The Legend of the banana

Cainta , Philippines

Once upon there was a girl named Raja. She was the only friend of the fisherman named Galencio. Sadly Galencio died because of heart disease.Raja was so alone that she talked with animals even plants.

One day while Raja was talking to a bird, a rabbit came running.She followed the rabbit till she reached a dirty cave.At the cave she saw a spirit, she followed the spirit she stumbled and find herself in a place full of gold, diamonds and silver. She began to jump.

The spirit turned to flesh and kissed her, she slept and woke in a beautiful golden bedroom.The spirit man was Baanna, he married Raja and had a son. Baanna know that it his time to return to the spirit world .. on that day he went out and disappeared, all could Raja see was a bleeding heart. She picked it and planted it and the plant grew and bore a golden fruit, as golden as the golden bedroom - she named it banana as a honor to Baanna.

THE LEGEND OF BUTTERFLIES

The legend of the first butterflies say that there was upon a time in a village, an old woman used to have a beautiful flower garden by the shore of a lake. The fishermen from around the nearby villages were in love with her and used to come to her and exchange their fishes from flowers.

Everyone in the village noticed something magical about her, because at night her house had a magical glow and once in a while some dwarfs were seen helping a beautiful young woman work in the garden. One day a young couple, very proud I must add, visited the village were the old woman lived, and while walking around, noticed the old woman's beautiful flower garden.

The couple decided to get inside the garden and grab some bouquets, when the old woman sees this, walks out of her house and ask the couple to leave, when they turn around to see who was talking to them, they make fun of her and ignore her. Then the old woman, insulted, touches the couple with her cane saying:

"Since you love beautiful things, you will live from now on as beautiful insects".

And that day was created the butterflies came to be, who always are found near beautiful flowers.

And this is how the Butterflies came to be.

The Lantern Man and the Wherryman

Would you venture out if a Lantern Man was about? The Lantern Man, or Jack O'Lantern, is the East Anglian name for the mysterious glowing balls of light that lead travellers from the well-trodden paths, into the dangerous marshes. To stay safe, it is important to follow some very specific advice. One man that did not listen to advice was Joseph Bexfield.

Joseph Bexfield was one of the wherrymen who worked on the River Yare, between Norwich and Yarmouth. Bexfield and his fellow sailors would tie up for the night at Thurlton Straithe, halfway between the two places.

Close to the White Horse Inn at Thurlton Straithe, was a track that crossed the Marsh to the river and it was this track that the men used to make their way to the Inn where they would find food and, if needed, a bed for the night.

One night, Joseph Bexfield was sitting by the inn fire talking to his friends, as the mists closed in. It was safe and warm in the inn but danger lurked outside, for some pale lights were flickering in the dark.

If you looked carefully into the pale light, you would see that it came from a lantern held by a 'shadowy little figure'. However, looking closely into the light was very dangerous, as the Lantern Men would attack you, treading you down or swallowing you up. If you were too far away to reach, they would try to lure you to their lights to entice you off the paths, into thick mud and water, to drown.

The Marshmen and Wherrymen of Norfolk knew that the Lantern Men led people to their deaths in the dark and dusk. To survive an encounter, it was important that you remember a few basic principles.

Never carry a lantern or a torch. This mistake could cost you your life, as the Lantern Men were always attracted to the light.

Never whistle. A Lantern Man would always run towards a whistle and kill you if he was able.

If caught in their light, hold your breath. The Lantern Men were able to take a man's breath away. Advice given by one old man was that, "If the Lantern Man is upon ye, throw yourself flat on your face and halt ye breathing."

Never, never mock the Lantern Man. An old washerwoman told how, as a child, she remembered hearing her father say he was coming home after harvest and the old man with him mocked and jeered at 'Jack'. The Lantern Man took revenge by following them home and 'torched up' at the windows!

Joseph smiled to himself at the stories and shook his head in disbelief. He quickly finished his drink and was about to go home, when he remembered he had left a parcel from Norwich for his wife on the wherry. It was very, very dark outside and another of the wherrymen urged him not to cross the marsh, as the Lantern Men's pale lights could be clearly be seen, flashing in the black of the night.

However, when warned that the Lantern Men were out on the marshland, Joseph Bexfield laughed scornfully. He pointed out that he knew the marsh far too well to be led astray by any Jack O'Lantern and off he went into the darkness. He was never seen alive again.

The next day, when he had not returned, his wife asked the Wherry men if they knew his whereabouts and they searched the marshes. It was three days before poor Joseph's body was discovered. It was washed up by the River Yare, between Reedham and Breyton.

Joseph Bexfield was buried at All Saints' Church in Thurlton. Today, on the north side of the Churchyard, you can still see his grave. The tombstone is decorated with the picture of a wherry and tells of Joseph's death by drowning on August 11th, 1809, at the age of only 38 years.

However, the story does not end here, for the ghost of Joseph Bexfield may still be seen; a sad shadow wandering over the marshes on misty nights. And if you look and listen very carefully, you may see him stop to try and light his torch, or even hear him give a nervous whistle, before he disappears once more into the darkness!

The Legend of Bear RockIn the Black Hills in Crook County, northeastern Wyoming, a large plug of volcanic rock rises dramatically above the surrounding countryside. Now, Devils Tower may seem a good name for this enormous plug of rock but that’s just the name that the white men gave to it. The people who had lived here for many thousands of years before the arrival of the white men knew better. They knew rock had nothing to do with the devil.

Indeed most of the tribes that lived in that area had a very different name for the rock, they called it the Bear Rock. Up and down its sheer sides are deep, long streaks and gashes. Visitors often ask how they came to be there and that is a very interesting story. Listen well and I will tell you.

The story begins a long time ago, when two young Sioux boys managed to get themselves lost in the prairie around their homeland. They hadn’t meant to get lost; in fact they didn’t know they were lost until ….. Well, until they were. That’s the way it happens isn’t it? One moment you are playing shinny ball and shooting arrows out into the purple sage around the village and the next moment you don’t know where you are or really how you got there.

The two boys stopped their game, put down their bows, looked around at their surroundings and then at each other. They didn’t recognise this part of the woodland; it wasn’t somewhere they had ever been before. Each of them was about to suggest they start back home, when they heard a small animal make a noise nearby and they just had to investigate.

