Ripples And Reflections Ii

A much younger version of myself reading this book would be astounded. How could I have written these reflections? For quiet reflection was not the stuff of my childhood. In a large extended Dutch/Australian family with endless uncles, aunts, and cousins, being heard was a challenge. They were lovely but loud, and everyone had an opinion. This was a fun family to grow up in, and I have no doubt I was as loud and opinionated as everyone else. So how did I become a quietly reflective person from such boisterous beginnings? Using the well-worn analogy of life as a journey through time and space, I found myself in an amazing time and space. I was thirty-four when I took up a position as a teacher at a Catholic high school called Chevalier College. I was no model Catholic, I but felt my values could align comfortably with those of the college. But let’s face it: faith was always going to be a problem for me. I could have ended up a round peg in a square hole, but the generous staff accepted my recalcitrance with grace and inclusiveness. Having long been an armchair philosopher, I found myself in this wonderful, reflective environment and began to ruminate about life, the universe, and all that. I appreciated the rituals and symbols of Catholic faith, but the repetitive, supernatural nature of the language seemed to me to be the very thing that excluded and alienated many students. I wanted to drag spiritual wisdom out of the cloisters and let it inhabit everyday life. To do this, I started to write reflections about everyday things, domestic life, relationships, family. Much to my surprise, rather than being shunned, my humble ponderings were warmly received. So began my career as a cherished philosophical windbag.

Down By the Creek - Ripples and Reflections is a collection of stories and poems for readers of all ages and walks of life. Author Paul Stansbury invites you to share in the amusing exploits of some young boys as they learn life lessons along the banks of their creek. These are the Ripples, adventures in fishing, pranking and romance, influenced by his own experiences growing up in Kentucky along Fern Creek. Accompanying each story, are the Reflections, Paul's poems, in which he looks back on the meanings of his own experiences down by the creek.

"He was my best friend." "I feel like I've lost that one person I could always count on." Siblings know each other in ways friends and other blood relatives do not. They have shared bedrooms, bathrooms, holidays, family milestones, meals, and a way of growing up that those outside the family can never fully understand. The bond is intense, complicated, sometimes difficult, often wonderful and absolutely irreplaceable. When death interrupts what might have been a lovely, lifelong connection, the impact is tremendous. And yet, this loss is rarely the focus of research and is not well understood or recognised within society, leaving many siblings searching for appropriate support and validation. This book gives readers the opportunity to experience the intensity of this relationship through the eyes of three bereaved siblings. Their experiences, both before and after loss, are powerfully presented using a narrative style that allows the complexity and depth of their individual relationships to shine brightly. The author, a bereaved sibling herself, artfully weaves her story throughout, adding to the richness of the text. Through these collective stories, readers are invited to explore their own reactions and reflect on the many ways siblings affect each other over the long term. Bereaved siblings, clinicians, medical professionals, therapists, social workers, funeral directors, religious leaders, bereavement groups, and anyone who supports or knows a bereaved sibling will find benefit in this book. This highly readable text will both touch and inform readers.

Widdis (geography, U. of Regina) combines descriptive exposition, quantitative tabulation, and structural analysis to cast new light on the settlement of the western parts of North America. Going beyond aggregate census data, he determines the geographical and social origins of migrants, the distance and direction of migration corridors, and geographical destinations in both the US and Canada. He finds that Anglo-Canadians were a much more diverse population than is generally supposed. Canadian card order number: C98-900675. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR