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Month: June 2019
Life…
Quote
The Morals of Chess
by Benjamin Franklin
“Life is a kind of chess, in which we have often points to gain, and competitors to contend with, and in which is a vast variety of good and ill events that are, in some degree, the effects of prudence or the want of it.”
Short Story
The Story of An Hour
by Kate Chopin
This story was first published in 1894 as The Dream of an Hour before being republished under this title in 1895. We encourage students and teachers to use our The Story of An Hour Study Guide and Feminist Literature Study Guide.
Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband’s death.
It was her sister Josephine who told her, in broken sentences; veiled hints that revealed in half concealing. Her husband’s friend Richards was there, too, near her. It was he who had been in the newspaper office when intelligence of the railroad disaster was received, with Brently Mallard’s name leading the list of “killed.” He had only taken the time to assure himself of its truth by a second telegram, and had hastened to forestall any less careful, less tender friend in bearing the sad message.
She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance. She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister’s arms. When the storm of grief had spent itself she went away to her room alone. She would have no one follow her.
There stood, facing the open window, a comfortable, roomy armchair. Into this she sank, pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul.
She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life. The delicious breath of rain was in the air. In the street below a peddler was crying his wares. The notes of a distant song which someone was singing reached her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves.
There were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had met and piled one above the other in the west facing her window.
She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless, except when a sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams.
She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength. But now there was a dull stare in her eyes, whose gaze was fixed away off yonder on one of those patches of blue sky. It was not a glance of reflection, but rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thought.
There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully. What was it? She did not know; it was too subtle and elusive to name. But she felt it, creeping out of the sky, reaching toward her through the sounds, the scents, the color that filled the air.
Now her bosom rose and fell tumultuously. She was beginning to recognize this thing that was approaching to possess her, and she was striving to beat it back with her will–as powerless as her two white slender hands would have been. When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under the breath: “free, free, free!” The vacant stare and the look of terror that had followed it went from her eyes. They stayed keen and bright. Her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body.
She did not stop to ask if it were or were not a monstrous joy that held her. A clear and exalted perception enabled her to dismiss the suggestion as trivial. She knew that she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that had never looked save with love upon her, fixed and gray and dead. But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome.
There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself. There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature. A kind intention or a cruel intention made the act seem no less a crime as she looked upon it in that brief moment of illumination.
And yet she had loved him–sometimes. Often she had not. What did it matter! What could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in the face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being!
“Free! Body and soul free!” she kept whispering.
Josephine was kneeling before the closed door with her lips to the keyhole, imploring for admission. “Louise, open the door! I beg; open the door–you will make yourself ill. What are you doing, Louise? For heaven’s sake open the door.”
“Go away. I am not making myself ill.” No; she was drinking in a very elixir of life through that open window.
Her fancy was running riot along those days ahead of her. Spring days, and summer days, and all sorts of days that would be her own. She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long. It was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long.
She arose at length and opened the door to her sister’s importunities. There was a feverish triumph in her eyes, and she carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of Victory. She clasped her sister’s waist, and together they descended the stairs. Richards stood waiting for them at the bottom.
Someone was opening the front door with a latchkey. It was Brently Mallard who entered, a little travel-stained, composedly carrying his grip-sack and umbrella. He had been far from the scene of the accident, and did not even know there had been one. He stood amazed at Josephine’s piercing cry; at Richards’ quick motion to screen him from the view of his wife.
When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease–of the joy that kills.
Animal Facts~DYK
36 Really Cool Animal Facts
- When opossums are “playing ‘possum,” they are not playing. They actually pass out from sheer terror.
- The two-foot long bird called a Kea that lives in New Zealand likes to eat the strips of rubber around car windows.
- Snakes are true carnivores as they eat nothing but other animals. They do not eat any type of plant material.
- The Weddell seal can travel underwater for seven miles without surfacing for air.
