The Loss by Nedra Hill
What I Find Amusing about the Whole Debate by Tremain Davis
Rodman
by Pierre Lamb
AIDS: My Personal Story by Michele Young
I Would Not Ask for Forgiveness by Vito Wallace
Electric Toothbrush by Gloria Martin
Preserving the Memories
by Cassie Ward
Doggie Got to Go!
by Sabrina Regular
Teen Runaways
by Adegboyega (Greg) Atiba
Taking the Long Way Around by
Felecia Drew
New to Prozac by
Charlotte Reeves
So, You Want Your Child to Be a Musician? by Don H. Scott
The Neighborhood Where I Grew Up by Ramona Pierce
Generations Apart
by Janelle Whatley
Have you ever had someone taken from you in the most cruel way? I have and I will never forget it. It was Saturday, January 10,1987, a typical Saturday for my brother and me. We got up that morning to watch our weekend cartoons and I noticed that my mother was not home. We did not really pay it any attention, but wanted to asked where she was. When we asked my grandfather, with whom we were staying at the time, he told us that she and my grandmother went out and would be back. So we went along our way. A few hours passed and my mother finally came home. She had this look on her face that told me right then something was wrong. She gave us the news, "You will not be seeing your daddy any more." I responded, "Why! Are you getting a divorce?" She said, "No, your daddy is dead." These four words would affect me for life.
Subject: Re: What I find amusing about this whole debate
From: davist@amcmail.atlm.peachnet.edu
Date: 1997/03/06
Message-Id: <857699999.15620@dejanews.com>
Newsgroups: talk.abortion
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In article <331DA457.1A18@shef.ac.uk>,
Cannonball Taffy O'Jones <JOA95IJB@shef.ac.uk> wrote:
> There are two solutions.
> 1) Keep abortion. If you make it illiegal people will still have
> abortions, but in underhand clinics. You bible-bashing moral-minority
> arseholes can't govern peoples lives. Banning abortion won't stop it.
> Even then, they can go abroad. How do you stop abortion then?
> 2) Abolish abortion. Those people who don't want their kids give them to
> people who are anti abortion. If you want the kids to stay alive, you
> look after them. Forcing a woman to have a child she doesn't want is
> hardly likely to make her a good mother for it.
>
> Enjoy! I can hardly believe that this fills US politics.
>
> Ian Bailey
Your first statement is a question of morals. Is it right or not right
to have an abortion? It is obviously clear that you feel that the choice
is left up to the individual who is having the baby and not to any other
persons who might be against it. And I agree that it is individual right
to make the choice in whether to keep the baby or not. But the question
is should women be allowed to have abortions? And I respond to that with
another question: Should people be allowed to murder children for no
reason? The word murder means to take a life without proper cause. What
do you consider the proper cause or reason in denying a child life, the
same opportunity that God gave to you and every other man and woman, the
opportunity to live? Should not that child be given the same opportunity
and not be denied life because of your mistake or something he or she had
nothing to do with? Except for a life or death situation there is no
reason to have an abortion. But again, this is a question of morals;
this is a question of what's right and wrong.
However, your second statement is a question of responsibility.
If you can lay up and have sex with Tom, Dick, or Harry, you can take
whatever responsibility that comes with it. We need to stop making
excuses about what we did not mean to do. Everybody knows the chances
you take when having sex. Everybody knows that there is no 100%
protection. But the problem is that we want to play man and woman until
it comes to taken care of the responsibility. Which says that you are not
to much of a man or a woman, for even dogs have sex. Having sex doesn't
make you a man or a woman, but taking care of what you created sure makes
you stand out in the open as being something. Those of you who are
thinking about having an abortion, remember that what you have inside of
you is a precious life that is a part of you. Even if the man in your
life leaves you, you still have within you a blessing that God has given
you for caring. It is nobody's responsibility to take care of it but
yours and your partner's. Every child that is born is the future of
tomorrow. And God has given the gift to bring forth this future only to
mothers. So for every mother that has an abortion, a future is lost.
