I’ll never forget the day I met the woman in a wheelchair. I was working in the Access Department at Miami Dade College when she arrived. I overheard her talking about returning to school after 15 years because she wanted to do something with her life. While she was being advised, I was asked to assist her with in some financial aid papers because she couldn’t use her hands. She told me that her hands no longer worked and she kept apologizing for the inconvenience. I was then asked to take her to the financial aid department. At first, I was hesitant and I really didn’t want to go because I had a lot of work that I had to get done that day but I took her anyway and that’s when everything changed.
After we left the financial aid department, she asked me to take her to the bus stop area so that she could wait for her transportation. She started to open up and tell me the reason why she was in a wheelchair. She told me that she was an aspiring model. She always thought that she would make it big one day but then she started to suffer from severe depression. She was given all types of medication but nothing seemed to work for her. That’s when she was first introduced to heroin. She loved the way it made her feel and she was no longer depressed.
As I was pushed her to the bus stop area, she asked me to take her sunglasses out of her purse because the sunlight was hurting her eyes. She continued to tell me that parts of her life is a blur because majority of the time she was strung out. She continued to use heroin because she was in conflict between who she was and who she wanted to be. She then rolled up her sleeves and showed me the scares that were left behind from the syringes she used. She said that it was her reminder of how stupid she was. After years of abuse, the woman ended up having stroke which paralyzed the entire right side of her body. She told me not to feel sorry for her because she had to pay for what she did for the rest of her life. She told me because of her stupidity, she can’t feed herself, bath herself or even use the bathroom by herself. When her transportation arrived, we exchanged hugs and before we parted ways she said, “Whenever you’re going through a hard time and you want a way to escape, use my life as an example” and then she left.
As I walked back to the Access Department, I thought about what the woman said to me. I thought about her life and what she overcame. I honestly think that she is a strong individual because not only is she trying to do something with her life, she is doing it a positive manner and I commend her for that. I also think that we encounter certain people in our lives for a reason so that we can learn and grow from their experiences. It’s been two years since I met the woman in a wheelchair and I must say that whenever I’m going through a hard time, I still think of her.
Mirtha A. Rondon
At the school where I work different things happens every day. It is a K-12 school; we have 377 students from different cultures and ethnicities. You may have an idea of all the good things, bad things, funny things and sad things that can happen there in a day to day basis. One of the things that really call my attention is when you see a kindergarten student exploring the school, dealing with his teachers, classmates and the adjustments that they have to do to their new daily rutines. Especially the ones that are coming from pre-schools where at the middle of the day, one of their daily routine is to have a nap time from 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm. That is a must for them. When they make the transition from pre-school to Kindergarten they have to adjust their routine by knowing that there is no nap time at all in kindergarten. It is very funny to see how some of them fall asleep when 12:30 pm comes around. It is very difficult for the teacher to wake them up or to keep them alert to avoid it. Once a student fall asleep in class the teacher loose the control or the attention of the rest of the class because their curiosity of seeing that student sleeping, sitting down on his table distract them very much. Suddenly they start talking one to each other making stories why he fall asleep and the class take a whole different way. It is very challenging for a teacher to see how to break this routine from a student. Most of the times they get adjusted but it take time and a lot of effort from the student as well from the teacher if she really wants for this student not to miss any instructional time.
Pedro is a kindergarten student that since day one of school he will fall asleep everyday around his “nap time” from his pre-school. His teacher at first thought that it will be something that he will change soon, but mean while her class was disruptive because of the curiosity from the rest of the students.
She tried so many different ways to keep Pedro awake around 12:30 pm everyday she will create a new technique. First she tried with Story time class, she will take them to the library and tell them to get their favorite book and do their best drawing their favorite character from the book and color it using their favorite colors. As a teacher she said to herself this is something that they really like to do. In pre-school that is what they do the most, drawing and coloring. But her new technique didn’t work with Pedro. She noticed that while he was looking at his book he felt to sleep. Once again the rest of the students got distracted.
Her Second technique was during Music class. On this class they went to the music classroom. She decided to do something different other than only singing and practicing musical notes. She play with them one of their favorite song. On this occasion they were able to dance with a partner or by themselves. But not even with the music being so loud, the noise and the happiness of the rest of the students will keep him engaged with the class and from falling asleep just by looking at them having fun.
Third technique was in Art class, they went to the art room that is full of different things since this is a room for every single grade to use. She allowed them to use materials that for them were not common to use like markers and clay to be creative or by building what they like the most. Kids usually love to play with clay, they like the colors, the smell and the texture. Basically they can make or invent whatever they want with this and the same thing is with the color markers. They prefer markers than crayons or color pencils. But this fun time for Pedro once again was not active enough to keep him alert. He felt asleep.
You were able to see the frustration on his teacher’s face because no matter how hard she will work creating things of interest for students he will always be the one falling to sleep. Until one day during lunch at the teacher’s lounge she was expressing her concern with the rest of the
teachers that were in there. One of them was the other kindergarten teacher and for her surprise this teacher went thru the same situation. She commented to Pedro’s teacher that she had the same problem not with one but with three students.
One day as her last and Fourth technique she decided to do, was to change their PE time to 12:30pm to 1:15pm. She commented with her issue with the school principal and made it clear that it will be for a month only. She got all her PE equipments, took them to a back of the school instead of the front where they usually have PE and gave them instruction of how they were going to use the materials. She thought that no student during play time will fall asleep and if they do something is wrong with them. Her idea was that after their play time during PE they will be so active that they will be like that for the rest of 45 minutes when it will be time to go home. Because kindergarten gets out at 2:00 pm. Successfully Pedro didn’t fall asleep he was very alert and active during his PE time. His teacher was very happy since she found the solution for Pedro to stop falling asleep during any class. The teacher did this PE routine at this time for 6 weeks and Pedro’s body finally adjusted to his new routine understanding that there was no nap time in kindergarten. So far he has fallen asleep again.
@Mirtha Rondon, My mother has been in the education system for years teaching grades from 2nd-5th. She also says having children fall asleep during class, does cause a big disruption in her and many other teachers class routine. It’s fortunate that the teacher was able to find a practical solution for that child, that did not result in that child being miss diagnosed for a serious condition such as ADD, which my mother says is common for early school aged children, mostly because teachers nor parents understand that there child was use to a certain routine, where upon entering a higher level school the routine changes that children have to get use to. It’s a serious problem that Pedro’s teacher was skilled enough to properly handle.
One of the worst mistakes a person can make is to work at a job you hate. A few years ago I worked a doctor’s office, for a doctor that I considered to be one of the cruelest persons that I have ever met. This woman was hell on wheels. I can only describe her as Cruella Devil, meets The Devil Wears Prada, all rolled into one. Even when I would leave work for the day, I felt like I had brought work home with me, for example,, Even though I was home in my sanctuary, where I should have been at peace, I would constantly be going over, in my mind, everything I had done that day, at work. I knew that if I had made even the slightest mistake, the next day I would get chewed out for it. And God forbid I had made a mistake, I would be up the entire night, wandering how I would pay for it the next day—would she yell at me and embarrass me in front of everyone, including the patients, or would she place obstacle after obstacle in my way, causing my day to be incredibly difficult.
Everyone that worked with me had the same fear of her that I did, because some days she would come into the office, the whole office, patients included, would be completely silent. Even her patients were intimidated by her, surly demeanor. She’d walk into the room and you could hear a pin drop. The tension would be so thick; you could cut it with a knife. She’d take her finger and smear it against the counter top and say “hmmm, I wander if you guys keep your house this filthy.” We couldn’t take a lunch break, and if by chance it did slow down long enough for you to sneak into the kitchen and eat a snack, we would have to have someone stand look out, and even then you’d be paranoid, peering over your shoulder to see if she was coming. When she came looking for you, she would stand in the door way with this piercing look.
The stress of the job even began to take its toll on my health. I began to have severe migraine headaches, which I never had before working there, and never had again once I left. Some days my migraines got so bad I could hardly lift my head up. It felt as though someone had taken a knife and jabbed it directly into my forehead. I would come home from work, turn off every light in my house; close all the blinds, turn the ringer off on my phone, and sleep until the next day.
Soon, I began to find any excuse at all not to come into work. When I didn’t go in, all of my co-workers would be very angry with me, because none of them wanted to work directly with her. She had another doctor that worked there, who also was terrified of her, that the other girls preferred to work with, leaving me with the pleasure of working with “The Devil Wears Prada.” She was always either hot or cold, up, or down, there was never any middle ground. She would come into the office, and we would all wait patiently for the first words to come out of her mouth, if they were negative, we knew it would be a long day, and if they were positive, it was going to be a good day. Some days she would come in, eyes glaring, looking like a lion looking for its next prey. The next day she might come in and say “Good morning everyone, “demeanor as harmless as a dove.
