Before I took this quiz, I thought that I had a fair amount of knowledge about other cultural views because of many courses I have taken that have exposed me to different cultures. I was surprised, however, to find out that I still have a very long way to go. I answered 16 of the 23 questions correctly and many of the questions I got wrong involved practices in different cultures and how they differ from my own. I do not think that I have prejudices per say, I try to be a very nonjudgmental individual when meeting new people. I like to try to learn as much as I can abou ...continued...

North Pole ...continued...

During my freshman year of college Mike and Bobby, two of the active members of my fraternity, invited me to accompany them on a night road hunt. I didn't have a clue what a night road hunt was but the older boys told me it would be great fun. Mike was the president of the fraternity I had recently pledged, and Bobby was the treasurer, so I figurered they must be trustworthy. I knew they were both well respected, both in our fraternity and on campus. I met the pair in the parking lot of the fraternity house after dark. Bobby was armed with a 12-guag ...continued...

Kansas 1886 Jason Cahill sat in front of his stone fireplace on a bitter cold January night, a medical book in his hands. But every few minutes he would glance up at the clock on the mantel. A minute later he looked sideways at the front door. “What is taking so long?” he murmured. At almost the same time he had spoken these words, there was a loud rap on the door. Jason stood up quickly and unlocked it. Outside, a full moon at their backs, two tall men in ankle-length coats and Stetsons waited. Between them they carried something long and heavy, concealed in a canvas bag. ...continued...

Test - On my second camping trip in the Ozark Mountains we took my friend Iver along and he was chased down the river by a Cotton Mouth Water Mossican. So now i'm back and adding to the chapter. ...continued...

Preface This family story was written by my late wife Sharla Kay about my Grandma Hattie who lived in the Southern Ozark hill country in the community of Flat Rock located 12 miles east of Summersville, Missouri. Grandma Hattie raised 13 children, twelve girls and one boy, who provided her with 42 grandchildren. A highlight of her grandchildren's visit to Grandma’s house was listening to her relate hill country stories and sing a country ditty about “Ring Down the Bottom of a Kinbow.” <p ...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...

Prologue Not since the world was made was there ever seen or won so great a treasure, or so noble or so rich, nor in the time of Alexander, nor in the time of Charlemagne, nor before, nor after, nor do I think myself that in the forty richest cities of the world had thebeen so much wealth as was found in Constantinople. For the Greeks say that two-thirds of the wealth of this world is in Constantinople and the other third scattered throughout the world. {Robert of Clari, a French crusader, who was in Constantinople in 1204 when it was pillaged} . The spider weaves the curtains in t ...continued...

Arrived in Stockholm Sweden last night, resetting our body clocks is difficult. Did a gear check and discovered some things we still needed. Asked the hotel for directions to the best outdoor equipment store. Was told it was a short 35 min walk away. Got there and it was pretty much a GAP store with coats. Good news is we wandered around a bit and found the best glove store in the world. Nothing but wall to wall gloves. Heading to Longyearbyen in the morning. ...continued...

In 1993, I thought of the next 5 years as being light years away. The only things I were planning was when and where I would meet for happy hour on Friday and what girl could I could meet while I was there. In 1998, that is exactly what I had become: happy hour and non committed relationships. I had received exactly what I had thought about over the previous 5 years. Nothing more. Nothing less. Thoughts Whatever you believe our creator to be, it has given to us the undeniable ability to choose our thoug ...continued...

Mom was my best friend and though I feel her presence around me often, it is always strongest during Mother’s Day. Two years ago I was in a very dark place, overwhelmed with the chaos in my life I decided it was time to work on my office at home, trying to find and create order. As I opened a file drawer to clean it out, inside was an old blue folder with papers inside. Keep or throw I wondered as I opened the folder. Inside was a copy of the Constitution of the United States, the one mom helped me memorize in 8th grade. Ne ...continued...

http://tinyurl.com/y8kakux7I'm writing this as encouragement for authors who get dumbed down reviews from mindless readers. Even though I have over (200) five star reviews on my novels Blue Hole and the sequel River's Edge I still get a few reviews like the following. One said, "I haven't stated to read the book yet and not sure i will so I'm giving it one star. Another said, "Not sure if I was able to follow the story I've been on pain medicine, one star. A third said, "I didn't like the book but my husband and our son did, one star." I le ...continued...

I was born in Torrance California April 14, 1956 to Clara Louise Bryce and Richard Dwayne Mouritsen if I remember correctly I was zero days old I was 10 lbs. 13 oz. and they took the picture of me that was hideous. I actually do have the picture somewhere and it ended up in my medical school yearbook and can be found there. It turns out that all babies look almost the same which biologically make sense since at about 12 or 13 weeks you can't tell the fetus of the human from the fetus of a chicken but as the tail reabsorb it starts to take on a more ...continued...

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...

The way I see it is if I am so unhappy with how I look on the outside then I need to seriously buckle down and deal with it, only I am so addicted to the chips and the pop that I feel it is my crutch. I end up at the store buying things I dont need without even giving The big blow out! Mom entered my room, I can only imagine after grilling my sibling about her weight, spending habits and other things. She was on the war path and it just so happened that I was the nect victim. I heard a knock which lead to her helping herself into my room as though she owned it. To be honest, she pays the ...continued...