Category: Uncategorized

The Diary of Anne Frank

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There were other books but this one stood out from the rest to a girl who was running wild at the time and didn’t have a care in the world except to be a young girl and to live life to the fullest.

Then I got into books and this one, well, let’s just say it had me from the get go. I couldn’t put it down and I walked her path, the one she had walked so many years before. I lived her life through her words and I cried at the injustice of it all, and when she lost family members, I wept like it had happened to me. Her father was the only one to survive the Holocaust.

The story was about a 13-year-old Jewish girl who hid from the Nazis for two years during the occupation of the Netherlands. It was also about the resilience of the human spirit but more than that, it was about man’s inhumanity to man. The diary does a perfect job of capturing the constant terror they lived under being concealed in the “Secret Annex” above her father’s business. It must have been claustrophobic not to mention horrific living under the extreme silence that was required of them to keep from being exposed or arrested.

She wanted to be a writer and or a journalist, she would achieve that dream posthumously. Her father Otto Frank published the book in 1947 and it is now an enduring reminder of the resilience of the human nature and the dangers of prejudice.

The book made me see the world in a different light. I realized and saw firsthand from reading the book that evil was out there, it had the power to destroy and it brought home the fact that my little corner of the world was safe while there were others out there that required a certain mentality to survive and where “safety” was far from what it was from where I was.

I think, “The Diary of Anne Frank,” broadened my way of thinking and I started taking an interest in what was happening around the world and would later go on to write about human injustices, racism, and human rights issues.

That book was the stepping stone to a whole new world, not always of the good kind but it was needed and it changed a young girl’s way of thinking for the better.

Daily writing prompt
What’s a piece of media (book, movie, song) that changed how you see the world?
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Courage in Practice

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Courage is not being, “fearless.” Courage is shaking at the knees, choking on your words, heart gripped by uncertainty, but stepping forward on your journey anyway. (Unknown)

That quote right there says it all. Courage doesn’t arrive with grand gestures but in small steps. It means showing up for yourself even if you don’t feel like it. It means getting up in the mornings and saying, “I’m going to try again.” It means staring whatever is holding you back right in the face and daring to take that first small step forward. It means moving towards that mountain top not knowing what is waiting for you there but trusting that it will be better than where you’re at right now.

“Courage isn’t having the strength to go on – it is going on when you don’t have strength.” Napoleon Bonaparte

How often have you thrown up your hands and said, “I give up!” I’ve been there and so have you. However, it is those very moments that call for courage to step up and to put fear in its place. It is easy to run and hide, to not show up for yourself and to wear the mantle of defeat proudly. Moving on becomes heavy and each step forward, sometimes next to impossible. Courage needs practice like anything else in life. It doesn’t happen overnight and neither is it easy. Each time you face defeat as you inevitably will because life is about overcoming obstacles and nothing is going to be made easy and handed to you on a silver platter. The truth of the matter is, it takes work and sometimes hard work to achieve what you want. On your way, you will meet fear (my constant companion) and you will meet defeat. However, you are made of stronger stuff and you, my friend, are capable of showing up, time and time again until one day you are holding the letter “V” in your hands and giving whatever is holding you back a run for the money!

“COURAGE DOESN’T ALWAYS ROAR. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says, “I will try again tomorrow.” Mary Anne Radmacher

Remember practice makes perfect and “courage” in small doses is what it is about. Make a list and start with the smallest thing on that list. Work your way up one step at a time putting fear where it belongs. Good luck on your journey.

Have an amazing day.

Changing the Ending of a Book

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My answer is, I DON’T KNOW! I’ve read too many of them and changing the ending never crossed my mind. I took it for what it was, a sad love story, a tragedy, and or a writer’s warped mind weaving stories!

Besides it is too hot today and my mind is thinking of ICE and COLD WEATHER! I did have some ice but cold weather is wishful thinking as this heatwave is planning to stick around for a while and it is sticking on everything!

Yes, I’m in a bad mood. I’ve had two showers and changed clothes twice and I am still sweating!

Ok, let’s see. If I had to pick one, I would change the ending of “The Legends of the Fall.” Tristan is such a tragic character and he makes self-destructive choices all to his detriment and those that he chooses to love. All three brothers fall for the beautiful Susannah but her inability to be with Tristan drives her to a loveless marriage and later to deep despair and suicide.

I would try for a happy ending. How? I don’t know! Just too hot today to think out of the box. Back to downing lots of water, sipping on ice, and staying in my dark room!

Next question please…..

Daily writing prompt
If you could change the ending of any book, which one would it be?
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LOL!

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A sixteen year-old boy came home with a brand new Ford F150.

His parents looked at the truck and asked, “Where did you get that truck?!”

“I bought it today,” he says. “With what money?” says his mother. They knew what a new F150 cost.

“Well,” he says, “this one cost me just fifteen dollars.”