Tremain
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Subject: Rodman
From: lambp@amcmail.atlm.peachnet.edu
Date: 1997/03/06
Message-Id: <857675799.32418@dejanews.com>
Newsgroups: rec.sport.basketball.pro
[More Headers]
Dennis Rodman should not be considered one
of the NBA's best players. How can you call
someone a great player if they're hardly ever
playing? Dennis Rodman is constantly getting
suspended for stupid reasons. He is always
picking fights with other players and doing
other immature things that are uncharacteristic
of a professional basketball player. If you ask
me, the team is more hurt by his addition than
helped. It doesn't matter how hard the
organization tries to change him, he'll always
be the same. That's the way he was when he
entered the NBA and that's the way he will
continue to be. The NBA should exile him
completely from the league because children
can't be at a professional level until they've
grown up.
Lil Lamb
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It all started in the summer of 1987 in New York City. I was twenty- one years old and on my own. I was self employed ,selling ice cream bars, and I played chess for money with Wall Streeters. It was a good paying & honest living for a young black woman who had no one to depend on but herself. During a game of chess with a stockbroker, I noticed a crowd of people cheering me on. I particularly noticed three people who were screaming the loudest. They shouted at the top of their lungs,"Go girl, beat that man !'' I had his queen and three moves it would have been checkmate. After that the stockbroker took off his shoes. He also started playing with his toes. I lost all concentration. The stockbroker won ; I lost. The three people introduced themselves to me. They said in unison,"Were sorry we messed up your game.'' I was very angry at first but they agreed to find me more people to play. The three strangers turned out to be my very best friends.
Their names were Robert, whose nickname is Bam, Michael, whose nickname is Rocky, and Suzzette, whom we called our light skin sister. We were inseparable from that day forward. We all had family situations that put us on the street at a young age. We shared a loft apartment on 125th street and 5th avenue.
Bam had creamy chocolate skin and a muscular physique. He was an Adonis. Bam could make you laugh when you wanted to cry or just cry with laughter. Rocky was a frail man in comparison to Bam. Rocky was a Chinese Dominican. Rocky could have been a model though. Rocky had the grace and intelligence of an African King. Suzzette is your typical all American girl. She is 5 feet ten inches, blond hair and blue eyes. Sue was an aspiring model & a part-time entrepreneur. You should have seen the way people gawked at us while we walked down the street. We would sometimes walk arm & arm oblivious to the comments and dirty gestures we received from onlookers. We worked partied, played, cried, laughed and shared life's ups and downs together.
Bam and Rocky were HIV positive. Bam lasted until the summer of 1993. They got better, then worse, then better, on and on until crash! Bam's death was the most devastating though. Towards the end half of his face and both his arms looked as if they were covered with advanced bread mold. Every time he walked he would cry out in excruciating pain. His once pearly whites revealed decayed fragments of teeth that were few and far between. His eyes were dull and listless. He died on August 4/1993. Rocky committed suicide a week after Bam died. He hung himself with my favorite scarf. Suzette moved to Freehold, New Jersey, and I moved to Atlanta, Georgia.
I have known over 45 people who have died of Aids or Aids related complications. They were either gay, drug users, Black or Latino. I, a black woman who am HIV negative, struggle to find ways to cope. while a world of people I loved--family, friends and members of the black community--dies. I am tired and angry. No one deserves to die from this disease and all lives need to be protected.
If I was told by my doctor that I had only a few months to live, my first reaction would be to figure out how I would spend this time. I think that everyone has, at one time or another, thought about what they would do if they knew that death was near. The few things that I would do if I knew that my life was going to end in a few months would be to clear my conscience of any guilt, inform and visit my family, and try to impregnate my wife.
The first thing I would do is to clear my conscience of any guilt that I have buried inside. I would find the people that I know that I have mistreated and apologize. I would not ask for their forgiveness, just their understanding. I would find my sister-in law and try to mend the break that occurred between us years ago. But I would not ask for her forgiveness, just her understanding. I would find my high school R.O.T.C. teacher and apologize for betraying his trust. But I would not ask for his forgiveness, just his understanding.
Visiting my family would be another way I would spend some time. You see, in the past I never made time. I would always say, "I would love to, but I just don't have the time." First I would want to see my mother and explain to her, as best I could, my illness. I then would see my sister. She is eleven years old. I would tell her how sorry I am about how I would always, at the last moment, call and cancel our plans. But I would not ask for her forgiveness.
