Harvest of Joy
It seemed pretty simple at the beginning. My father showed me how to prepare the soil, to plant the seeds and to water them, and to harvest the vegetables. If I sustained the garden, the garden would sustain me. But my relationship with our garden has grown much more complicated than that. Over time, the garden has sustained me more than I have sustained it.
In December, my father suffered a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm. His heart stopped twice during the operation, and he was not expected to survive. He had an intensive recovery period, and I wanted nothing more than to make him better immediately. His trauma had made me impatient and afraid to hope. I was having trouble waiting for things to unfold naturally and wanted to know what would happen in the end. Simple, everyday decisions or occurrences took on great importance.
For six weeks, I was running between the hospital, home and work, between fear and hope, anxiety and joy. One January morning, I went out to the garden to check on a small patch of parsley that my father kept covered with blankets to protect it from the snow. It had been neglected since he went into the hospital. When I uncovered it, I was surprised to find bright green and fragrant parsley. I began to become filled with hope that like that small patch of parsley that was still flourishing in the winter despite the odds, my father would flourish again as well.
By the time spring came, my father was regaining his strength. My father and I tilled and prepared the soil, then began planting the seeds. Though I wanted them to sprout immediately, they had their own timetable. When they finally did, I was so excited to see them pushing their way up through the dirt and climbing towards the sun. We cared for the seedlings, giving them manure, aerating the soil, watering them daily, doing everything we could so they would keep growing. But my father would point out that the first rule of gardening is that we are not in control. We can only wait and watch and enjoy each moment. As the plants grew stronger, I felt myself growing stronger as well. Slowly, I was learning to wait and coming to understand that the growth process, like life itself, has a force and rhythm of its own, and that I could rely on it.
Terry knew that aches and pains are common in athlete’s lives. At the end of his first year of university there was a new pain in his knee. One morning Terry woke up to see that he could no longer stand up. A week later Terry found out that it was not just an ache he had a malignant tumor; his leg would have to be cut off six inches above the knee. Terry’s doctor told him that he had a chance of living but the odds were fifty to seventy percent. He also said that he should be glad it happened now fore just 2 years ago the chance of living was fifteen percent. The night before his operation a former coach brought Terry a magazine featuring a man who ran a marathon after a similar operation. Terry didn’t want to do something small if he was going to do something he was going to do it big. "I am competitive" Terry said, "I’m a dreamer. I like challenges. I don’t give up. When I decided to do it, I knew it was going to be all out. There was no in between Terry’s sixteen month follow up he saw all the young people suffering and getting weak by the disease. He never forgot what he saw and felt burdened to thoughts that died to run this marathon. He was one of the lucky one in three people to survive in the cancer clinics. Terry wrote asking for sponsorship " I could not leave knowing that these faces and feelings would still be here even though I would be set free of mine, s...
In the 1500s Pedro Alvares Cabral landed on Brazil, previously a inhabited by tribal nations, and claimed the land in the name of Portugal. Brazil remained a Portuguese colony until September 7, 1822 when it declared its independence becoming the Empire of Brazil making the nation a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system. In early 1964, a Military junta took control of the nation until it fell in 1985 further changing the structure of the nation, and finally in 1988 a formal constitution was created enacting 26 states encompassing its boarders. Throughout the history of Brazil, the nation was never able to fully immerse itself in the international market and expand its economy, until today. Latin America has not had the best of luck when it comes to economic development and many nations in Latin America have similar issues when it comes to economic and societal development, and many of these issues are cause by the same things. For example, before the military coup in 1964 Brazil was in massive amounts of debt to international partners, however, during the military rule the payment of this debt was halted so the trust and economic backing of countries stopped with the payments. Many plans have been enacted after the fall of the military control to reverse the economic downfall that occurred in the country and continent in the 20th century and especially in the 1980s, the lost decade. In Brazil alone, there have been at least seven economic plans to reverse the economic hardships of the country, from the Cruzado Plan to the Real Plan, none seemed to work. However, in the past decade the Brazilian economy has seen an amazing increase and the condition of life of the people in the nation has increased with it. The quest...
