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Long Walk to Forever |
| They had grown up next door to each other,on the fringe of a city,near fields and woods and orchards,within sight of a lovely bell tower that belonged to a school for the blind. Now they were twenty,had not seen each other for nearly a year.There had always been playful,comfortable warmth between them,but never any talk of love. His name was Newt.Her name was Catharine.In the early afternoon,Newt knocked on Catharine's front door. Catharine came to the door.She was carrying a fat,glossy magazine she had been reading.The magazine was devoted entirely to brides."Newt!" she said.She was sur- prised to see him. "Could you come for a walk?" he said.He was a shy person,even with Catharine. He covered his shyness by speaking absently,as though he were a secret agent pausing briefly on a mission between beautiful,distant,and sinister points.This manner of speaking had always been Newt's style,even in matters that concerned him desperately. "A walk?" said Catharine. "One foot in front of the other,"said Newt,"Through leaves,over bridges--" "I had no idea you were in town,"she said. "Just this minute got in,"he said. "Still in the Army,I see,"she said. "Seven more months to go,"he said.He was a private first class in the Artillery. His uniform was rumpled.His shoes were dusty.He needed a shave.He held out his hand for the magazine."Let's see the pretty book,"he said. She gave it to him."I'm getting married,Newt,"she said. "I know," he said."Let's go for a walk." "I'm awfully busy,Newt,"she said."The wedding is only a week away." "If we go for a walk," he said,"it will make you rosy.It will make you a rosy bride."He turned the pages of the magazine."A rosy bride like her--like her--like her," he said,showing her rosy brides. Catharine turned rosy,thinking about rosy brides. "That will be my person to Henry Stewart Chasens," said Newt."By talking you for a walk,I'll be giving him a rosy bride." "You know his name?" said Catharine. "Mother wrote,"he said."Form Pittsburgh?" "Yes,"she said."You'd like him." "Maybe," he said. "Can--can you come to the wedding,Newt?" she said. "That I doubt."he said. "Your furlough isn't for long enough?"she said. "Furlough?"said Newt.He was studying a twopage ad for flat silver."I'm not on furlough,"he said. "Oh?" she said. "I'm what they call A.W.O.L.," said Newt. "Oh,Newt!You're not!" she siad. "Sure I am,"he said,still looking at the magazine. "Why,Newt?" she said. "I had to find out what your silver pattern is,"he said.He read names of silver pat- terns from the magazine."Albermarle?Heather?"he said."Legend?Rambler Rose?" He looked up,smile."I plan to give you and your husband a spoon,"he said. "Newt,Newt--tell me really,"she said. "I want to go for a walk,"he said. She wrung her hands in sisterly anguish."Oh,Newt--you're fooling me about be- ing A.W.O.L.,"she said. Newt imitated police siren softly,raised his eyebrows. "Where--where from?" she said. "Fort Bragg," he said. "North Carolina?" she said. "That all right,"he said."Near Fayetteville--where Scarlett O'Hara went to school." "How did you get here,Newt?" she said. He raised his thumb,jerked it in a hitchhike gesture."Two days," he said. "Dose your mother know?"she said. "I didn't come to see my mother,"he told her. "Who did you come to see?" she said. "You," he said. "Why me?"she said. "Because I love you,"he said."Now can we take a walk?"he said."One foot in front of the other--through leaver,over bridges--" They were talking the walk now,were in a woods with a brown-leaf floor. Catharine was angry and rattled,close to tears."Newt,"she said,"this is absolutely crazy." "HOw so?"said Newt. "What a crazy time to tell me you love me,"she said."You never talked that way before."She stopped walking. "Let's keep walking,"he said. "No,"she said."So far,no farther.I shouldn't have come out with you at all,"she said. "You did,"he said. "To get you out of the house,"she said."If somebody walked in and heard you talk- ing to me that way,a week before the wedding--" "What would they think?"he said. "They'd think you were crazy,"she said. "Why?"he said. Catharine took a deep breath,made a speech."Let me say that I'm deeply honored by this crazy thing you've done,"she said."I can't believe you're really A.W.O.L., but maybe you are.I can't believe you really love me,but maybe you do.But--" "I do,"said Newt. "Well,I'm deeply honored,"said Catharine,"and I'm very fond of you as a friend,Newt,extremely