It was very big and heavy, cardboard, cheap painted white with clasps and lock, a holiday case which I used as a school bag, awkward to hold all the books I stored, caught on my bicycle carrier. Cycling home I felt a thud and heard a guffaw: the big school bully had knocked the suitcase onto the road. A challenge, a fight in the field, fear entering my bones. A school memory which sparked the bullying incident in Peeling Oranges. http://www.amazon.com/Peeling-Oranges-James-Lawless/dp/1496007646 ...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...

I found this week's module very interesting. I am personally apart of both the disabled and LGBTQA community. I have always experienced the client's perspective and not the providers perspective so it was eye-opening to me. I think it is important to put people before their disability, especially since everywhere else you go, it seems you are defined by your disability. Cultural competence is being, not "tolerant", but understanding and sympathisizng for every cultural difference. Being tolerant sounds too negative. Since I work in IT, I need to work with all different people ...continued...

As dad reversed mom came flying down wit a bag of snacks for the road. She gave it to me; we said our goodbyes and the journey began. A journey started with fear uncertainty and indecision How rude of me I didn’t introduce myself I’m Yasmin recently turned eighteen and right now on my way to my probable school of higher lea ...continued...

To get these posts out every night is quite an ordeal. The cold saps battery power so quickly you can watch the meter tick away. Every piece of electronics needs to be warmed against the body to restore power, then used quickly. We generally collaborate on our posts then, just before dinner, we will hook up all the various devices and start the long process of uploading our posts. I have to admit it is a pain, but something we both look forward to every night in our tent. I believe Mike is going to write about the noise we heard last night so I won't go into great detail, but I will tel ...continued...

Climate change is real. It is the most urgent threat affecting our species. We need to work together and stop procrastinating. (Leonardo DiCaprio, Oscar winner for best actor, The Revenant, 2016) Indians and wolves are both beasts of prey, though they differ in shape. (George Washington) To the Great Plains Indians, nature was the center of our way of life. To whites, nature was the enemy to be conquered. (Dr. Leo Killsback, citizen of the Northern Cheyenne Nation) It ultimately matters a hell of a lot, regardless of whether or not you live in Fe ...continued...

North Pole ...continued...

As I go about my occupation as a corporate chaplain, I hear the heart of people. So many folks seem discouraged. When they have a need, Jesus seems the last place to turn. Others seem to have no concept of the Living God who intervenes in situations when invited in. While I prayed about how to be an encouragement, I remembered how God had met me many times in the past. I made a list and came up with about twenty stories. Each week I'd write one and take it to my critique group to get their input and feedback. Before long, I had twenty-seven stories--enough for a small book. Dan ...continued...

One summer afternoon when i was about (10) years old, I sat on the bank of the farm pond, daydreaming and listening to a red winged blackbird sing. While Dad fixed the door of the corncrib the wind had torn off, Sunny, our Australian Shepard, plunged into the water in front of me. Barking and biting at the sparkling droplets that splashed in front of his face, he swam toward a flock of Canada geese, herding them along as they honked and flapped their wings. About twenty feet from the bank, the geese seemed to realize they had Sunny outnumbered. They did an about-face, honking loudly with th ...continued...

The lesson should be constantly enforced that, though the people support the government, the government should not support the people. (President Grover Cleveland, while vetoing a bill offering financial aid to the poor, 1887) Collyfoxing By coincidence I happened to see a YouTube video put up by Jon Ritzheimer a few weeks back, one of the gang leaders that occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and who is now in jail. He stood in front of a table piled high with dozens of dildos that his detractors had sent. What struck me, however, was the seemin ...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...

The Million Man March Commemorative Poem titled: "A Black Man" written by myself two years before the Million Man March. "A BLACK MAN" DO NOT LOOK INTO MY FACE AND SEE THE COLOR OF MY SKIN, AND NOT SEE THE CONTENT OF MY CHARACTER. DO NOT LOOK INTO MY HISTORY AND SEE THE THE DARKNESS OF MY PAST, AND NOT SEE THE BRIGHTNESS OF MY FUTURE. DO NOT LOOK AT THE LOSSES OF MY MISTAKES, AND NOT SEE THE PROFITS OF MY ACHIEVEMENTS. DO NOT LOOK AT THE DISTANCE I HAVE YET TO TRAV ...continued...

They're making people everyday, but they ain't makin' any more dirt. (Will Rogers) Trespassers will be shot or worse In July 2015 the United Nations estimated a global population of 7.349 billion people. Right now (2016) we are currently at 7.4 billion and increasing. In 1700, only 316 years ago, the human population of the entire planet was approximately 600 million. In what we now call the United States the population (Europeans) was approximately 250,000 people. The industrial revolution in Europe wouldn't begin for another 80 years ...continued...

My metamorphosis from English man to Irish man took place between the ages of 10 and 14. In the early 1960s, my father brought me to my first England v Ireland rugby match in London. I was then supporting England but I didn’t mind if Ireland won because I did not want my father to be unhappy. It was a magnificent experience, one which has left an indelible impression on me. Our seats, which were just in front of the touchline, were positioned a couple of feet below the level of the pitch; as a result, whenever play came near, the players seemed like giants, except for the English r ...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...