I GUESS I may be getting just a teeny-weeny bit old, because I can remember when it was considered
rude to whistle in front of adults, the biggest bad words pickney used to cuss were ‘blouse and skirt’,'rahtid’ and ‘blow-wow’; and slackness was talking big bwoy stories.
..
I am probably not so young anymore, I guess, because I can remember when people used to charter JOS bus to go to outing at Gunboat beach. And the beach dem was clean! And bad boys were the ones riding skate, and playing marbles and racing board horse in the gutter water after rain... I remember when children were afraid of Johnkunnu - now even police fraid a pickney, ’cause pickney a shotta!
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Call me archaic, but I remember when school children never had such a wide range of colourfully creative
chemical concoctions and toxic adventures to choose from such as sweets and snacks. For example, I saw one
recently marked cheese tricks and when you read the fine print carefully, you realized that the ingredients did not include any cheese - so-so tricks!
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But I suppose it must be old age, because I also remember that children used to eat jackfruit, juneplum, naseberry, guinep, hogplum and tinkin toe; we used to relish treats like bustamante-backbone, drops, gizzada, toto, cut-cake and grater-cake. MEN USED TO DANCE WITH WOMEN after asking if they could have this dance!!
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I must be clearly approaching dinosaur status, because I can vividly recall a period when independence time meant street dance on every corner, and we never had to import carnival to have revelling in the streets, and float parades were magnificent. I must have come from them dark ages, but I remember when man used to go party to dance with woman, not to “par wid man”, and women never had to walk naked to get attention.
“Miss Jamaica Festival Queen 2008″
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But I am not quite ready for the rocking chair and adult diapers just yet. No papa! Still, I remember when Rasta was a lifestyle. Now dreadlocks is a hairstyle. I remember
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 Apr 02 2010
Posted: under "A Slice Of Life", Inspirationals.
Tags: attention, belief, care, challenges, comfort, control, conversation, faith, feeling, friends, God, graduation, guidance, home, journey, laughter, life, Lord, love, Memorial Day, memories, nature, peace, picnic, protection, psalm, road, school, scripture, security, tranquility, trust
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I have a fond memory of the love of my life and me taking a walk in the woods shortly after high school graduation. We were attending a Memorial Day weekend picnic with some friends of his and we broke away from the group to take a stroll through the woods. I don’t recall the name of the park we were in, but I do know that I had never been there before. As we walked, talked and laughed our way through a pathway that was unfamiliar to me, I was engrossed in our conversation and was looking down. I remember feeling like I was in the one of the most peaceful and tranquil settings when suddenly, my friend stopped, stepped in front of me and gently pushed me back. I didn’t know why until I looked up. I was about to run smack into a large branch that was eye-level and probably would have rendered me unconscious.
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Shocked, I looked up at him as he asked, “Didn’t you see that branch?” I had not. I was not paying attention to where I was going. I was blindly following this young man that I loved and trusted. I felt comfortable and secure with him. I knew that he cared for me and that he would get me safely back to our group.
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That memory of trusting someone and feeling protected is not unlike our walk with God. In faith, we allow God to take control of our lives and lead us on journeys, through the unfamiliar pathways and woods of life. We put our trust in Him knowing that He will not
Posted: under "A Slice Of Life", Inspirationals.
Tags: airport, attention, celebration, comfort, conference, core, country, decision, direction, efforts, experience, focus, friends, harbor, history, hotel, humility, inspiration, laughter, lesson, life, memorial, mission, moment, motivation, progress, reality, relaxation, success, thought, value, values, vision
Why are core values critical to our success in business and in life? Because our values are critical guides for making important decisions. And when in doubt they cut through the fog like a beacon in the night.
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John Blumberg has written the best book we’ve ever read on how we build value…with values. And if there was ever a time in the history of this great country that we need to re-visit our core values…the time is NOW.
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Enjoy an excerpt from John’s book, Good to the Core…Building Value with Values.