My experience, working at this job, taught me a very valuable lesson, one, that I needed to go back to school and further my education. Secondly, never again would I choose a job based on pay alone, next time I would choose a career in the field that Iloved, where my hard work would be a reward in of itself, and good pay, an incentive. I did learn one more important lesson, if I ever came across another employer, like Ms. Cruella Devil… resign, resign, resign!!!
alouse beauvais Reply: December 10th, 2010 at 10:58 pm
@Marva, i agree with you 100% , you shouldnt choose your job according to the pay cause then you are stuck doing something you are not confortable with, which makes it harder on you and causes stress.you are a great writter you actually helped us readers feel your fear of that woman.and stresses the issue of people makeing sure the choose the right career because it something that they love other than how much money iscomming into their pockets.
As high school sweethearts and after almost five years of dating, John and Sarah finally decided to tie the knot. This couple, especially John was very close family friends to us and he was very thankful for the new route we directed him upon. He was very special to my husband and I for convincing him to stop drag racing as a hobby, a deadly hobby that could have risk his life. Like bees to honey, these young and energetic couple was seen to be inseparable from each other due to the love and affection they would exchange to each other. Even though both were anxious about their plans for their romantic wedding day, they nervously asked for permission from both parents, and with hesitant approval , these two confident souls began to plan their wedding day, the beginning of paradise and a romantic journey , these love birds couldn’t wait to pursue.
After months of planning, this memorable day finally arrived. It was a grand ceremony at the church attended by two hundred guests to witness the exchange of wows. The church was beautifully decorated and the scent of candles and incense filled the air. The church quire rendered their hymns as the audience enjoyed their melodies voices. The couple exchanged their scared vows and rings and was sent off elegantly with rice and petals thrown at them.
After witnessing the beautiful and emotional ceremony both parents and the entire guests headed over for the big celebration at Signature Gardens. This was an elegant hall and the couple wanted their celebration to be exotic and perfect. Like a Christmas village, the hall was beautifully decorated with red and white to signify their undying love. The bride and groom made their grand entrance along with the bridal party.
The audience was overjoyed and patiently waiting to have the party started. No one realized that the wedding cake was not there, so after the bride and groom first dance, the MC announced that the cake cutting ceremony to follow immediately after. As the couple began heading toward the corner of the room they both were stunned as they saw the empty table and the cake was missing. The bride got emotional, and while everyone started to panic with shock, how this could happen, the bridal party surrounded the bride and groom to comfort them while they were both sobbing like babies. They both dreamed about the perfect wedding.
There was about five minutes in to this dreadful situation when someone came in wheeling in a beautiful huge cake. Everyone looked up with astonishment and with dim lights a guy jumped out of the cake screaming “Surprise”. There was confetti flying around on everyone which made scene to like look like that of a circus. He was dressed in a white and red tuxedo looking more like Santa Clause. This act was unexpected to both the bride and groom.
The man, who happened to be a fire fighter, immediately started to undress, and with only his red boxers on , he made his way down to dance with the bride. The scene with hilarious and the crowd began screaming with excitement and joy and with utmost surprise. The party began; the audience was indulging in the fun and dancing. Everyone began to party, the bride and groom enjoyed their magical moment, something most people would see in a movie, but rather they were the actors in their own movie, “The Romantic Paradise”
@Paddy Kaimrajh, This was an old-fashion/traditional beginning and concluded with a modern touch. It was probably quite shocking to the matured audiance to see a half naked man jumping out of a cake. I like the sequences that you used to describe your story.
My family, decided to take a winter vacation two years ago, like many other families from Miami, up to North Florida just east of the Panhandle, and west of Jacksonville; Tallahassee; which is our states Capital. I have family that has lived in Tallahassee for well over 60 years. The city of Tallahassee, sits directly in the middle of the Panhandle of Florida. The Panhandle stretches all the way from Jacksonville to Panama City. The major access road is named I-10. State road I-10 starts from the City of Jacksonville, connecting to I-95 that runs North and South along the eastern seaboard.
Along this high-way are many other smaller counties, such as Madison County, although a large area but small population made up of farmers, Lee County and Hendry County and a very famous town called Greenville. The birth place of a great singer and song writer was born there. Everyone may have heard of him. The late and great Ray Charles! Now that you have some knowledge of where Tallahassee is, and how to get from the eastside of the Atlantic Ocean to the west side of Florida’s Panhandle. Let me tell you about my trip there two years back.
It was in the dead of what we Floridians call winter. The temperatures were surprisingly in the teens, yes in the teens; below freezing, “unlike” Miami’s winters, which averages 75 degrees daily. My son and I had planned to go fishing at one of the local everglades national parks, saltwater fishing holes or even freshwater fishing spots. We were told of an ideal park, by one of my wife’s in-laws his name is Kenny. Kenny did not seem to be bothered at all by the freezing cold. I guess because he was accustomed to the low temperatures, maybe because he had had a few too many drinks keeping him warm; like a polar bear whom had just stored up a lot of fat or blubber from all those poor seals he had to eat, too help get thru harsh winters. The name of the park was Apalachee State Park. This particular National Park had both of what I was looking for in fishing that has great open spaces, a scenic view of many different forest of trees, trees of all colors most where brown and green, there were fallen leaves scattered about the floor of the forest. To my surprise there was much activity all around inside of the park. Families were boarding there Flat bottom boats, which look like platoon boats. You do not see too many of these those in Miami Beach. I saw families preparing to set up camp, clearing away fallen tree limbs and branches so that they may have a cozier and smoother spot for the night. Every time this year the Park put s on a Track event. Where, track athletes’ (adults and kids) come from around the nation to partake in the annual event. Florida State University plays a huge part in this event. All of this is only 20 miles south of the downtown Tallahassee, cross section of Monroe Street and Apalachee Avenue near the Capital Building. Now, I have been told that I am a great fisherman by birth right. My son also is great fisherman unlike his three sisters. I take that back. My three daughters can fish very well, when they are fishing. Just, like all girls they’d rather been over at Tallahassee mall shopping and staying warm. So they did not accompany me and my son and my brother In-law this time. I would not encourage the girls to tag alone on this particular fishing expedition.
The day started out very gloomy and gray there was not much sunlight shining thru the dense forest. Which did not help in warming us up like the sunshine does back in Miami. Never the less we trucked along to our destination hopping to try our luck and bring home dinner. We came upon an excellent spot to finally start to fish. I was very eager to try out my brand new fishing rod set, which I had gotten for my Christmas gift. A 7 foot shamano 8600 Bait-runner series rod and reel set; unlike, any of my previous gear. This set I was pretty much guaranteed to catch big fish, no more losing the big one. No more saying the “big one got away,” because, unlike the new one, it would not be the rod and reels fault.
The fishing trip was somewhat of a success, nut not really, the big ones still got away. This time I could have easily blamed it on the extremely cold weather, the temperatures were steadily dropping under 10 degrees. The winds had picked up considerably. The winds were gusting more than 25 miles per hour. Which meant the freezing cold was pushing right thru my Miami cold weather gear, as though I had no protection at all. Unlike Kenny, and my son they were not fazed much by the cold. My son loves the cold weather coupled with fishing nothing could have stopped him from fishing. I on the other hand placed my rod back in his holding bin and I proceeded to find a warmer spot to hide from the cold and the winds. IT WAS GETTING COLDER BY THE MINUTE. This went on for about two hours; I was praying that those two would finally give up the fishing for the day. I had a wonderful time; I was ready to return home, we had caught some fish. I would have even perhaps considered joining my wife and girls at the shopping malls.
Mirtha Rondon Reply: December 4th, 2010 at 12:08 pm
@Harold Major,
Every time that we do something different it is a great experience. I think that it was different for you to be fishing with cold tempetures. I don’t blamed your girls for not going with you. For me personally fishing is a man thing, there is nothing out there that can be fun for a woman to do while fishing. I hope that after this one your other fishing experiences were great!!!!1
Ana del Valle Reply: December 11th, 2010 at 12:36 am
@Harold Major, I also think Tallahasse is one of the most beautiful cities that Florida has. My daughter studied in FSU and she graduated this summer. We all miss our trips to Tallahasse. This was a great story !
On a clear and picture perfect day we started our fishing trip, a journey to go fishing for Cobias. The approximately location where the Cobias are found was twenty three miles from the coast into the Florida Bay. As the boat glided through the water I could feel the breeze and splashing water against my face. I felt the warmth from the sun, which quickly dried the salty water mist from the blue ocean. The boat slowed down as we approached the fishing area. The water was cool and clear as a reflecting crystal in which we saw the underwater seaweed and white patches. As we prepared to anchor, I saw a group of huge turtles swimming by us in curiosity of who had entered their territory. The sound of their breathing caught my mind, what an immense ocean and so many different kinds of creature inhabit this environment.
I felt and saw the enthusiasm that my son and husband had in anticipation of this fishing day and the stories that would come from this event. I recline to rest and enjoy this beautiful day, my eyes wondered toward the big blue sky and started to figure out the enormous and fluffy white clouds that were decorating the sky. I could hear more turtles going around the boat, the day was cool with a flowing breeze, and the most important there were no waves.