They could not find the animal that had startled them but they did find a stream with many beautiful pebbles shining out from the water. For a few moments they were fascinated by the stones and, once again, forgot that they were lost. They followed the babbling stream as it wandered through the trees, taking them still further away from their home and, before they knew it, they had come to a low hill.

Now the thing about a hill that you’ve never been to before is, you want to know what is on the other side, don’t you? Well, so did the boys. Forgetting that they had no idea where they were, they scrambled up to the top and peered over the ridge. On the other side they saw a small herd of bison.

Their fathers had taught them how to track animals and they just could not resist this chance to try out their skills and so they stealthily followed the animals and ... wandered even further away from their home. 

It was only as the day drew on into the afternoon, that the boys realised how hungry they were and thought that going home for food would be a very good idea. But, as they looked around at the unfamiliar landscape, they realised that they really didn't know where they were, at all.

After some discussion, they set off in a direction which they thought would lead them to their village but, without being aware, they were walking still further and

further away from home. The late afternoon became evening and, as the sun slipped below the hills and the sky spread its dark blanket across the land, they knew they could walk no more. Not knowing what else to do, the two young boys curled up beneath a tree and tried to sleep.

The next morning they awoke very early, ate some wild berries, found some chokecherries and drank water from a stream. For two long, hot, exhausting days they walked towards the west, going ever further from their families. It was on the third day that the anxious boys suddenly had a feeling that they were not alone. They looked around and in the distance was Mato, the bear.

Now Mato was no ordinary bear, but a large grizzly, so big and so hungry that the boys would make only a small mouthful for him. But a mouthful is still better than nothing and Mato had not eaten for many days. He lumbered closer and closer, his colossal footsteps making the earth shiver and shake and his towering body casting a long, dark shadow over the boys as he stumped towards them.

The boys started to run, their eyes darting left and right, desperate for a place to hide, but there was nowhere, and the grizzly was moving so much faster than they, that he was almost upon them. In the gloomy light of the forest they did not see the tree root stretched across the path. They caught their feet in it and stumbled. Mato roared in triumph. They could see his red, wide-open jaws packed with enormous, wicked teeth. They could smell his hot evil breath.

Now these boys were old enough to have learned to pray, and they called out in desperation:

" Wakan Tanka, the Creator, Tunkashila, Grandfather, have pity, save us! Spirits of the forest, help us.”

All at once the earth shook and began rapidly to rise. The boys rose with it, up, up, up into the sky above the forest. Out of the earth emerged a cone of rock, pushing further upwards until it stood more than a thousand feet high - with the boys on the top of it.

Mato howled - angry and disappointed to see his meal disappearing into the clouds. I did say that he was a large grizzly bear, didn’t I? Well, that’s not quite true.He was in fact a giant bear, so enormous that when he reared up onto his hind legs, he could almost reach to the top of the rock. Almost, but not quite. His claws were as large as a tipi's lodge poles and Mato dug those claws into the side of the rock, trying to get up, trying to get those boys, desperate for the mouthful that he could almost taste. He attacked from every spot, from every side of the towering rock and, at every futile attempt, he raked huge gouges into its sides.

The boys watched, safe as eaglets in their eyrie, as he gradually wore himself out, became exhausted and, finally, gave up. Leaving the rock covered with gashes made from his giant claws. Peering over the edge, they saw him lumber away, a huge, growling, grunting mountain of rage disappearing over the horizon.

Maybe, Wanblee, the eagle, who has always been a friend to the Sioux people,

grabbed the boys in his huge talons and carried them safely back to their village. Or maybe you can think of another way?

The Legend of Robin HoodHigh in the branches of the Great Oak, the hooded man silently draws an arrow from the quiver strapped across his back and notches it to the string of his bow. Hours have passed since he climbed into the arms of the tree before daybreak and, were it not for the thick blanket of fog that swirls around the trees, the sun would be shining down from high in the sky. But a thick covering of mist is exactly what the hooded man wants as he waits, silently, patiently, high on his perch.

He slowly brings the bow level with his face. In other trees around the clearing, four other men – John, Alan, Much and Will - are doing exactly the same. For they have heard hooves on the forest track, have caught the sound of cartwheels slowly lumbering and of voices, as the approaching party call out to each other. They emerge from the white mist like ghostly figures. The hooded man closes one eye, pulls back on the bowstring and stares along the strong, straight shaft of the arrow.

He waits, barely breathing, remembering, a day like this, same weather, same place in this forest. It was two, perhaps three years ago, when it all began, when the people started their fight back against injustice.

That day had found this same man, Robert of Locksley, strolling along the edge of the woodland. He was not long back from foreign lands, fighting the crusades with the blessed King Richard, and he needed to take stock of his lands, the Outwoods.

True, they were not really his lands, for he had to pay rent to the Abbey of St Mary who had ownership of these fertile pastures, after being granted them in the will of the last Lord of the Manor. For generations Locksley’s family (like so many others) had paid their rent to the Lord and received good service in return.

Then the abbey took over the lands and everything changed. Rents increased, repairs were not done, and those who could not keep up the new payments were cast from their homes, usually in a violent manner. Whether they were young or old, it did not matter.

The Abbot and his friends in Nottingham Castle thought nothing of dragging a young mother and her terrified children from their home; stealing their possessions and then burning it to the ground.

Robert had already had dealings with the Abbot over these matters. Witnessing the eviction of a young couple and their two small children, he was so enraged that he had run straight to confront the Abbot.

“You call yourself a man of God,” he had yelled at the portly priest, “and yet you treat the poor no better than would the devil himself. Your men wreak misery throughout these lands in your name and that of your partner in despair, the Sheriff of Nottingham."

As he had trudged along the forest edge, making a mental note of where walls

needed repairing, he saw a movement in the forest and stopped behind a large ash tree to watch. There was a shabbily-clothed man, bow in hand, string pulled taut with an arrow ready to fly. Robin’s eye followed the line of the shot and could see it pointed at a large red deer, one of the Abbot’s own animals.

Robin was about to shout a warning to the man, when there was a loud twang as the bowstring snapped back into place, and the animal fell onto its side, an arrow protruding from its neck. 

The man rushed out from the cover of the trees, dropping his weapons as he went.

