Moraine Lake March 22, 2009

From the ground,

We witnessed unparalleled beauty;

A lake of turquoise glass

Surrounded by peaks of rock and ice.

Despite the beauty we now beheld,

We set out to find more;

Our one desire- a higher perspective.

We made a cautious ascension.

Step-by-step, we guided each other;

He held my hand,

And I had his back.

Together we were able

To accomplish our goal.

We found our higher perspective.

Our two preceding generations

Waved from the ground.

We attempted to capture our moment

With shutters and flashes.

But it is hard to give nature justice

When you limit it to a four-by-six.

The Ultimate Music Box Transformer! January 6, 2009

What happens when a music lover comes to the dilemma of what musical instrument to buy? Should he pick the acoustic guitar, the piano, the steel drum, the pica lo? Should a true music lover be expected to choose only one? I say nay! A person should not have to make that decision. In fact, I hardly consider any one capable. They are times like these that ‘The Ultimate Music Box Transformer’ comes in handy. This unique gizmo is spectacular. By voice activation, this devise will transform into any musical instrument ever invented. Now, our music lover’s only dilemma is which instrument to play first. Perhaps he will choose the cello, or maybe even the pan flute. It is completely up to him. Well, what if our musician has a sore throat that has rendered his voice inadequate for speaking? Never fear! The back of this clever music box has a touch-screen keyboard for instances just as this. However, our musicians voice is more than adequate. He dictates his choice, “The baby grand piano.” He then sets the transformer on a cleared 7×7 area, and takes a few steps back. Presto! Within a matter of a few seconds, the tiny, light-weight box is transformed into a beautiful baby grand piano. Our musician is overjoyed! He cannot believe what he just witnessed. Then he has a thought, “I don’t know how to play the piano!” Oh, don’t worry our not-so-musically-versed musician. All you have to say is, “Teach me.” Within a few brief moments a screen will appear on the music stand of the piano. An excellent piano teacher will appear on the high-definition flat screen in front of you. Your personal teacher will have you playing the classics in no time! These transformers are so complex, only a very few have been crafted. Hurry to the nearest gadget store nearest you. It’s time to join our musician and discover all the possibilities with ‘The Ultimate Music Box Transformer’!

Pride vs. Prejudice December 8, 2008

In my opinion, Pride and Prejudice is one of the best movies. The newest version is a great depiction of Jane Austin’s phenomenal novel. Pride and Prejudice is a period movie that tells of love, fear, aspirations, and the inevitable interference of time. Jane Austin’s characters are clever and witty. There is something about them that just feels real. The emotions she portrays are perfectly tangible. Austin’s heroine, Elisabeth Bennet is sensible and down-to-earth. She is always thinking and this sometimes causes her to be stubborn. The hero of the story is equally as grand. Fitzwilliam Darcy is wealthy, and, though he comes off to be severe, his heart is kind and gentle. When Mr. Darcy and Elisabeth first meet, Mr. Darcy finds Elisabeth to be blunt and overbearing. She finds him rude and stuck up. However, in the end, they find that the things that were once the most unappealing were never true to begin with. Mr. Darcy sees Elisabeth for who she truly is. Elisabeth sees the good nature and compassion of Mr. Darcy’s.
I’ve learned so much from Pride and Prejudice. I’ve learned that happiness is worth being patient for. Also, sometimes the things a person thinks that they want, isn’t really what they desire. Oftentimes, it turns out to be the complete opposite. One should never let their mind get so focused on something that they forget what it is they do need; and, after all, what they’ve always wanted.

Day of Thanks December 1, 2008

This year, Thanksgiving seemed quite regular but also a bit different from past years. The day started with my alarm going off. I, naturally, went straight for the snooze. Just as I began to enter back into deep sleep, it started again. Forced out of bed by my alarm clock that gets increasingly louder, I started to get ready. I chose my outfit the for the day the night before, because I knew that it would be a catastrophe if I waited to pick my outfit out that morning.  Once I was dressed and ready to be off, I went down stairs. My brother Matt and his girlfriend Mimi were my chauffeurs. The drive to my aunt’s house in Ocala is about two hours from my house. Majority of this time was spent with the windows of Mimi’s Mercedes down so that her dog Cean could stick his head out and feel the breeze. Although my hair got quite ruffled in the wind, it was a fun ride. We were one of the first guests to arrive at my mom’s sister’s house. The house was festively decorated and the aroma of Thanksgiving food filled the air. Our time there was great. Thanksgiving is one of the few days out of the year that our entire family comes together. Everyone slows down enough to simply enjoy one another’s company. We recounted our memories from the past, and shared our hopes and dreams for the future. The one sad thought I had about this year was the fact my sister Sarah and brother-in-law Ben didn’t join us. They went to Atlanta to spend the holiday with Ben’s mom. However, my grandpa told some of his grand stories. My (great) aunt Joan, my grandma, and I were all summoned to the piano at various times. The goodbyes were sweet, and the ride home was long. My bed, after this long and wonderful day, was quite nice, and rest was very much needed.