The very last thing I would do is go to my wife and explain to her how important it would be to me if she were to have my child. My wife and I have been married for five years and we dated for twelve years. We have tried, unaided, to conceive; however, we are still childless. She has suggested doctors; however, I made sure that she realized that I was a real black man. And a real black man don't need any help to make a baby. I would then drop my fake pride. At this point I would take her and we both would pray. I would apologize to her and God for not being man enough when we were in high school to keep her from aborting our baby. At that point and only then, I would asked them both to forgive me.
In life there is a window of opportunity. Every person is destined. When you try alter what in predetermined you sometimes miss out on your blessings. I would await death like a man.
Subject: Re: Electric Toothbrush
From: matring@amcmail.atlm.peachnet.edu
Date: 1997/02/20
Message-Id: <856490584.26163@dejanews.com>
Newsgroups: sci.med.dentistry
[More Headers]
> 1. Is electric toothbrush (plaque remover) worth buying?
> 2. If yes, what brand/model would you recommend?
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Vadim
Vadim:
In my opinion, an electric toothbrush is not worth buying. I say this
because I once purchased an electric tooth brush at the price of $24.00.
The package included two extra brushes and a type of gel that was
supposed to get teeth whiter. After using the tootbrush for one week, my
gums became very sore. According to instructions, one supposed not to
brush, but to let the bristles vibrate on the teeth, and that should
remove the plaque. I really don't know if it removed more plaque than
any other brush would, but I do know that the vibration made it very
painful for me to brush. After talking with my dentist, I found out that
the best type of toothbrush that can be used is the one that has the
lifted head with high bristle at the bottom, something similar to the
Reach plaque remover.
Sincerely,
Gloria
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Why would I try to save these things? They are some of the most valuable things that I possess. I consider myself not to be a materialistic person. My furniture and most other things in my home can be replaced. These items hold a lot of memories for me that could not be replaced by materialistic means.
My photo albums are probably the same as everyone else's album. They have my children's baby pictures, our first family picture, and all of my children's school pictures in them. Three of them hold all the awards my children have received, their report cards, their class pictures, and personal comments that their teachers have made about them. My photo albums are the only visual things that can connect us with our yesterdays.
The gifts that my children made for me are very precious to me because they put time and thought into these gifts. A lot of these gifts were made at home with my children hiding out in their rooms for long hours. Like a lot of families I know, we have struggled to get to where we are now. We have not always has a lot of money to go out and buy gifts for one another. By making something for me, they did not do the next best thing that they could do. They did the BEST thing that anyone could have ever done for me. They made me a gift. They took the time to try to decide upon something they thought that I might like. After deciding upon what they would make, they put all of their time into making it. I remember them not wanting to come out of their room, or letting me in their room, until they had completed the gifts and had them wrapped. I also remember how anxious that they were to give me the gift. They could not wait for that special day to come. When I am old and sitting in my rocking chair I can pull these gifts out and have something to see along with the memories that each gift brings.
The most important reason that my gift box is valuable enough to save is a very simple reason: my gift box contains gifts that MY children gave me. It lets me know that my children loved me enough to even consider to give me a gift.
The last thing that I would try to save would be the pictures and messages on the refrigerator. The outside of our refrigerator serves as a message board. Since my children are still young, a typical message that you might see is a picture that one of them has drawn with a message that says, " I Love You." I know this may be something trivial to some people. I know that the time will soon come that my children will probably think they are too old to say I Love You to my husband and me. I enjoy seeing these messages each morning I go to the refrigerator for a drink. I am going to enjoy having their pictures and messages on my refrigerator as long as I can. When they think they are too old to continue this and we start to have messages like, "We are at Stasha's house-Caneisia," I will have yet another memory from my children's childhood years.
No amount of money would be able to replace these items if they were to be destroyed by fire. I would love to save these memories for myself and to share with my grandchildren. Instead of going to the store to buy story books, we could pull out our boxes of memories and share the stories that goes along with them. What better way is there to relive yesterday than to enjoy your memories with your loved ones.
I remember the day we brought my doggie home. It was similar to having a new baby in the home. As a matter of fact, J.J was my baby, and just as you would a baby, I fed J.J. milk so that he would grow up to be big and healthy. Moreover, I made sure his milk was fresh. I also soaked J.J's dog food in water so that it would be easily digested. Like a mother who watches her baby explore his new environment, I watched J.J. find his way around the house and his desperate attempt to climb the stairs. It gave me great pleasure seeing my puppy grow into a big dog.