If the Abbot’s wardens were patrolling the forest and they had heard the deer fall, they would seize him and, before the end of the day, he would be swinging from a noose in the square outside the castle. As he ran, the man turned to look toward the forest edge and Locksley recognised him.

“Will, Will Scarlet, stop, for the Lord’s sake, stop,” he spoke in as loud a whisper as he dare. The man paused for a moment. “If they catch you they’ll string you up before that deer is cold.”

“Locksley … keep out of this. I hear what you say but when my children face death from hunger and they threaten to take my home from me, like so many others, what would you have me do?”

There was a desperate look in the man’s eyes, a look of hunger, a look of suffering, of complete despair. He knew the danger he was in but he had no choice.

“This is how we have to live now. Things have changed while you’ve been away. If we want to put food in our children’s mouths this is the only way we can do it. Either we live in fear of the Abbot’s men or in fear of our children dying before they have barely lived.”

He stared at Robert for another moment then his eyes shifted back to the woodland clearing. “That deer is mine now,” he said and continued his run towards the fallen animal.

From the shelter of the tree behind which he stood, Locksley saw three wardens appear out of the shadows not far behind the running man. They were so silent on their feet that Will had no idea they were closing on him. 

In the time it took the three men to halve the distance between themselves and the poacher, Robert had moved to where he had seen Will drop his bow. He had already taken the decision which would shape the rest of his life.

He knew what would happen to this man if caught and he knew what would happen to the children too, if their father ended the day on the end of a rope gasping for breath. 

In the time it took him to make the 10 strides to the bow he knew what he must do.

In a flash he had the bow in his hand, an arrow notched to the bowstring and two arrows ready on the ground next to him. He looked up to find that two of the men had seized Will by the arms and were holding him as he struggled to break free.

Robert took aim at the man on the left, pulled back the string and let go. The arrow flew straight, silent and true, thudding into the back of the man. 

By the time the other wardens realised what was happening, the second arrow was already winging its way towards the man on the right and, less than three seconds after the first man fell, the second was clutching at his neck as an arrow pierced his body just below the shoulder.

But the third man was behind Will and Robert did not dare to shoot at him.

“Will, get down, get down, let me see him,” shouted Robert. But the third man was already scampering away through the trees to safety and the office of the Abbot.

By the time Robert joined Will, the other two wardens had breathed their last. Will seemed rooted to the ground with fear, unable to move or speak.

“Will, come on, we have to get away from here! There are more of them in this forest for sure. Take out your knife, cut from the animal what you can carry and let’s be gone.”

Their luck was in as they moved silently towards Will’s home. Once they felt they were on safer ground they began to talk.

“You are a fool to risk your life alone like this Will Scarlet, Robert began.

"If you had been caught today.."“So what do we do then? You have no idea. Your land is safe, you are a freeman and respected for your brave deeds in the King’s army. Who am I? Nobody. Nothing. They think nowt of me and hundreds like me. They feed their hounds better and care more for horses than they do their tenants and servants. They use the law of the land against us however they wish and ignore it whenever it don’t suit them.”

They walked on in silence, then Robert spoke. “You're wrong Will Scarlet. I have just thrown away all I had by saving you from the Sheriff’s rope. The alarm has been raised by now and before sunset they'll be looking for me … and for you too.”

Robert stopped by the edge of the wood at the point where the path to his home broke off from the main track. He stood still, gazing into the distance.

“If they treat the law with such little respect and treat those who try to live by the law with so little care, then perhaps it’s time for lesser folk to do likewise. Bad laws are worse than no laws at all. It’s time we took back what belongs to us, what is rightfully ours.”

Locksley turned his eyes away from the path home, looked along the other track and began to walk. 

“I believe my path lies in this direction now,” he said firmly. “Are you with me Will? Can you bring others to our cause?

We don’t have to live in the dirt or under the boot of those who would do us harm. We are many, they are few.

We have cunning, guile, knowledge of this land and these woods. 

And these woods can support us. They are rich with food, enough for many to live on and, when times become harder, there will be some who pass by that have more than they need.”

Robert paused to see what his companion had to say but, when there was no response, he continued, his enthusiasm growing with every stride along the path.

“We will never take more than we need to live, not like those who rule us. Fairness and equality will be our watchwords not greed and injustice. We will help our people find a new way to live. 

They'll come after us but we will use the woodlands to shelter us, to hide us, to protect us as well as any armour. If they want us, then they will have to brave the forest to find us. And we will be waiting.”

And Robert of Locksley was true to his word.

And that is why this day finds him perched in a tree, waiting with others, as officials from Nottingham make their way through the woods with caskets filled with the taxes they have taken from the poor people of the county. 

On one side of the heavy cart sits a soldier, his head lolling, almost asleep. 

As they rumble slowly into the clearing, Robert prepares an arrow for a warning shot, aimed just wide enough of the soldier to let him know where the next one might land.

He pulls back the string as far as his bow will allow him, looks along the length of the arrow, chooses a spot a few inches to the left of the guard and holds his breath, waiting, waiting, waiting. 

Suddenly the arrow flies straight, silent and true. 

As it thuds into its target, the startled guard looks up at the trees and sees a hooded man, bow in hand, an arrow loaded with its tip pointing straight at his head.

He knows immediately who he is looking at. 

He is staring into the eyes of Robin Hood!

ESSAY ON EDUCATION

Education is an effort of the senior people to transfer their

knowledge to the younger members of society. It is thus an insti-

tution, which plays a vital role in integrating an individual with his

society and in maintaining the perpetuation of culture. Emile

Durkheim defines education as “the influence exercised by the adult

generation upon those who are not yet ready for adult life”.

He further maintains that “society can survive only if there exists

among its members a sufficient degree of homogeneity. The

homogeneity is perpetuated and reinforced by education. A child

through education learns basic rules, regulations, norms and values

of society”.

Education thus is an essential prerequisite of modernization. It

enables people to know the world beyond their own surroundings

and transforms them to become rationalist and humanist in outlook

and world view. However, it has to be kept in mind that the

education has got modernized and in turn is contributing to the

process of modernization of the Indian society.

The traditional education system of India was quite different from

the contemporary one. In traditional Indian society, the number of

educational institutions was too small and the content of education

was esoteric and essentially related with religion, philosophy,

metaphysics and scriptural subjects.

