gr@itude: date stamp: 5 p.m. gmt, may 20, 2009

Helen Keller once observed that, "The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker." There may be heroes among this collection of date stampers (sometimes just facing the day is an act of heroism in and of itself), but as the images captured here at 5 p.m. GMT illustrate, there is no question that we are honest workers.

This moment in time found one date stamper on a well-deserved break from the war in Iraq at home on Oahu, as two others in Shanghai and Singapore prepared for the next day's go 'round and tucked in for a toddler-induced sleep, respectively.

In the western world, work days were just beginning, or already underway, and in between the administrivia that naturally punctuates more creative endeavors, date stampers took a break to tend to gardens, knead dough, grab a bite to eat, or just take a contemplative breath.

We may, as Keller also noted, long to accomplish great and noble tasks. But as date stampers the world over demonstrated today, it seems that our chief duty is, in Keller's words, "to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble."

Say hello, then, to a great and noble world as it was observed on May 20, 2009:

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London, England
GMT
(5 p.m., local time)

Well, the sun is just touching the treetops at the bottom of the garden and I'm making my rounds of the fruit and vegetables. In previous years I've just allowed the fruit trees - apple, apricot, cherry and plum, to go their own way. But now that I seem to have taken on my late father's gardening mantle, I'm paying closer attention to everything: checking for fruit-set or signs of disease and wondering if there will be enough grapes to produce a few bottles of wine.

I'm amazed at the speed that the sweetcorn, peppers and runner beans are growing and try vainly to keep the tomato vines under control. They're heading for the greenhouse roof with all the vigour of the plants that Dad used to grow as a market gardener. I hope he's cheering on my efforts, surprised and pleased, as I am, by the emergence of these three potato plants - Vivaldi, Red Duke of York and Charlotte.

— Kathryn Radmall

Screenwriter

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Edinburgh, Scotland
United Kingdom
GMT
(5 p.m. local time)

I made some dough and left it to rise in the late afternoon sunshine. The resultant rolls it made were sweet and fluffy - the perfect accompaniment to our tofu burgers!

— Laura Anderson
Freelance Writer and Filmmaker

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Toronto, Ontario
Canada
GMT -5
(10 a.m. local time)

An unremarkable moment for this date stamp...
In a regular hum-drum meeting...
Looking out a window and wondering...
'Is there more to life than this?'
'Are we alone in the Universe?'
'What is our purpose in this life?'
'I wonder what's for dinner?' ... and back to work I go.
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Manchester, England
GMT
(5 p.m., local time)

As captured by Peter Spencer, Screenwriter.

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New York, New York
United States
GMT - 5
(12 p.m. local time)

Today turned out to be an unwanted day off (i.e., unpaid), so I started off the day by doing my laundry. As I passed the Ukrainian Catholic Church on the way to the laundromat, I noticed the three mosaics on the front. The picture doesn't do it justice. It's much gold-er looking, and alas, the tall building across the street blocks the sun from really hitting it and making it truly sparkle, but it's still a beautiful work of art that I'm sure church-goers find inspirational. In fact, when I passed by on my way back from the laundromat (still before 12 noon) I saw that an ice cream truck driver had parked his truck by the church and was standing in front, praying (the gates were locked). An interesting Queens scene.

— Mrinalini Kamath
Playwright, Filmmaker

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Raleigh, North Carolina
United States
GMT - 5
(12 a.m. local time)

A day of meetings. One runs into the next. The morning... becomes a blur. Time flies when you’re having fun? Run out, grab a bite, run back, continue to work. Another Power Lunch at the bottom of the Food Chain.

— Michael Scherer
Screenwriter

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Louisville, Kentucky
United States
GMT - 5
(12 a.m. local time)

Fullness of day met vulnerably, its loveliness revealed as an orange, peeled and sectioned, through threshold and window lattice. Mouths of words
sweetening home.

— Jeanne Hammond
Screenwriter

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Westlake Village, California
United States
GMT - 8
(9 a.m. local time)

Poolside, both girls at school, the day just warming up. An hour carved out to work on the manuscript, then time for yoga. Hollywood cliché? Hardly. Except for the pedicure, which you've only recently started splurging on, you started your "hot yoga" practice back in the hot and steamy mid-west, some eight years ago. The writing started there as well, and quickly blossomed into a suitcase-full of dreams so large, you had to sit on it to get it to zip closed, way back in 2003 when you decided to air those dreams out in the bright SoCal sunshine. Six years on, and the dreams have not lost their luster. In fact, they're even juicier than when you first conceived of them, if not yet quite ripe. You'd like them to be (ripe, that is), but what do you know? For all the dues paid and time you put into it, you're still an amateur.

— Pamela Schott
Author, Screenwriter

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Beijing, China
GMT + 8
(1 a.m. local time)

Eat and learn.... When we were getting ready to move to Shanghai from Louisville, Kentucky, we were advised by other expats to bring as much of our favorite U.S.-snacks as possible as they might not be available in China. Or, if they were, they'd be expensive — at least twice the U.S. price. It's hard to pay nearly $5 U.S. dollars for a bag of goldfish crackers, when I was paying $1.69 in the States. It doesn't matter how much my three kids beg me to buy them. I started exploring the local supermarket for alternatives. Through constant buying and trying, I've found some great snacks not just from China, but other countries as well. The mini ice cream cones in the photo are a very popular brand in the U.K. The muesli from Germany is excellent with the locally made peach yogurt. The chocolate-coated digestive cracker from Korea is not too sweet and has great chocolate flavor. The red bean mochi from Taiwan, while not as good as freshly-made, are still tasty. The foods themselves are not so different from what we ate in the U.S., yet the unfamiliar characters or different words on the packaging spark conversations among my children about where the food could be from. Snack time then turns in to a mini geography lesson, and all of a sudden we're learning about the rest of the world — one snack at a time.

— Ginley Regencia

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Royal Ville
Singapore
GMT + 8
(1 a.m. local time)

While people are wrapping up their days at GMT 5pm, our little corner of Singapore is asleep...well, almost! The whole world seems ensconced in darkness and the only things visible are the time on the clock radio and the lights on the baby monitor. It's nice basking in the silence of the night after a chaotic day of toddler activities, daily chores and American Idol. See you in the morning Singapore.

— Sonia Marzuki
Freelance Writer, PR Consultant

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Tikrit, Iraq
GMT + 3
(8 p.m. local time)

Note: Art La Flamme is on leave from his duties in Tikrit, Iraq. This photo was taken from his home on base at Oahu, Hawai'i.