Author: Mary

I am a recently retired college professor. Up until June 2012 I taught human behavior and the social environment, social justice and human rights at Monmouth University, in the school of social work. My great joys are reading and telling stories! Reading and thinking about the meaning and implications of what is written. Good literature has the potential of alchemy! of social change toward a world where social and economic justice is respected and where human rights are celebrated.

Efficacy, equanimity and bay gulls

On By MaryIn Awareness, laughterLeave a comment

If you ever find yourself feeling a bit bored with life, throw some clean underwear in a bag, grab your ATM card, get in the car and drive to Cape Cod. That is one of the places in the world where you have to work the hardest to find boredom; particularly in the summer you must work very hard to be bored. Alternatively it is very easy to tumble across lots and lots of engaging, entertaining, and even educational things to do.

A little bit ago, we took a boat trip with the Audubon Society to Monomoy Island. It was a fabulous opportunity to see some birds and to see some of the grey seals that have begun to take over Cape Cod. While the boat was making its way to Monomoy, the naturalist on board was giving us an introduction to the more common birds that we were likely to see. She started off by telling us that there is no such thing as a seagull. Rather there are different species of gulls, in fact, there are fifty different species of gulls around the world. She told us that eleven different species of gulls have been sighted around Cape Cod, but five species are the most common. Three of the very most common species are “white-headed” gulls: the Herring Gull (Larus argenttatus), the Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus), and the Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis). The other two common species are “hooded” gulls: the Laughing Gull (Larus atricilla) and and Bonaparte’s Gull (Larus philadelphia). She told us that the white headed gulls are the ones we are most likely to see when we are out on the beach and around the Cape in general. At the moment when she said that, I was overcome with … well, I don’t know quite what possessed me, but I raised my hand, and said “excuse me,” before I realized what I was doing. As the naturalist looked in my direction, I asked, “Well, if the sea gulls fly over the sea, what flies over the bay?”

The naturalist looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language, and started to say “I just explained that sea gull is a euphemism for a variety of species of gulls. And really all of the species can fly over both the sea and the …” When again, I was possessed by a force that compelled me to cut her off one more time as I uttered, “If sea gulls fly over the sea I thought that over the bay, it would be bay gulls.” And of course I said this as I was eating a bagel.

At that very moment, six very serious birders set down their 24 inch spotting scopes, rushed over and threw me off the boat!

As I flew through the air, I remembered the words of Daniel Berrigan, “These many beautiful days cannot be lived again. But they are compounded in my own flesh and spirit, and I take them in full measure toward whatever lives ahead.”

And I burst out laughing as I righted myself and walked to the shore.

 

Laughter is indeed the best medicine. Sometimes you just have to find the humor wherever you can find it. Most times it can only help to take your self very lightly. It is said that angels can fly because they take themselves so lightly. I can’t help but think that our work for justice and rights would be more efficacious and equanimous if we could but remember to take ourselves more lightly. So, go have a bagel, have a laugh and enjoy your work.

Rumi’s Seven Advices

On By MaryIn Advise, Awareness, poetry1 Comment

One of my favorite poet/sages is the Sufi scholar I know as Rumi (1207-1273). His full name is Mevlânâ Celâleddin Mehed Rumi. Recently I came across a bit of writing by him knows as the ‘Seven Advices’ and I thought I would share it with you all here:

  1.  In generosity and helping others: be like the river
  2. In compassion and grace: be like the sun.
  3. In concealing others’ faults: be like the night.
  4. In anger and fury: be like the dead.
  5. In modesty and humility: be like the soil.
  6. In tolerance: be like the ocean.
  7. Either appear as you are, or: be as you appear.

Rumi wrote in the thirteenth century, and yet, these bits of advise are well taken today. Imagine a world where generosity and help flowed as freely and as powerfully as a river. Imagine a world where compassion and graciousness shone in all of our lives as brilliantly as the sun on a perfect summer day. Imagine a world where we were eager to hide others faults the way the darkness of a cloudy, starless night hides just about everything. Imagine a world where we put no energy or life into our anger or frustrations. Imagine a world where our modesty and humility were as rich and fertile as the soil of a river delta. Imagine a world where we were all as tolerant and accepting as the ocean is deep. Imagine a world were appearances were not deceiving, but what you saw was what you got, where authenticity reigned.