I did not recall how much time had passed, when suddenly; I got startled from the sound of my son’s voice, “I caught one!” As I approached the edge of the boat I could see from afar an enormous splashing of water, then it stopped, and eventually it happened closer to the boat. I kept my eyes on this strange movement of water and as I looked down into the deep blue sea, I saw this dark round head with a deep look and our eyes met. A sensation of restlessness came over me, and in a split of a second this huge dark shark came out of the ocean as a rocket zooming into space and grabbed the fish my son was reeling in with a great amount of effort, and disappeared into the deep blue sea.
We looked at each other in awe and could not believe how this enormous bull shark charged with extreme strength into the air had ravished the fish. This instantaneous and unforgettable event took all of us by surprise and left us with the story of the fish that got away, but the moral of this story is never take anything for granted no matter how secure and confident you feel.
Harold Major Reply: December 4th, 2010 at 11:57 am
@Ana del Valle,
Ana, this is a great story. Your descpitions of all those events happening all around you were spelled out(depicted) wondefully. I could alomost feel the water splashing on my face as well. I could vividly picture the entire trip as though I was there in the boat, being invisible as I enjoyed the trip too.
@Ana del Valle,this is a great story. Your son is extremely brave. Unfortunetly for your family, you didn,t get the fish. I myself would have hunted the shark down and put him on the grill for messing with my fresh catch. I enjoyed the details of your story the most.
Paddy Kaimrajh Reply: December 10th, 2010 at 11:18 am
@Ana del Valle,
I enjoyed reading this event of the fishing trip with your family. Too bad your son couldn’t enjoy his catch. I love fishing too and the way you described this story brought back several memories I had while fishing too. You end the story with a great moral, it is so true.
I remembered during the summer I claps at my house, my husband had to call an ambulance, they had to rush me to the hospital that I will get all the help. That I need I did found that my hemoglobin when to four, that I need a surgery right away to stop the bleeding which had fibrosis involve.
First-When I clap I taught that is because I was doing diet that I did not eat properly, stress or anxiety, but I never taught I was sick, but I thank God for clapping at my house instead on the street at that time I was on my way out.
Second- Rushing from the Hospital to Baptist I taught I will be release after a couple hours, instead I had to diagnosis with hemoglobin four that I need a blood fusion right away, an multiples fibrosis. At that moment I feel like I wake up in a bad dream, or a coma.
Third the blood fusion was my biggest worries in all the procedure even thought I had been told that the blood is accurate but a lot of ideas come to my mind, by knowing that they mind be a factor of AIDS, and other diseases as usual I put everything into my God. Between a day and half everything went well, I had to go home and came back after a couple days.
Fourth- I had to have a surgery. Before they had to admit to a different room, putting ivy get reading for an Amnesias to talk, to you about the procedures. At that moment I felt that my life was passing by even thought I was surrounding by the best team (nurses and doctors), I still have doubt in my mind. I compare the surgery like giving birth to a child, most crucial pain that you have been trough In conclusion I had been bless, in all of these procedure, it took me a while to recover I know by fact that it could happening to anybody, many women had been suffering with fibrosis it is not the end always have faith in God.
The excitement of the Miami Dade county fair comes to our area once yearly. A year ago, after much begged on my part I was finally able to convince my best friend out to the county fair. We packed a bag of water and sun screen, and collected our money filled with anticipation for the following day’s event. We left mid day on Friday to the fair grounds. Even though we had fun, we had not been able to take part in all the fair events offered.
First and foremost, with the Miami Dade county fair only a few days was I began to constantly ask my best friend if she would come out with me. That Friday would be opening night, and the entrance fee was only one dollar. I begged her for days to come out and enjoy the fair lights, sounds, and flavors. To ensure I would defiantly get her to join me I spent the night at her house with a bag packed of sunscreen and a couple extra bottles of water. She explained how she had not been to the fair in years since her moving back to Miami, mostly because she felt it was a youth event. I on the other had felt differently seeing the fair as an exciting adrenaline rush for young and old alike.
Additionally, after been awoken in the early morning by her toy terrier puppy BrisCo, we decided the best time to go would be during the day; mostly to avoid the crowd that would come after school would let it. With the plan made, and our belonging packed and in the car the two of us set out a little after twelve. I had not been prepared for the line or the wait time, and after being stuck in the car for twenty minutes blearily moving ten miles an hour we were able to find a shady parking space to the far back of the fair grounds. Unfortunately with what seemed like a sound plan, I had not realized that Friday was a legal holiday and school was out of session.
Nevertheless, after the long and tireless traffic and standing in Mid-day heat of the ticket line, we finally entered the fair parks ground. The fair air our lungs, our eyes both brightened with childhood memories and thrills of our previous adventures at the county fair. We had not yet decided yet which way to go or what to do first. My best friend grabbed a site map from a passing clown and we set forth on our way. We first encountered Corn on a Stick, which we couldn’t pass up as the hot buttery fresh sweetness hit our nose. Nor could we pass up the huge fair commemorative mugs which we refilled for $1 over and over again. Or the Huge powered deep fried elephant ears piled high with a mound of powdered sugar. Our hands filled with fair food, we decided to sit in for the annual fair carnival. It was spectacular, filled with tumblers and fire breathers, trained wild animals and the high flying persons. The show was amazing and we were stuffed faces, played many games, my best friend even won a huge stuffed dog from a shoot gun game. Yet with all the food we stuffed down and the huge dog and smaller stuffed animals, we had not been able to ride any of the fair roller coasters, because there would have not been anyone to watch our prizes.
In conclusion, my best friend and I had an amazing fair trip. We stuffed our faces on fair food and won many prizes on from the fair games. Were even entertained by the fire breathers and trained wild animals. But, we failed to enjoy any of the county fair roller coasters or fairs wheel rides. If we had to do it all over again I would have ridden the rides fist, then gotten food and watched the carnival show before we had played any of the fair games where we won the big stuffed dog.
Nicole Perard Reply: December 4th, 2010 at 11:56 am
@Kalicea, I think you did an excellent job because it brought back memories of the times I went to the youth fair. I think you did a great job at describing because not only did I feel like I was there with you but your essay made me really hungry.
In 1999 a local radio station here in Miami and the Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA) sponsored a program whereby you had to answer a number of general knowledge questions about Barbados for a ten (10) week period with a chance to win a trip to Barbados for their annual Jazz Festival. During that period my daughter and I entered the competition and received some gifts for the correct answers. On the day of the drawing, my daughter won an all expenses trip to Barbados to attend their Jazz Festival which included accommodations at the famous Sam Lord’s Castle Resort. My daughter was in high school and had never missed a day of school so I was contemplating whether she should go, but the contest rules were that it was for her and a guest and not transferable, so she had to miss school for a week. BTA was the perfect host in Barbados, taking us on tours of the island and provided our ground transportation to all of the activities. We totally enjoyed the Jazz Festival.
We were treated to a tour of the Castle which was built in 1840 by the notorious buccaneer Samuel Hall Lord “Sam Lord” (1778-1844). The Sam Lord’s Castle Resort is situated on a seven-two acre of property on the south-east coast of the island surrounded by immaculate beach in the parish of St Philip. As tales would say, Sam Lord hung lanterns high in coconut trees around the property so passing ships would think that it was a port, and as they sail towards the lights they would wreck their ships on the reefs and Sam Lord would board the ships and take all the treasures for his castle.
Barbados is the most easterly Caribbean island, it is an island nation of the Lesser Antilles, North of the Atlantic Ocean, east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea, and is 166 square miles, with a population of approximately 250,000. It is an English speaking island and gained its independence from England on November 30, 1966, it just celebrated its 44th year of independence.
Performing one night at the Jazz Festival was Kenneth Bruch Gorelick, better known as Kenny G, a Grammy winning smooth jazz saxophonist, and the Rhythm and Blues band Earth, Wind and Fire. It was an electrifying night in which there was audience participation and leaving the night’s festivities humming the songs into the next day.
A tour of the island included a visit to famous Mount Gay Distilleries where we got to see how the rum is distilled and sample the different rum products. Mount Gay Rum is the rum that invented rum and was created in Barbados in 1703. It is probably the world’s oldest brand of rum in existence. The rum is sold to approximately 66 countries with its primary export market in the United States.
Three years ago I was invited to a reception that introduced the launching of Air Jamaica to the Caribbean Island of Barbados. The launching took place at the Seminole Hotel and Resort in Davie, Florida. The event was very well attended with representatives from the Caribbean, North, South and Central America. On arrival, each guest was asked to complete an attendance ticket and place it in a container, when I completed mine I mentioned to my companion that it may be for a door prize and possibly a trip to the Caribbean and I would be the winner. The evening activities were pleasant, plenty of food and beverages, and we did a lot of networking. When it came time for the distribution of prizes, the top three (3) prizes were trips to Barbados, with the grand prize being and all expenses all inclusive trip to one of the Islands best resorts. They started with a number of consolation gifts and I keep saying that I was waiting for my name to be called for the grand prize, and as luck would have it when it was time for the drawing of the grand prize, it was my name that was called and, guess who was my guest?
Paddy Kaimrajh Reply: December 4th, 2010 at 12:12 pm
@Ilene, Very nicely done. Barbados has always been an island in the Caribbean I wanted to visit. Based on your descriptive essay I will plan a trip sometime early next year. The rum distilliers would be one of the first places I would like to tour.