fond--but it's just too late."She took a step away from him. "You've never even kissed me,"she said,and she protected herself with her hands."I don't mean you should do it now.I just mean this is all so unexpected.I haven't got the remotest idea of how to respond." "Just walk some more,"he said."Have a nice time." They started walking again. "How did you expect me to react?" she said. "How would I know what to expect?"he said."I've never done anything like this before." "Did you think I would throw myself into you arms?"she said. "Maybe,"he said. "I'm sorry to disappointed you,"she said. "I'm not disappointed,"he said."I wasn't counting on it.This is very nice,just walking." Catharine stopped again."You know what happens next?"she said. "Nope,"he said. "We shake hands,"she said."We shake hands and part friends,"she said."That's what happens next." Newt nodded."All right,"he said."Remember me from time to time.Remember how much I love you." Involuntarily,Catharine burst into tears.She turned her back to Newt,looked into the infinite colonnade of the woods. "what does that mean?"said Newt. "Rage!"said Catharine.she clenched her hands."You have no right--" "I had to find out,"he said. "If I'd loved you,"she said,"I would have let you know before now." "You would?"he said. "Yes,"she said.She faced him,looked up at him,her face quite red."You would have known,"she said. "How?"he said. "You would have seen it,"she said."Would aren't very clever at hiding it." Newt looked closely at Catharine's face now.To her distress,she realized that what she had said was true,that a woman couldn't hide love. Newt was seeing love now. And he did what he had to do.He kissed her. "You're hell to get along with!"she said when Newt let her go. "I am?"said Newt. "You shouldn't have done that,"she said. "You didn't like it?"he said. "What did you expect,"she said--"wild,abandoned passion?" "I keep telling you,"he said,"I never know what's going to happen next." "We say good-by,"she said. He frowned slightly."All right,"he said. she made another speech."I'm not sorry we kissed,"she said."That was sweet.We should have kissed,we've been so close.I'll always remember you,Newt,and good luck." "You too,"he said. "Thank you,Newt,"she said. "Thirty days,"he said. "What?"she said. "Thirty days in the stockade,"he said--"that's what one kiss will cost me." "I--I'm sorry,"she said,"but I didn't ask you to go A.W.O.L." "I know,"he said. "You certainly don't deserve any hero's reward for doing something as foolish as that,"she said. "Must be nice to be a hero,"said Newt."Is Henry Stewart Chasens a hero?" "He might be,if he got the chance,"said Catharine.She noted uneasily that they had begun to walk again.That farewell had been forgotten. "You really love him?"he said. "Certainly I love him!"she said hotly."I would not marry him if I didn't love him!" "What's good about him?"said Newt. "Honestly!"she cried,stopping again."Do you have any idea how offensive you're being?Many,many,many things are good about Henry!Yes,"she said,"and many, many,many things are probably bad too.But that isn't any of your business.I love Henry,and I don't have to argue his merits with you!" "Sorry,"said Newt. "Honestly!"said Catharine. Newt kissed her again.He kissed her again because she wanted him to. They were now in a large orchard. "How did we get so far from home,Newt?"said Catharine. "One foot in front of the other--through leaves,over bridges,"said Newt. "They add up--the steps,"she said. Bells rang in the tower of the school for the blind nearby. "School for the blind,"said Newt. "School for the blind,"said Catharine.She shook her head in drowsy wonder."I've got to go back now,"she said. "Say good-by,"said Newt. "Every time I do,"said Carharine,"I seem to get kissed." Newt sat down on the close-cropped grass under an apple tree."Sit down,"he said. "No,"she said. "I won't touch you,"he said. "I don't believe you,"she said. She sat down under another tree,twenty feet away from him.She closed her eyes. "Dream of Henry Stewart Chasens,"he said. "What?"she said. "Dream of your wonderful husband-to-be,"he said. "All right,I will,"she said.She closed her eyes tighter,caught glimpses of her hus- band-to-be. Newt yawned. The bees were humming in the trees,and Catharine almost fell asleep.When she opened her eyes she saw that Newt really was asleep. He began to snore softly. Catharine let Newt sleep for an hour,and while he slept she adored him with all her heart. The shadows of the apple trees grew