Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Autumn’s Splendor
“Fresh, vibrant June passes to a languid, slow July. Then comes a turning point, when summer suddenly feels utterly tiresome” (Springer 110). Autumn has come, and nature is gradually changing. The once warm and pleasant attitude of the forest slowly turns dull as the get ready for the harsh winter ahead of it. The tall, towering oak trees tower surround the forest like a castle wall; protecting everything within from the harsh elements to come. The brisk, ruthless wind blows at every inch of them trying to get them to budge, but they stand strong like a wall of soldiers ready to go to battle. Their enormous trunks are cemented into the ground like the support beams for the Sears Tower. The ground around them is scattered with layers of red and orange painted leaves, which continually sway to the ground one by one like skydivers jumping out of a plane. They provide a blanket for twisted roots below. Bark encompasses the entire base of the tree, sheltering the insides of the tree. Amber tree sap oozes out of every nook and cranny of the bark, and looks as though the bark were bleeding from many years of painful service. It has the marks of an aged warrior. Pieces of battered bark peel from the tree as they leave hundreds of years of memories behind. The branches of the tree, now almost completely naked, jostle around in the wind as to spook off intruders to its domain. A few lucky few leaves still remain attached to the branches. They desperately hang on as the wind loosens their grip, and will soon batter them off into the depths of the dark, silent, and gloomy forest. It is hard to imagine that these aging trees stood tall ages before our ancestors.
Letters as Pictures?
The statement that “letters began as pictures” sounds like a metaphor, but surprisingly it is not. This statement actually goes all the way back to the origins of the first known alphabet, which was created by the Phoenicians around 1000 B.C. The Phoenicians somewhat integrated hieroglyphics with now a day letters. The Phoenicians used letter shapes to describe a word. These letter shapes were not full pictures, but were shaped in a fashion as to signify its meaning appropriately. This system or alphabet made by the Phoenicians first consisted of 22 common noises. This system was then spread worldwide to many different trading partners of the Phoenicians; such as Greece. The Phoenician alphabet was then changed by the Greeks, and soon for Latin. After many centuries, the changed Phoenician alphabet was adapted for the English. This was a very long and intriguing process, and the Phoenician letters A and K are two great examples of how this change took place.
Waiting Isn’t Easy
Henri Nouwen’s quote about waiting is right on track with American society. American culture is very scary because it continually pressures Americans to do things. For teens, it commands that people go to college, get a job, and get married. Waiting just seems to be against what Americans should do, it almost seems evil. If people wait, they are useless and get nothing done. As Henri says, “waiting is not a popular attitude”.