The education was confined to the ‘twice-born’ castes and the upper

classes. The organizational structure was ascriptive and hereditary.

The lower castes, particularly the scheduled castes, were denied

education. Even today, the Madrassah education among Muslims is

largely based on religion, philosophy and scriptural messages.

Shishu Mandirs also have religion and tradition as parts of

curriculum.

Modern education is exoteric, open and liberal. The world-view is

scientific-rational; the theme consists of freedom, equality,

humanism and denial of faith in dogma and superstitions. The

course contents are rationalistic and in tune with the needs of the

present-day society.

Science and technology, grammar and literature, social philosophy,

history and culture, geography and ecology, agriculture and

horticulture comprise the vast range of subjects which are taught in

schools, colleges and universities.

The modern education lays emphasis on the subjects like freedom,

nationality, law, human rights, democracy and scientific world view.

The other parts of education are the co-curricular and extra-

curricular activities, which are often organized for total personality

development of a student.

The modern education is change-oriented and, therefore, courses

are modified time and again corresponding to the changes taking

place in society at large so as to keep pace with the needs of the

changing situations in the wake of fast-changing industrial society.

The present industrial society has opened up a multiplicity of

occupations and professions and each one of them is associated

with scientific knowledge and skills. It is a society of complex

division of labour and requires people with specialized knowledge.

The modern education fulfills needs of the industrial economy. A

vast range of subjects like medicine, health, engineering,

management and law have become hot areas of professionalization

and specialization today.

ESSAY ON LOVE

What is the one emotion that has everyone mystified? What is the one emotion that has started as many wars as it has ended? What emotion has had more plays, songs, and stories written about it than anything else? Love, that one emotion that makes enemies into friends and friends into enemies. So many legends surround this emotion, from the goddess Athena and Helen of Troy to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

Love comes in so many different levels, that it doesn't appear to be the same emotion at all, but it is. There is so much to love, that it will be hard to put into this simple essay. It can tear people apart and make us do irrational things to bringing together entire nations. What can this emotion not do? It's hard to tell, but there is a lot it can.

This emotion, bring tears to our eyes when something happens to our family members, friends, and pets. When we feel love ripped from us, as in death or being spurned by another, we do things we wouldn't normally do, such as go on violent rampages, or mourn to the extent that our loved ones have to watch us constantly to make sure we don't try anything like suicide. Some can move on, always remembering the lost loved one after a while, but others can not let go. These are the ones that need our love and support the most.

There are so many levels to love, that I can only express a few of them here. These are the ones we see most in life. Friendship starts this list off. Yes, it doesn't seem like it, but we do feel love towards our friends, this is what helps us get along so well, and why we miss them when we don't see our friends for a long time. It's also why we hold certain friends over others no matter what happens. Sometimes, the bond between friends deepens to the point where a stronger bond of love is made, making them family.

Another level of love, are for our siblings and other family members. Even though we do things to our family members, and sometimes we don't like some of our family, that bond is still there. It's this family bond level of love that brought about the phrase, blood is thicker than water. We will do things for our brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, and children before we would even consider doing them for anyone else. Many wars have been started because of this family level, brother avenging brother or father, father protecting his wife and children, or even vice versa. This simple family bond can even extend to include our pets, amazingly enough, and that is a good thing.

A third level to love, is the bond that brings man and woman together. This level is among the strongest of them all. It is this level of love that has brought together kingdoms into nations in the past, and ended many great wars. It's is also for the love of a woman that has started a few of our well-known wars, like the Trojan Wars of ancient times. It's brought together families that have argued for years and years, such as in the Shakespearean play, Romeo and Juliet. Even though the two mentioned killed themselves in the end, it still brought their families together.

The last mentionable level of love is that bond between a mother and her children. There is no stronger, nor will there ever be. This bond starts from the very first tiny fluttering of movement and never ends, even after death of the child. A mother protects her children in the name of love, and directs them through life using it as the example to follow. Well, at least it should be. It's because of her children a mother will work at a job she hates, just to make sure they have everything they could ever want or need.

The phrase, love makes the world go round is very true. It's is our driving force, for what ever reason it may be. Poems, plays, and legends can only briefly touch the true meaning of love. We can only feel what that meaning is, and express it in ways only we can understand towards another. The true question we should be asking is not, what is life, but what is love.

What is love? I don't know, but I'll do what I can to express it to my son, my husband, my family and friends, and to every single pet I have or ever will own in the best possible way that I can.

LIFE

Life is beautiful but not always easy, it has problems, too, and the challenge lies in facing them with courage, letting the beauty of life act like a balm, which makes the pain bearable, during trying times, by providing hopeHappiness, sorrow, victory, defeat, day-night are the two sides of the me coin. Similarly life is full of moments of joy, pleasure, success and comfort punctuated by misery, defeat, failures and problems. There is no human being on Earth, strong, powerful, wise or rich, who has not experienced, struggle, suffering or failure.

No doubt, life is beautiful and every moment – a celebration of being alive, but one should be always ready to face adversity and challenges. A person who has not encountered difficulties in life can never achieve success.Difficulties test the courage, patience, perseverance and true character of a human being. Adversity and hardships make a person strong and ready to face the challenges of life with equanimity. There is no doubt that there can be no gain without pain. It is only when one toils and sweats it out that success is nourished and sustained.Thus, life is and should not be just a bed of roses; thorns are also a part of it and should be accepted by us just as we accept the beautiful side of life.The thorns remind one of how success and happiness can be evasive and thus not to feel disappointed and disheartened rather remember that the pain of thorns is short-lived, and the beauty of life would soon overcome the prick of thorns.

Those, who are under the impression that life is a bed of roses are disillusioned soon and become victims of depression and frustration. One who faces difficulties with courage and accepts success without letting it go to its head is the one who experience real happiness, contentment and peace in life.Those, who think, that good times last forever, easily succumb to pressure during difficulties. They do not put in required hard work and efforts because they break down easily.

You can take the example of a student, who burns the mid night oil, makes sacrifices and resists temptations so that he can perform well. Similarly, a successful executive has to face the ups and downs of life, not forgetting that life is a mix of success and failure, joy and sorrow.