- According to tests made at the Institute for the Study of Animal Problems in Washington, D.C., dogs and cats, like people, are either right-handed or left-handed—that is, they favor either their right or left paws.
- An iguana can stay under water for 28 minutes.
- Crocodiles and alligators are surprisingly fast on land. Although they are rapid, they are not agile, so if you ever find yourself chased by one, run in a zigzag line. You’ll lose him or her every time.
- Horses can’t vomit.
- A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out.
- Butterflies taste with their feet.
- Penguins can jump as high as six feet in the air.
- All polar bears are left-handed.
- An eagle can kill a young deer and fly carrying it.
- It was discovered on a space mission that a frog can throw up. The frog vomits its entire stomach out so the organ is dangling out of its mouth. Then the frog uses its forearms to dig out all of the stomach’s contents and swallows the stomach back down again.
- The leg bones of a bat are so thin that no bat can walk.
- The katydid bug hears through holes in its hind legs.
- Slugs have four noses.
- Ostriches stick their heads in the sand to look for water.
- In a study of 200,000 ostriches over a period of 80 years there were no reported cases of an ostrich burying its head in the sand.
- It’s possible to lead a cow upstairs, but not downstairs.
- A shrimp’s heart is in its head.
- A snail can sleep for three years.
- The chicken is one of the few things that man eats before it’s born and after it’s dead.
- Some dogs can predict when a child will have an epileptic seizure and even protect the child from injury. They’re not trained to do this, they simply learn to respond after observing at least one attack.
- A pregnant goldfish is called a twit.
- Rats multiply so quickly that in 18 months, two rats could have over a million descendants.
- There are only three types of snakes on the island of Tasmania and all three are deadly poisonous.
- It is physically impossible for pigs to look up into the sky.
- Dolphins sleep with one eye open.
- A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.
- A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.
- Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards and are on the Australian coat of arms for that reason.
- The jellyfish is 95% water.
- A hippo can open its mouth wide enough to fit a 4 foot tall child inside.
- Only female mosquitoes bite.
- Most elephants weigh less than the tongue of the blue whale.
https://owlcation.com/misc/Over-200-Odd-Facts-Did-You-Know-Them
Air Cleaning Plants
11 Air-Cleaning Plants:Areca Palm
This plant is very useful in the air purification process. Areca palm helps to remove toluene and xylene from the air inside and it can also help to increase the overall air purification. It’s very useful and beneficial for people who have asthma and need effective air purification.
Money Plant
This plant is also very useful in increasing the overall air quality and the air purification process. The money plant helps to reduce the toxins: benzene, formaldehyde, toluene and xylene from the air. This amazing air-purifying plant is great for people who have asthma, for people who have other lung problems and for people who are exposed to high city smog living conditions.
Spider Plant
This remarkable plant promotes high air purification. Spider plant is suitable for decreasing the levels of formaldehyde, toluene, and xylene in the air. This plant is also very useful and great for placing in homes that have been painted recently. We can also mention that this plant is suitable for apartments or homes, which are exposed to city chemical air pollutants
Purple Waffle Plant
Do you have this plant in your home? Well, if your answer is no, then you definitely should. This remarkable plant will help you to eliminate the toxic compound – formaldehyde from the air. We can also mention that this plant will help you to increase overall air purification and it’s very useful and effective for increasing the quality of the air within any house or apartment. This plant is very good for people who live in the city, and they are exposed to high amounts of toxic smog and car fumes. People who live near the industrial factories should definitely get one of these.
Bamboo Palm
This plant is very effective in removing the formaldehyde toxic compound from the air indoors and it’s also very useful for acting as a natural humidifier – for most areas inside the house. This amazing plant can help you remove xylene and toluene – two toxic compounds from the air inside. It’s also great for people who live in high polluted areas and where car fume exposure is at high levels. Bamboo palm is suitable for homes and shops, which may be exposed to gasoline
Variegated Wax Plant
Variegated wax plant will help you to improve the overall air quality in your home, by removing and eliminating benzene and formaldehyde from the air inside. You should also know that this plant will increase the overall air purification levels. The variegated wax plant can help people who suffer from lung diseases, such as: emphysema or asthma. This amazing plant is also very useful and beneficial for people who are exposed to car fumes, petrol, paint fumes, industrial or city smog, or heavy cleaning products.
