The Little Things

The Little Things

They say every adventure starts with a single step. Most times, this first crucial step is getting out of bed. That feeling where the sheets suddenly feel soft as clouds look. When the temperature is not too warm, nor too cold but a perfect Goldilocks zone. That feeling when things simply could not be more comfortable.

He was peaceful in his sleep. Enjoying an adventurous dream, turning over in the covers occasionally to find a slightly colder spot on the bed. This bliss would all be interrupted shortly by an alarm. Buzzing obnoxiously. Waking up to this buzzing alarm was like having your ears dipped in honey and then walking around by a bee hive. His phone, which doubled as many things including his alarm continued to disturb him. Continuing its sound pollution. Forcing him to do something, anything to just turn the damn thing off.

Everyone has dreams.

Whether they come while they sleep, or they have the highest ambitions while they are awake. Many forget their dreams when they wake up. Never to know what adventure they took the night before. It is more worrying when dreams thought up during the day are forgotten. When ambitions are lost. When the desire to achieve whatever goals you may have fade.  When the alarm clock does not get you out of bed, but take you out of the life you wish to be living.

There are many alarm clocks. Each may have his own. Some alarms will call some people louder. Begging them, pleading with them to do something about them.

Finally, the slow process of rolling to the other side of the bed. Reaching out to take hold of the culprit. That horrible alarm would finally be silenced. And with it, his dreams. He was now awake. Ready to embark on a routine he had done so often, he might just be able to do it blind. It is the way things are done.

Yet he was still in bed.

Thinking about the only thing anyone thinks about in the moments they wake up. Sleep.  If he was late to work, his boss would be even angrier with him. As of now he was not on the best terms with his boss. He had the tendency to not only be late to work, but also be late with his work. He missed deadlines and start times almost regularly. Not to say he wasn’t a bright guy, he was!

One of the brightest. What he lacked was the will to do things he didn’t enjoy, and to do them well.

As he drifted back and floated the lucid world, fear struck. His heart started beating a bit faster, he could feel his pulse in his head. He had no choice but to get up now. He was awake. The thought of another scolding from his boss was enough to jolt him. He shot up, now sitting upright on his bed. Swinging his legs to face the ground, he removed the night’s cocoon of warmth and comfort. He stepped into to day. Bolting to the bathroom to catch a quick shower, he glanced at the clock.

Huh. What was he so worried about. He still had 30 minutes to leave.

He does some of his best thinking in the shower, most do. Carefully planning out his entire morning, allowing ten minutes to shower, ten minutes to get dressed and another five to drink some of his morning tea and put the rest in a mug. This left his five minutes of wiggle room in case anything went wrong. Now he had some time in the shower for his mind to wander.

Sometimes he would come up with a funny joke. Most of the time he just sang. Thankfully he lived alone; I'm not sure anyone would agree to live with him if they heard him singing in the shower. Not today. Today he wandered into the thought of his angry boss. How she might deliver her scolding if he was late. How he always felt so foolish being scolded in front of his peers. Of Course he still laughed when he was on time and one of his peers were late. Still giggled with his office mates about her flamboyant gestures, usually involving her hands but sometimes her whole body. He still always dreaded this scolding, when it happened to him of course. He could just about hear her voice. She was a slim woman, maybe in her sixties. As far as anyone knew she lived in a pant suit; no one had ever seen her out of one. It was rumoured she slept in a pajama version as well. She was a no nonsense, straight forward lady. And he could just about hear her in his head. “ HA! Late again are we?” she loved to jump on any opportunity that she might have caught one of her underlings in the wrong.  

He shut the water off, jumped out of the shower and started manically drying off, He dreaded being late, being made fun of, he always shriveled when the boss questioned him. “ Sorry, I know I shouldn’t have been late, sorry… It wont happen again!” Playing the interaction out in his mind was all the motivation he needed to get there on time.

He got his clothes on, always laid out the night before, ate a quick breakfast, brushed his teeth and hopped into the car. He Glanced at the clock on the dash. Five minutes ahead of schedule he should be early in traffic isn't too bad.

And his morning was complete. Everyday, the same routine yet somehow each day, everysing one no matter how normal found a tiny way to be unique. He would do the same tomorrow, wake up, drift back to sleep, get out of bed and go through the same exact routine. And everyday still a new adventure.

Only Time Will Tell What is to Happen to Africa Under Current Leadership

Adam Rosenbaum

World Lit H Period 1

Ms. Tompkins

March 13th, 2015

Only Time Will Tell What is to Happen to Africa Under Current Leadership

5 million Dollars over 10 years, and 200,000 each year until the day you die. Not a terrible deal. Most would certainly have a hard time turning such a prize down. And if one was in the running for the Mo Ibrahim Prize for African Leadership  they would certainly do all they could to secure such winnings. Yet in the 8 years since its creation in 2007, the award, supposed to be awarded yearly has only been given out 4 times. In 09,10,12,13, the committee decided no Africa Leaders were qualified to win the award. And further, not many are really clamoring to win it. Take a pic of the many supposed democratic regimes in africa-Bongo's Gabon, Biya's Cameroon, Chiluba's Zambia, Muluzi's Malawi, Moi's Kenya, Mugabe's Zimbabwe all have been fairly successful in embezzling money and resources from their respective areas of rule to amass such fortunes, the Mo Ibrahim Prize wouldn't make any dents in their bank accounts. Africa, while has abundant natural resources and land, a very young population, it is estimated “half the continent's population is under 19” (Ibrahim) said Mo Ibrahim at the annual Nelson Mandela lecture at Pretoria, the capital of South Africa. Africa has the potential to be a major production center in the world, thrusting revenue into the continent, “But to do that, we need good education and training to equip these youngsters for the future. Through that, Africa can become the future factory of the world."(Ibrahim) Ibrahim makes it clear he believes in the development of Africa and that the crux of the issue is bettering those at the helm. “We need good education and training to equip these youngsters for the future”(Ibrahim), but where will this education come from? An article on the struggles of developing africa by The Independent states that, “seven out of the 10 fastest growing economies in the last decade are African. Seven out of the world’s 10 most unequal countries are also on the continent.”(Guest) While Africa may be growing economically, the growth is happening only at the top. While the rich are getting richer, the poor are continuing to become poorer. As Africa looks and could become a major world Producer in the coming decades, ultimately it is out of our hands. All we can do is sit back and watch. Who knows what the future will hold? Maybe the Mo Ibrahim Prize will motivate a series of truly democratic governments and we see a whole different Africa! Only time will tell. Only time will tell.

Works Cited

Guest, Pete. "A Lack of Leadership in Africa Threatens Economic Progress." The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media, 18 Oct. 2013. Web. 13 Mar. 2015.

Oatway, James. "Lack of Leadership in Africa: Ibrahim." Times LIVE. Times LIVE, 18 Aug. 2013. Web. 13 Mar. 2015.

Jones, Sam. "Robert Mugabe Assumes African Union Helm with Familiar Rallying Cry." Online Article. The Guardian, 30 Jan. 2015. Web. 5 Mar. 2015.

John Kumalo is a rather naive man and his predisposition to kindness can have its faults. Though Kumalo knows of the evils of Johannesburg, he still does not hesitate to give a large portion of his savings to a stranger. He believes the stranger has good intentions, but he ends up stealing the money. Similarly, Kumalo is quick to forgive his sister for her sins.

18- quickly, eagerly, as though he must show this young man that he appreciated his kindness, he put down his bag and took out his purse.

31- His eyes filled with tears, his deep gentleness returns to him. He goes to her and lifts her from the floor to the chair. Inarticulately, his strokes her face, his heart filled with pity.

37- “Our customs are different here”

This picture shows a city that is representative of johannesburg. The people are drinking and smoking and there are monsters and other odd characters. This is also naive art, which reflects how naive steven is when he takes his trip to the city.

Cycle of Oppression

Buffalo

“The buffalo was still alive.  I will never forget how affected I was by its long drawn-out, plaintive bellows”(93).

“On top of the neatly stacked books lay the buffalo tail: black, with a tufted end, and stained with dark blood.  It was exceptionally long, and no doubt once belonged to the unfortunate buffalo responsible for breaking Four-Eyes’s glasses”(105).

Banned Books

“‘So, are you weeping tears of joy?’ I said.

‘No. All I feel is loathing.’

‘Me too.  Loathing for everyone who kept these books from us’”(99).

“‘What happened to her books?’

‘They went up in smoke.  Confiscated by the Red Guards, who promptly burnt them in public, right in front of her apartment building’”(51).

 

Sijie adopts the symbols of the buffalo and the banned books to demonstrate people’s inclination to oppress the ones that defy their accepted ways, showing an overall cycle of repression. They are attempting to prove their dominance over the buffalo. Four-Eyes tries to prove his adulthood by showing how he can dominate over the buffalo and assert his power. Likewise, Luo and the narrator are trying to become adults and learn by accessing the books while the government is trying to repress them and keep them from becoming educated adults.

Step Back

Step Back

The flow of way flows through all

like a waterfall crashes the great light bathes us

step away from the world

from others

from what you think you must do

from who you think you must correct

take in the light

step back

back from the world

and into the flow.

We Are The World (But Mostly, The World is Us)

Picture of earth and eye