I have been a certified nursing assistant (CNA) for the past 6 years. I have many responsibilities as a CNA regarding all patient’s physical, emotional, and mental well-being. I am expected to handle culture and religion issues with respect, kindness, and understanding. I have been in situations where my clients believes in a different religion then I do, and they contact my boss to tell them that that they don’t want me to be there caregiver anymore due to differences in religion. As a CNA I recognize and believe that spiritual beliefs are different, in which r ...continued...

Throughout the history of the world, philosophers and religions have disagreed on many things. But they have all agreed on one thing …only one! You become what you think about. Read that sentence again. Most people hear it, but don’t truly understand it. You become that which you think about most of the time. We place value on material, replaceable things and very little value to the most irreplaceable thing of all. Our freedom of thought. Thoughts establish Habits, Attitudes, and Emotions&hellip ...continued...

It must have been the wet rainy day that drove me to my cleaning frenzy. “Time to clean out the closets”, I thought to myself. After all, the holidays are quickly approaching and the house will be full of out of town guests! Little did I know that my cluttered closets would open the doors to so many memories tucked away. Amidst the boxes of papers and old framed pictures was a box of various trinkets, cards and perfumes from my mother. Sighing, I remembered this would be the ninth winter without her. I picked up the nearly dried ...continued...

Once again it's “Deja vu all over again.” Never ending white entitlement, delusional history and the usual threats of violence are now playing out at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Eastern Oregon, one of the more important bird and wildlife sanctuaries in the country and located in an isolated corner of Oregon. Malheur is being occupied by a handful of white (Christian?) terrorists with the apparent and enthusiastic support of ISIS no less. The Refuge, however, happens to belong to all the people of the United States. But like a shopworn moral ...continued...

What in Sam Hill? We all know what it means, but where did the saying originate? Idioms, to make a long story short, are actually sensible nonsense, yet hit the nail on the head in a New York minute. We know what these phrases mean; we all use them. But where do these funny and nonsensical statements come from? Since when can you know the ropes, knock on wood, wag the dog, hold your horses, or go the whole nine yards and still know that you didn’t bite off more than you could chew. In my story, An Abduction Revelation, I used many idioms that we use in our every day conversations. ...continued...

Christmas 1961 We lived across the street from St Rita's Church and upstairs of Sophie's Hat Shop. Sophie was a very proper Lady who made custom tailored hats for discriminating, dapper gentlemen, like my Dad. She also owned the building and was thrilled to rent to us as local business people. Bonnie Thomas and her Mom lived next door on the same level as we did. Downstairs was Sophie's shop and living space. Everything felt very rich and fancy. Thick carpet on the heavy polished wooden stairs. Fancy wallpaper. Thick pretty carpet through the living room. Sw ...continued...

THE VICKER’S YESTERDAYS His collar was turned up against the wind because it WAS a dark and stormy night. The gale pushed against his body and tore at his cape pulling at the only clasp till it gave way. Father Roy grabbed at the cover between his now chilled body and the fierce storm. “Why couldn’t the church find its way clear to pay the contractor to add another button or two on these things.” he muttered. Father Roy had been in his study enjoying his third toddy when Sister Olivia called. She n ...continued...

~As he made his way down Columbus Avenue in the city of Middleton, Dr. Jameson was sure she was following him, hiding in the shadows, waiting patiently before making her move. The restaurant, his destination, wasn’t much further. Dr. Jameson wondered if maybe he should have phoned for that taxi, but it was a warm September evening and the walk would do him good. He could turn back; he was only a block from home, but he pressed on despite his uneasy feeling. The disturbing quiet of a usually busy city rattled him. It was as though he was the last survivor on the planet. A noise s ...continued...

The Qualities of Someone I Admire: My Grandfather             Although I admire several people in my world, there is one man that stands out above all the rest and shines bright in my eyes. I have known him all my life and he was always a constant for me. His nickname for years was Smiley. You may think that was because he smiled all the time, but this was not the case. In fact, he rarely had a smile on his face for as long as I can remember. This man had a very hard life. He was born in 1918 to a very poor family. His mother died when he was a young boy and he had to help ra ...continued...

The Korean family has the highest annual income of any race in the United States. Why? A better question is How? How can someone who comes from across the ocean, does not speak the English language become financially successful? Is it Intelligence? Is it Talent?…Is it Luck? Americans are born into the richest country with opportunities over any other country in the world. From the time we are born, we become used to the Abundant water and food supply, 2 to 3 cars within our homes, a roof over our heads, and the government t ...continued...

In amongst my ‘heaven-like’ existence, there was aching pain and anger and turmoil that was outside of my bubble, not even two steps away from me. To this day I cannot describe exactly what went on around me because I was too young to understand the reasons or the details. All I knew was that we had our patriarch and our entire household revolved around what he wanted and how he wanted it. I could not comprehend it because to me he was loving and yielding and I would never have been able to match the two personalities into one soul. But there were endl ...continued...

North Pole ...continued...

Our cooking today is so much different from days gone by. When my granddaughter was three, she stood in front on my oven door where a whole chicken baked in a glass pan. With wide eyes she said, "Is that a chicken?" You see, her mother only bought chicken parts. She'd never seen a whole chicken. How different from when I was a child. Below is a recollection when I visited Grandma at about age five. I've included it in my cookbook Family Favorites from the Heartland. Fried Chicken-Grandma’s Style During the late 40s and e ...continued...

The reason i'm posting this recipe is because it appears in a cookbook called Homegrown in the Ozarks: Mountain Meals and Memories which of all things was a finalist for best book of the year in Missouri in 2007 and i told my co-author Mary-Lane when we complied the book we shouldn't put it in because there are so many wonderful recipes from the Ozark Mountain in the 1930's and 1940's when ladies cooked on woodburning cast iron stoves and it just did not fit and it's been the most read and commented on of all 140 recipe listings. A Skunk Recipe That Serves (2) I ...continued...

I do believe I am an open-minded person and it is very important to me to understand and respect all different kinds of cultures. I think providing equal services to all clients and patients is important, because due to their race, culture, language barrier, gender, sexuality, etc... all of that is important to understand and take into account- but not to discriminate. It would be misconduct to treat a patient differently due to those factors. For example, for question 18. Some symbols—a positive nod of the head, a pointing finger, a “thumbs-up” sign—are u ...continued...