the world awaits November 16, 2008

Excuse me, Gentle man. Pardon me, Fair lady. I must tell you both the truth. The world is starting to doubt your existence. We have all been waiting for the two of you to show up. Don’t let us all down. Gentle man, we need you to prove that chivalry is not dead. Perhaps Sir Chivalry has just been taking a rather long nap. However, it’s time for him to wake! So would you be so kind as to wake him for us? Remind him of his vitally important job. I fear the world is beginning to lose hope. Glorious Fair lady, show the world your lovely face again. Everyone seems to be forgetting what you look like. The women are forgetting when to hold their tongues and when to speak. They go on swaggering and swearing like rude men. Come on, dear friends. Gentle man and Fair lady, the world is desperate for some of your wonderful tag-team action. Only you two are capable. Oh, I know you can do it! But please, do hurry before it’s too late!

Sister Sarah November 3, 2008

Thank you kindly,

Dear watering can.

You have saved my life

Time and time again.

You have nourished me back to health

When everyone else

Considered me lost.

I, a simple flower,

Become bruised and wilted at times.

But because of you,

I bud and blossom again.

My roots are given the strength

To withstand the hottest of days

Because of your sweet, constant

Flow of love.

Again, I thank you,

Dearest watering can,

For never giving up on me.

It is because of you

I am becoming the flower

That I will forever be.

Frank Capra’s ‘Mr. Smith Goes To Washington’ October 27, 2008

Jefferson Smith was a very kind, young-spirited man. His heart was for the young boys of America. Smith aspired to to get the boys off the streets and to provide for them a better life, so that one day they might build up a better America. Smith’s father instilled in his life the idea that ‘the only causes worth fighting for were the lost causes.’ Jefferson Smith believed this and lived by it.

After a string of random events, Mr. Smith is chosen and brought to Washington to join the Senate. Smith, being a simple and humble man, thought some mistake had been made. He was completely unaware of how a senator should act. Having never been to Washington before, Smith was utterly dumbfounded by all the things he was seeing. He saw Lincoln sitting in the Lincoln Memorial and said he look as if he was sitting and waiting for someone to come. So many things were happening all at once.

New to the senate, Smith wasn’t sure what to do. He seemed almost childish compared to everyone else there. His secretary, Clarissa Saunders, said she felt as if she were carrying bibs around for an infant with flags in his hands. Smith was quite naive. Saunders gave the impression that she too was naive when first coming to Washington. She said, “My eyes were big blue question marks. Now they are big green dollar signs.” Washington had changed her. Her outlook on life was now different.

Smith’s focus, however, would not change. The first bill he wanted to pass was for a national boys camp to be opened in his home state. Smith was like David coming up against the Goliath of government. But once he knew what he wanted, there was no deterring him.

The senate tried to defeat him. They all saw him as a Don Quixote fighting against the windmills. They began to tell lies about him to the people. Senator Joe Paine, Smith’s first help when coming to Washington, was trying to get him kicked out of the Senate. Smith began to lose faith in his idea. He felt lost and alone. Just as Smith thought it was all over and that he had failed the boys, Saunders showed up. She gave him hope. Saunders told Smith that the man Lincoln was sitting and waiting for was him.

Smith returned to the Senate and unrelentingly shared his bill with them. He spoke for hours. The President of the Senate heard him out. He passed his bill. Smith had defeated his Goliath.

Remember October 12, 2008

Washington D.C. is filled with beautiful memorials and monuments. They are built to respect and honor the men and women who have shaped our nation into what it now is. Memorials and monuments are built with stone, brick, cement, metal and other materials. Water fills some; others, a constant flame. There are memorials to the Korean War veterans, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Vietnam veterans, women who served in Vietnam, World War II, and many, many more. All are very important. Also, all are vastly unique. They are all almost as unique and special as the people they represent.

