Maryannaville™

March 15th was known to the Romans as the Ides of March – the day that Brutus and his accomplices assassinated Julius Caesar in the year 44 B.C.

In his play about the rise and fall of the Emperor, Shakespeare had the Soothsayer say to Caesar: “Beware the Ides of March!”

CAESAR: “Let me have men about me that are fat;
Sleek-headed men and such as sleep o’ nights:
Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look;
He thinks too much: such men are dangerous.”

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly and soon a small opening appeared. For several hours he sat and watched the butterfly as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther.

The man not knowing but wanting to help the butterfly took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand enough to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. But, neither one happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.

In his kindness and haste the man did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggling required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were nature’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Moral of the story?
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If nature allowed us to go through our life without any obstacles, we would become crippled. We would not be as strong as what we could have and should have been. Without resistance, we can not fly. Freedom and flight will only come after we first struggle with building the strength we need for the flight itself.

Originally posted 2007-04-01 00:07:00. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Originally posted 2006-10-03 10:19:00. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

“But the freedom that they fought for, and the country grand they wrought for is their monument to-day and for aye.”
*Thomas Dunn English

* He is the cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi Arabia sweating 2 gallons a day making sure the armored personnel carrier didn’t run out of fuel.

*He is the barroom loudmouth whose behavior is outweighed in the cosmic scales by four hours of unparalleled bravery near the 38th Parallel in Korea.

* She is the nurse who fought against futility in Da Nang and went to sleep sobbing every night for two solid years.

*He is the POW who left home as one person then returned as another.

* He is the drill instructor who has never been in combat but has saved countless lives by turning men and women into soldiers.

*He is the parade-riding legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand.

* He is the white-haired guy bagging groceries at the supermarket, aggravatingly slow, who helped liberate a Nazi death camp.

“It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.”

Originally posted 2008-11-11 00:42:00. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Originally posted 2006-08-21 05:29:00. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Actor Peter Graves, brother to James Arness of the TV series, Gunsmoke, was best known for part in the TV series “Mission: Impossible.”  He was found Sunday at his home just hours after he had brunch with his family in the Pacific Palasades  according to a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Police Department. He was 83.

There is no sign of foul play in the actor’s death, officer Karen Rayner said. He died 4 days before his 84th birthday. He is survived by his wife, Joan Endress, his three daughters, Kelly, Claudia and Amanda and six grandchildren.

Graves starred as  Jim Phelps for all but one of the seven years of the ever popular TV series, “Mission: Impossible”  from 1967-1973 although he had appeared in more than 70 films, TV series and TV movies throughout his acting career.

Mr Graves was a major part of my life and am saddened for his wife and family’s loss. He was an admirable man to many.

Peter Graves (Photo by Genaro Molina/ Los Angeles Times) – Chicago Tribune : World online news

I just signed an urgent petition calling on nations to protect elephants from poachers. There’s a risk they will weaken the global ban on the lethal ivory trade — it’s being discussed at a UN convention next week!

The petition will be delivered directly to the convention, so I thought you might be interested in standing up for the elephants too — just click here:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/protect_the_elephants/98.php?CLICK_TF_TRACK

Thanks!

(Read more below)

——

Dear friends,

Within days, 2 African governments will try to pry open the worldwide ban on ivory trading — a decision that could wipe out whole elephant populations and bring these magnificent animals closer to extinction.

Tanzania and Zambia are lobbying the UN for special exemptions from the ban, but this would send a clear signal to the ivory crime syndicates that international protection is weakening and it’s open-season on elephants. Another group of African states have countered by calling to extend the trade ban for 20 years.

Our best chance to save the continent’s remaining elephants is to support African conservationists. We only have days left and the UN Endangered Species body only meets every 3 years. Click below to sign our urgent petition to protect elephants, and forward this email widely so we can deliver hundreds of thousands of signatures to the UN meeting in Doha:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/protect_the_elephants/98.php?CLICK_TF_TRACK

Over 20 years ago, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) passed a worldwide ban on ivory trading. Poaching fell, and ivory prices slumped. But poor enforcement coupled with ‘experimental one-off sales’, like the one Tanzania and Zambia are seeking, drove poaching up and turned illegal trade into a lucrative business — poachers can launder their illegal ivory with the legal stockpiles.

Now, despite the worldwide ban, each year over 30,000 elephants are gunned down and their tusks hacked off by poachers with axes and chainsaws. If Tanzania and Zambia are successful in exploiting the loophole, this awful trade could get much worse.

We have a one off chance this week to extend the worldwide ban and repress poaching and trade prices before we lose even more elephant populations — sign the petition now and forward this message to everyone:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/protect_the_elephants/98.php?CLICK_TF_TRACK

Across the world’s cultures and throughout our history elephants have been revered in religions and have captured our imagination — Babar, Dumbo, Ganesh, Airavata, Erawan. But today these beautiful and highly intelligent creatures are being annihilated.

As long as there is demand for ivory, elephants are at risk from poaching and smuggling — but this week we have a chance to protect them and crush the ivory criminals’ profits — sign the petition now:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/protect_the_elephants/98.php?CLICK_TF_TRACK

With hope,

Paul, Alice, Iain, Raluca, Graziela, Ricken, Luis, Paula Benjamin, David, Ben and the rest of the Avaaz team

More information:

Partners at Bloody Ivory and Born Free:

http://www.bloodyivory.org/

http://www.bornfree.org.uk/

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species: http://www.cites.org

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In defense of Canadian seals, they will be clubbed to death by greedy hunters this season if we don’t speak up about it now.  Please take action with us tomorrow on March 15th. It is the Day of Action for Canadian Seals. Europe has rules which forbids the use of any animal parts. Europe cannot trade animal skins nor use wild animals for food. Only a thoughtless and greedy country allows its citizens to monetize animal cruelty.  Help us defend these helpless mammals.

As sociologist Carol Cassell notes in her book, “Swept Away,” female sexuality is generally considered more acceptable when women are seduced, romanced or misled, because they can’t be blamed for what they can’t control. If women are swept away, they can have sexual pleasure without having to confront their own desires or self-image… “Romance” is the social institution that enables both genders to create a socially-approved sexual experience. It’s the ritual pageant through which we pretend that sex exists outside the bounds of normal life. Everyone says that relationships should be “honest,” but there is little honesty in romance.
*EmpowHer: Dr. Marty Klein