Very often, when people talk about their birthday day, also they mention a second important date. This second date is usually the day that a person even survives an accident, or their life suffer a drastically change. Since I am not exempt of that, my second birthday is on December 19, 1997, the day I arrived to United States. I was only nineteen years old, and at that moment I did not give the real magnitude of the decision I took.
My friends in Cuba threw me a party that I won’t forget never in my life. Probably because was the only party that finished without music, instead we finished all seated in my house’s terrace crying like if that were my last day in life. It was not new for us that at the moment I left Cuba, it were impossible to know when we can meet all again. For some reasons, my mother that day was very happy and did not show any sad face until we got to the airport. Before I passed to immigration, she broke her happy face and started crying, and only told me “after this point you are by yourself, be strtong”. Hours later I was sitting in the airplane by myself looking thru the window how my old life was getting behind , and a new one was about to start.
Thirty five minutes later my eyes went crazy, I started looking buildings that only in movies I had seem. It is curious how close the plane pass by that buildings, in my mind, I was thinking that or even the buildings are too high or the plane was flying too low. Now I realize that both scenarios were correct, but at that moment were very difficult for me to process. As the plane was approaching the airport, I saw for the first time in my life an expressway. It was amazing and incredible for me to see how many cars were going in one direction, and the other way was almost empty. In my mind, since it looked so organized I related to ants when they are working. The plane finally landed, and while it was around the airport looking for the gate, I was shocked, in life I had seen more than five planes together, and in those minutes I saw more than fifty.
Inside the MIA airport I got lost very quickly, I saw everything so big and illuminated that I lost the group of people that came in my flight. When I approach one of the guard, I ask him in Spanish, the guard just answer to me that he did not speak Spanish, right there I realized were I really was in, “Miami”. After going around the airport for ten minutes, I finally saw the people of my flight. They were doing the immigration process. Before I got in the line, I decided to go to the bathroom. Big mistake, when I get inside the bath I really got surprised. It was big and very clean, but the funny part was that it took me five minutes to know how to make the water come out the faucet. When I finally left the bathroom, the immigration officers were on break and I had to wait another half hour. Finally they took me a picture and my finger prints, but that process did not worry me much, I was more concentrated in how will be the reunion moment with my father.
In the moment that double doors open, I froze, could not move, for the first time in my life I was scared of I was going to do. In that moment I just recall my mother words, which gave me the strength to continue out. It will be the first time in life that I will be living with my father.
I have a connection with you, since I also came from Cuba and had to adabt to a new life, a new language and people. Its not easy to move to a foreign country, believe me, I’ve done it twice; however, it shows how strong one can be when the desire for a better life is determined.
In 2006, I registered at Nova Southeastern University. Despite the numerous classes that gave an overwhelming amount of work, one particular class stood out, because all students were required as part of the final grade, to interview a complete stranger; thus, I had the opportunity to meet and interview a woman named Christina Swartz, whom I thought was a member of the private, not-for-profit psychosocial rehabilitation center where I worked, until she revealed the fact that she was homeless and not one of the members. When I first saw her, I noticed that we had several physical differences, like her badly brushed hair and her pink shirt that sheltered her petite body. She was wearing a Miami Heat cap and a big square ring that every once in a while, begged my eyes to glance at it; however, those physical differences were not as important as the dramatic differences between our lives.
I thought she was the perfect candidate for my project, but in order for an interview to be considered, I knew that a proper introduction would be necessary. I was reluctant on the inside to shake her hand, not knowing where she had been, or what she had been doing. Ashamed as I was for feeling like that, I knew it must be the way the majority of people felt, for she did not shake my hand when I finally extended it before her. In fact, she looked surprised and confused, as if no one had ever acknowledged her before, like a spirit, invisible to world.
We sat on the chairs located outside of the Case Management building and I began asking her various questions. I asked her to describe a typical day in her life. Her reply was shocking to me: her day begins at four in the morning when she waits in a line for the shelters to open. She eats a bite for breakfast and is thrown back into the streets by six in the morning, forcing her to wander around for warmth or safety. Around four in the afternoon she returns to a line at the shelter, praying that they will have a bed for her to sleep in that night. If they do, she sleeps in safety. But if the shelter is booked, she walks the streets searching for a place to sleep overnight. Christina went on to explain that most of the time she sleeps in parking garages. One in particular is a garage by a homosexual bar. Male prostitutes may interrupt her sleep while they do their crack and other miscellaneous drugs. All Christina can do is hide behind the shadows of the night, terrified of going to sleep.
As Christina looked down and the wind slapped her face, she revealed another depressing story. Two of her friends were killed. One fell asleep in a dumpster and was crushed when the trucks came to pick up the trash. Another one of her friends was hit by a car while she was standing inches away from Christina in a line to buy alcohol. Even more devastating, Christina’s brother was killed. She did not speak in detail regarding her brother and spoke nothing regarding her family. At the end of the interview, Christina said that all in all, her life had not been too rough, which caught me of guard. I wondered what her interpretation of the word, rough, meant to her? I chose, however, not to ask.
When we departed our separate ways, I walked towards my car, looked back at her and wondered where she headed? At that moment, as she continued walking without looking back, I felt a sudden wave of selfishness. I remembered that just hours before the interview, I had been upset because I left my lunch at home, and had to go a few more hours without food. A day prior, I had been angry with a family member. How could I had been so self-involved not to realize that what I considered a problem was merely a walk in the park? My problems did not even compared with the tribulations that Christina was forced to face from day to day. Although, I did not know my Paster during that time, he said to me once, “sometimes we complaint about our problems, but the fact is that there are people in the world, that would love to switch places with you, because our struggles from our perspective, are nowhere near as big from someone else’s perspective.”
The summer of 1997, would be one that I would never forget. It was bright and sunny, with a few clouds, in Italy. It was warm enough for the sun to heat the surface of the earth at a comfortable temperature. That Saturday morning was a very memorable day, because of the person I met that day. He spoke about the most interesting, most dangerous, and strangest, but exciting in a weird way thing, I ever heard of. He asked me, if I ever jumped from an airplane. Of course I laughed, until I noticed the unpleasant expression of seriousness he had on his face. He convinced me easily by expressing that we have one life to live, and we should enjoy every moment of it. I was sold for cheap, or was it my curiosity for adventure, mixed with naivety. That morning I thought of the conversation I had with my new strange friend. I was so excited that I told my only friend I had in Italy. I spoke of my new adventure to my friend as if it was a secret, no one needed to know about. I told my only friend in Italy that tomorrow was the right time to jump. I guess my only friend in Italy suffered from the same naivety as me, because she wanted to come too.
That night I lied in my bed, tossing and turning thinking about jumping out of that airplane. So high in the sky, I imagined I was a superhero, fighting crime and picking up chicks. A burst of sunlight entered my room. I woke up to the excitement of wanting to act out my dream. Before leaving my room, I had to cool off the dragon that was coming from my mouth, with some minty toothpaste. Filled with so much excitement, I breezed through the door, forgetting about my only friend in Italy. I arrived at this big field, with other people dressed with flight gear and backpacks. My educated guess tells me, it’s a parachute in there. I noticed my new adventurous friend signaling me to come over. We received a safety briefing and what to expect when we’ll be at 13,000 feet in the sky. I never expected it to be that high. It seems as if my dream is coming true, except the part about being a superhero and picking up chicks. Even the ride on the plane was exciting, until we reached our destined altitude. The pilot turned off the engine and told us to jump. He didn’t have to tell me twice. When I jumped I was falling so fast in mid air I felt as if I was flying. I was thinking just then, that our military jumps aren’t that exciting and high. Matter of fact we have all of this extra baggage that restricts us from doing neat stuff in the air, like these fresh flips I was doing, as if I was from the city of acrobat. As I fist pumped in the air, I glanced at my watch to observe if it was time for me to pull the chute. I thought free falling in mid air would be the most exciting part. It was drifting in the air, with little breeze blowing my bright yellow chute. I found peace in that brief moment, I seen the earths natural curve and Gods creation, just as if he was looking at it. When I landed I felt a rush of energy run through my body, it felt as if I was being revived by a jolt of lightning. By the sounds of my new adventurous friend was making I could tell he had a near death defying experience. My ride home was awesome; I was still playing my jump in my mind, reliving every part of it. Before arriving, I had the strangest feeling I left something. I couldn’t figure out what it was. I wonder if I left it on top of one of those clouds. When I reached my room I just remembered what I left. It was my only friend in Italy.
I’ll never forget the day I met the woman in a wheelchair. I was working in the Access Department at Miami Dade College when she arrived. I overheard her talking about returning to school after 15 years because she wanted to do something with her life. While she was being advised, I was asked to assist her with in some financial aid papers because she couldn’t use her hands. She told me that her hands no longer worked and she kept apologizing for the inconvenience. I was then asked to take her to the financial aid department. At first, I was hesitant and I really didn’t want to go because I had a lot of work that I had to get done that day but I took her anyway and that’s when everything changed.