Brazil, the largest country on the continent of South America, has historically been seen as the underdog socially, politically, and especially economically. Referred to as “the country of the future… and always will be” by many Brazilians and those who know the country best, the country has not always been a beacon of hope for Latin America as it is today (Weyland, pg 64). Brazil has many unique qualities when compared to many of its Latin American counterparts. While much of Latin America has wrestled with its Spanish colonial past, Brazil has been much more diplomatic and tolerant of its Portuguese colonial past. With such a vast amount of natural resources and territory, Brazil has had the advantage of being relatively self-sufficient when it needed to, but also being able to develop into one of the busiest and prosperous trading nations in Latin America. With frequent political transitions throughout its 500 year history, and experiencing periods of oppression and totalitarianism, Brazil has managed to overcome and move past the scars of its dictatorial past. This is in part due to its fortunate avoidance of ruthless and violent dictators in the style of Pinochet in Chile, Peron in Argentina, Castro in Cuba, and Fujimori in Peru, just to name a few. In this research paper, I will briefly describe an overview of Brazil’s present political circumstances while also touching on a few key factors that have aided its development, in addition to in-depth analyses of the country’s history through three main phases. I will also make philosophical connections to explain and put into proper perspective the events that have shaped Brazil into the country it is today.
The Portuguese began exploring Brazil’s Atlantic Coastal Plain in the early 1500s (Kent 236). In fact, colonization and settlement began in this region (Kent 237). The region quickly became the focus of colonization, and the countries first two settlements, Salvador and Rio de Janeiro were located on the plain. Today roughly 45 million Brazilians call the plain their home (Kent 236). During the early years of colonization, tropical broadleaf forests and brazilwood tree were extensively logged. The Brazilwood could be used as a rich red dye, which became the colony’s first significant export. However, by the end of colonial period, forests were largely nonexistent (Kent 237). This led the colonists to seek another alternative export which in this case was agriculture, especially sugarcane, cacao, and pasture (Kent 237).
She woke up with a severe pain in her side and began to have difficulty walking. Any kind of ailment was unusual for her as she had always been a healthy person. This particular Friday morning took her and everyone around her by surprise. Her daughter immediately took her to the hospital where they immediately began to run tests. Several hours later the grimed faced doctors said, Mrs. Flores you have cancer all over your body and it would be best to call all your family together. Forty-seven year old Billie, the pillar of her family, was going to die. Within hours Billie and her eldest daughter were on a private medical plane being flown to Houston to receive emergency treatment. Billie had no other words to say other than “God you are in control of my life”. After several hours of flight, mother and daughter landed in Houston where an overwhelming sense of peace embraced on them. Surgery was scheduled for Monday but after the x-rays came back doctors immediately took her into surgery. There they found several tumors, one that caused significant damage. This particular tumor had eaten part of her vertebrae and compressed her spinal cord, leaving her paralyzed. After surgery Billie began to ask God if it was her time to leave. His response to her was, her work was not done. That is all Billie needed to hear, it was time to fight. Billie and her daughter prayed day in and day out. Two
Eugene Richards has had a long and celebrated career of documenting the perils of humanity. He is a photographer, writer, teacher, and storyteller for the common people. He has nine books to his name, which can attest to these titles. In his first monograph, Few Comforts of Surprises, he tackled the pains of poverty in the Arkansas Delta. He also miraculously found his way into an Emergency Room to make his award winning The Knife and Gun Club. In his latest book titled Cocaine True Cocaine Blue (1994), Richards goes into three of the most drug plagued, and crime ridden areas of America: East New York; North Philadelphia; and the Red Hook Housing Project in Brooklyn, New York.
The book is written by Pamela Tucker Burton, an ordinary person who experienced the death of four family members, she shares her experiences and how a family stay positive, when they faced a deadly disease. In Pamela’s family were no cancer survivors, there were no encouraging sentiments to alleviate their pain. For a family with strong Christian beliefs the only healing and strength for their family was to pray, don’t be afraid and be spiritually prepared for the final journey.