to the east.The bells in the tower of the school for the blind rang again. "Chick-a-dee-dee-dee,"went a chickadee. Somewhere far away an automobile starter nagged and failed,nagged and failed, fell still. Catharine came out from under her tree,knelt by Newt. "Newt?"she said. "H'm?"he said,He opened his eyes. "Late,"she said. "Hello,Catharine,"he said. "Hello,Newt,"she said. "I love you,"he said. "I know,"she said. "Too late,"she said. He stood,stretched groaningly."A very nice walk."he said. "I thought so,"she said. "Part company here?"he said. "Where will you go?"she said. "Hitch into town,turn myself in,"he said. "Good luck,"she said. "You too,"he said."Marry me,Catharine?" "No,"she said. He smiled,stared at her hard for a moment,then walked away quickly. Catharine watched him grow smaller in the long perspective of shadows and trees, knew that if he stopped and turned now,if he called to her,she would run to him.She would have no choice. Newt did stop.He did turn.He did call."Catharine,"he called. She ran to him,put her arms around him,could not speak. |
- 1.Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.
- Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
- Buy a DVR and tape your late night shows and get more sleep.
- When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, ‘My purpose is to __________ today.’
- Live with the 3 E’s — Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.
- Play more games and read more books than you did in 2007.
- Make time to practice meditation, and prayer. They provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives.
- Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.
- Dream more while you are awake.
- Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
- Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.
- Try to make at least three people smile each day.
- Clear clutter from your house, your car, your desk and let new and flowing energy into your life.
- Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip, OR issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
- Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
- Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.
- Smile and laugh more. It will keep the nagative blues away.
- Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
- Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
- Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
Next 20 after the jump. - You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
- Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.
- Don’t compare your life to others’. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
- No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
- Frame every so-called disaster with these words: ‘In five years, will this matter?’
- Forgive everyone for everything.
- What other people think of you is none of your business.
- Remember God heals everything.
- However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
- Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
- Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
- Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
- The best is yet to come.
- No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
- Do the right thing!
- Call your family often.
- Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for _______. Today I accomplished ____.
- Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.
- Enjoy the ride. Remember this is not Disney World and you certainly don’t want a fast pass. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy the ride.
- Laugh when you can, apologize when you should, and let go of what you can’t change.
Read more: http://www.glennong.com/2009/04/40-tips-for-better-life.html
Levi Celerio Lyrics (Tagalog)
Ang Pasko ay sumapit
Tayo ay mangagsi-awit
Ng magagandang himig
Dahil sa ang Diyos ay pag-ibig
Nang si Kristo ay isilang
May tatlong haring nagsidalaw
At ang bawat isa
Ay nagsipaghandog ng tanging alay
Bagong taon ay magbagong-buhay
Nang lumigaya ang ating bayan
Tayo'y magsikap upang makamtan
Natin ang kasaganaan
Tayo'y mangagsi-awit
Habang ang mundo'y tahimik
Ang araw ay sumapit
Ng Sanggol na dulot ng langit
Tayo ay magmahalan
Ating sundin ang gintong aral
At magbuhat ngayon
Kahit hindi Pasko ay magbigayan
Vicente Rubi Lyrics (Cebuano)
Kasadya ning takna-a
Dapit sa kahimayaan
Maoy among nakita ang
Tagbalay nga masanagon
Bulahan ug bulahan
Ang tagbalay nga giawitan
Awit nga halangdonon sa tanang Pasko
Magmalipayon!
Chorus: Repeat above then...
