A Lesson Not To Be Forgotten

by Veronica A.Shoffstall

after a while you learn the subtle difference
between holding a hand and chaining a soul and
you learn that love doesn't mean leaning
and company doesn't always mean security and
you begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts
and presents aren't promises and
you begin to accept your defeats with your head up
and your eyes ahead with the grace of a woman
not the grief of a child,
and you learn to build all your roads on today
because tomorrows ground is too uncertain for plans
and futures have a way of falling down in midflight
after a while you learn that even sunshine burns if you get too much
so you plant your own garden
and decorate your own soul
instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers
and you learn that you really can endure
that you really are strong
and you really do have worth
and you learn and you learn with every goodbye you learn

Photo Credit : http://lakemetroparks.com/programs/fallcolors.shtml

Blood,Sweat & Tears - Tale Of A Son Of Immigrants

There's a story told from ancient times that nations were scattered ( the first immigrants? ) at the Tower of Babel.Moving of people(immigration) across lands has been a part of the patchwork of the histories of nations. The Silk Route , Ellis Island , the QUEST for freedoms , new lives and financial independence are all in the trails of immigrants.In almost every instance immigrants have worked exceedingly hard , hardly quite moan , rarely take time off , don't call in ill , sharp on the job , loyal to their new masters and the land in comparison to native-to-the-place-population.In recent times some nations practically owe their place in the economic sun to the industry of immigrants(http://library.thinkquest.org/20619/Chinese,www.tamilnation.org
,http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org,www.kulanu.org )." I work on four-mou land ( < an acre ) year in year out , from dawn to dusk but after taxes and own needs , I make $20 a year here . You make that much in one day ( in America ).No matter how much it cost to get there or how hard the work is , America is still better than all this !"- own words of a Chinese immigrant. An old Asian proverb says deal your bread to strangers , be hospitable , cast it upon the waters ...... . In a shrinking world and shriekers shrieking from pulpits , let's live with the inevitable , let's discover compassion and relationships again !

photo credit : http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/migrations/five2d.html

A Battle Hymn For The FAMILY..

She was barely five . Her body was found in a bag thrown onto a dumpsite . When the cops opened up the bag unspeakable things had been done to her genitalia.A whole country reeled and mourned for days. Hardly had the tears dried in yet another true story - her dad was thrown into prison. Her mom was on sick bed . A neighbour ( a cop ) pimps their thirteen year old daughter and she was found practically lifeless three hundred miles from home in a brothel.The FAMILY has never been under assault like it has come under these days. The onus of fighting back is upon Dad and Mom . Here are some things we can do to begin the battle to build , bring together and knit our families .........


BUILD family life..

"keyword writing"?

Here's a tip I got in literature class and writer friends : piece together , quilt a descriptive short sentence and spin a tale around it.Carry a scrapbook with you and when you overhear conversations , or come across a very colourful three word description in the papers , in a novel , in conversations and even movie dialogues grab that pen and jot it down. KEEP KEEPING and as time coasts on you'll be able to write vintage , authoring your own works .......
Here are some sentences out of my scrapbook : a cobweb of options , headed for a garage of ideas , stubbing out fears , the fist of the past , a cavallier of hope , the invisible handcuffs of fear , will the party fizzle when the sake runs dry , man from the last-chance saloon , carpet bombing , quiet inevitability , aimless juggernaut , sawdust headed puppet , gaping to drink hope , lettuce-field peace , political acuity , crusading with a paper sword , big companies stuck in sunset industries , exporting obsolescence etc etc