This sense of care was called upon when a woman grabbed my arm to ask “My dad is going to be ok isn’t he?” while I was scribing in the Good Samaritan hospital. The 78 year old father was suspected of having a heart attack, but I had to ease her worry. “Yes he is going to be okay. The doctor thinks he is having a heart attack, but…” and at that point she started crying. I took ahold of her hand, and gave it a warm squeeze. I knew, from when my mother had cancer, that the unknown outcome of a loved one evokes a horrible sense of worry and fear. She needed reassurance that her dad will be ok. While her tearful eyes looked at me, I comforted and stayed by her side until she stopped crying. The woman thanked me and hugged me tight. I wasn’t sure what to do, but I tried to put myself in her shoes to ease her worry and guilt.
Some memories are best forgotten, but it takes courage to go through them. Often, I wish to forget the day when I almost lost my parents in a tragic car accident. As my world came crumbling down, I prayed and hoped that the nightmare would soon end. I endlessly fought the sense of helplessness, isolation and fear of the uncertainty. I was 19 and clueless. Nevertheless, I sailed through these dreadful days and welcomed my parents home after six long months. In the months that followed my parent’s return, I juggled between taking care of my parents, graduating college and adjusting to my new job. Almost 10 years later, this dark phase still has a phenomenal impact on me. Perhaps, because this specific experience transformed me into a grateful,
Because of the vast amount of Brazil’s resources, its history is veiled in European powers struggling to colonize the country. The last few centuries have been filled with the Portuguese, Spanish and Dutch fighting over the control of the land. However in the early 1700 the threat of outside European powers vanished and the colonization of the Portuguese was prominent. However, it wasn’t until the early 1800s that would lead to the nation of Brazil. As Napoeleon’s power spread across Europe, the Portu...
I can still remember that small enclosed, claustrophobic room containing two armed chairs and an old, brown, paisley print couch my dad and I were sitting on when he told me. “The doctors said there was little to no chance that your mother is going to make it through this surgery.” Distressed, I didn’t know what to think; I could hardly comprehend those words. And now I was supposed to just say goodbye? As I exited that small room, my father directed me down the hospital hallway where I saw my mother in the hospital bed. She was unconscious with tubes entering her throat and nose keeping her alive. I embraced her immobile body for what felt like forever and told her “I love you” for what I believed was the last time. I thought of how horrific it was seeing my mother that way, how close we were, how my life was going to be without her, and how my little sisters were clueless about what was going on. After saying my farewells, I was brought downstairs to the hospital’s coffee shop where a million things were running
In the year of 2004, my grandmother was diagnosed with Lung Cancer. My first thought was “My grandmother is going to die,” although, that was not the result I anticipated. It was merely a hasty thought that intersected my mind. Based on the information from the doctor, I wasn’t sure on the amount of time I would have left to share with my grandmother. During this time, I knew that I would have to cherish each moment to a greater magnitude. Oftentimes, daily events of life
On the day my father died, I remember walking home from school with my cousin on a November fall day, feeling the falling leaves dropping off the trees, hitting my cold bare face. Walking into the house, I could feel the tension and knew that something had happened by the look on my grandmother’s face. As I started to head to the refrigerator, my mother told me to come, and she said that we were going to take a trip to the hospital.
Willy Loman’s tragic flow leads him to purse the idea that reputation in society has more relevancies in life than knowledge and education to survive in the business. His grand error of wanting recognition drove him crazy and insane and lead to his tragic death. Willy’s hubris makes him feel extremely proud of what he has, when in reality he has no satisfaction with anything in his life. Willy Loman’s sons did not reach his expectations, as a father but he still continued to brag about Biff and Happy in front of Bernard. Willy Loman caused the reader to empathize with him because before his tragic death he did everything he could for his family. Empathy, Hubris , and Willy Loman’s tragic flow all lead him to his death that distend for him the beginning.
It was a normal Saturday morning everything was going swell until, I awoke up from my slumber only to be left alone at home with my brother. In that short moment where my brother and I were left alone at home to survive I started to panic and overthink the worst-case scenario might happen. That our parents left us to fend for ourselves and we had to endure the up-coming obstacles that would soon arrive. In this experience, I learned not to overthink but to also be patient in and not make hasty decisions.