On September 11, 2001, a hijacked airliner crashed into the Pentagon. Some people think this didn’t actually happen, but that it was part of a conspiracy plan. The truth to this is not known. What is known is that 184 innocent people lost their lives at the Pentagon that day. Fifty-nine American Airline flight 77 passengers were killed and another 125 people who were inside the Pentagon died. This fact cannot be debated. These people who lost their lives deserve to be remembered. They were wives, husbands, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, friends, co-workers, fiances, etc… These victims cannot be forgotten. In order to keep these men, women, and even children as a part of the foundation of our nation, a breathtaking memorial was built in remembrance of them.

On September 11, 2008 the Pentagon Memorial was dedicated. From start to finish, it took over two years to complete this elaborate memorial. The memorial stretches over two acres on the southwest side of the Pentagon. The first thing one finds when entering the sight is a piece of granite covered with words . “We claim this ground in remembrance of the events of September 11, 2001. To honor the 184 people whose lives were lost, their families, and all who sacrifice that we may live in freedom. We will never forget.” To the right of those words is the list of names of those who lost their lives and the year they were born. A little bit farther in the structures begin. A time line is formed in accordance to the ages of the victims. There are 184 structures representing the 184 victims. Each structure is comprised of a bench cast from stainless steel over a small illuminated pool of quietly, but constantly rippling water. One end of the bench has the name of a victim inscribed on it. About halfway down the bench it slopes down to the ground where the base is. All the benches lay parallel to the way the plane flew into the building. If the victim was on the plane, their bench faces the pentagon; if the victim was in the Pentagon, their bench faces away from the Pentagon. There is a wall that surrounds the area. It starts at three inches, representing the age of the youngest victim, a three year old child, and continues rising with the ages until it reaches seventy-one inches, representing the age of the oldest person who died.

On a Road to Somewhere October 11, 2008

We seem never to stop, but to drive on forever. The air is fresh and the colors have begun to change as the grandfather leaves make way for the generations to come. Some of us are awake and are observing all that surrounds. Others sleep with the desire of waking only once the destination has been reached. The steady flow of air coming out of the vent makes the hair on the heads of every passenger dance; and causes their bones to be chilled to the core. Some headphones are screaming into the ears of their devoted listeners. Others are singing sweet melodies that gently give meaning to everything that is happening in the listeners life. The mile markers race by, and the billboards shout out the opinions of someone else. They are attempting to persuade us into squandering our money away by buying whatever nonsense they offer. The billboards offer not only “fireworks” but also “discount tobacco”! Who could resist that irresistible combination?! Well, don’t worry, we can resist them, and we will. The median shoots up in the middle of the highway. It forms a thick wall of trees dividing those heading north from those heading south. However, never fear! The median will soon cease, and all will be united again. The sky is perfectly clear. Mr. Sun could scorch us if he desired, but he doesn’t. He just softly reaches into the van and warms our faces. The golden rod is humble, but the telephone poles refuse to bend unless broken by force.The bumps in this slipshod road are becoming monotonous with their repetition. The abandoned house to our right is telling us something; a story. The shutters are falling from the face of the house as tears fall on the face of a lonely child. The house just wants to be loved; to be called ‘home’ by someone. It wants to be the place a tired family chooses to come to at the end of a long stress-filled day. The house desires to be recognized as a place of love, warmth, and comfort. It doesn’t feel these things today, but it holds on to the hope of a new tomorrow. We, like the abandoned house, are holding on to the hope of tomorrow; a new joy, a new discovery.

The Resolution October 3, 2008

The day was cold and the biting wind blew
Unrelentingly, piercing my senses.
Snow upon the ground told my feet, “Keep moving;”
Constantly forward, constantly, constant.
The trees hung over my path quietly
Shouting all I had done wrong; all I’d lost.
But just as I was convinced all was gone,
Through the towering trees came rays of light.
They warmed my face, whispering all would be well.
All, in the end, would be okay. I sped
Up my pace. I was going somewhere now,
But to where was still left to the unknown.
I had to trust the small flecks of light that,
Daring to break through the darkness, led me.
They showed me where I was, where I didn’t
Desire to go, where I was headed, but
Not, in the end, where I would find myself.
I pressed forward; never before knowing
Such hope, such strength, such peace of mind.
I could endure all with the light guiding
Me through all I had once so deeply feared.
Suddenly, the path I walked grew narrow.
At the same moment, the light grew brighter.
The path opened up and I found myself
Standing firmly on a hill amid a
Sea of valleys. I could see all from here.
All I had ever desperately searched for
Was right in front of me, within my grasp.
The radiant sun warmed me to the core.
On the hill, I made a resolution.
As long as I should dream, love, hope, and live,
I would tread only where the light would guide.