If he loses hope during difficult times, he would not achieve success and would be replaced by others. Even the strongest Kings and Emperors have had their cup of woes.Life has not been a bed of roses for them. The adage ‘Uneasy lays the head that wears the crown’ has been rightly used for people, who are successful and are enjoying power and authority.

To sum up, life is beautiful just as roses but it has challenges which are like thorns and have to be faced and overcome by all. Those, who accept

these, challenges and succeed, are the ones, who know how to live life in its true sense. Thus, enjoy life but also be prepared to bear the pricks of pain.

CHALLENGES

It is true that people perceive change in different ways. Some members of the community believe that change is always for the better, while others think otherwise. 

Those who are in favor of change may argue that it poses a possibility for a particular person to improve him- or herself, both mentally and socially. From the mental perspective, changes relating to traveling and receiving education help one broaden one's mind and learn something new. As for the social perspective - it is empathy for others that he or she may acquire after suffering changes in his or her private life, because it is known that those who experienced various changes in relationships with their family or acquaintances may then better understand other people's feelings. This way, change improves not only person's mental, but also social and private aspect. In contrast, those who avoid changes point out the difficulties to readapt to them that many people experience. For instance, some large companies, Finnair for example, practice giving professional psychological and medicine support to those employees who were sacked due to companies' structural changes. Apparently, such policies infer that a spate of people may suffer from the difficulty to accustom to the changes and find their new way in life. In addition, it can be pointed out that changes regarding private affairs not always make a person better. For many people such changes simply cause a nervous breakdown, and, again, may jeopardize their health, since psychological aspect of a person is tightly connected to his or her general well-being. 

In conclusion, my view of the problem is that change is an indispensable part of our lives, so people should accept this fact and try to learn how to tackle it rather than avoid it, which is impossible. 

TECHNOLOGY

Technology is, by definition, the practical application of knowledge. It is the

systematic treatment of art and science. Our new science is circular in its

motivation. The proclivity only grows more definite as it kindles consecutively

greater aspirations. Perhaps it is a desire, whether technical or ethical, to leave

something here that is greater than before. Now the world is thriving, dominated by

computers and electronic intelligence that will leave a path for our heir’s

advancement into the unknown in search of broader horizons than even we

dreamed of. The desires to assist the next generation with success and in turn,

assist them in discovering consequential uses of their own art and science.

Advances in technology range from cell phones and laptops to great macro

computers used in the most detrimental and delicate of military operations. While

these technological advances are speeding along the evolution of man’s industrial

greatness, some people believe that they are greatly impeding the fostering of

emotional and psychological integrity among the human race. Perhaps we lose

touch from behind screens and bolt irresponsibly through moral challenges at the

speed of light with faceless services such as E-mail and the Internet. Jobs once

performed by muscle and sinew, are now performed by streamlined computers

produced by computers produced by computers. Through the vital exterior of metal

and computer chips, the United States stands more for innovation and simplification

than ever before, breaking new ground in the accomplishments of mankind.

Economic growth caused by new and profound technology has sparked mass

productivity and international competitiveness. Bringing with it morally demanding

questions, which possibly bury the clever, however acquiescent, human being in

their own intelligence.

This fear of technology overtaking its creators has been exploited in movies and

television, making them as real as possible to the person who has lost their job to

the next wonder of modern machinery. While efficiency is key, it is sometimes

mislabeled as a problem. A problem that eradicates the small “mom and pop’

businesses that this country is built upon. But, while fashioned upon the patriotic

characteristics of the hard work of our predecessors, the aggressive expansion of

our country’s commerce is one of our greatest achievements yet. We’ve not

forgotten the values that made us great. America is now a nation respected as a

computer driven industry as well as one that strives to base its business on

legitimate and ethical practices.

Despite the lack of physical contact, new ideas revolutionize day to day living,

proving that we are a country of entrepreneurs, new age “mom and pop’ businesses

ourselves. With the availability of information increasing every day, our knowledge

has expanded eons above what our parents thought the future would hold. We have

access to facts and opinions on almost every subject known to man. The definition

of the so-called “average person’ has expanded to include present day technology.

With information provided from the Internet, we can recreate ancient crimes,

participate in a worldwide exploration, and read about a new species of mammals

discovered yesterday. Few of us can say we lack Internet services, cell phones, and

an enduring, if not ethnocentric, interest in the quest for the greatest

accomplishment, technology that will lead us to a greater understanding about the

planet we live on and our place in this world. The remaining question becomes, ‘Do I

fear less because I know more?’ Or ‘Do I fear more because I know more?’

Through our modern day miracles of science we are able to appreciate that which is

truly an incredible era of advanced erudition and self-sufficiency. Because of the

advantages of modern day technology, we are allowed the unique benefit of looking

back on what was and comparing it with what is and what could be. Technology is

no longer seen as a barrier, but as a breakthrough. Bringing fresh insight and

offering better jobs to those who are willing to take a step towards the future.

Sayings/QuotationAll the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me... You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.Walt Disney

The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.Bob Marley

When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour. That's relativity.Albert Einstein

This life, which had been the tomb of his virtue and of his honour, is but a walking shadow; a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.William Shakespeare

You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.Walt Disney

Zoophabet: Ants to ZorillasBY AVIS HARLEY

Ants use antennae to seek out their tracks,Beavers gnaw trees for their lodge,

Camels store food in the humps on their backs,Dragonflies dazzle and dodge,

Elephant trunks furnish watery flings,Flamingoes eat shrimp to keep pink;

Grasshoppers' ears appear under their wings,Hummingbirds hover to drink,

Inchworms advance with a rear-ended loop,Jellyfish sometimes can sting,

Kestrels catch lunch with a lightning-like swoop,Larks love to warble and sing,

Moles tunnel intricate malls underground,Newts thrive in ponds filled with weed,

Owls like to swivel their heads right around,People can learn how to read,

Quetzals are gorgeous in feathery dress,Rats have acquired a bad label,

Seahorse appears like a figure in chess,Tortoise found fame in a fable,

Umber-birds thrive in the African wild,Vipers can poison their prey,

Worms turn the soil when the climate is mild,Xylophage chews wood all day,

Yaks grow in horns that are gracefully curled,Zorillas are striped black and white;

each zooabet creature is part of this world:unique, with its own copyright!

