I live in America, where freedom is a right of everyone, but that doesn’t mean that people aren’t trapped. I’m trapped. I have a very needy family—my mother is unemployed, and I have to support her and my two younger siblings because there’s nowhere else for them to turn. I’m happy to do it because I love them, but at the same time I just want a little breathing room. A little freedom. I can’t switch jobs, go back to school, or take a vacation because I have to be here working this job, making this money, paying these bills. If I could have anything, I’d want my mom to find a job where she can support herself.
Fire Nowhere
Everybody thinks fire as a killer. It is so friendly when handled properly. Fire needs three things to withstand. One is oxygen, another is source and the other one is flammable materials. If any one of these is stopped, fire can be killed. So, when there is fire in your place, immediately take a wet cloth and tie around your nose for your oxygen supply. Then without delaying either cut oxygen supply for the fire, or removes all the flammable materials from its reach or immediately kills it with water. Large fire extinguishers are also of great use. But nobody knows how to use them or it could be out of their reach.
Half a Dolphin
One thing that means a great deal to me is one half of a friendship necklace I have from 9th grade. When I started high school, it had all the same old people from junior high with their narrow minds and cliques. Then in October, Precious transferred in. We became inseparable; she understood me more than any other friend I’d ever had. For Christmas, I bought a set of Best Friend Necklaces, two dolphins forming the edges of a blue heart. She was only at the school for six months—she had family problems there was no escaping from. I don’t know where she is today, but I still miss her.
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Get Behind the Air Conditioner
One of my favorite childhood memories is of playing ditch with the neighborhood kids and my mother after dark. She was the only adult in the neighborhood who would play with us. A combination of tag and hide-and-seek, ditch is played by waiting until dark and splitting into two teams. You establish a home base and then one team goes and hides throughout the neighborhood. The other team counts to a certain number and then comes looking for you. If they find you, you have to try to make it back to home base before they can tag you. I was the smallest, so my mother used to tuck me behind central air conditioners, in bushes, or even in the bed of our neighbor’s truck. I could always count on her to lead them away from me so I could get back to home base in time.
Mind If I Borrow Your Dragon?
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I am not ashamed to admit that the thing I enjoy most is curling up with a good book. I love the way books smell, the rustle of paper beneath my fingertips, but most of all I love the way they suck you into a new world. When you find a good book you are transported—to 1940s Spain, a slave ship crossing the Pacific, or a sun-drenched sky on dragon back while evil wizards chase you. You can forget all of your problems for a while and just imagine what life would be like if you were living in that time, in that world, in that story. I’m never happier than when I’m reading.
Tuna Salad and Peaches
Let me start by saying, I am not a health nut. I wish I was, then maybe I wouldn’t have this cheese-curd-loving gut. But when the weather gets hot like it has been recently, I don’t want to eat anything. The thought of putting a heavy meal or a large piece of meat in my belly is revolting. So when the combination of heat and humidity made the heat index soar over 100 degrees last week, I went for the simple. I whipped up a batch of tuna salad—tuna, mayo, celery, spices, macaroni—and coupled it with some peaches for a bit of sweetness. It was the perfect summer meal.
Recession, Depression, and Ageism?
I find the recession and the state of our economy completely depressing. The downturn has had a profound effect on me, as my mother has been out of work for a year and a half now, and I’ve been supporting her and my two younger siblings since then. She finally found a part-time job a few weeks ago, so I have hope that it’s turning around, but I think it’s going to be a really slow, painful process until we’re all back on our feet again. Especially for people like her who are too old to be the ideal, ambitious 20-something employee. Hopefully someone will give her a chance soon.
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On The Brink
Do you know that feeling where just enough things are going wrong that you feel yourself on the edge of a serious fit? I got paid today, so it should be a good day… but after paying the bills, I’m going to have to scrape by for the next two weeks. My sister and mother are fighting, and both are texting me complaining about the other. I bruised my hip last night when I got up to use the bathroom and misjudged where the steps were; bashing it into the banister broke my fall. And I stepped in gum this morning. I’m beginning to think the fates have it out for me.
Yoga has been originated
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In our country yoga has been originated, and still we have many teachers who teach yoga , right now not only in India but whole over the world people are practicing yoga,and why not ,it can cure many sorts of diseases ,if done regularly .Its works slowly but is very effective . many life taking diseases have been cured by yoga, it improves mental strength also. It also have effective medication ,actually it works over whole body. After practicing yoga for 3months a person can feel many good changes .But at the start a teacher is required ,after 2weeks a person can start practicing in home. so stop eating too much of medication and start doing yoga for good quality of life.
The Importance of Fire Safety
There were two co-workers working in a retail jewelry store one night. I heard about this story, because, I had worked for this company at another location and was transferred to this particular location. One of the two co-workers/employees of this particular company had to work the ‘ night shift ‘. After closing hours, the employees began to do their daily tasks of closing down the shop. They were both busy with their assigned chores when one of them began to scream frantically. She was a female. The other, male, came out of the back room only to see a small fire trickling along side of an electrical cord. The woman was standing in a corner frantically screaming while the male, very calmly grabbed the fire extinguisher and doused the fire! They said there was foam everywhere! But luckily, one kept a clear, calm head and used the fire extinguisher to save the building. When I had come on board, I asked the guy, my new co-worker, “what is that long black spot on the carpet near the discount fire blankets “? He told me the story. As it turned out, this gentleman had applied with the local fire department for a job, so having known a little about fire safety, I would imagine they were lucky to have a calm headed person around who had an interest in extinguishing fires! The carpet was later replaced.