"The Twelve" presentation

Click here to see my presentation on "The Twelve"

what does your family mean to you?

In "Cry the Beloved Country", we learn many lessons. We are shown the differences in family morals and values and also the differences in the way people act. Paton suggest many themes 

throughout including religion, but the most prominent is family. He shows that no matter the struggle they are always there for one another helping each other out in any way possible. We are introduced to many characters that face many problems, but all come together to help each other out in any way possible. 

One character we meet is Stephen Kumalo. He's a preacher living in South Africa. Stephen comes across a problem when his troubled son goes to jail. He is also told that his sister has became a prostitute. He goes to help them because his family means most to him. 

Even through all these challenges, he stays with his family and helps them no matter what. He helps them as much as he can and uses his money him and his wife have saved to stay and help them figure things out. He realized that you can't pick your family, so no matter what you have to help them through everything. He didn't know what he was getting into when he went to Johannesburg, but he still went anyways because he knew it had to be done. 

He values his family more than anything and no matter what he will be there for them. His family goes through many trials but they stay together through it all. Although his son goes through hard trials like killing someone, his father never gives up hope and stays strong. 

The themes in the book are strong, but the theme of family is the most important. Kumalo shows that no matter what you have to be there for your family. they may disappoint you, but you can't give up on them. He pulls this theme out by showing you should have a stronger relationship with your family. Paton did a great job pulling out the theme and showing family means the most. 

This I Believe...

Everything Happens For A Reason...

I believe that everything happens for a reason. Anything good or bad always has a reason behind it. It might not seem that it does at the time, but later down the road you realize that it did. It could have a big or little effect on your life. Till this day my Momma still preaches and lives by 5 words, "Everything happens for a reason." Growing up I would hear that everyday. I can still hear her saying those words when I would be crying or very happy about something that happened that day. I'm sure I got tired of hearing her constantly repeat it everyday of my life, but now that I'm older and realize what it truly means, its 5 comforting words I love to hear. Even on my worst days, I still believe it. I might lose my dog or win the lottery, but there is a reason behind it.  I always remember no matter what the situation is, everything happens for a reason.

The biggest experience I remember is when I was 15 and didn't make our high school cheer team. My best friend at the time made it and I didn't. I was so devastated. She was with me at my house when we looked at the website and saw her name and not mine. I cried and cried, I was heartbroken. I couldn't imagine her being on there without me. I was scared she would make new friends and forget about me. Now that everything has calmed down, I am actually happy I didn't make it. I didn't realize it then, but now I know that there was a reason for it. I think it was because I need to enjoy high school and have fun. She has practice all the time while I'm out having fun with friends. I love not having something to do all the time. I have a lot of free time to focus on my grades and my friends. I can hear my mom now while sitting there comforting me as I cried saying, "Everything happens for a reason." I now realize it.

Those 5 simple words mean more than anything else I've ever heard. I will live by them even in the darkest days. One day I will be just like my mom, comforting my kids and telling them those 5 words. One day my mom will be gone, but I will still always hear her voice telling me that "Everything happens for a reason." Everyone goes through good and bad times in life. Sometimes it's not as bad as others, but always remember those 5 words. Maybe one day they will mean as much to you as they do to me.

Do things change the way we act?

In the story "The handsomest Drowned Man In The World" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, a large body of a man is washed up on the shore. The people are so excited and happy about this man. I never really understood what the big deal was over a large man. They say the man weighed more than any dead man they had ever known. They began to ponder and come up with maybe he was floating to long and water sunk into his bones.

They didn't know who the man was, so they sent the men out to other villages to find out. The women stayed behind to care for the dead man. They were taking so much care of a dead man, like really what is the big deal?! The women shaved him, combed his hair, and dressed him. They held the most splendid funeral ever for a dead man.

The people of this village really loved this dead, drowned man. They did everything they could to prepare him and forgot about other things. They made sure he was properly taken care of and had the best funeral ever. They had never met this man, but yet they still did everything for him. The fact he was dead made me amazed. If they took this much care of a dead man, i'm sure they took good care of people alive.

This made me think, do things change the way we act? I thought about it, and through the story it made the women change the way they acted. They did everything for this dead man. Do we do that in life? We do, if we were to win a million dollars, we would change the way we acted a lot. This dead drowned man was the million dollars to the people of the village. That's all they needed to change everything. We often do that in life. We change for people and things that we shouldn't change for. He could be just any drowned man, but he sure changed the way the village began to act.

a pictures worth a thousand words, but a story, just 6

Meme's Divinity

Ingredients:
4 cups of sugar
3/4 cups of cold water
3 egg whites
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla
2 cups chopped pecans

Preparation:
In a heavy saucepan over medium heat stir together the sugar. cook syrup mixture until it reaches 250 degrees F on a candy thermometer, bringing it to a hard ball stage.