The father looks at him like he’s crazy. “Who would sell a truck like that for fifteen dollars?” he says.

“It was the lady up the street,” says the boy. “I don’t know her name – they just moved in. She saw me ride past on my bike and asked me if I wanted to buy her F150 for fifteen dollars.”

“Oh my Goodness!” says the mother. “Maybe she’s mentally ill or has Alzheimer’s or something John, you better go see what’s going on.”

So the boy’s father walks up the street to the house where the lady lives and finds her out in the yard calmly planting flowers. He introduces himself as the father of the boy to whom she had sold a new Ford F150 truck for fifteen dollars and asks to know why she did it.

“Well,” she says, “two days ago my husband left on a business trip. Yesterday I got a phone call from his boss and found out that he really ran off to Hawaii with his secretary and doesn’t intend to come back.”

“Oh, my goodness, I’m so sorry,” the father says. “But what does that have to do with my son and your truck?”

“Well, this morning he called and told me he was stranded because he got robbed of his wallet with all his credit cards and cash. He told me to sell his new F150 and send him the money. So I did.”

🤣🤣🤣

Multilingual

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Having traveled the world not only opened up doors to learn about new cultures, taste delicious cuisines, but it also helped me to see the world in a different light. If I wanted to fit in especially when I had to spend a long time in a certain country, I had better learn to integrate and that included learning to speak the language well.

In Singapore, I learned Cantonese. It was easier to speak than Mandarin. According to one source, Mandarin is a tonal language, meaning the exact same syllable carries completely different meanings depending on your pitch. Hard enough? It was next to impossible. However, I had an easier time with Cantonese and I did pretty well with it. Then I learned Bahasa Melayu. This one was much easier and before too long I was speaking it like the locals! Bahasa Melayu is also the constitutional national language of Singapore.

Later I moved to Germany and I had to learn the language. I was living in a foreign land and had a son to boot. I couldn’t survive on English alone and that was made clear to me from the very beginning. I made up my mind to learn the language and to learn it well. I now speak it fluently.

Unlike Melania Trump who claims to speak several languages, the emphasis being on “claims,” I do speak several languages, more than just “Hello,” and “Goodbye!”

The impact on my life? Knowing the different languages made it easier to get along with the people, to integrate into the society, and to immerse myself in a new culture feet and all!

Daily writing prompt
Which languages do you speak and how did that impact your life?
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The Best Advice

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“Time and tide waits for no man.” This timeless proverb means that, “human events, natural forces, and the relentless passage of time cannot be stopped.” Stop waiting and get going is the message.

I was a dreamer, a long time ago. I had my head in the clouds and my thoughts in fairyland! However, I came out of it pretty quickly and made my way as I was supposed to do.

My best advice to someone younger than me would be to pay careful attention to that proverb. Time doesn’t stand still no matter what happens in your life. If you need to stop, do it but get moving as soon as you can. Time also flies and before you know it, you’ll be wondering where it went.

Lost time is just that. It is gone and you can’t get it back. Here is another proverb that speaks to the heart of the matter. Make hay while the sun shines. It is just another way of saying, do what you need to do. use time as it was meant to be used, and DON’T think you have forever. You don’t.

It is time to get moving!

Daily writing prompt
What’s the best advice you’d give to someone younger than you?
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We’re Having a Heatwave!

It’s here and it is driving everyone crazy! Everyone is talking about the weather and not in a nice way either!

We’re sweating it out and in a country that doesn’t believe in air-conditioners, it is next to impossible to survive. Lots of water, staying indoors, going out only when it is necessary and walking around naked is the way to it! Well, some of the people here do but I don’t. Too much of a stick-in-the-mud for that.

Anyway, I was out at 8:30 this morning. I wanted to beat the heat and to go get my grocery shopping done before the “heatwave” arrived but it beat me to it! People were grumbling about the heat and everyone had the same idea of getting out there early.

Shiro, the white Persian, was down in the dumps yesterday. I think it was the heat. She moped around and refused to eat or drink. I had the fan going most of the day and that seemed to help. This morning, she seemed to be alright again and was upstairs sunning herself! The room was as hot as a sauna but the “drama queen” was loving it. After half an hour, I brought her downstairs because I didn’t want to go through what I did yesterday. It was a tough evening caring for a sick cat.

Looks like the heatwave is going to stick around for a little while before it heads on out of here. I can’t wait to see it go! The trend seems to be a couple of excruciatingly hot weather days and then the thunderstorms move in for a day or two to cool everything off. A friend calls it the, “El Nino Effect.” “It is a natural climate phenomenon characterized by unusually warm ocean surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific.” This massive shift causes a domino effect on global weather.

Whatever it is, I want to see it gone! I’m not a fan of hot weather and this is unbearable to say the least. Now, if we had air-conditioning that would be a different story altogether!