More Good spreading good throughout US

There is more good than bad in the world, Mary Latham says. And she is now in the process of proving it.

The Long Island, N.Y. photographer has been combing the country for stories of random kind acts and positive outcomes, and her next harvest will be here in the Bayou Region.

From Monday through Wednesday she will be in Houma, and is calling on anyone with a tale of good done to, for or even by them, to get in touch with her and share. Her plan, eventually, is a book that might be kept in places like hospital waiting rooms, where cheer is ever more needed. Meanwhile she is posting her travels on a Facebook page and on her own website.

“There is no story too small and I am collecting any story I can get from people in their lives,” Mary said.

It all started in 2012, when Mary was reading about the Sandy Hook elementary school shootings on her computer. While reeling from the horror of young lives lost she was approached by co-worker.

“You should have come to get a cup of coffee with me this morning,” Mary recalls him saying. She politely demurred. Coffee was not in her budget. Then the friend explained to her that when he tried to pay for his coffee he was told it was already paid for.

The tale of such a random kindness made her happy, and she called her ailing mother, Patricia, to share it.

“I told her about the generous coffee angel, and then quickly changed the topic to the shooting. I couldn’t stop focusing on it. I told her I was worried about the young girl I was to babysit that evening, scared I’d spend the whole time just crying. That’s when my mother stopped me mid-sentence.”

There would always be horrible, tragic things in the world, her mother said. The coffee story and others like it, she continued, are what get us through the darker parts of our days.

Inspired and enlightened, Mary got together with a friend who had similar thoughts. The thought of collecting happy stories took hold, and was born on a Facebook page.

Mary’s mom’s condition did not approve, and she passed on. That made Mary more determined than ever “MoreGood” is what she named the project, after her mom’s prophetic gift of loving words. Behind the wheel of her mom’s old Subaru, named Old Blue, Mary traveled more, and the response she got was overwhelming. It seemed everyone had good stories to tell.

Maine, Virginia and New York are just some of the places she traveled, led from one to the other by suggestions and word of mouth, up to and including homes she could stay at since the project is self-financed.

Soon there was a website and T-shirts, which help to further defray expenses for the trips.

Mary spent time last week in Sidell and also Pontchatula. She returns to Houma next week after a necessary trip to take care of affairs in her native New York and says she can’t wait.

By the time she gets here, Mary is hoping her inbox will be overflowing with messages from bayou folks who have stories to share.

There are several ways to help Mary out.

If you have a good story to share – no matter how recent or how long in the past – drop a note at the offices of The Times, making sure to include your contact information.

We are at 6160 West Park Avenue.

You can visit her web page at www.moregoodtoday.com

The project’s Facebook page is The GrAttitude Project.

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