Green-Thumb BoyBY MARILYN NELSON

Hybridization, cross-breeding, evolution:He takes to new theories

like a puppy takes to ice cream.We whisper that our Green-Thumb Boy

is the black Mendel, that Darwinwould have made good use of Carver's eyes.

So clear his gift for observation:the best collector I've ever known.

I think we have an entirely new speciesof Pseudocercospora.

And always in his threadbare lapela flower. Even in January.

I've never asked how.

We had doubtsabout giving him a class to teach,

but he's done a bang-up jobwith the greenhouse. His students

see the light of geniusthrough the dusky window of his skin.

Just yesterday, that new boy,what's-his-name, from Arkansas,

tried to raise a ruckus when Carverput his dinner tray down.

He cleared his thorat, stared, rattledhis own tray, scraped his chair legs

in a rush to move away. Carverate on in silence. Then the boys

at the table the new boy had moved tocleared their throats, rattled their trays

and scraped their chair legs as they got upand moved to Carver's table.

Something about theman does that, raises the bestin you. I've never asked what.

I guess I'll put his name next to mineon that article I'm sending out.

Katie Kissed MeBY CHRISTINE LYNN MAHONEY

Katie kissed me!

Yuck, it's true!

My face took on a greenish hue!

My knees, like jelly, started shaking!

Then my stomach started quaking!

Slobber slithered down my cheek!

My consciousness was growing weak!

My ears were ringing, my head was spinning!

But, all the while Kate was grinning!

My heart was pounding through my shirt!

My tongue felt like I just ate dirt!

Though you may think I've lost my brain!

I wished she'd kiss me once again!

Traveling with GuitarBY DEBRA MARQUART

For you can travel with a screaming red rolling bagand float unnoticed on conveyors, through terminals

or you can lug half a moose rack from Maineto Minnesota, carry it like a broken wing through airports

as my friend Gro did, and draw only the curious touchesof children waiting at gates. But dare to travel with a

guitar

and invite confessions from strangers in pinstripe suitsof garage band summers, invite winks, gotcha smiles,

and devil's horns rock on gestures. Invite finger pointsand winks, the long tongue licks, and the rubberneck

glance

to check if you are someone famous. To dare to travelwith a guitar is to mark yourself charismatic megafauna

of the airport terminal. Old friend, what else could I dobut carry you? I have stored you in closets, propped you

in corners, hunched over you late-nights, staring perplexed

at the mysteries of your neck. Body of my body, string

of my strings, see how the world began to hum and singthat day at thirteen when I opened the big birthday box.

Please Don'tBY TONY HOAGLAND

tell the flowers—they thinkthe sun loves them.

The grass is under the same simple-minded impressionabout the rain, the fog, the dew.

And when the wind blows,it feels so good they lose control of themselves

and swobtoggle wildly around, bumping accidentally into theirslender neighbors.

Forgetful little lotus-eaters,solar-powered hydroholics, drawing nourishment up

through stems into their thin green skin,high on the expensive chemistry of mitochondrial explosion,

believing that the dirt loves them, the night, the stars—reaching down a little deeper with their pale albino roots,all Dizzy Gillespie with the utter sufficiency of everything.

They don't imagine lawn mowers, the four stomachsof the cow, or human beings with boots who stop to marvel at their

exsquisiteflexibility and color.

They persist in their soft-headedhallucination of happiness.But please don't mention it.

Not yet. Tell me what would you possibly gainfrom being right?

"Bad Girl"

Hey! Everybody seems to be staring at me..You! You! All of you!How dare you to stare at me?Why? Is it because I'm a bad girl?A bad girl I am, A good for nothing teen ager, a problem child?That's what you call me!I smoke. I drink. I gamble at my young tender age.I lie. I cheat, and I could even kill, If I have too.Yes, I'm a bad girl, but where are my parents?You! You! You are my good parents?My good elder brother and sister in this society where I live?Look…look at me…What have you done to me?You have pampered and spoiled me, neglected me when I needed youmost!Entrusted me to a yaya, whose intelligence was much lower than mine!While you go about your parties, your meetings and gambling session…Thus… I drifted away from you!Longing for a father's love, yearning for a mother's care!As I grew up, everything changed!You too have changed!You spent more time in your poker, majong tables, bars and night clubs.You even landed on the headlines of the newspaper as crooks, peddlers andracketeers.Now, you call me names, accuse me of everything I do to myself?Tell me! How good are you?If you really wish to ensure my future…Then hurry….hurry back home! Where I await you, because I need you…Protect me from all evil influences that will threaten at my very own

understanding…But if I am bad, really bad…then, you've got to help me!

Help me! Oh please…Help me!

"Juvenile Delinquent"

Am I a juvenile delinquent? I’m a teenager, I’m young, young at heart in mind. In this position, I’m carefree, I enjoy doing nothing but to drink the wine of pleasure. I seldom go to school, nobody cares!. But instead you can see me roaming around. Standing at the nearby canto (street). Or else standing beside a jukebox stand playing the nerve tickling bugaloo. Those are the reasons, why people, you branded me delinquent, a juvenile delinquent.

My parents ignored me, my teachers sneered at me and my friends, they neglected me. One night I asked my mother to teach me how to appreciate the values in life. Would you care what she told me? "Stop bothering me! Can’t you see? I had to dress up for my mahjong session, some other time my child". I turned to my father to console me, but, what a wonderful thing he told me. "Child, here’s 500 bucks, get it and enjoy yourself, go and ask your teachers that question".

And in school, I heard nothing but the echoes of the voices of my teachers torturing me with these words. "Why waste your time in studying, you can’t even divide 100 by 5! Go home and plant sweet potatoes".

I may have the looks of Audrey Hepburn, the calmly voice of Nathalie Cole. But that’s not what you can see in me. Here’s a young girl who needs counsel to enlighten her way and guidance to strenghten her life into contentment.