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An Excerpt from
Good to the Core
by John Blumberg
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U.S.S. Arizona Memorial, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
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I was in Honolulu to speak at a large national conference. I scheduled an extra day onto the trip since I had never been to Honolulu and because a few great friends were also at the conference. The day after the conference, we awoke at the crack of dawn to visit Pearl Harbor. As we stood above and looked down upon the sunken USS Arizona, the depth of our experience came to life. It was moving and humbling.
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Upon our return to the hotel, I had some time to spare before departing to the airport. A couple of my friends and I decided to rent a raft large enough to hold three adults. We targeted the white-capped waves, out in the distance, as our destination. With the incoming waves, we had a hard time getting away from the shore. At first, there seemed to be enormous momentum keeping us “grounded.” Slowly, but surely, we began to make progress. It seemed to get easier. We eventually got within a few feet of the whitecaps and decided to board our raft and relax as a celebration of our efforts. It was in our moment of pause that we felt the reality
Posted: under "YUMMY FOOD FOR THOUGHT".
Tags: attention, charity, contribution, donation, food, gift, inspiration, present, surprise, thought, token
“One of the greatest gifts you can give to anyone
is the gift of attention.”
- Jim Rohn
Mar 06 2010
Posted: under "A Slice Of Life", Inspirationals.
Tags: attention, child, God, home, inspiration, neighbor, prayer, security
A horrible thing happened to me today…..a thief broke into my house.
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It happened shortly after I awoke this morning. I got up and began rushing about. I had a thousand things on my list and was already running behind. Quickly, I gulped down breakfast, took a shower and got ready for work.
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In my rush, I forgot to turn the security system on at my house. It was just about a half an hour later that the thief broke in. Of course, he didn’t make a sound. Just kind of snuck inside, not drawing any attention to himself. In fact, none of the neighbors ever saw him.
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But, I did.
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You see, I WAS HOME when the thief broke in.
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He naturally startled me, as I was unprepared for his visit. He, of course, didn’t announce that he was coming and I certainly had not invited him over.
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And yet, I found myself face to face with danger and I felt so powerless. I also felt so very stupid, because this whole incident could have been avoided
Posted: under "A Slice Of Life", Inspirationals.
Tags: appreciation, attention, author, children, direction, earth, family, game, globe, goal, golf, greatness, history, humanity, inspiration, land, life, love, man, music, peace, plane, practice, principles, quotes, school, sport, student, teacher, test, today, tools, universe, woman, world
Johann Sebastian Bach
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A school music teacher received this essay from an eight-year-old
student concerning Johann Sebastian Bach: “He was a GREAT composer. He
had 20 children and had an old spinster in the attic to practice on.”
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Actually, I don’t know the exact number of children he had, but it
seems to be quite a few. And I don’t know what he kept in the
attic … or what he practiced on. But the student was absolutely
right
about one thing: Bach was a GREAT composer.
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Not all of us can be great at what we do. I try to do some things the
very best I can. But that means I cannot give much attention to some
of the less important tasks.
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But what about just being good at WHO WE ARE? Good human beings? Even
being GREAT at who we are?
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Author James Michener learned something about greatness on a stormy
night in the South Pacific. His plane was trying desperately to land
on the Tontouta airstrip but could not do so. After several attempts
in the dark of night, his knuckles were white with fear. When they
finally landed safely, Michener went out and walked the length of the
airstrip, looking at the dim outlines of the mountains they had so
narrowly missed. He wrote this:
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“And as I stood there in the darkness I caught a glimpse of the
remaining years of my life and I swore an oath when peace came, if I
survived, I would live the rest of my years as if I were a great man.
I did not presume to think that I would be a great man. I have never
thought in those terms, but I could conduct myself as if I were. I
would adhere to my basic principles. I would bear public testimony to
what I believed. I would be a better man. I would help others. I would
truly believe and act as if all men were my brothers. And I would
strive to make whatever world in which I found myself a better place.
In the darkness a magnificent peace settled over me, for I saw that I
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