Lilyturf
Have you ever heard of lilyturf? Well, if you haven’t, then you should definitely read this – this amazing plant will help you to remove ammonia, toluene, xylene and formaldehyde from the air inside your house or apartment. This remarkable plant is capable of increasing the oxygen levels and it can help to improve the air quality. We can also mention that the lilyturf plant is also great for people who are exposed to cleaning products, paint fumes, city or industrial smog, or vehicle fumes. The lilyturf plant can help you clean the air for people who suffer from lung diseases, including asthma and emphysema.
Boston Fern
You should definitely get one of this plants in your home, because it will help you remove the formaldehyde from the air. You should also know that this plant also works well as a natural type of air humidifier. This plant is very good in removing xylene and toluene from the air as well. Some people say that this plant is one of the best air-purifiers in the world. This remarkable plant is perfect for people who live in areas where exposure to gasoline exists. Boston fern is the best plant for homes that are exposed to city smog. And we can also mention that this plant is very useful for purifying the air for people who have asthma or other breathing problems.
Dwarf Date Palm
This plant is absolutely amazing. It will help you reduce the toxins: xylene, toluene and formaldehyde from the air inside your house or apartment. You should also know that this plant will increase the oxygen levels in your home and it’s very useful in improving the air quality in highly exposed areas. The dwarf date palm is great for placing in homes that may be exposed to paint fumes, factory smog, car fumes, or heavy cleaning solvents. This amazing air-purifying plant is very useful for improving the air quality for asthmatics and people who have other lung problems.
Moth Orchids
This plant is your best choice if you want to purify the air inside your house. We can also say that this plant is also very effective in removing xylene and toluene. The moth orchids plant can increase the air quality in your home significantly. It’s suitable for homes and apartments that are exposed to factory or city smoke, smoke or fumes. You should also know that this plant is very useful and beneficial for purifying the air in homes, which are freshly painted or where paint fumes exist.
Barberton Daisy
Barberton daisy – it works great in removing benzene, formaldehyde and trichloroethylene from your home. This amazing plant is the best plant if you want to increase the oxygen levels in your house or your apartment. It will help you purify the air as well. This remarkable plans it very useful and beneficial for homes that are exposed to fuel fumes, car fumes, factory or city smog, smoke, etc. This plant is also very useful for people who are exposed to heavy cleaning solvents.
As you can see, these amazing plants will purify the air in your home, increase oxygen levels and remove all the toxic compounds from the air inside your house or apartment. And they are completely safe for you, your family and your pert. So, you should definitely get one of these plants. Thanks for reading and don’t forget to share with your friends and family.
Old Friend, poem by MwsR
My sadness comes calling like an old friend
Brain and heart disheartened
Pulling me in towards those locked away feelings
A spin off of my nightmares versus my hopes and dreams
More than not, burdens of my feelings weight me down
Abuse was not my doing or liking
Then why must it be a part of me still?
Why must it encroach on my space and spread over my face?
No makeup can cover all this
I want to put these emotions out to pasture
Never to bring them back home again.
Let them die out in a field of clover.
Sprinkled with the piles of crap from those ”animals”
My life should mean more
Than this abuse, I implore.
Sadness, remembering, and a lot of hurt feelings
Chased by a strong cup of forgiveness pie.
Ugh.
I am to mean more than an abused one
I want to be more.
When I look in the mirror, I am more.
Abused, survivor, and strong
Now, that’s how I am
Who I am and was,
All along.
Six Word Story Challenge
In the end, only love remained. ❤️
https://happymesshappiness.wordpress.com/2019/06/02/a-six-word-story-137/
Mws R Writings 