Honorable judge, friends and teachers…is this the girl whom you commented a juvenile delinquent?.My parents ignored me, my teachers sneered at me and my friends, they neglected me. One night I asked my mother to teach me how to appreciate the values in life. Would you care what she told me? "Stop bothering me! Can’t you see? I had to dress up for my mahjong session, some other time my child". I turned to my father to console me, but, what a wonderful thing he told me. "Child, here’s 500 bucks, get it and enjou yourself, go and ask your teachers that question".And in school, I heard nothing but the echoes of the voices of my teachers torturing me with these words. "Why waste your time in studying, you can’t even divide 100 by 5! Go home and plant sweet potatoes".I may have the looks of Audrey Hepburn, the calmly voice of Nathalie Cole. But that’s not what you can see in me. Here’s a young girl who needs counsel to enlighten her way and guidance to strenghten her life into contentment.Honorable judge, friends and teachers…is this the girl whom you commented a juvenile delinquent?.

"The Unpardonable Crime"

Only one living creature seemed to take any notice of his existence: this was an old St. Bernard, who used to come and lay his big head with its mournful eyes on Christophe's knees when Christophe was sitting on the seat in front of the house. They would look long at each other. Christophe would not drive him away Unlike the sick Goethe, the dog's eyes had no uneasiness for him Unlike him, he had no desire to cry: "Go away! . . . Thou goblin thou shalt not catch me, whatever thou doest!"He asked nothing better than to be engrossed by the dog's suppliant sleepy eyes and to help the beast: he felt that there must be behind them an imprisoned soul imploring his aid.

In those hours when he was weak with suffering, torn alive away from life, devoid of human egoism, he saw the victims of men, the field of battle in which man triumphed in the bloody slaughter of all other creatures: and his heart was filled with pity and horror. Even in the days when he had been happy he had always loved the beasts: he had never been able to bear cruelty towards them: he had always had a detestation of sport, which he had never dared to express for fear of ridicule: but his feeling of repulsion had been the secret cause of the apparently inexplicable feeling of dislike he had had for certain men: he had never been able to admit to his friendship a man who could kill an animal for pleasure. It was not sentimentality: no one knew better than he that life is based on suffering and infinite cruelty: no man can live without making others suffer. It is no use closing our eyes and fobbing ourselves off with words. It is no use either coming to the conclusion that we must renounce life and sniveling like children. No. We must kill to live, if, at the time, there is no other means of living. But the man who kills for the sake of killing is a miscreant. An unconscious miscreant, I know. But, all the same, a miscreant. The continual endeavor of man should be to lessen the sum of suffering and cruelty: that is the first duty of humanity.

In ordinary life those ideas remained buried in Christophe's inmost heart. He refused to think of them. What was the good? What could he do? He had to be Christophe, he had to accomplish his work, live at all costs, live at the cost of the weak. ... It was not he who had made the universe. . . . Better not think of it, better not think of it. ...

But when unhappiness had dragged him down, him, too, to the level of the vanquished, he had to think of these things. Only a little while ago he had blamed Olivier for plunging into futile remorse and vain compassion for all the wretchedness that men suffer and inflict. Now he went even farther: with all the vehemence of his mighty nature he probed to the depths of the tragedy of the universe: he suffered all the sufferings of the world, and was left raw and bleeding. He could not think of the animals without shuddering

in anguish. He looked into the eyes of the beasts and saw there a soul like his own, a soul which could not speak: but the eyes cried for it:

"What have I done to you? Why do you hurt me?" He could not bear to see the most ordinary sights that he had seen hundreds of times —a calf crying in a wicker pen, with its big, protruding eyes, with their bluish whites and pink lids, and white lashes, its curly white tufts on its forehead, its purple snout, its knock-kneed legs:—a lamb being carried by a peasant with its four legs tied together, hanging head down, trying to hold its head up, moaning like a child, bleating and lolling its gray tongue:—fowls huddled together in a basket:—the distant squeals of a pig being bled to death:—a fish being cleaned on the kitchen-table. . . . The nameless tortures which men inflict on such innocent creatures made his heart ache. Grant animals a ray of reason, imagine what a frightful nightmare the world is to them: a dream of cold-blooded men, blind and deaf, cutting their throats, slitting them open, gutting them, cutting them into pieces, cooking them alive, sometimes laughing at them and their contortions as they writhe in agony. Is there anything more atrocious among the cannibals of Africa? To a man whose mind is free there is something even more intolerable in the sufferings of animals than in the sufferings of men. For with the latter it is at least admitted that suffering is evil and that the man who causes it is a criminal. But thousands of animals are uselessly butchered every day without a shadow of remorse. If any man were to refer to it, he would be thought ridiculous.—And that is the unpardonable crime. That alone is the justification of all that men may suffer. It cries vengeance upon God. If there exists a good God, then even the most humble of living things must be saved. If God is good only to the strong, if there is no justice for the weak and lowly, for the poor creatures who are offered up as a sacrifice to humanity, then there is no such thing as goodness, no such thing as justice.

"No Pardon For Me"

I'm sentenced.

Sentenced to life in this dank cellof misery.I can see the key-it hangs there,just out my finger's reach,dangling there in a mock of freedom.

There will be no pardon for me,no stay of this execution.

My life has convicted mefor crimes I did not commit.My penalty meted out.I followed every rule,broke no laws,have more than paid my finesto society's shun upon me.

There was no fair trial,no chance for me to plead my case.The jurors were sent from hell,quick to judgementand showed no mercyas they read their verdict.

Life/Death, what does it matter?Its all the same in this prison.

I am but a mere victim,the criminal has gotten away,while I do the timefor fate's crimes against me.

I can't escape the hounds they'd release,should I attemp escape,for the walls and barbed wiresare too painful to scaleand the hounds would scent my fear.

So I sit here,waiting...waiting for the day they walk methat longest mile,waiting for the flow of their poisonto seep within' my veins.

That lethal injectionthat will finally end this miseryof a soul so wrongfully convicted to die

.

"The Plea of an Aborted Fetus"

LET THIS PRECIOUS ANGELS LIVE !

"SET ME FREE. LET ME LIVE, I DESERVE TO BE BORN, I WANT TO LIVE. FOR HEAVENS SAKE, HAVE PITY."

Ladies and Gentlemen, dear fathers and mother, listen to my plea, listen to my story. I could have been the 17th Lady President of the Philippines

Republic, had you given me the chance to live, had you not deprived me of my life, had you not taken away my privilege to be born.

Some eleven years ago, a healthy ovum started to generate in the womb of a woman with six other children. My coming should be a herald of joy, a

symbol of love incarnate but to my mommy it was a burden, a problem, an additional mouth to feed. To Dad, it was a mistake, an effect of Mom's

carelessness for not taking the contraceptive pills.