Imagine!

You may say I’m a dreamer.

But love and joy increase.

I hope someday you’ll join in,

and the world will be in peace.

Everything possible by Fred Small

On By MaryIn hope, love, music of life1 Comment

 Everything possible

 The other day we were in Provincetown on Cape Cod and Jon Arterton was performing at the Unitarian Church. We had heard him before, and love both his voice and his choice of songs, so in we went. As always, what a wonderful treat!! This night it was Broadway songs with depth and meaning, and a few old favorites thrown in to round things out. Of all of the tunes, this one stayed with me the most. It is the lullaby that we all wanted to hear when we were little ones … (check out the link at the bottom to hear an early version of the song by the Flirtations, an a cappella group Jon sang with in the 1990’s).

This is just one of those songs that nests in my heart, and leaves me with a tear in my eye and a smile on my face.  I hope it brings a bit of joy and hope to you as well.

 Everything Possible by Fred Small

 We have cleared off the table, the leftovers saved,
Washed the dishes and put them away
I have told you a story and tucked you in tight
At the end of your knockabout day
As the moon sets it’s sails to carry you to sleep
Over the midnight sea
I will sing you a song no one sang to me
May it keep you good company.

CHORUS:
You can be anybody you want to be,
You can love whomever you will
You can travel any country where your heart leads
And know I will love you still

You can live by yourself, you can gather friends around,
You can choose one special one
And the only measure of your words and your deeds
Will be the love you leave behind when you’re done.

There are girls who grow up strong and bold
There are boys quiet and kind
Some race on ahead, some follow behind
Some go in their own way and time

Some women love women, some men love men
Some raise children, some never do
You can dream all the day never reaching the end
Of everything possible for you.

Don’t be rattled by names, by taunts, by games
But seek out spirits true
If you give your friends the best part of yourself
They will give the same back to you.

 CHORUS:
You can be anybody you want to be,
You can love whomever you will
You can travel any country where your heart leads
And know I will love you still

Here are the Flirtations performing it on their 1990 album. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VA8DFFNQFA

The Good Woman and Huldukona: an echoing yes to life and to love

On By MaryIn Choices we make, generosity, kindnessLeave a comment

Once, or maybe twice, in that time when things we dream really do happen there was a woman in Iceland who trusted her dreams, she was a good woman. She was a hard working peasant woman, married to an average kind of hard working man. There was nothing much remarkable about their lives. They lived each day as best they could. They worked hard. They had little, but they had enough. Life was not easy for them, but it was their life and they made the best of it. To look at them you would find nothing very remarkable. And yet if you stood with them for a while you would feel a depth, a resonance, a rootedness.

One night as this good woman slept, she dreamt that the elfwoman Huldukona came to her. In the dream, Huldukona asked her to put two quarts of milk a day in a bowl, and to set it in a corner behind a cupboard. Huldukona asked the woman to do this every day for one month. Huldukona explained that she needed the milk for her child, the child of her heart and hearth. The good woman was moved by compassion and promised elfwoman that she would do this.

In the morning when she woke, the good woman remembered her promise, and put the milk in a bowl in the place Huldukona had pointed out. The good woman did this even though she and her husband had only enough to get by. Every day for one month the good woman put out the bowl of milk. And each day when she returned the bowl was empty. The good woman was faithful to her promise and continued her gift faithfully each day.

At the end of the month, Huldukona again visited the good woman in her dreams. Huldukona thanked the good woman for her kindness, and asked her to accept the belt she would find in her bed in the morning when she rose from her sleep. Huldukona then dis-appeared.

In the morning, when the good woman rose from her sleep she found a stunning hand wrought silver belt, more beautiful than anything she had ever seen, the gift of the grateful elfwoman.

