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Children's Laughter
by C Phyle
Once, in a time stained with laughter, in a place where the land met the sky, there lived a purple cow with an orange mane. Her friend, Ythomit, an elegant elephant, with a penchant for bow ties tended toward the ordinary. The Purple Cows job, as she perceived it, was to make her world a happy and peaceful place in which to live. She composed many ideas toward this end, and determined that song, laughter and imagination should play a large part in her struggle to achieve a better world. She taught Ythomit the elegant Elephant, silly jokes, and discovered that with every joke she told, he wrote a song that made her laugh. Ythomit and Arual, the purple cow with the orange mane, soon discovered that children all around the world could live on a diet of laughter and love, and so together they set out on a journey that would bring all the Children of the World to a place where the land met the sky, and the mind was stained with mirth.
An Epitaph
by C Phyle
My brother died at sunset. So last night I paid tribute to him in my own way. I cried. As I sat there, I thought back over the 40+ years we had known each other remembering incidents, that now dusty, had been stored in the attic of my memory for decades. We didn't always get on very well. Who does? When we were younger he was often detached....a bit of a loner. Although he was 2 years older than I, there were times when I felt older than him. He never could admit that he loved animals, but I knew better. I would often walk into his bedroom and find him curled up on his bed with my cat, his eyes tight shut and arms firmly holding her. He never knew that I knew...but I loved him for that,
As
we grew up, we went our separate ways. Our lives
took us to opposite ends of the earth, yet we
drew closer, and for the next 2 decades,
although we saw each other only occasionally,
our philosophies, our desires, our love for our
families made me realize just how alike we
really were. Death is as much a part of life as life itself. Most of us have had to deal with tragedy at some point in our lives. Life cannot be lived like that. The death of my brother, so unexpected, and so untimely, has made me realize just how fleeting my existence really is. It has drawn me closer to my friends and family, not out of fear, but out of love. It has taught me to be compassionate. So last night I cried. I was watching a sunset. I was sitting on a cliff in Queensland, Australia. I was sitting on my brothers land; smelling the sweet evening air, watching him sleeping on his bed with my cat in his arms.......... 17:20:35
Teachers Rock
by C Phyle
It's downright wrong that I feel so good today. I feel a bit guilty. There's so much wacky and weird stuff going on around the world, I almost feel like I should be depressed. But I'm not, and here's the reason why. I'm a Parent, and I'm a Teacher. Children look up to me. They expect me to be a certain way. They probably think I'm a bit of a fuddy duddy. I'm really not, but it's fine that they think I am. I love my work, and cannot imagine doing anything else I had a History Teacher who used to barricade the classroom. The desks became ramparts and we became the soldiers. We would storm the castle and defeat the enemy. I looked forward to his classes and I looked up to him, much as my Kids look up to me today. He was a brilliant Teacher. He made History come alive and he helped develop the imagination of a 12 year old British Boy. I'll always be grateful to him. Our government has a huge responsibility. Democracy is a strange animal, with delicate claws. In the best of circumstances she wields her power with mighty wisdom. In the worst of circumstances she devours everything in her path. I teach as I was taught. I am patient by nature. I believe that Children can learn anything, given patience and a small enough class size It is downright wrong that I feel so good today. After all I only have 32 Kids in my Class, but every one of them will go to College, and everyone of them has succeeded already. I feel good 17:21:41
The
Pyramid by C Phyle
We have a Teacher friend, a well-respected member of the community who has been selling Amway products for over 5 years. He is still convinced that his detergent ship will come in. He is still convinced that someday soon he will forever leave the hallowed halls of learning for Tupperware and Polyester Parties. In the meantime whilst Mr. Am and Mrs.Way cruise the Caribbean he drives around in his 12 year old Honda and busts his assets. Detergents and cleansers are an important part of life. We all like to smell clean: we all like to impress our aging aunties with our sanitary savoir faire, and we certainly don't want to offend our meticulous feline with particles of dust around the paws. I for one think it’s kind of creepy to purchase said items from your son’s 3rd grade teacher, even though his name is Mr. Kleen17:22:15 2007-01-04
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