Thanksgiving - Pass the Salt is Official
Happy Thanksgiving and greetings to all in these strangest of times. Despite the world being seemingly upside-down and topsy-turvy I still carry thankfulness in my heart for so many things that if I just concentrate on them for a few solid moments all the dark clouds recede and I realize that life is really quite good and that there is beauty and love to be found all around. As a holiday concept Thanksgiving has to be one of the best.
So the other day, in September it was, I called the IRS to check on the status of the non-profit application I submitted in June. On the IRS website it indicates that normally you will hear whether your application is rejected or accepted within a period of two months. Well I hadn’t heard anything and in my mind that didn’t bode well. It was a painful endeavor for me to fill out that application and there were many questions that I wasn’t sure how to answer and it is clear why people hire professionals to do these things.
Three times I waited on hold for around 25 minutes each. I was disconnected twice during which I clipped my finger nails, changed the strings on my guitar, ate a bag of chips, watered the plants, and other less interesting things. The third time a fellow answered who sounded exactly like what you would expect an IRS guy to sound like and he informed me that the application has been accepted. Pass the Salt is officially a non-profit. Madre mía!!!!
Now what do we do with it? Our plans for following up on the Derry/Londonderry video got blown to smithereens, fully kiboshed by the Covid 19. Once things calm down hopefully we can pick up on where we left off. We had our first ever official board meeting on the 24th of November which consisted of brother Rob, Tim Seeling and myself. Sean Butson is also on the board but couldn’t make it. We went over ideas ranging from an artistic gathering/retreat in La Gomera in the Canary Islands, to bringing some great musicians from abroad to Summit County, Co for a Pass the Salt style concert, and of course to follow up on the Derry/Londonderry project. It’s a bit difficult to plan anything concretely at the moment but inspiration is sure to come. Ultimately the goal is to promote peace and connectivity between people, to be a force of good in the world and hopefully inspire some great art and great artists along the way.
For starters I spoke to a small group of people in Cluj Romania (via zoom) on Friday the 2nd of October about the Derry/Londonderry video and about Pass the Salt. The group was organized by Renewing Our Minds (https://www.facebook.com/rom.renewingourminds) and Polylogos (https://polylogos.eu).
You can view that video here:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=1003028586810041&ref=search
One last bit of thankfulness is that we had our first donation that came entirely unsolicited and spontaneously - a harbinger of good I like to think. If you would like to make a tax deductible donation to our efforts you can do so by mailing a check to:
Pass the Salt PO Box 24982 Silverthorne, Co 80497
Love and Blessings to all,
Zachary