 

When we think of heroes the first image that comes to mind is likely to be that of a warrior – a strong burly man engaged in a physical struggle of muscle and violence. But, today I am inviting you to think again. This good woman was a hero, maybe a new transformative kind of hero. She trusted her dream and her vision. She was willing to give from her heart to nurture a life. She believed in what was asked of her. She said yes to life and to love. What could be more heroic? And yes, in the fable she was richly rewarded in the end for her generosity, but I think that may well be beside the point. The point for me is that she said yes to life and to love … in a small unremarkable way, but in a way that made all the difference for those to whom she responded. And that made all the difference to them.

So, today in some small way, let us each wake up and say yes to life and to love, with a small act of kindness and generosity giving just a bit more than we might have first thought we were able, because after all, kindness and generosity are an echoing yes to life and to love.

Have you found Jesus?

On By MaryIn laughter, vision and perspectiveLeave a comment

Cape Cod is blessed with an abundance of folks from England and Ireland. And, with an abundance of Irish pubs to quench the mighty thirsts of those who cherish fond memories of the local pubs back home. Patrick O’Shea’s is a wonderful place that greets you like family when you walk in the door. One night just as we were leaving there a few fellows came tumbling out behind us. They were having a rollicking grand time of it, to the point where I was not so sure I wanted to be driving on the same roads that they were, so, I was relieved to see them walking off somewhere.

Now the Cape is a strolling place – in places. But, O’Shea’s sits right on route 28, one of the three major road on the Cape, and there is not a lot of strolling done along it. But, our fellows set off in the general direction of the Bass River, and my curiosity was peaked, so we followed along a bit behind them.

Indeed, they were headed to the river, stumbling and laughing as they walked. As we got closer to the river, I could see the Reverend from the local Baptist Church holding some kind of prayer meeting by the river. Now, for sure I was going to follow and check this all out.

Well, as the boys got closer to the bank, one of them took a tumble, and rolled right into the Bass River. And there was the Reverend knee deep in the river baptizing folks from his congregation. And our fellow from O’Shea’s splashed and splattered and wound up at the Reverend’s feet. The good Reverend somehow was taking all of this extra splashing in stride. In fact as our fellow came up for air, the Reverend grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, dunked him back into the river, pulled him up and asked him, “My son, have you found Jesus?” And the fellow said, “No, sir, I have not.”

The Reverend kept his hold on him, dunked him back into the water, and it seemed to me he held him there a tad longer, then pulled him up and asked, “Son, have you found Jesus?” Our fellow was now sputtering a bit, but got out, “No, sir, I have not.”

The Reverend tightened his grip on our fellow, dunked him back in the water, and gave him a bit of a shake while he had the guy underwater, pulled him back up and asked again, “Son, Have you found Jesus yet?” By now, our good fellow was sputtering and gasping for air as he replied, “Sir I have not. Are you sure this is the spot where he went under?”

 

Ah, yes.

 

And that reminded me of another time when we were coming out from the Stop and Shop grocery store. It was a bit foggy and dark, and there was a woman looking for something under one of the (far too few) street lights. We could see she was distressed, so we went over and asked if we could help. She thanked us profusely and said yes, she had dropped her car keys, and had been looking for them for fifteen or twenty minutes and just couldn’t find them. She had looked all around under the light, and asked if we wouldn’t mind looking with her. So we scoured the area, but found nothing.

After a bit, I had this flash of insight, and remembered that when I lost something, my mother would have me retrace my steps as I searched for it. So, I asked the woman if she could remember when she last had the keys. She brightened, and said, “Oh, yes, I had them in my had and was getting ready to open my car door, when I dropped them.”

I must have gotten a quizzical look on my face, because I did not see a car under the light. With my last remaining shred of social work skill, I repeated, “Your car?”

And she replied, “yes, it’s parked right over there” as she pointed to a car parked a few yards away off in the shadows outside the halo of brightness from the lights.

“But, if you dropped the keys over there, why are you looking for them here?” I asked her.