Bag-ong tuig
Bag-ong kinabuhi
Duyog sa atong mga pagbati
Atong awiton ug atong laylayon
Aron magmalipayon!
Repeat Preface
then Chorus
Preface
Overview:
The following story attempts to prove the existence of God. It allegedly records a conversation between a humble, God-believing student and an arrogant Atheistic university professor. The text appears in hundreds of Christian web sites on the Internet. It is doubtful whether the conversation ever took place. But one can be certain that if the story describes a real event, Albert Einstein was not the university student involved.It seems that the story had been circulating for some time before the summer of 2004 when it was first attributed to Einstein. It is probable that Einstein's name was chosen simply in order to lend credibility to the argument.
The story can be found in text form on many hundreds of locations on the Internet. One remarkable portrayal is by photographer Macel Cohen and is in a PowerPoint presentation. It combines the text with some incredibly beautiful photographs. It is well worth taking the effort to download a free PowerPoint viewer just to see the photographs. 5
Did God create everything that exists? Does evil exist? Did God create evil?
A University professor at a well known institution of higher learning challenged his students with this question. "Did God create everything that exists?"A student bravely replied, "Yes he did!"
"God created everything?" The professor asked.
"Yes sir, he certainly did," the student replied.
The professor answered, "If God created everything; then God created evil. And, since evil exists, and according to the principle that our works define who we are, then we can assume God is evil."
The student became quiet and did not answer the professor's hypothetical definition. The professor, quite pleased with himself, boasted to the students that he had proven once more that the Christian faith was a myth.
Another student raised his hand and said, "May I ask you a question, professor?"
"Of course", replied the professor.
The student stood up and asked, "Professor, does cold exist?"
"What kind of question is this? Of course it exists. Have you never been cold?"
The other students snickered at the young man's question.
The young man replied, "In fact sir, cold does not exist. According to the laws of physics, what we consider cold is in reality the absence of heat. Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-460 F) is the total absence of heat; and all matter becomes inert and incapable of reaction at that temperature. Cold does not exist. We have created this word to describe how we feel if we have no heat."
The student continued, "Professor, does darkness exist?"
The professor responded, "Of course it does."
The student replied, "Once again you are wrong sir, darkness does not exist either. Darkness is in reality the absence of light. Light we can study, but not darkness. In fact, we can use Newton's prism to break white light into many colors and study the various wavelengths of each color.
You cannot measure darkness. A simple ray of light can break into a world of darkness and illuminate it. How can you know how dark a certain space is? You measure the amount of light present. Isn't this correct? Darkness is a term used by man to describe what happens when there is no light present."
Finally the young man asked the professor, "Sir, does evil exist?"
Now uncertain, the professor responded, "Of course, as I have already said. We see it everyday. It is in the daily examples of man's Inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil.
To this the student replied, "Evil does not exist, sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat, or the darkness that comes when there is no light."
The professor sat down.
The young man's name - Albert Einstein 7
Indicators that Albert Einstein was not involved:
 | In his Autobiographical Notes, Einstein states that his "deep religiosity" as a Jewish child ended at the age of 12 when he developed a skeptical attitude towards a personal God that he continued throughout his life. 1 |
| On 1954-MAR-24, Einstein answered a letter from a stranger stating: |
"It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it." 2
| The Urban Legends Reference Pages comments that Einstein's name: |
"... gets used in legends whose plots call for a smart person, one whom the audience will immediately recognize as such (e.g. modern tellings of an ancient legend about a learned rabbi who switches places with his servant feature Albert Einstein in the role of esteemed scholar). This venerated cultural icon has, at least in the world of contemporary lore, become a stock character to be tossed into the fray wherever the script calls for a genius. ..."
Likewise, "the atheist professor" is a figure common to a number of urban legends and anecdotes of the faithful — he gets flung into the mix where there's a need for someone to play the role of Science Vanquished in Science-versus-Religion tales. ...