After we left the financial aid department, she asked me to take her to the bus stop area so that she could wait for her transportation. She started to open up and tell me the reason why she was in a wheelchair. She told me that she was an aspiring model. She always thought that she would make it big one day but then she started to suffer from severe depression. She was given all types of medication but nothing seemed to work for her. That’s when she was first introduced to heroin. She loved the way it made her feel and she was no longer depressed.
As I was pushed her to the bus stop area, she asked me to take her sunglasses out of her purse because the sunlight was hurting her eyes. She continued to tell me that parts of her life is a blur because majority of the time she was strung out. She continued to use heroin because she was in conflict between who she was and who she wanted to be. She then rolled up her sleeves and showed me the scares that were left behind from the syringes she used. She said that it was her reminder of how stupid she was. After years of abuse, the woman ended up having stroke which paralyzed the entire right side of her body. She told me not to feel sorry for her because she had to pay for what she did for the rest of her life. She told me because of her stupidity, she can’t feed herself, bath herself or even use the bathroom by herself. When her transportation arrived, we exchanged hugs and before we parted ways she said, “Whenever you’re going through a hard time and you want a way to escape, use my life as an example” and then she left.
As I walked back to the Access Department, I thought about what the woman said to me. I thought about her life and what she overcame. I honestly think that she is a strong individual because not only is she trying to do something with her life, she is doing it a positive manner and I commend her for that. I also think that we encounter certain people in our lives for a reason so that we can learn and grow from their experiences. It’s been two years since I met the woman in a wheelchair and I must say that whenever I’m going through a hard time, I still think of her.
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Marva Reply:
December 4th, 2010 at 11:24 am
@Nicole Perard, Wow, what an amazing story. A good story to tell our youth today, who are always looking for an escape.
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Alouse Beauvais Reply:
December 4th, 2010 at 12:00 pm
@Nicole Perard,I was impress by your reading, great job by the way.
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Mirtha A. Rondon
At the school where I work different things happens every day. It is a K-12 school; we have 377 students from different cultures and ethnicities. You may have an idea of all the good things, bad things, funny things and sad things that can happen there in a day to day basis. One of the things that really call my attention is when you see a kindergarten student exploring the school, dealing with his teachers, classmates and the adjustments that they have to do to their new daily rutines. Especially the ones that are coming from pre-schools where at the middle of the day, one of their daily routine is to have a nap time from 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm. That is a must for them. When they make the transition from pre-school to Kindergarten they have to adjust their routine by knowing that there is no nap time at all in kindergarten. It is very funny to see how some of them fall asleep when 12:30 pm comes around. It is very difficult for the teacher to wake them up or to keep them alert to avoid it. Once a student fall asleep in class the teacher loose the control or the attention of the rest of the class because their curiosity of seeing that student sleeping, sitting down on his table distract them very much. Suddenly they start talking one to each other making stories why he fall asleep and the class take a whole different way. It is very challenging for a teacher to see how to break this routine from a student. Most of the times they get adjusted but it take time and a lot of effort from the student as well from the teacher if she really wants for this student not to miss any instructional time.
Pedro is a kindergarten student that since day one of school he will fall asleep everyday around his “nap time” from his pre-school. His teacher at first thought that it will be something that he will change soon, but mean while her class was disruptive because of the curiosity from the rest of the students.
She tried so many different ways to keep Pedro awake around 12:30 pm everyday she will create a new technique. First she tried with Story time class, she will take them to the library and tell them to get their favorite book and do their best drawing their favorite character from the book and color it using their favorite colors. As a teacher she said to herself this is something that they really like to do. In pre-school that is what they do the most, drawing and coloring. But her new technique didn’t work with Pedro. She noticed that while he was looking at his book he felt to sleep. Once again the rest of the students got distracted.
Her Second technique was during Music class. On this class they went to the music classroom. She decided to do something different other than only singing and practicing musical notes. She play with them one of their favorite song. On this occasion they were able to dance with a partner or by themselves. But not even with the music being so loud, the noise and the happiness of the rest of the students will keep him engaged with the class and from falling asleep just by looking at them having fun.
Third technique was in Art class, they went to the art room that is full of different things since this is a room for every single grade to use. She allowed them to use materials that for them were not common to use like markers and clay to be creative or by building what they like the most. Kids usually love to play with clay, they like the colors, the smell and the texture. Basically they can make or invent whatever they want with this and the same thing is with the color markers. They prefer markers than crayons or color pencils. But this fun time for Pedro once again was not active enough to keep him alert. He felt asleep.
You were able to see the frustration on his teacher’s face because no matter how hard she will work creating things of interest for students he will always be the one falling to sleep. Until one day during lunch at the teacher’s lounge she was expressing her concern with the rest of the
teachers that were in there. One of them was the other kindergarten teacher and for her surprise this teacher went thru the same situation. She commented to Pedro’s teacher that she had the same problem not with one but with three students.
One day as her last and Fourth technique she decided to do, was to change their PE time to 12:30pm to 1:15pm. She commented with her issue with the school principal and made it clear that it will be for a month only. She got all her PE equipments, took them to a back of the school instead of the front where they usually have PE and gave them instruction of how they were going to use the materials. She thought that no student during play time will fall asleep and if they do something is wrong with them. Her idea was that after their play time during PE they will be so active that they will be like that for the rest of 45 minutes when it will be time to go home. Because kindergarten gets out at 2:00 pm. Successfully Pedro didn’t fall asleep he was very alert and active during his PE time. His teacher was very happy since she found the solution for Pedro to stop falling asleep during any class. The teacher did this PE routine at this time for 6 weeks and Pedro’s body finally adjusted to his new routine understanding that there was no nap time in kindergarten. So far he has fallen asleep again.
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Kalicea Reply:
December 4th, 2010 at 12:09 pm
@Mirtha Rondon, My mother has been in the education system for years teaching grades from 2nd-5th. She also says having children fall asleep during class, does cause a big disruption in her and many other teachers class routine. It’s fortunate that the teacher was able to find a practical solution for that child, that did not result in that child being miss diagnosed for a serious condition such as ADD, which my mother says is common for early school aged children, mostly because teachers nor parents understand that there child was use to a certain routine, where upon entering a higher level school the routine changes that children have to get use to. It’s a serious problem that Pedro’s teacher was skilled enough to properly handle.
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One of the worst mistakes a person can make is to work at a job you hate. A few years ago I worked a doctor’s office, for a doctor that I considered to be one of the cruelest persons that I have ever met. This woman was hell on wheels. I can only describe her as Cruella Devil, meets The Devil Wears Prada, all rolled into one. Even when I would leave work for the day, I felt like I had brought work home with me, for example,, Even though I was home in my sanctuary, where I should have been at peace, I would constantly be going over, in my mind, everything I had done that day, at work. I knew that if I had made even the slightest mistake, the next day I would get chewed out for it. And God forbid I had made a mistake, I would be up the entire night, wandering how I would pay for it the next day—would she yell at me and embarrass me in front of everyone, including the patients, or would she place obstacle after obstacle in my way, causing my day to be incredibly difficult.
Everyone that worked with me had the same fear of her that I did, because some days she would come into the office, the whole office, patients included, would be completely silent. Even her patients were intimidated by her, surly demeanor. She’d walk into the room and you could hear a pin drop. The tension would be so thick; you could cut it with a knife. She’d take her finger and smear it against the counter top and say “hmmm, I wander if you guys keep your house this filthy.” We couldn’t take a lunch break, and if by chance it did slow down long enough for you to sneak into the kitchen and eat a snack, we would have to have someone stand look out, and even then you’d be paranoid, peering over your shoulder to see if she was coming. When she came looking for you, she would stand in the door way with this piercing look.
The stress of the job even began to take its toll on my health. I began to have severe migraine headaches, which I never had before working there, and never had again once I left. Some days my migraines got so bad I could hardly lift my head up. It felt as though someone had taken a knife and jabbed it directly into my forehead. I would come home from work, turn off every light in my house; close all the blinds, turn the ringer off on my phone, and sleep until the next day.
Soon, I began to find any excuse at all not to come into work. When I didn’t go in, all of my co-workers would be very angry with me, because none of them wanted to work directly with her. She had another doctor that worked there, who also was terrified of her, that the other girls preferred to work with, leaving me with the pleasure of working with “The Devil Wears Prada.” She was always either hot or cold, up, or down, there was never any middle ground. She would come into the office, and we would all wait patiently for the first words to come out of her mouth, if they were negative, we knew it would be a long day, and if they were positive, it was going to be a good day. Some days she would come in, eyes glaring, looking like a lion looking for its next prey. The next day she might come in and say “Good morning everyone, “demeanor as harmless as a dove.
My experience, working at this job, taught me a very valuable lesson, one, that I needed to go back to school and further my education. Secondly, never again would I choose a job based on pay alone, next time I would choose a career in the field that Iloved, where my hard work would be a reward in of itself, and good pay, an incentive. I did learn one more important lesson, if I ever came across another employer, like Ms. Cruella Devil… resign, resign, resign!!!