I remember this like just yesterday. Me, Meme, and my cousin all in Meme's kitchen singing and cooking away. We sang every Christmas song there was. Meme even had a tape with 100 Christmas songs on it. The smell of sweet candy and pine trees danced around the room. Meme was always so happy on this day. It had to be her favorite time of the year. As she cooked me and my cousin sang, danced, and drew pictures to go in the Christmas tins that would soon be given to all our family and friends.

Our Meme was so generous. If we were somewhere and someone was having a bad day, she would be sure to bring them a tin full of divinity with a sweet Christmas card that would turn their day around. She always made sure everyone was happy, and that's what I love about her. As she was cooking she would be telling us to get the wax paper ready to fill the tins. She always needed something, but I loved helping her. Just being with her is like winning the lottery. Everyone was so happy and in the best mood. She always knew how to make me smile. As we sang and danced, Meme was working hard making all the divinity.

While syrup is cooking, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Once the sugar mixture reaches 250 degrees, carefully pour a slow, steady stream of syrup into the stiffly beaten egg whites constantly at high speeds. Add vanilla and continue until mixture holds it shape. Stir in pecans

As Meme was cooking, I always wanted some pecans to eat. I can hear it now,
"Meme can I have some pecans? I'm hungry," I would say.

"No Allie, we have a pantry full of food and the pecans are for the divinity," Meme would say.

I replied,"But Meme, I really want some."

I can see it now, after she said no, I would go sneak just a few at a time. The pecans were so good and I just had to have some! Smelling the candy made me so hungry. I couldn't wait until it would be done.

Drop divinity onto wax paper. If candy becomes too stiff, add a few drops of hot water. You need to work fast. Cool candies on a rack completely. Can be stored in air tight container for 2 weeks.

My favorite part was here. She was finally done cooking and I couldn't wait until it cooled. Meme would need us to help her so she could work fast. She didn't need to have the candy harden without it being on the wax paper. We would hold the wax paper flat and she would spoon out some divinity. It looked so good, making me want it even more. We had wax paper in the tins and each one with a Christmas card made by Taylor or I. We loved this day more than anything else. A day spent with my Meme, is a day well spent. Most kids wouldn't want to help their grandma cook, but I loved it. It's like the sweet aroma of Christmas time came in and took over Meme's soul. She was so happy and cheerful.

After the candy cooled, it was our job to put the hardened divinity into the millions of Christmas tins we layed out. Meme had so many tins, its like she bought out the whole store! When Papa came home he was surprised at how much we had accomplished in one day. We made enough divinity to give to the whole town of Crawfordsville! Tomorrow we would go to our family and friends, giving them each the candy my Meme worked so hard to make. Some might not appreciate it, but our family does. This one recipe told a lot about our family. We love giving and making others happy. Christmas was our favorite time. In the Vanvickle family, it's all about the divinity.

thINK

Braving the Storm

Have you ever been in storm that threatened everyone’s lives? I read an article in “People Magazine” were these people have been through many, but this one was the worst. The towns people of Moore, Oklahoma happened to been in school and at work while this went on. A EF5 tornado cutting a 17-mile path with winds at 200 to 210 mph hit the town. It took town buildings, broke trees apart, and even left homes and buildings not standing. 24 people were killed at press time, 9 being children. The towns people said they have battled other twisters in the past, but none like this one.

                People were trapped in their homes and schools. Everyone was scared for their lives, some not knowing if they would make it.  Tiffany Thornesberry received a call from her mother, Barbara Jarrell. She said, “Help me, help me! I can’t breathe! The house is on top of me.” Thornesberry raced to the house, but neighbors had already helped her out. 9 year old Melissa Rodriguez as trapped under a collapsed wall at her school. Her mother said, “When I saw her, all i thought was, Thank God this sweet girl is alive.”

                I have never been in a tragedy like this one, but I can only imagine what these people are going throughEveryone in the town came together to help everyone. Pam Lewis said, “Once the tornado hit, everyone immediately left the safety of their homes to check on their neighbors and start picking through the rubble. We keep the faith. We always do.”