He's a stereotype, not an actual person. He exists to be knocked over by the persuasive arguments of the faithful in yarns about theology successfully defended. 3
Comments on the "Einstein and the professor" story from Christian web sites:
The legend has received glowing reviews on many Christian web sites. Examples are: | "Albert has shown unquestionable intelligence, I admired him." |
| "Wow, this is a really great story. I'm going to copy this and put it on my space too..." |
| "There is no debate. God has to exist in some form or another. There has to be a point where science has no place and only a divine cause is logical. The real debate is what form does God take?" |
| "This is wonderful! This provides me with another in a long list of reasons why I adore Einstein!" |
| "Where DID you find this? Awesome." |
| "This is one of the most influential statements I have ever heard." |
| "I was deeply moved by the fact that truth is right there in front of our faces all the time... too often we don't see it...." |
Does the "Einstein and the professor" story prove that God exists?
The story is basically an attempt to solve the problem of theodicy: the coexistence of God and evil in the world. "Theodicy" comes from a Greek expression meaning the "justification of God." It is an attempt to explain how an omnipotent, omniscient, omnibeneficient, and omnipresent God could have created a world with so much suffering and evil present.One example of the conflict is the hypothetical case of a child running onto a street into the path of an oncoming truck that is unable to stop in time to prevent the child's death. If an adult observes the scene and does nothing to try to stop the child, we would consider them profoundly evil. But the historical concept of God is that he is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all present. Yet in this scenario, God would do nothing to prevent the death of the child. He is either not all powerful, or not all present, or not all loving, or not all knowing. Rabbi Harold Kushner tackled this problem in his very popular book: "When bad things happen to good people." 7 He concluded that God cannot possess all four attributes simultaneously. He felt that we should drop God's omnipotence in order to retain the other three attributes. That is, God didn't save the life of the child because he cannot do so.
Theologians and philosophers have attempted to harmonize the presence of evil and the historical attributes of God for centuries without success. So it is doubtful that this story will accomplish that goal.
Analyzing the story:
| In the third last paragraph, "Einstein" says: "Evil is simply the absence of God." Note that "Einstein" first assumes the existence of God in order to prove the existence of God. He is saying that God exists and thus God exists. This is circular reasoning, and makes his analysis meaningless. | ||||||||
| The story attempts to prove God's existence as follows:
|
However, an alternate initial statement would be that "Evil is simply the absence ofgood." I suspect that if you asked many people what the antonym of "evil" is, the vast majority would respond "good." Very few would respond "God."
By substituting "good" for "God," the argument collapses.
| Another approach would be to realize that no consensus exists over what is good and evil in a given situation.
| ||||||||
| There are obviously very different views of good and evil in the world. Most individuals probably believe that absolute truth exists for them, and perhaps even for their culture and religious denomination or tradition. But when comparing the absolute truths as claimed by different individuals, cultures, and denominations, we observe great diversity and much mutual exclusivity. There is no agreement on what is good and what is evil. If we equate goodness with God, as was done in this story, then it is obvious that a multiplicity of Gods would have to exist. This would not be difficult during ancient times when different Gods and Goddesses were assumed to be in charge of different cultures. However, the argument collapses if one is trying to prove that only a single deity exists. |
A legend on top of a legend:
One blog added a second layer of urban legend to this legend. They wrote 26 "funny facts" including: | Item 1: "It is impossible to lick your elbow." |
| Item 26: "Over 75% of people who read this will try to lick their elbow." This was followed by one version of the Einstein story. |
Item 2 could not be verified without a large study. But I seriously doubt that it is true. 4
Reference:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/culeins.htm
The 12 Zodiac Constellations
The Constellation of the Northern Hampshire
List of Constellations with meanings:
A listing of all 88 constellations including their area in square degrees, location (whether it is in the Northern or Southern hemisphere), and the proper name of its alpha star, if any:
Surreal Photographs of the Sky and Star
KidsAstronomy.com
The Hubble Space Telescope and more...
http://rst.gsfc.nasa.gov/Sect20/A5.html
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