THE INTERVIEW: CONNIE DOUGLAS & SHNNOOGLE! (PART 4 OF 4)

Concluding my visit with the amazing Connie Douglas!

...and Shnnoogle!

Today Connie and I wrap up our amazing visit. She shares with us her very personal commitment from the heart about "the Shnnoogle in each of us" and what we can do to make the world a better place, one act of kindness at a time. It will leave you with an unforgettable emotional impression about what each of us can do to improve our world, beginning within ourselves and our communities. Here's where we ended up:

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Manning: How do you like to work? Do you have 'a backup plan for another backup plan' strategically-speaking?

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Douglas: Right now, I'm just seeing what happens with the hospital. I'm trying to get a feel for: 'What are kids responding to? Where are they getting their energy out of this story?' They obviously were really liking the power cards and, of course I made Shnoogle cookies too.

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Manning: Again, just for the benefit of my readers, this is the Oncology Department where you are working to make a positive difference in the lives of the patients on the ward.

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Douglas: Yes.

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Manning: Is your primary focus on children with cancer?

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Douglas: That's just where I started. It could be any children; it doesn't have to be sick children. It just happens to be that I have an opportunity there because that's where I started when I created Shnnoogle. The hospital knows who I am and it's going to let me enter into their space and share this with those children. I could also see going to local schools and reading to them and talking to them and giving them Shnnoogle cards and getting them to talk about it the next day. I may do that in the Fall. I just believe that if I keep trying and if I keep doing, it will find its way to grow. People will respond to it.

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Manning: Shnnoogle is so new. But are people receptive to it from the children to adults that are in a position to help further it along?

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Douglas: Yes! All of the people at the hospital and some of the parents who saw it are very supportive of this.

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Manning: What joint ventures, if any, do you see as possibilities for others to align themselves with the direction of your work?

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Douglas: I could see Shnoogle going to television--not only teaching children the basic A, B, C's and Math and how to spell. It's teaching them something bigger in life and that's how to get along, how to interact, how to be human, how to be compassionate and better as people as we grow older and not just statistics. It helps us relate to relationships in our future whether it be our husbands, or wives, our brothers or sisters, people of different cultures. That's the light. That's the Shnnoogle in all of us. Of course writing books, interactive games children could play, especially with Krudgel, and who is winning and what are the conflicts. There's a lot of potential. There's Pixar animation. Children who are without their sight could learn with braille or CD's where they could hear the story. Eventually, Shnnoogle puppets could be made where you could touch it and feel it. Shnnoogle is just feeling loved and loving in return. We all do it and are more capable of doing it everyday. The more conscious we are of it, the more we act on it and the world will be a better place.

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Manning: I always ask my Guests if they have any final thoughts they care to leave the reader with?

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Douglas: Just that Shnnoogle is about the light inside of all of us and our capacity to love. There's so much negative stuff going on in the world. But there's also a lot of positive things going on in the world. It's not all beyond our reach. We don't have to count on the government to save us, or for another source to make it better. Because we're all capable. If we all took responsibility for sharing and being kind and loving to our neighbors, to our family, to our friends, we could all be our own heroes to the world. There wouldn't be a need for some big conglomerate or for the government to save us. We're all capable.

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Manning: How are you doing physically?

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Douglas: The MS? I'm feeling pretty good. Sometimes when I get overly fatigued or stressed, I can feel some of my symptoms pick up. So, I'm conscious. It's always a constant reminder for me. You just never know when you're going to be incapacitated or incapable and it just makes me think and appreciate every moment and to work even harder to get Shnnoogle off the ground. Because I don't know if I might wake up one day, and I can't paint again or will have a hard time speaking? So all of this stuff I have inside of me that I want to share, I don't want it to stay locked up inside of me. I would like to be able to get it out there.

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Manning: If somebody is reading this interview right now, and wants to see the project and help you make something happen, how can they become involved?

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Douglas: They can go to the website (http://www.shnnoogletales.com) because everybody has a Shnnoogle story to write in and tell about. Something wonderful somebody has done for another person. We need to become conscious of those things we take for granted.

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Manning: Your website is up and part of it is still evolving.

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Douglas: Yes, we are looking at a number of new ideas. For example, a Shnnoogle Award for some amazing story of good-heartedness that somebody shares with us. People love doing good things! They love being touched by hearing somebody do something nice. You yourself heard about my story and took an interest! We're all just people, no matter where you are. We're setting up a page on the website to send Shnnoogle stories too. But people can write to me on the website.

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(My Thanks to Connie Douglas for making our visit possible).