WRITER'S CHALLENGE

Welcome to our Writer's Challenge for March 18th. Our topic this time around is:
How would a massive lottery win change you besides the fact that lack of money would not be a problem any more? 
To join in just write your own post and add the direct link to that post to the Mr. Linky box at the bottom of this post. Please put a link in your post noting that you are joining in with this meme so others can perhaps join us as well. 
For those who don't have a blog just email me your story and I will add it on my blog and create a link for you. Please make sure your visit as many on the list as you have time for as that is part of participating in a meme. If someone comments on your story feel free to respond back to them on the blog. You can use the anonymous profile to post your comment but you should put your first name in the comment so we know that it is the writer responding. 

Now here is my story.

Image by Lisa Brewster via Flickr

Oh how we dream of that big win. That screaming crazy moment when one would realize that those numbers we have on our little piece of paper are going to change our lives forever.

Just imagine as the lottery ads say here in B.C. Just imagine ... as the woman goes up on deck of her beautiful sailboat. Just imagine that you have all this money. How is this going to change you?

I wonder what challenges would be coming right along with those dollar signs.
Of course sharing your windfall is a wonderful thing. I am a generous person but I am also a realist and know that pouring money on something isn't going to fix it.
I know that the requests for cash would be never ending and that would be hard to take. I am not a pushover and would not be feeling guilty about turning people down.

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Winning a large sum of money would require you to manage it like a business.
You can't nor should you give money away just because people ask for it. You have to understand that you don't owe anybody anything...unless of course you do actually owe someone money... then pay up sucker, you just won the lottery.

If you had worked your tail off and had a successful business would you feel obligated to start giving your money out to the myriad of people who would be asking for it? Of course not. You earned it. Not to say that you shouldn't give to charity but you do not owe it to anyone to give them money.You can't give to everyone but you can certainly give what makes you feel good.

Though helping our sons financially would be a wonderful thing you also don't want them to end up with no sense of self having worked and earned a living. How many members of the "lucky sperm club" as we refer to the children of extremely wealthy, have gone down the drain because they don't have to work for a living and become a productive member of society. 

So how would winning big bucks in a lottery change me? I am pretty sure I would be much thinner because I would have a chef prepping my food. Well that is if I am not having the chef prepare ice cream sundaes every day.

Image via Wikipedia

I would have a masseuse on call to knead me into a loosey goosey relaxed body almost daily. I would be so thrilled to help out family and friends who I feel do deserve it.
Sadly though I would be wary. I would question the motives of people all the time. I would worry about the safety of my family. With the money would come a lot of concerns.
How would I sleep at night. I think for a long time I wouldn't. My brain would be spinning faster than a top. What to do first. Who to help. Who to refuse. People who are angry because you turn them down. 

There is a saying "heavy hangs the head that wears the crown" or something like that. With the great power that a large amount of money gives you it also gives you a lot of responsibilities and angst.

Image by Akbar Simonse via Flickr

Would it be worth it? If you are the same smart person who doesn't let people push you around now then you will still be that person. Just with a great tan and a much nicer home (or 3).

WRITER'S CHALLENGE

I have the new Writer's Challenge ready for you. 

The subject is:

How would a massive lottery win change you besides the fact that lack of money would not be a problem any more? 

Please have this ready to go by March 18th. I will have the 

Mr. Linky set up for then. 

For those of you who have no idea what Mr. Linky is or those who do not have a blog to link to you can email me your piece and I will post it here on my blog. 

Remember this is a fun challenge and we do  not grade your papers. Everyone is welcom.

A NEW WRITERS CHALLENGE

I think it is time for a new Writers Challenge but this time I am going to get you guys to come up with the topic and then we will go with the favorite choice.
For those of you who are not familiar with this meme it is a very low pressure challenge. We will have a topic and we will write a post about that subject and link up so everyone can visit and read each others posts. Never done a link up before? Don't worry. We can help you.The date will be March 18th and we will run the meme through the weekend so you have a few days to link up.
These topics have already been done so lets come up with something new. 


1. The nicest thing anyone has ever done for you.
2. What is your favorite movie and why.
3. Teachers in your life.
4. Favorite place to visit in the world.