She looked at me as if I was some kind of dolt, and said, “Why, silly, it’s so dark over there no one could ever find anything! I just came over here by the light were it is easier to see.”

 

Hmmm…these stories kind of make me think (once I stop laughing). Words. Of course we know what they mean. Well, at least I know what they mean to me. But when you hear them, I suspect they could mean a whole other set of meanings. “Have you found Jesus?” Have you found the meaning in your life? Who knew he was lost!

Just how often do we find ourselves searching for love in all the wrong places? Searching for something when it is right there in our hearts and homes – if only we would open our hearts and eyes and really see.

Brownie in a mug

On By MaryIn Food, happinessLeave a comment

 This is not exactly a story. But, I am sure there MUST be stories that will flow in your life if you try this!! So, as Manny Gorden used to say, “enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!!!”

I was trolling the internet the other day, and saw a link for this on a friend’s facebook page. Of course then there ensued the relentless google search for the BEST recipe. I think this is it – from simply recipes.com. It makes single serving brownies, in a mug, in a microwave. It only takes 5 minutes start to finish (not counting the time you will HAVE to exercise to work it off).

 From http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/brownie_in_a_mug/

The folks at SimplyRecipes noted that you really should not use extra virgin olive oil for this recipe, it’s too strongly flavored. Rather, corn oil or canola oil work best. A pinch of salt helps make the chocolate more chocolate-y. They also add some vanilla and a tiny bit of cinnamon; and suggest that you could also add a speck of instant coffee to take it up a notch. The brownie lacks for structure (no egg) but that’s okay because it’s contained by the mug. When it’s done, it’s HOT. Perfect for topping with a little vanilla ice cream or whipping cream. The trick is getting the cooking time right for your microwave. Every microwave oven model is different. Our 1000 watt microwave cooked these brownies in a mug perfectly at a minute 40 seconds. If you have a stronger microwave it will likely take less time. Enjoy!

Brownie in a Mug Recipe

  • Prep time: 3 minutes
  • Cook time: 2 minutes
  • Yield: Makes one serving.

Some mugs don’t microwave well because there is metal in their ceramic glaze. They’ll work but they may get very hot. Best to use a plain old everyday un-fancy mug.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup flour (50 g)
  • 1/4 cup sugar (70 g)
  • 2 Tbsp (13 g) cocoa (natural, unsweetened)
  • Pinch of salt
  • Tiny pinch of cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup water (60 ml)
  • 2 Tbsp canola oil or vegetable oil (NOT extra virgin olive oil, it’s too strongly flavored)
  • 1 to 2 drops vanilla extract
  • 1 small scoop of ice cream or 1 or 2 teaspoons heavy whipping cream to serve

1 Place flour, sugar, cocoa, salt, and cinnamon in a microwave safe ceramic mug. Stir with a fork or spoon to mix well and break up any clumps.

2 Add the oil, water, and vanilla to the cup and stir until the mixture is smooth and there are no lumps.

3 Place in microwave and heat on high until the mixture is cooked through, about a 1 minute and 40 seconds for a 1000 watt microwave. You may have to experiment and adjust the time for less or more powerful microwaves. If you don’t know the power level on your microwave, start with 60 seconds and increase until the brownie is done. It should still be moist when cooked through, not dry.

4 Let cool for a minute and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a teaspoon or two of whipping cream poured over.

 

And what does this have to do with justice? Well, in my delusional utopian world of justice, compassion and rights, we would all be able to wantonly indulge in this – with the ice cream, of course – and the end result would be willowy, svelte, sculpted bodies that were all muscle, with just the right amount of curves and with perfect cholesterol readings!! But then, it is summer and I am at the beach.

On Finding Joy

On By MaryIn Awareness, Choices we make1 Comment

 As a young social worker, I was taught about schizophrenogenic mothers, mothers who were responsible for their children’s schizophrenia. In the day it was the norm to hold mothers accountable (actually to blame them) for all of the mental dis-ease that befell their children and families. Perhaps it is in that spirit that I share this apocryphal story about everyone’s and no one’s in particular mother. . .

