Chapter One Dana Gerard’s pulse quickened as she scanned the horizon. The sky glowed the murky greenish-gray color of a bruise, and a menacing wall of clouds rolled in the distance. She knew a possibility of rain had been forecast, and she’d been hoping for a good, steady shower – the kind that sank in deeply, nourishing farmers’ crops, one that would wash away the dirty browns of winter and give life to the budding tulips and iris that had just begun to dot her neighborhood. But that scenario seemed unlikely now. These clouds carried an ominous threat. Pulling he ...continued...

We are watching the entire United States, but particularly the border states of New York, Connecticut, Maine, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Washington, for any activity relative to banning pesticides. [Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment, 2005 (pesticide/fertilizer lobbying group)] What are the final pieces in America’s multi-billion dollar “grass” trade industry? Weed control ordinances started appearing in the mid-1940s, and over the next fifty plus years they arose in practically every metropolitan area of the U.S. Within a remarkable unif ...continued...

Our story Our family is a small and new family, whom has been thru a lot. Mother: Kelly, Son: Tony, and Father: Val. Family's Past history. Kelly and Val meet years ago. And moved onto a Tiny boat together 50sq ft trimaran. As time went on they lived on a number of small boats trying to find something that fit them. Presented with a job offer and good life in HI they moved onto a 75' yatch, that was well equipped for the trip to HI. Then Kelly got pregnant, when she was about 6 months along during the move, About 150 miles out to sea the frame of the boat started to brake due to poor ...continued...

Our message meet again... And he ask me if what will be my decision about our relationship... I think if love is true then it will fall in the perfect place... I miss him and love him since the day we become us... ...continued...

I have been a certified nursing assistant (CNA) for the past 6 years. I have many responsibilities as a CNA regarding all patient’s physical, emotional, and mental well-being. I am expected to handle culture and religion issues with respect, kindness, and understanding. I have been in situations where my clients believes in a different religion then I do, and they contact my boss to tell them that that they don’t want me to be there caregiver anymore due to differences in religion. As a CNA I recognize and believe that spiritual beliefs are different, in which r ...continued...

It was started in the birthday of my cousin his friend in "pisonet"... I never thought he will be part of my life... We drink until morning, His close friend one of my cousin also introduce him to me... I just smile at him and I just said nice meeting... And to be corrected no sparks on that time... He thinks at first that i have a crush on him but sorry I'm not easy to get... After those drinks we meet in our brgy agan but we dont talk I just look at him he look at me also... then time gose by thesame area again... My cousin his bestfriend starts to make an issue betwe ...continued...

WHAT WOULD MARTIN THINK? Martin Luther King Day Northern Iraq 2004 Attending a celebration service recognizing the birth and accomplishments of Dr. King is not altogether unusual on a day set aside as a holiday in memory of the man and his impact on the future fabric of our nation. What makes this year’s attendance unusual is that I’m in Iraq. I’m deployed to the northern-most airfield in Free Iraq. As a member of a medical unit assigned to Freedom Air Base, ...continued...

I think what I find quite amazing is that I can remember as far back as being no older than 2 to 3 years old. Some memories were good and some not so much. I was actually a pretty happy child, never really got into much trouble, unlike my older brother and my little sister. I can remember that the one word we did not say, was the word" shut up" to one another, if you did well you can pretty twell imagine what would happen. I had to find out the hard way one morning, let's just say yuck! I told my brother to shut up because he had said something to me that made me mad, unfor ...continued...

Cultural competence is more than an understanding of different cultural groups. Post a reflection of the non-ethnic group prompt provided in the D2L Checklist. The reflection will focus on your broad definition of culture competence. Cultural competence is also vital to understanding effective interaction with people who have disabilities and people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender or transexual. My definition of cultural competence has broadened throughout this class and especially after this module 6 unit. I did not expect to include these populations of people ...continued...

Living in El Monte, California, She had been in an abusive relationship off and on for several years. One day this man she was dating, decided he was gonna take a trip to go visit his parents in another town. As she waited for him pregnant and patiently, and in communication, realizing 1 week pased, then 2 weeks came around finally wondering why a month has already gone bye, and he wasnt home yet. As time passes she has found that while visiting his parents he was really visiting his fiance' and with in that time he got married to his fiance' and made her his wife. Finally 8 months kater s ...continued...

The Qualities of Someone I Admire: My Grandfather             Although I admire several people in my world, there is one man that stands out above all the rest and shines bright in my eyes. I have known him all my life and he was always a constant for me. His nickname for years was Smiley. You may think that was because he smiled all the time, but this was not the case. In fact, he rarely had a smile on his face for as long as I can remember. This man had a very hard life. He was born in 1918 to a very poor family. His mother died when he was a young boy and he had to help ra ...continued...

I understand why people say, “Paybacks are a bitch!” It’s tough work to pay back someone in your life who has been giving to you since you were born. You see, when I came into this world, I came in having two mothers. And it seems like these two old ladies sure know the ropes because they got me hopping around like a chicken with her head cut off paying them back big time. By the time I clean up the kitchen from breakfast dishes, and whatnot, I’m setting the table back up because these two old gals are sitting at the table again ...continued...

I set my briefcase on my gritty kitchen counter and traced the raised gold lettering on the thick ivory card. “You are Invited to a Holiday Cookie Party,” the note read. The invitation was from a fascinating, creative, high–powered executive I had met several months ago. I was surprised and thrilled that she had invited me to such a gathering. Each woman would bring a batch of home-baked cookies, she wrote. We would then get to sample all the cookies and bring a bag of treats home to our families. I adored the idea of getting to bring my teenage dau ...continued...

[These series of articles were written in 2005 and some appeared in the Kansas City Star] What was the best “con” of the twentieth century? My vote goes to the worldwide diamond trade. Debeers and friends, who consolidated the markets in the late nineteenth century, secured a monopoly of truly remarkable proportions. Who in the world today doesn’t know that a diamond is forever and is also a girl’s best friend? The “grass” trade in the United States may not be in the same league as the diamond monopoly, nor did it deliberately start out in it ...continued...

Riding Life’s Rollercoaster by Carolyn Unruh as told to Sally Jadlow My husband, Dave, and I graduated from K-State in Manhattan, Kansas in June 1967. We married that same month. Dave had been a member of the ROTC program at KSU and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant. Dave finished graduate school in 1968. He got a 1-year deferment from Uncle Sam. We moved to Kansas City so Dave could accept a marketing position with IBM. One year later, Dave received his papers to report for active duty. At the outset of our marriage, we wanted children. I knew from ...continued...