However, I later discovered that my nurturing was futile. Indeed, unlike my children, J.J. did not form a bond with the family.
I imagined going to sleep at night with J.J. standing at his post ready to alarm us if necessary. This is what happened one night I forgot to turned the stove off. J.J. ran barking from my room to the kid's bedroom until I got up to see what was wrong. At this point, I believed that J.J. was a good dog watching over his loved ones; however, this was the beginning of J.J's aggressive behavior.
I really did not want to believe that J.J. was a bad dog because I had expected J.J to be this fierce protector of the family. I thought I had evidence of this trait when J.J. would run in the direction of the slightest sound. However, one day in particular, when the maintenance man had to come into the apartment to fix a water leak, J.J. attempted to attack this person. The maintenance man was spared because my husband stopped J.J.; but J.J. proceed to attack me, my husband, the kids, the furniture, the carpet, the blind and anything else he could sink his teeth. J.J behavior was so aggressive that I began to wonder if he was a wolf; he did look like one because he was an Alaskan malamute.
As the months when on, and J.J. got older and bigger, the aggressive attacks got worse. For instance, each day when my husband and I would come home for work, J.J. would meet us at the door. He would immediately attack my leg ripping a hole in my stocking and pants. J.J. would then attempt to attack my husband who could just look at him and make J.J. go into retreat. At dinner time, J.J. would grab hold to my youngest daughter's clothing and shake her like a rag doll. And he would take food off Brittney's plate and would attempt to pull her from her chair. J.J. had no mercy for my other children either; he would grab hold with his teeth to their arms, legs, neck, and clothing causing punctures. Not only did J.J. attack the family , but he also tore down the mini blinds in the living room and ripped up the carpet and the tiles in the bathroom. Instead of behaving like a beloved dog, J.J was acting like a wild animal. His behavior caused me to be concerned for my children's safety.
Therefore, we decided that it was best to but J.J. up for adoption. This was not an easy choice to make because we did not want to give him away. My family had a bond to J.J., but this was not a cement bond. We learn that you can't get a puppy just because he's cute or assume that love and care will assure you of a well behaved dog. Moreover, we discovered the hard way that dogs are animals who sometimes have naturally aggressive behavior or a mental disorder which causes them to be mean. We also realized that J.J. did not like us nor the confinement of the apartment. We prayed that J.J. would be adopted by a family with a large back yard.
Teen years are generally regarded as the most troublesome period of most people's life . The reason is that youthful exuberance takes precedence over carefully thought out response to many of the challenges that life presents. The main causes for teenage runaways are a severe lack of respect for authority, peer pressure, and just the basic desire to want to hurry through life without the necessary tools to deal with it.
The teen years are the period that a lot of parents would rather not go through with their children, partlybecause this is the time when teenagers exhibit a lot of resentment for most of what they have been taught over the years. Teenagers do not want to be told how to dress, what to watch on television, when to study or who not to befriend. Most teenagers view this as a constant bother from their parents. Teens would rather do the things being asked of them when they see fit--which is usually at a time opposite of what their parents prefer. These types of behavior extend to other people the kids may have dealings with outside their home. This behavior follows them out to the real world, where they then begin to challenge the rules that govern civilized society. When some of these laws are broken by teenagers, they may be caught and be sentenced to time in jail. Teenagers oftentimes do not like these demands from their parents and would rather run away from home.
Peer pressure is another huge contributor to these problems. Peers influence each other a great deal. Teenagers face an enormous amount of pressure, sometimes resulting in them choosing to please their buddies rather than their parents-thus causing a conflict of interest with what the parents are trying to teach. There are instances where cigarette smoking has been introduced to a teen by a peer and before long the whole group of teenagers become smokers, totally disregarding the warnings that smoking kills you.
Teenagers generally do not realize that it takes a lot of planing over a long period of time before one actually sets out to accomplish the things they desire. Most teenagers just want to jump into things and start doing them without preparation. As with most things in life, you probably need a plan or a lesson from someone who has experience with what you are trying to do. For instance, when operating a car you need instructions before you actually attempt to drive or the results can be fatal.