There indeed was a mother who was known throughout the neighborhood for her quest for perfection. She spent her life bemoaning the circumstances of her life. Nothing was ever quite good enough, nothing satisfied her.

Life went on in the village. Days came, and days went. People got up, went to work. They laughed, they cried. They did all the things that people do in the days of their lives.

One grace filled summer day the sun burst through the fog that had risen from the ground after the nights storm had ended. A rainbow hovered over the mountains, and the sun spread sparkling light over the gardens and fields in a blaze of glorious color and light. It was one of those moments that took your breath away and left you inspired with the beauty and grandeur of your town and our world. It was an “ahh moment” if there ever was one.

Surely even that mother would see the beauty and joy of life in this!

Father Poplowski called out to the mother, “my daughter is this not a most glorious day?”

And the mother replied, “Well it may be Father, but will it last?”

 
Well, of course not. Nothing lasts forever. The sweetness, the joy is in the moment – perhaps made even sweeter in the knowledge of its evanescent ephemeral nature. Nothing lasts forever, Nothing ever could. And, yet somewhere in our youth or childhood, we must have found something good. And so, let us re-claim the lost innocence of youth and childhood. Let us learn and remember to take our joy, our happiness, our hope were we can find them, where we can create them.

 

In Scarred by Struggle, Transformed by Hope, Joan Chittister reminds us of the sunflower – that beautiful plant which even in shadow turns its head towards the sun. Chittister christens the sunflower the patron saint of those in despair. She offers us this guidance from the people of New Zealond: Turn your face to the sun, and the shadows always fall behind you.

 

Today, this day, let us all make the effort. Let us enjoy beauty where it finds us, let us embody the sunflower and each turn our face to the sun!

To be understood or not to be. . .

On By MaryIn AwarenessLeave a comment

Nele Morton is without a doubt one of my most favoritest authors. Her book, “The Journey is Home” is powerful, insightful, and rife with quarks of wisdom that have nested in my heart and nettled and nurtured me over the years. One story in the book is about a group of women in an early consciousness raising group. Some of the women in the group had been abused by their husbands or boyfriends. Many of those women had never admitted or examined their experiences of abuse. But in the safety of the group they began to relay and relate to their own stories. The group asked, “tell us what it was like for you?” One by one, each woman told her story. She told it in her own way, for as long as she choose to speak. And the group listened to each one. The group listened and heard each one. In the words of one of the women, “you heard me to life.” You heard me to life. The power of truly listening and hearing. Morton invites us to re-imagine the opening lines of the book of John: God so loved the world that s/he heard it into being.

That story has written itself across my heart. When I was teaching social work, I would relate the story to my students to impress upon them the importance of listening and fully hearing the experiences and needs of their clients, of listening with their hearts, brains and hands.

Then today I came upon this story in Paul Brian Campbell’s blog People for Others. Campbell says that he found the story inRichard Cole’s book Catholic by Choice: Why I Embraced the Faith, Joined the Church, and Embarked on the Adventure of a Lifetime.

Let me tell you a story about Eddie. We met in a recovery program years ago. and he would tell this story about himself. Once when he was trying to stop drinking. he found himself in a psychiatric hospital. He was broke. He’d lost his job. His wife had left him. He was at the end of his last rope.

Every morning he would talk to a psychiatrist. After several sessions the doctor said, “Eddie, you’re all over the map. You need to focus. I want you to go off by yourself and think about this question: What are the three things you need in order to live? The three things you absolutely have to have to keep living.”

Eddie said okay, and he went off to think. A few days later, he came back with his answer.

“First of all,” Eddie said, “I need to breathe.” (He was taking the question seriously. He had no choice at that point.) “Second, I need to drink water. I know I can go without food for weeks. I’ve done it. But I need water all the time.”

“Last,” he said, “I need to be understood. If nobody understands me, I think I’ll die.”

 

So, think for a minute about the importance of listening carefully and truly hearing each other, it can be a powerfully healing and transformative act. We all need to be understood. Infants need to be touched and cuddled in order to stay alive and grow. Without adequate touching and cuddling, infants literally die of a dis-ease called failure to thrive. I suspect children and adults need to be heard and understood in a similarly powerful way.