Now it is up to you guys to come up with a new topic. Just leave your idea here in a comment and we will go with the most popular choices. If you want to read the previous ones just click on the lines above. 
Even if you don't have a blog you can join in. Write something and I will link it up here. 
Grab the badge from my sidebar to post on your blog.  
I am going away for a little bit but will try to get some web access to touch base with all of you.

WRITER'S CHALLENGE #4 - WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO TO VISIT?

Another Writer's Challenge is upon us. This is number four. First let me thank all of your who participate and comment and visit our posts for the challenge. Secondly let me invite you to join in. This is just for fun and no expertise is needed. Even if you don't have a blog you can join in. You can email me your post and I will put it up on my blog.

The challenge for the fourth event is: WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO FOR A VISIT? I didn't even have to stop for a nanosecond to come up with my answer.

 I have wanted to go to Italy for years now. It is number one on my list. I even know what week I want to get there for.Of course one week is not enough but I know where I want to start.
When the movie Under The Tuscan Sun came out it just reinforced my resolve to go there one day but my wish started before I ever saw the movie. There truly is something about the Tuscan sun. The color of the sky is different than anywhere else I am sure. When I see a photo of the area I quite literaly lose my breath.

Montalcino

Bellagio, Como

Verona 

To be on a hillside overlooking the valleys filled with grapes. To stay at a farm that grows what it eats. One that makes their own wine and cheese and perhaps even proscuitto. One that has goats and hens.

Piazza Amifeatro

flickr.com/ruth bruin

To walk into the piazza for fresh food right from the farms. To sit in at a table outside of the coffee house with a cappuccino. To sip a wonderful chianti watching the world go by and the sun go down with a plate full of antipasta. Maybe artichokes, tomatoes and slices of cured salumi with a crusty bread and salty olives. The enjoyment of good food and wine here is so obvious. When you see how they shop and cook and eat you just want to absorb it all like a sponge. They do it with gusto.

flickr photo Matt Hamm

Urbino

 Greve, Italy

Sangiovese Grapes for Chianti

I plan on going to a little town called Greve. My trip will take place in the first week of September when they celebrate with a Chianti festival. The evenings cool down a bit by then after the hot summer nights and the children are back in school.

Positano, Amalfi Coast

We also plan on seeing the coast. My BB guy loves seafood and he will certainly get his fill by the ocean. I don't eat shellfish or anything exotic like squid or eel so I will have to be satisfied with the other offerings in the area. I know there will be no shortage of foods to enjoy.

Some time ago I had a friend do a guest post on here about her trip to Italy. She imports a lovely wine by the case that they had tasted at a small vineyard and was kind enough to share a bottle with me one evening. You can read the story here.

 

 Apoteosi Wine photos by Linda

I am so looking forward to the day when we finally go to Italy. It may be a while yet but I am determined. The grapes will be ripe and juicy. The sky will be that special shade of blue, the food will be sublime. Truly the dolce vita.

freefoto.com

You should take a look at Lola's two blogs to appreciate what I am talking about. Aglio, Olio & Peperoncino and Roma Every Day will open your eyes to the beauty of Italy and when I go I hope she can meet me for dinner and wine. Until then I will just look at her photos and read her descriptions and just sigh.



If you need any help with Mr. Linky let me know. Please leave a comment before you head out to visit the rest of the participants. If you link up and you don't have a Writer's Challenge post I will delete your link. Use your link for that direct post and not you whole site or else when you post again this entry will get moved and the people looking for it may not find it. Thanks for joining in.

Did you like a post? Click on the SU button to Stumble it. Thanks.

WRITER'S CHALLENGE #4 - FAVORITE PLACE TO VISIT

 

The Writer's Challenge #4 is here. Everyone is invited to join in. It is a fun challenge, no writing talent needed. Start early so it is ready to go for the FEBRUARY 19-21 WEEKEND. I will put Mr. Linky up on the Friday and you can join in all weekend. 

And what is the topic this time you ask? 

What is your favorite place to visit in the world?

If you don't have a blog and would like to join in just email me your story and I will post it on my site for you. 

Did you like a post? Click on the SU button to Stumble it. Thanks.