When teenagers disregard parental guidance and attempt to do things on their own, they leave themselves open to all sorts of problems. These problems can be easily avoided by not trying to rush the process of growing up and communicating with their parents. However, impatience usually wins out and as an outlet the teen sometimes decides to run away. When this decision is made, reconciliation is usually impossible, resulting in the loss of a well organized family.
I graduated from high school a million years ago. I graduated with Who's Who Among American High School Students and National Honor Society status. There was no doubt that I would continue my education afterwards. With that in mind, I enrolled at the local community college and went to work. I mean to say that I started working a mid-shift job at a textile manufacturing company. (I needed to work as my parents had separated and were supporting individual households.) The job was full-time while the schooling was part-time and that become more and more the case. This would not have been a problem except that I was not really happy with either of them. I actually did not know what I wanted to be when I grew up!
It's probably unusual for a person to say that being laid off was the best thing that ever happened to them, but in my case it certainly was. The next few months were spent "hanging out", having fun and drawing an unemployment check. I still wasn't sure what I wanted to major in but I grew more and more certain that I needed to spend some time on my own to find out. The question was who could I get to finance this journey to self-discovery and enlightenment. It was at that point that I decided to join the military.
My father is a retired officer of the U.S. Army and I had been raised on various military bases around the world. As such, a tour of duty in the service was thought of as a practical option and not an ending of life as I had known it. It would allow for training, travel, and, hopefully, broader prospective of available options. I looked forward to the adventure.
The training that I received in the Army gave me a skill, a direction. I had found something that I truly enjoyed, something that was challenging and exciting. It allowed me to transition back into the civilian world easily. Telecommunication was just starting to take off and I had hands-on experience that the companies were looking for. I started working with one long-distance carrier and before the year ended had been recruited over to another. I can remember talking with a friend about another friend's salary and thinking, "Wow, she has a degree and she makes a lot less than I do." I felt fortunate that I was able to make a good living with the military certification. I could still go back to school but there was no reason to rush.
Yet there were moments when I felt inadequate because I did not have a degree. There were social situations with people with whom I had attended high school. They knew my story and often the question would go unasked. However, there were a few who wanted to know, either as a gauge of status or idle curiosity, whether I had ever finished college. Likewise, at gatherings with my then-fiancé's friends and family I was often asked which college I had attended. For these people it was inconceivable that one had not gone to somebody's school.
At the job, a new mandate came down from corporate: All new hires would have to have a degree. Now, I must confess, that mandate was short-lived as they found that there is a serious number of degreed people who can not think their way out of a paper bag. Unfortunately, once the requirement was removed from the technician positions it was moved up to the supervisory level, effectively shutting out any technician without a degree with thoughts of moving into management. As I have no desire to achieve what is known at the office as a "go-fer" position it did not affect me personally. After all, in my office, a supervise does not tell a technician what to do but rather reports on what the technician is doing,. I did, however, take notice. I wondered if this would place limitations on my ability to transfer to another position within the company at some later point in time.
It was not until my husband and I started talking about having a family that the desire to obtain a degree became heartfelt necessity. I want to be able set an example for my child(ren). How can I teach them the importance of education and a college degree if I was not willing to pursue it? I don't want them to look at me and be able to use my situation as an argument. I was lucky that my military training translated into employment with an above-average income. I doubt that luck is genetic.
A college degree, with all of its implications, is literally a certificate of higher learning. It does not mean that that the person who has it is the smartest person walking around. But it does signify a depth of knowledge, learning, and discipline which exceeds by far what is attainable in a high school environment. It makes for income opportunities which can determine how one lives. I want to make this possible for my child(ren). I want them to be able to achieve any position that they desire, without limitations.
It is fitting that this educational endeavor will result in increased earning power for me. I will be able to start a trust fund to ensure that money will be available for my child(ren)'s college years. They will never have to wonder how they will manage from semester to semester. Nor will they be forced to take the "long way around" to attend college the way that their mother did.
