawian law requires foreigners to stay in the country for 18 to 24 months for assessment when adopting a child here. Madonna's wealth and status seem to allow her to circumvent this law. But most Malawians believe that this child would be better off, so there's not much animosity from the people here.

At the moment she's off traveling the country, which is a little incomprehensible in and of itself. Jorge and I have been speculating where on Earth a millionaire would want to spend a few days in Malawi. My guess is Pumulani, the fancy new lakeside resort. Jorge is speculating Mvuu Lodge, the only high-end safari lodge. After that, it's backpacker haunts and business hotels, so if you're Madonna-hunting, those are really your only two options.