One gloomy day in June, my unexpected coming was confirmed. It was a painful decision. I could sense the imminent danger as Mom got inside the abortion room. I was an unwanted child. No one loved me. No one cared. I

was a rejected being, a tiny lump slowly forming into human being with human soul. I was already alive, kicking, struggling. My heart was already

beating and my thumb had already the unique mark. As I was holding to my mother's womb a splash of heat came all over me. I writhed in extreme pain. -- "Mom, why have you done this to me? Am I not the flesh of your own flesh,

the blood of your own blood?"

The rubber suction caught my tiny limbs and mercilessly twisted it slowly cutting it from my body. I struggled for my life. 1,2,3 and the first part of me

came out.

-- "Mom, why have you permitted this? Am I not Dad's pledge of love to you?"

Then it was followed by another rubber suction sucking the other part moving it with force until both were fully amputated.

-- "Mom, why have you done this to me? Am I not God's image you promised to love and protect?"

Then i felt shaken once, twice, several times until I do not know anymore what has been going around. I gushed forth my last breath...

Then came the final blow, my head - the abortionist termed as No. I was totally cut from my torso: total annihilation.

GONE IS MY CHANCE TO LEAD A HEALTHY NORMAL LIFE.GONE IS MY CHANCE TO BEHOLD THE MANY LOVELY THINGS GOD CREATED

FOR US.GONE IS THE PROMISE OF A BLISSFUL LIFE.

Christmas SongsIlocano

Ala Kadin

Ala Kadin, inkay yawat (Please give)Ala kadin, inkay yawat Tay aginaldomi a pirak Ta uray sisiam a sikapat 

No isu't itedyo kadakam a pagayat. Dika ket saksakiten, nanangmi 

Ti magted tay aginaldomi Di mabayag maabrotmonto 

No malakoyonto daytoy baboyyo 

ALDAW TI PASKUAi. Dimtengen nabayag nga inur-uray

Padapadatay a nangpasangabayAdda ragsak tunggal bumalay

Adtoyen aldaw ikkan gundawayii. Ayug ti Paskua addan a mangngeganTunggal umili inda metten agisaganan

Noche buena, tupig wenno sumanPagsasangoan a dinto malipatan

koro: Ita ti aldaw ti paskuaAdda ragsak tunggal maysa

Ita nga aldaw ti paskuaIwagsak ti apal ken gura

Nasantoan ti aldaw ti paskuaAdda ragsak tunggal maysa

Ita nga aldaw ti paskuaIkkatenen panaginkukuna

iii. Adda koma ayat nga agariGura a naigamer intay iwaksi

Tunggal puso inna koma awatenPammakawan a di barengbareng

JINGLE BELLS

Dashing through the snowIn a one-horse open sleigh

Over the fields we goLaughing all the wayBells on bobtail ring'Making spirits bright

What fun it is to laugh and singA sleighing song tonight!

Jingle bells, jingle bells,Jingle all the way.

Oh! what fun it is to rideIn a one-horse open sleigh.

Jingle bells, jingle bells,Jingle all the way;

Oh! what fun it is to rideIn a one-horse open sleigh.

A day or two agoI thought I'd take a ride

And soon, Miss Fanny BrightWas seated by my side,

The horse was lean and lankMisfortune seemed his lotHe got into a drifted bank

And then we got upsot.

A day or two ago,The story I must tell

I went out on the snow,And on my back I fell;A gent was riding by

In a one-horse open sleigh,He laughed as there I sprawling

lie,But quickly drove away.

Now the ground is whiteGo it while you're young,

Take the girls tonightand sing this sleighing song;

Just get a bobtailed bayTwo forty as his speed

Hitch him to an open sleighAnd crack! You'll take the lead.

FROSTY THE SNOWMAN

Frosty the snowman was a jolly happy soul,

With a corncob pipe and a button nose

And two eyes made out of coal.Frosty the snowman is a fairy tale,

they say,He was made of snow but the children

Know how he came to life one day.There must have been some magic in

thatOld silk hat they found.

For when they placed it on his headHe began to dance around.

O, Frosty the snowmanWas alive as he could be,

And the children say he could laughAnd play just the same as you and me.

[Chorus]Thumpetty thump thump,Thumpety thump thump,

Look at Frosty go.Thumpetty thump thump,Thumpety thump thump,Over the hills of snow.

[Verse2]Ooh Frosty the snowman knew

The sun was hot that day,So he said, "Let's run and

We'll have some funNow before I melt away."

Down to the village,With a broomstick in his hand,

Running here and there allAround the square saying,

Catch me if you can.He led them down the streets of town

Right to the traffic cop.And he only paused a moment when

He heard him holler "Stop!"Mmm Frosty the snowmanHad to hurry on his way,

But he waved goodbye saying,"Don't you cry,

I'll be back again some day."

[Chorus]Thumpetty thump thump,Thumpety thump thump,

Look at Frosty go.Thumpetty thump thump,Thumpety thump thump

Over the hills of snow

Ang Pasko Ay Sumapit

Ang Pasko ay sumapitTayo ay mangagsiawit

Ng magagandang himigDahil sa Diyos ay pag-ibig

Nang si Kristo'y isilangMay tatlong haring nagsidalaw

At ang bawa't isa ay nagsipaghandogNg tanging alay

Koro:Bagong Taon ay magbagong-buhay

Nang Lumigaya ang ating bayanTayo'y magsikap upang makamtan

Natin ang kasaganaan

Tayo'y mangagsiawitHabang ang mundo'y tahimik

Ang araw ay sumapitNg sanggol na dulot ng langit

Tayo ay magmahalanAting sundin ang gintong aral

At magbuhat ngayonKahit hindi Pasko ay magbigayan

PASKO NA NAMAN

Pasko Na NamanO Kay tulin ng arawPaskong nagdaan,

Tila ba kung kailan langNgayon ay Pasko,

Dapat pasalamatanNgayon ay Pasko

Tayo ay mag-awitan

Koro:Pasko! Pasko!

Pasko na namang muli!Tanging araw na ating

pinakamimithi,Pasko! Pasko!

Pasko na namang muli!Ang pag-i–big

naghahari.