Subject: Re: New to Prozac
From: reevesc@amcmail.atlm.peachnet.edu
Date: 1997/02/18
Message-Id: <856321276.30873@dejanews.com>
Newsgroups: alt.support.depression
[More Headers]
In article <01bc1c78$9d862a00$401f20cf@curry>,
"Robert & Nancy Curry" <curry@galesburg.net> wrote:
>
> I have been really depressed for over a month now. On Tuesday my doctor
> put me on Prozac. I'm to take it for 30 days. All I know about it is
> what's in the pamphlet in the box. Can anybody tell me what really to
> expect.
Nancy,
About 2 years-ago I was in a really bad accident and because of it I
sustained a very serious head injury. During the process of healing I
became deeply depressed and felt that there really wasn't anything to
live for. When my physician realized the depths of my depression he
decided to prescribe prozac. I did not experience any of the nausea the
others had spoken about nor did I have problems with insomnia. But, I did
experience some really horrific nightmares. At the onset of my less than
restful nights of terror I was almost sure that the cause was due to the
head injury until I spoke to some other patients about their experiences
with the medicine. They to agreed with me. Let me add that they did not
have a head injury. I could continue on with all of my experiences but
it would take forever. I just wanted to let you know that prozac is a
very serious drug. I'm not on it currently because it didn't make me feel
normal. And it wasn't until I decided to wean myself from the drug that
I experienced my first anxiety attack(It happened while I was driving).
I hope I was able to help. Please contact me for any further assistance.
-charlotte
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I am a true lover of music. Of all my hobbies, singing and playing the keyboard are my most favored. I've been a musician for most of my life and I plan on being one until I die. I developed my love for music through my father. He would challenge me to imitate vocalists, and to play, on the piano, things that I heard on the radio. My daily routine was to finish my school assignments, then practice for an hour. I enjoyed practicing so much that that hour turned into several hours of exploring different things I could do with a keyboard and my voice, thus increasing my love for music.
I don't see music as merely a source of entertainment or something to do. I see it as a source of relief, a source of comfort. Music is my escape when everything around me seems to be in disarray. When problems arise, I sing to myself, and that calms me. Bothersome situations inspire me to compose music. Music composed out of love, fear, or anger are usually my most complex pieces.
Most parents want their children to learn to play an instrument; however, they don't teach them to love music. They want their child to play so they can have a visible ornament to show their friends, or boast of the many awards their child has won through their music. Fortunately, my parents were different. They taught me to appreciate and to develop a personal love for music. Music is more to me than something my mother and father wanted me to do. I feel that music is something I was born to do. That's why I work so hard at bettering myself.
Music is something that should not be forced upon you. It should be something that you decide to do on your own--otherwise you will not absorb it as well as if you were willing to learn. Some parents don't understand that and make their children take lessons that are aimless and wasteful. Depending on how you feel about what you're studying, you may even be resentful of being forced. Thus, money and time are wasted trying force a child to learn something in which they have no interest. When learning to play an instrument or sing, the student must be receptive and willing to learn.
One way a parent can introduce their child to music is by exposing them to different types of music, letting them experience it for themselves, and allow them to show interest of their own. Children are led by example. If parents show love for something, children usually develop a similar love. Once their interest is sparked, it's easier to offer them the opportunity to invite music into their life. In this instance, the child would have made the decision to study music and all the parent would have to do is to make resources available to them.
Once a child shows an interest in music, parents should nurture and support their interest. When a child indulges in music, it can begin to get complicated and a parent's support can help the child to maintain a steady level of learning. Music requires hours of practice and lessons to obtain a certain level of skill.
Parental support is also important to children because it not only encourages them, but lets them know that they are pleased. Most children strive to please their parents. However, not having parental support could be detrimental to the child's ability to excel. When a parent asks a child to show them what they've learned and then gives a word of encouragement, that gets their adrenaline flowing and opens doors to a new world unknown to most children. In the end the child would strive to do even better.
Learning music at a young age can be an advantage. A career in music may be an area of consideration. Music is an area that is targeted mainly because of the amount of money that can be made. When music is embraced by an individual, a career in that field is a pleasure. Parents that have children involved in music should encourage them to pursue it to its fullest extent. There is no limit to what a child can do in the area of music. A young mind has the ability to absorb and create many things. The longer you are involved in something, the more you know about it and in music that's the key to a long successful career. However, it's important to remember music is an acquired art that cannot be forced. So, before you decide if your child is going to be a musician , make sure that it's what the child wants to do.