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alouse beauvais Reply:
December 10th, 2010 at 10:58 pm
@Marva, i agree with you 100% , you shouldnt choose your job according to the pay cause then you are stuck doing something you are not confortable with, which makes it harder on you and causes stress.you are a great writter you actually helped us readers feel your fear of that woman.and stresses the issue of people makeing sure the choose the right career because it something that they love other than how much money iscomming into their pockets.
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As high school sweethearts and after almost five years of dating, John and Sarah finally decided to tie the knot. This couple, especially John was very close family friends to us and he was very thankful for the new route we directed him upon. He was very special to my husband and I for convincing him to stop drag racing as a hobby, a deadly hobby that could have risk his life. Like bees to honey, these young and energetic couple was seen to be inseparable from each other due to the love and affection they would exchange to each other. Even though both were anxious about their plans for their romantic wedding day, they nervously asked for permission from both parents, and with hesitant approval , these two confident souls began to plan their wedding day, the beginning of paradise and a romantic journey , these love birds couldn’t wait to pursue.
After months of planning, this memorable day finally arrived. It was a grand ceremony at the church attended by two hundred guests to witness the exchange of wows. The church was beautifully decorated and the scent of candles and incense filled the air. The church quire rendered their hymns as the audience enjoyed their melodies voices. The couple exchanged their scared vows and rings and was sent off elegantly with rice and petals thrown at them.
After witnessing the beautiful and emotional ceremony both parents and the entire guests headed over for the big celebration at Signature Gardens. This was an elegant hall and the couple wanted their celebration to be exotic and perfect. Like a Christmas village, the hall was beautifully decorated with red and white to signify their undying love. The bride and groom made their grand entrance along with the bridal party.
The audience was overjoyed and patiently waiting to have the party started. No one realized that the wedding cake was not there, so after the bride and groom first dance, the MC announced that the cake cutting ceremony to follow immediately after. As the couple began heading toward the corner of the room they both were stunned as they saw the empty table and the cake was missing. The bride got emotional, and while everyone started to panic with shock, how this could happen, the bridal party surrounded the bride and groom to comfort them while they were both sobbing like babies. They both dreamed about the perfect wedding.
There was about five minutes in to this dreadful situation when someone came in wheeling in a beautiful huge cake. Everyone looked up with astonishment and with dim lights a guy jumped out of the cake screaming “Surprise”. There was confetti flying around on everyone which made scene to like look like that of a circus. He was dressed in a white and red tuxedo looking more like Santa Clause. This act was unexpected to both the bride and groom.
The man, who happened to be a fire fighter, immediately started to undress, and with only his red boxers on , he made his way down to dance with the bride. The scene with hilarious and the crowd began screaming with excitement and joy and with utmost surprise. The party began; the audience was indulging in the fun and dancing. Everyone began to party, the bride and groom enjoyed their magical moment, something most people would see in a movie, but rather they were the actors in their own movie, “The Romantic Paradise”
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Ana del Valle Reply:
December 4th, 2010 at 12:02 pm
Dear Paddy,
This event was a beautiful celebration of a wedding and a celebration of frienship. What a fantastic party in celebrating the union of your friends !
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Ilene Reply:
December 4th, 2010 at 12:06 pm
@Paddy Kaimrajh, This was an old-fashion/traditional beginning and concluded with a modern touch. It was probably quite shocking to the matured audiance to see a half naked man jumping out of a cake. I like the sequences that you used to describe your story.
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My family, decided to take a winter vacation two years ago, like many other families from Miami, up to North Florida just east of the Panhandle, and west of Jacksonville; Tallahassee; which is our states Capital. I have family that has lived in Tallahassee for well over 60 years. The city of Tallahassee, sits directly in the middle of the Panhandle of Florida. The Panhandle stretches all the way from Jacksonville to Panama City. The major access road is named I-10. State road I-10 starts from the City of Jacksonville, connecting to I-95 that runs North and South along the eastern seaboard.
Along this high-way are many other smaller counties, such as Madison County, although a large area but small population made up of farmers, Lee County and Hendry County and a very famous town called Greenville. The birth place of a great singer and song writer was born there. Everyone may have heard of him. The late and great Ray Charles! Now that you have some knowledge of where Tallahassee is, and how to get from the eastside of the Atlantic Ocean to the west side of Florida’s Panhandle. Let me tell you about my trip there two years back.
It was in the dead of what we Floridians call winter. The temperatures were surprisingly in the teens, yes in the teens; below freezing, “unlike” Miami’s winters, which averages 75 degrees daily. My son and I had planned to go fishing at one of the local everglades national parks, saltwater fishing holes or even freshwater fishing spots. We were told of an ideal park, by one of my wife’s in-laws his name is Kenny. Kenny did not seem to be bothered at all by the freezing cold. I guess because he was accustomed to the low temperatures, maybe because he had had a few too many drinks keeping him warm; like a polar bear whom had just stored up a lot of fat or blubber from all those poor seals he had to eat, too help get thru harsh winters. The name of the park was Apalachee State Park. This particular National Park had both of what I was looking for in fishing that has great open spaces, a scenic view of many different forest of trees, trees of all colors most where brown and green, there were fallen leaves scattered about the floor of the forest. To my surprise there was much activity all around inside of the park. Families were boarding there Flat bottom boats, which look like platoon boats. You do not see too many of these those in Miami Beach. I saw families preparing to set up camp, clearing away fallen tree limbs and branches so that they may have a cozier and smoother spot for the night. Every time this year the Park put s on a Track event. Where, track athletes’ (adults and kids) come from around the nation to partake in the annual event. Florida State University plays a huge part in this event. All of this is only 20 miles south of the downtown Tallahassee, cross section of Monroe Street and Apalachee Avenue near the Capital Building. Now, I have been told that I am a great fisherman by birth right. My son also is great fisherman unlike his three sisters. I take that back. My three daughters can fish very well, when they are fishing. Just, like all girls they’d rather been over at Tallahassee mall shopping and staying warm. So they did not accompany me and my son and my brother In-law this time. I would not encourage the girls to tag alone on this particular fishing expedition.
The day started out very gloomy and gray there was not much sunlight shining thru the dense forest. Which did not help in warming us up like the sunshine does back in Miami. Never the less we trucked along to our destination hopping to try our luck and bring home dinner. We came upon an excellent spot to finally start to fish. I was very eager to try out my brand new fishing rod set, which I had gotten for my Christmas gift. A 7 foot shamano 8600 Bait-runner series rod and reel set; unlike, any of my previous gear. This set I was pretty much guaranteed to catch big fish, no more losing the big one. No more saying the “big one got away,” because, unlike the new one, it would not be the rod and reels fault.
The fishing trip was somewhat of a success, nut not really, the big ones still got away. This time I could have easily blamed it on the extremely cold weather, the temperatures were steadily dropping under 10 degrees. The winds had picked up considerably. The winds were gusting more than 25 miles per hour. Which meant the freezing cold was pushing right thru my Miami cold weather gear, as though I had no protection at all. Unlike Kenny, and my son they were not fazed much by the cold. My son loves the cold weather coupled with fishing nothing could have stopped him from fishing. I on the other hand placed my rod back in his holding bin and I proceeded to find a warmer spot to hide from the cold and the winds. IT WAS GETTING COLDER BY THE MINUTE. This went on for about two hours; I was praying that those two would finally give up the fishing for the day. I had a wonderful time; I was ready to return home, we had caught some fish. I would have even perhaps considered joining my wife and girls at the shopping malls.
[Reply]
Mirtha Rondon Reply:
December 4th, 2010 at 12:08 pm
@Harold Major,
Every time that we do something different it is a great experience. I think that it was different for you to be fishing with cold tempetures. I don’t blamed your girls for not going with you. For me personally fishing is a man thing, there is nothing out there that can be fun for a woman to do while fishing. I hope that after this one your other fishing experiences were great!!!!1
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Ana del Valle Reply:
December 11th, 2010 at 12:36 am
@Harold Major, I also think Tallahasse is one of the most beautiful cities that Florida has. My daughter studied in FSU and she graduated this summer. We all miss our trips to Tallahasse. This was a great story !
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On a clear and picture perfect day we started our fishing trip, a journey to go fishing for Cobias. The approximately location where the Cobias are found was twenty three miles from the coast into the Florida Bay. As the boat glided through the water I could feel the breeze and splashing water against my face. I felt the warmth from the sun, which quickly dried the salty water mist from the blue ocean. The boat slowed down as we approached the fishing area. The water was cool and clear as a reflecting crystal in which we saw the underwater seaweed and white patches. As we prepared to anchor, I saw a group of huge turtles swimming by us in curiosity of who had entered their territory. The sound of their breathing caught my mind, what an immense ocean and so many different kinds of creature inhabit this environment.
I felt and saw the enthusiasm that my son and husband had in anticipation of this fishing day and the stories that would come from this event. I recline to rest and enjoy this beautiful day, my eyes wondered toward the big blue sky and started to figure out the enormous and fluffy white clouds that were decorating the sky. I could hear more turtles going around the boat, the day was cool with a flowing breeze, and the most important there were no waves.