And, then, think if you will for another minute, what are the three things you need in order to live? It would be wonderful if you would share them with us here in the comments section?

Thanks! Be well!!

What would you wish for?

On By MaryIn Choices we makeLeave a comment

 From http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/112250/jewish/Two-Bagels.htm by Tuvia Bolton

 On the morning after Napoleon had won one of his most important battles, he summoned the commanders of his various legions to a pompous ceremony in his war-room to reward their bravery in battle.

The commander of the Bavarian troops stepped forward, fell to one knee before his king and declared: “I ask for autonomy for Bavaria!”

“So it shall be!” proclaimed the Emperor to the ministers and officials surrounding the scene. “Autonomy for Bavaria!”

The Slovakian general then stepped forward, fell to his knee and similarly declared, “Liberty for Slovakia!”

“Liberty it shall be!” shouted Bonaparte.

And so it was with the Arabian and the Ukrainian generals. “By G-d, autonomy and statehood for Arabia, and for the Ukrainians!” Napoleon announced.

Finally, the chief of the Jewish legion stepped forward. “And what of you, my loyal friend?” Napoleon asked. “What reward do you ask for your bravery?”

“I would like a cup of hot coffee with milk and no sugar, two bagels with cream cheese, and some lox on the side.”

Without hesitation, Napoleon sent one of his officers to bring the Jew’s order, saluted all those present, and left the room. Meanwhile, the breakfast arrived, and the Jewish general washed his hands for bread, sat down, and began eating while the other generals gaped in amazement.

“You fool!” one of them blurted out. “Why did you make such a stupid request? You could have asked for a nation, riches and power! Why did you waste your wish on a couple of bagels?”

The Jew stopped eating for a moment, looked up at them with a smile and replied: “At least I got what I asked for.”

so, what would YOU wish for? 

I remember a time, about a thousand years ago, being in church and the priest read a bible story, where the angel of G-d asked some men what they wished for. The first ones asked for trifling things: money, power, fame. It was clear from the story that those were the wrong answers. Then the last one asked for wisdom. And wonder fo wonders, clearly that was the better answer, even the best answer! And so I adopted that as my answer, my goal for much of my life. Now, sitting here with 60 some years to look back on, I don’t regret my choice at all. And, (it’s always both and for me), and, I think the answer is really love and wisdom — and maybe they are not so very different.  And, a bagel would be kind of nice too!!

so, what would you wish for??

Remembering Maya Angelou

On By MaryIn strong womenLeave a comment

Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 4, 1928. She grew up in St. Louis and Stamps, Arkansas. She was indeed a renaissance woman, an author, poet, historian, songwriter, playwright, dancer, stage and screen producer, director, performer, singer, and civil rights activist. Reading her autobiographical books both broke and opened my heart. You might start with I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), which was nominated for the National Book Award and then explore her other books from there. Be sure to read her poetry. Her poems will take your breath away and inspire you!

A few highlights from her illustrious career include her acceptance of a lifetime appointment as In 1982 she accepted a lifetime appointment as Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 1982. In 1993, at Bill Clinton’s request, she wrote and delivered a poem, “On The Pulse of the Morning,” for his inauguration as president of the United States. In 2000, she received the National Medal of Arts, and in 2010 she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama.

Maya Angelou died on May 28, 2014 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She was 86.

 

One of my favorite poems by her is Still I Rise was written in 1978. Maya Angelou hold the copyright, it was published by Random House, Inc.

 

And Still I Rise

Maya Angelou, 1928 – 2014

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise. 

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
 
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I’ll rise.
 
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?
 
Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don’t you take it awful hard
‘Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own backyard.
 
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.
 
Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I’ve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise

I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear

I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

 

You really need to read this out loud … with more than a touch of sassiness, even as you feel the pain and terror. Read it and feel the determination to survival and excellence. Read it and know that hope is always possible where ever there is breath to inspire and act!