I grew up in a rather small and peaceful neighborhood. Eggleston was the name and the population was slightly over 500. Eggleston is a small country town, located in Dominica in the Caribbean islands. Growing up was an interesting experience but slightly disturbing.
The main focus of my neighborhood was its beauty. Tourists were practically hypnotized by that aspect, and quite a few of them had decided to leave their native country and move into my neighborhood.
I lived in a two-story house which was one of the largest in my neighborhood. It was located on a hill and overlooked the rest of the houses. Many of the other houses were split-leveled, and they were built close to each other. My house was an exceptionally attractive sight and people who saw it referred to it as the "castle on the hill."
The people were very concerned about each other and if something bad happened to someone it would affect the entire neighborhood. I remember when my grandmother passed away, everyone came to our house and stayed there until the following day. Everyone had so much sympathy one would think that they were part of our family.
There was little recreation in the neighborhood, but during the month of February there would be a lot of activities. This is the time everyone is getting ready for a celebration called "carnival." It is similar to Mardi Gras. First they have a queen and calypso show. The calypso is a type of Caribbean music. Both men and women participate in this show, because the winner always wins a trip to an island of their choice. The whole neighborhood gets involved in preparing different costumes which takes months of hard work. Everyone gets a week off for this special time because it usually lasts one week. The celebration begins during the first week of March and the spirit of carnival is everywhere. This is an annual event so people in the neighborhood always wait for this with great anticipation.
It was during one of this carnival celebrations that drugs were introduced to some of the youths in my neighborhood. It was after this event that drugs became very common and made people decide to come together to discuss how to get rid of this epidemic before it could spread any further. Meetings were held every other Saturday and everyone came with ideas. The people were very angry and called the cops if they suspected anything unusual. They had a neighborhood watch and were determined to get the drugs out before the neighborhood could be destroyed. Eventually they succeeded in getting the ring leaders arrested and this in turn brought back the peace and quiet back into the neighborhood. The neighborhood was praised for its hard work in solving what could have been a serious drug problem. Because of this the government decided to give $10.000 to the cleanest neighborhood in the effort to wage war against drugs. My neighborhood won that grand prize. The money was used to install recreational facilities and the neighborhood remained clean thereafter.
The main problems of my neighborhood were solved through hard work and participation from the people there. Minor problems still plagued my neighborhood but the main focus remained on its beauty and the spirit of the people.
Looking back at the different generations in my family, I see a lot of different changes. One day my mother was explaining to me some of the things she had to do to help out the family when she was a little girl. Being a city girl and my mother a country girl, it was hard for me to picture the life she lived in the mid 1950's. Things have changed so drastically since her days of growing up. The generations of difference are decades apart and the changes are tremendous. These changes include a better life for their children, the education they received, and the occupations that were available.
My mother once told me that a lot of people today would not have been able to survive in the environment that she grew up in. She explained how she wanted better things for her children. She did not want us growing up picking cotton, peaches (during peach season), or working in a vegetable field. So, if you really look at the things she has done, you would say that working in McDonald's, Burger King or any fast-food restaurant is a pleasure. My generation has it easy as far as not having to work doing hard labor.
Education has come a long way since the 1950"s. Once when we went to visit the little town that my mother grew up in, she showed us where she attended school. The building was wooden and shaped like a little house that you would see on show called 'Little House on the Prairie.' They had only one teacher all day. She taught them everything: math, English, and history. Education itself has changed. When I was young it was hard for my mother to help me with my homework , because she did not understand how to do algebra. I was amazed to see how far school has come since the 1950's, but then again that is a small town and this is a big city.
Since my mother has told me about the jobs that she had while growing up, I can see the difference in the generations. In today's society the world has become so advanced that people do not use hired hands as much to do field work. The occupations today have several advantages for advancement. They offer health care for their employees, something you didn't receive in my mother earlier working years. Today the business world has so many different jobs that no one should be unemployed. People who have these jobs are staying on them because they offers job security.
If you look back and compare your generation to your parent(s)' generation you too can see the drastic differences that have come about in the years that fall between the two generations. Your changes may be different from those I saw, but they are there. Now that I have looked back at my mother's life I could see why she wanted the changes for a better life for her children, changes in education, and more satisfying occupations.
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