I did not recall how much time had passed, when suddenly; I got startled from the sound of my son’s voice, “I caught one!” As I approached the edge of the boat I could see from afar an enormous splashing of water, then it stopped, and eventually it happened closer to the boat. I kept my eyes on this strange movement of water and as I looked down into the deep blue sea, I saw this dark round head with a deep look and our eyes met. A sensation of restlessness came over me, and in a split of a second this huge dark shark came out of the ocean as a rocket zooming into space and grabbed the fish my son was reeling in with a great amount of effort, and disappeared into the deep blue sea.
We looked at each other in awe and could not believe how this enormous bull shark charged with extreme strength into the air had ravished the fish. This instantaneous and unforgettable event took all of us by surprise and left us with the story of the fish that got away, but the moral of this story is never take anything for granted no matter how secure and confident you feel.
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Marva Reply:
December 4th, 2010 at 11:56 am
@Ana del Valle, Great stoy, and I loved the metaphors. The ending had anice twist.
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Harold Major Reply:
December 4th, 2010 at 11:57 am
@Ana del Valle,
Ana, this is a great story. Your descpitions of all those events happening all around you were spelled out(depicted) wondefully. I could alomost feel the water splashing on my face as well. I could vividly picture the entire trip as though I was there in the boat, being invisible as I enjoyed the trip too.
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samora Reply:
December 10th, 2010 at 4:20 am
@Ana del Valle,this is a great story. Your son is extremely brave. Unfortunetly for your family, you didn,t get the fish. I myself would have hunted the shark down and put him on the grill for messing with my fresh catch. I enjoyed the details of your story the most.
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Paddy Kaimrajh Reply:
December 10th, 2010 at 11:18 am
@Ana del Valle,
I enjoyed reading this event of the fishing trip with your family. Too bad your son couldn’t enjoy his catch. I love fishing too and the way you described this story brought back several memories I had while fishing too. You end the story with a great moral, it is so true.
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I remembered during the summer I claps at my house, my husband had to call an ambulance, they had to rush me to the hospital that I will get all the help. That I need I did found that my hemoglobin when to four, that I need a surgery right away to stop the bleeding which had fibrosis involve.
First-When I clap I taught that is because I was doing diet that I did not eat properly, stress or anxiety, but I never taught I was sick, but I thank God for clapping at my house instead on the street at that time I was on my way out.
Second- Rushing from the Hospital to Baptist I taught I will be release after a couple hours, instead I had to diagnosis with hemoglobin four that I need a blood fusion right away, an multiples fibrosis. At that moment I feel like I wake up in a bad dream, or a coma.
Third the blood fusion was my biggest worries in all the procedure even thought I had been told that the blood is accurate but a lot of ideas come to my mind, by knowing that they mind be a factor of AIDS, and other diseases as usual I put everything into my God. Between a day and half everything went well, I had to go home and came back after a couple days.
Fourth- I had to have a surgery. Before they had to admit to a different room, putting ivy get reading for an Amnesias to talk, to you about the procedures. At that moment I felt that my life was passing by even thought I was surrounding by the best team (nurses and doctors), I still have doubt in my mind. I compare the surgery like giving birth to a child, most crucial pain that you have been trough In conclusion I had been bless, in all of these procedure, it took me a while to recover I know by fact that it could happening to anybody, many women had been suffering with fibrosis it is not the end always have faith in God.
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Luis Reply:
December 4th, 2010 at 12:08 pm
@Alouse Beauvais, Iread your story and im very happy you got better and i wish you a good recuperation.
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The excitement of the Miami Dade county fair comes to our area once yearly. A year ago, after much begged on my part I was finally able to convince my best friend out to the county fair. We packed a bag of water and sun screen, and collected our money filled with anticipation for the following day’s event. We left mid day on Friday to the fair grounds. Even though we had fun, we had not been able to take part in all the fair events offered.
First and foremost, with the Miami Dade county fair only a few days was I began to constantly ask my best friend if she would come out with me. That Friday would be opening night, and the entrance fee was only one dollar. I begged her for days to come out and enjoy the fair lights, sounds, and flavors. To ensure I would defiantly get her to join me I spent the night at her house with a bag packed of sunscreen and a couple extra bottles of water. She explained how she had not been to the fair in years since her moving back to Miami, mostly because she felt it was a youth event. I on the other had felt differently seeing the fair as an exciting adrenaline rush for young and old alike.
Additionally, after been awoken in the early morning by her toy terrier puppy BrisCo, we decided the best time to go would be during the day; mostly to avoid the crowd that would come after school would let it. With the plan made, and our belonging packed and in the car the two of us set out a little after twelve. I had not been prepared for the line or the wait time, and after being stuck in the car for twenty minutes blearily moving ten miles an hour we were able to find a shady parking space to the far back of the fair grounds. Unfortunately with what seemed like a sound plan, I had not realized that Friday was a legal holiday and school was out of session.
Nevertheless, after the long and tireless traffic and standing in Mid-day heat of the ticket line, we finally entered the fair parks ground. The fair air our lungs, our eyes both brightened with childhood memories and thrills of our previous adventures at the county fair. We had not yet decided yet which way to go or what to do first. My best friend grabbed a site map from a passing clown and we set forth on our way. We first encountered Corn on a Stick, which we couldn’t pass up as the hot buttery fresh sweetness hit our nose. Nor could we pass up the huge fair commemorative mugs which we refilled for $1 over and over again. Or the Huge powered deep fried elephant ears piled high with a mound of powdered sugar. Our hands filled with fair food, we decided to sit in for the annual fair carnival. It was spectacular, filled with tumblers and fire breathers, trained wild animals and the high flying persons. The show was amazing and we were stuffed faces, played many games, my best friend even won a huge stuffed dog from a shoot gun game. Yet with all the food we stuffed down and the huge dog and smaller stuffed animals, we had not been able to ride any of the fair roller coasters, because there would have not been anyone to watch our prizes.
In conclusion, my best friend and I had an amazing fair trip. We stuffed our faces on fair food and won many prizes on from the fair games. Were even entertained by the fire breathers and trained wild animals. But, we failed to enjoy any of the county fair roller coasters or fairs wheel rides. If we had to do it all over again I would have ridden the rides fist, then gotten food and watched the carnival show before we had played any of the fair games where we won the big stuffed dog.
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Nicole Perard Reply:
December 4th, 2010 at 11:56 am
@Kalicea, I think you did an excellent job because it brought back memories of the times I went to the youth fair. I think you did a great job at describing because not only did I feel like I was there with you but your essay made me really hungry.
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Lightning Strikes Twice
In 1999 a local radio station here in Miami and the Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA) sponsored a program whereby you had to answer a number of general knowledge questions about Barbados for a ten (10) week period with a chance to win a trip to Barbados for their annual Jazz Festival. During that period my daughter and I entered the competition and received some gifts for the correct answers. On the day of the drawing, my daughter won an all expenses trip to Barbados to attend their Jazz Festival which included accommodations at the famous Sam Lord’s Castle Resort. My daughter was in high school and had never missed a day of school so I was contemplating whether she should go, but the contest rules were that it was for her and a guest and not transferable, so she had to miss school for a week. BTA was the perfect host in Barbados, taking us on tours of the island and provided our ground transportation to all of the activities. We totally enjoyed the Jazz Festival.
We were treated to a tour of the Castle which was built in 1840 by the notorious buccaneer Samuel Hall Lord “Sam Lord” (1778-1844). The Sam Lord’s Castle Resort is situated on a seven-two acre of property on the south-east coast of the island surrounded by immaculate beach in the parish of St Philip. As tales would say, Sam Lord hung lanterns high in coconut trees around the property so passing ships would think that it was a port, and as they sail towards the lights they would wreck their ships on the reefs and Sam Lord would board the ships and take all the treasures for his castle.
Barbados is the most easterly Caribbean island, it is an island nation of the Lesser Antilles, North of the Atlantic Ocean, east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea, and is 166 square miles, with a population of approximately 250,000. It is an English speaking island and gained its independence from England on November 30, 1966, it just celebrated its 44th year of independence.
Performing one night at the Jazz Festival was Kenneth Bruch Gorelick, better known as Kenny G, a Grammy winning smooth jazz saxophonist, and the Rhythm and Blues band Earth, Wind and Fire. It was an electrifying night in which there was audience participation and leaving the night’s festivities humming the songs into the next day.
A tour of the island included a visit to famous Mount Gay Distilleries where we got to see how the rum is distilled and sample the different rum products. Mount Gay Rum is the rum that invented rum and was created in Barbados in 1703. It is probably the world’s oldest brand of rum in existence. The rum is sold to approximately 66 countries with its primary export market in the United States.
Three years ago I was invited to a reception that introduced the launching of Air Jamaica to the Caribbean Island of Barbados. The launching took place at the Seminole Hotel and Resort in Davie, Florida. The event was very well attended with representatives from the Caribbean, North, South and Central America. On arrival, each guest was asked to complete an attendance ticket and place it in a container, when I completed mine I mentioned to my companion that it may be for a door prize and possibly a trip to the Caribbean and I would be the winner. The evening activities were pleasant, plenty of food and beverages, and we did a lot of networking. When it came time for the distribution of prizes, the top three (3) prizes were trips to Barbados, with the grand prize being and all expenses all inclusive trip to one of the Islands best resorts. They started with a number of consolation gifts and I keep saying that I was waiting for my name to be called for the grand prize, and as luck would have it when it was time for the drawing of the grand prize, it was my name that was called and, guess who was my guest?
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Paddy Kaimrajh Reply:
December 4th, 2010 at 12:12 pm
@Ilene, Very nicely done. Barbados has always been an island in the Caribbean I wanted to visit. Based on your descriptive essay I will plan a trip sometime early next year. The rum distilliers would be one of the first places I would like to tour.
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Very often, when people talk about their birthday day, also they mention a second important date. This second date is usually the day that a person even survives an accident, or their life suffer a drastically change. Since I am not exempt of that, my second birthday is on December 19, 1997, the day I arrived to United States. I was only nineteen years old, and at that moment I did not give the real magnitude of the decision I took.
My friends in Cuba threw me a party that I won’t forget never in my life. Probably because was the only party that finished without music, instead we finished all seated in my house’s terrace crying like if that were my last day in life. It was not new for us that at the moment I left Cuba, it were impossible to know when we can meet all again. For some reasons, my mother that day was very happy and did not show any sad face until we got to the airport. Before I passed to immigration, she broke her happy face and started crying, and only told me “after this point you are by yourself, be strtong”. Hours later I was sitting in the airplane by myself looking thru the window how my old life was getting behind , and a new one was about to start.
Thirty five minutes later my eyes went crazy, I started looking buildings that only in movies I had seem. It is curious how close the plane pass by that buildings, in my mind, I was thinking that or even the buildings are too high or the plane was flying too low. Now I realize that both scenarios were correct, but at that moment were very difficult for me to process. As the plane was approaching the airport, I saw for the first time in my life an expressway. It was amazing and incredible for me to see how many cars were going in one direction, and the other way was almost empty. In my mind, since it looked so organized I related to ants when they are working. The plane finally landed, and while it was around the airport looking for the gate, I was shocked, in life I had seen more than five planes together, and in those minutes I saw more than fifty.
Inside the MIA airport I got lost very quickly, I saw everything so big and illuminated that I lost the group of people that came in my flight. When I approach one of the guard, I ask him in Spanish, the guard just answer to me that he did not speak Spanish, right there I realized were I really was in, “Miami”. After going around the airport for ten minutes, I finally saw the people of my flight. They were doing the immigration process. Before I got in the line, I decided to go to the bathroom. Big mistake, when I get inside the bath I really got surprised. It was big and very clean, but the funny part was that it took me five minutes to know how to make the water come out the faucet. When I finally left the bathroom, the immigration officers were on break and I had to wait another half hour. Finally they took me a picture and my finger prints, but that process did not worry me much, I was more concentrated in how will be the reunion moment with my father.
In the moment that double doors open, I froze, could not move, for the first time in my life I was scared of I was going to do. In that moment I just recall my mother words, which gave me the strength to continue out. It will be the first time in life that I will be living with my father.
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Dina Masso Reply:
December 4th, 2010 at 12:03 pm
@Luis,
I have a connection with you, since I also came from Cuba and had to adabt to a new life, a new language and people. Its not easy to move to a foreign country, believe me, I’ve done it twice; however, it shows how strong one can be when the desire for a better life is determined.
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In 2006, I registered at Nova Southeastern University. Despite the numerous classes that gave an overwhelming amount of work, one particular class stood out, because all students were required as part of the final grade, to interview a complete stranger; thus, I had the opportunity to meet and interview a woman named Christina Swartz, whom I thought was a member of the private, not-for-profit psychosocial rehabilitation center where I worked, until she revealed the fact that she was homeless and not one of the members. When I first saw her, I noticed that we had several physical differences, like her badly brushed hair and her pink shirt that sheltered her petite body. She was wearing a Miami Heat cap and a big square ring that every once in a while, begged my eyes to glance at it; however, those physical differences were not as important as the dramatic differences between our lives.
I thought she was the perfect candidate for my project, but in order for an interview to be considered, I knew that a proper introduction would be necessary. I was reluctant on the inside to shake her hand, not knowing where she had been, or what she had been doing. Ashamed as I was for feeling like that, I knew it must be the way the majority of people felt, for she did not shake my hand when I finally extended it before her. In fact, she looked surprised and confused, as if no one had ever acknowledged her before, like a spirit, invisible to world.
We sat on the chairs located outside of the Case Management building and I began asking her various questions. I asked her to describe a typical day in her life. Her reply was shocking to me: her day begins at four in the morning when she waits in a line for the shelters to open. She eats a bite for breakfast and is thrown back into the streets by six in the morning, forcing her to wander around for warmth or safety. Around four in the afternoon she returns to a line at the shelter, praying that they will have a bed for her to sleep in that night. If they do, she sleeps in safety. But if the shelter is booked, she walks the streets searching for a place to sleep overnight. Christina went on to explain that most of the time she sleeps in parking garages. One in particular is a garage by a homosexual bar. Male prostitutes may interrupt her sleep while they do their crack and other miscellaneous drugs. All Christina can do is hide behind the shadows of the night, terrified of going to sleep.
As Christina looked down and the wind slapped her face, she revealed another depressing story. Two of her friends were killed. One fell asleep in a dumpster and was crushed when the trucks came to pick up the trash. Another one of her friends was hit by a car while she was standing inches away from Christina in a line to buy alcohol. Even more devastating, Christina’s brother was killed. She did not speak in detail regarding her brother and spoke nothing regarding her family. At the end of the interview, Christina said that all in all, her life had not been too rough, which caught me of guard. I wondered what her interpretation of the word, rough, meant to her? I chose, however, not to ask.
When we departed our separate ways, I walked towards my car, looked back at her and wondered where she headed? At that moment, as she continued walking without looking back, I felt a sudden wave of selfishness. I remembered that just hours before the interview, I had been upset because I left my lunch at home, and had to go a few more hours without food. A day prior, I had been angry with a family member. How could I had been so self-involved not to realize that what I considered a problem was merely a walk in the park? My problems did not even compared with the tribulations that Christina was forced to face from day to day. Although, I did not know my Paster during that time, he said to me once, “sometimes we complaint about our problems, but the fact is that there are people in the world, that would love to switch places with you, because our struggles from our perspective, are nowhere near as big from someone else’s perspective.”
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The summer of 1997, would be one that I would never forget. It was bright and sunny, with a few clouds, in Italy. It was warm enough for the sun to heat the surface of the earth at a comfortable temperature. That Saturday morning was a very memorable day, because of the person I met that day. He spoke about the most interesting, most dangerous, and strangest, but exciting in a weird way thing, I ever heard of. He asked me, if I ever jumped from an airplane. Of course I laughed, until I noticed the unpleasant expression of seriousness he had on his face. He convinced me easily by expressing that we have one life to live, and we should enjoy every moment of it. I was sold for cheap, or was it my curiosity for adventure, mixed with naivety. That morning I thought of the conversation I had with my new strange friend. I was so excited that I told my only friend I had in Italy. I spoke of my new adventure to my friend as if it was a secret, no one needed to know about. I told my only friend in Italy that tomorrow was the right time to jump. I guess my only friend in Italy suffered from the same naivety as me, because she wanted to come too.
That night I lied in my bed, tossing and turning thinking about jumping out of that airplane. So high in the sky, I imagined I was a superhero, fighting crime and picking up chicks. A burst of sunlight entered my room. I woke up to the excitement of wanting to act out my dream. Before leaving my room, I had to cool off the dragon that was coming from my mouth, with some minty toothpaste. Filled with so much excitement, I breezed through the door, forgetting about my only friend in Italy. I arrived at this big field, with other people dressed with flight gear and backpacks. My educated guess tells me, it’s a parachute in there. I noticed my new adventurous friend signaling me to come over. We received a safety briefing and what to expect when we’ll be at 13,000 feet in the sky. I never expected it to be that high. It seems as if my dream is coming true, except the part about being a superhero and picking up chicks. Even the ride on the plane was exciting, until we reached our destined altitude. The pilot turned off the engine and told us to jump. He didn’t have to tell me twice. When I jumped I was falling so fast in mid air I felt as if I was flying. I was thinking just then, that our military jumps aren’t that exciting and high. Matter of fact we have all of this extra baggage that restricts us from doing neat stuff in the air, like these fresh flips I was doing, as if I was from the city of acrobat. As I fist pumped in the air, I glanced at my watch to observe if it was time for me to pull the chute. I thought free falling in mid air would be the most exciting part. It was drifting in the air, with little breeze blowing my bright yellow chute. I found peace in that brief moment, I seen the earths natural curve and Gods creation, just as if he was looking at it. When I landed I felt a rush of energy run through my body, it felt as if I was being revived by a jolt of lightning. By the sounds of my new adventurous friend was making I could tell he had a near death defying experience. My ride home was awesome; I was still playing my jump in my mind, reliving every part of it. Before arriving, I had the strangest feeling I left something. I couldn’t figure out what it was. I wonder if I left it on top of one of those clouds. When I reached my room I just remembered what I left. It was my only friend in Italy.
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