WRITER'S CHALLENGE #3- TEACHERS WHO HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE IN YOUR LIFE - GOOD OR BAD

Thank you for joining in with the challenge for this month. Teacher's who have made a difference in your life...good or bad.
Remember if you don't have a blog and would like to join in I can post your page here if you email it to me.
To use Mr. Linky you will publish your post on your site then right click on the title of that post. Choose copy link location. This is the actual address of this post and not your whole blog. You will then paste this address into Mr. Linky on my post where it says "url". Above that you will put the name of your blog or your name. Click enter and you are done. We don't want the address of the whole blog because as you post other things the Writer's Challenge post will move down the page and others may not find it. Although anyone can comment on these posts please only link your site to Mr. Linky if you have written something for the Writer's Challenge. It is required that you make note in the actual post that you are joining the Writer's Challenge and link it to this site so others can join in too. This is how we share the love so to speak.

In 11 years of attending school I had changed schools 8 times. I did not go to kindergarten but started in grade 1. We had moved to British Columbia from Ontario. I entered a massive brick building and was terrified. The only thing I remember other than how scared I was is not being allowed to sit with my older sister at lunchtime. It looks a little like a prison doesn't it?

Grandview Elementary

Then we moved. Grade 2 brought me Mrs. Strong. She was a nice enough lady but I knew no one at the school and was lonely. I often just wandered home at recess and told my mother I was sick. It wasn't like today when the police might have been called if I didn't come back in after recess.
Then we moved again. Grade 3 started out in a split class of grades 1, 2 & 3. I don't remember this teachers name. I do remember being humiliated on a daily basis for not having a hankerchief in my pocket or for my fingernails not being clipped for roll call. My row never got enough gold stars because of me. That makes you really popular. She should have spent more time teaching the curriculum because when we moved again and I went to another school I was so far behind I almost failed the grade. 

My new teacher in my new school was Mrs. Kennedy. She was really pretty, a redhead.  I feel sorry for Mr. Kennedy though because this woman was a bitch. She was so cold and uncaring. This is where I felt stupid for the first time. I had never done long division. We should have I guess but the hillbilly, handkerchief boss was too busy looking in my pockets and at my hands to teach us. So there I sat in class and my eyes were glazing over while Mrs. Kennedy spoke of remainders and such. We would be called up to her desk to stand beside her while she marked our papers. I had many red Xs on my pages.  I had no idea what she was talking about and she really didn't give me any extra help to learn it. It became painfully (to me anyways) clear that I had no idea what was going on in math. What was this woman's solution to this? She made me stay after school, not to teach me the math but to sit there with the smartest boy in the class to rewrite my last sheet of long division. Show my work she said. Poor Dennis. He didn't deserve to be there. I don't know why she didn't do it herself but once again I was so humiliated. I wept. Tears ran down my cheeks and poor Dennis  wanted to be anywhere else but there at the desk with me. She might as well have asked me to speak Russian.
Eventually Dennis couldn't take it any more. He started giving me some of the answers so we could both go home. I handed in this work and I can remember the big red circles around what I had still done wrong. This woman and her red pencil. She destroyed me at the time.
To this day, although I can do math on paper, I can't retain numbers in my head whatsoever. As soon as someone starts saying a number or two my brain shuts down. If you tell me a phone number to dial I have lost the first 3 digits by the time you get to the end. If you give me a statistic and someone beside me didn't hear it I can't tell them what it was. It just leaves me. When I do genealogy research and I find a date to record I have to see it on the screen while I am putting it into a chart or I will get it wrong. I can't figure out someones age in my head from their birth date. I have to use paper or a calculator. I know how to do it but I can't see the numbers in my head. What I see is a tear stained paper and an uncomfortable young boy wanting to go home.

Sir Guy Carleton Elementary

Now I don't want to end this with such a sad story of a cruel woman. Most teachers are not like that. In fact the following year at the same school I was lucky enough to get into the class of one of the kindest teachers in the school. Mrs. Reed was a young fun woman who's heart was really in it. She took me under her wing and took the time to help me with learning. She was greatly loved by all her students. She helped a friend of mine get through her second stab at grade 4. This friend was going to fail for the second time if she didn't get caught up. Mrs. Reed knew how to help both of us. She gave me all of her flash cards and special teaching aids and let me take them home to "teach" my friend, knowing full well that both of us would learn from this. There was no stress, no pressure, no humiliation for either of us. We were simply playing school.

One of the teacher's friends was getting married that year. To encourage us to finish our work quickly she taught us to make the tissue paper flowers for the wedding cars. If all your work was done on time and correctly you were then allowed to go to the flower tables and you could make pretty pink and white wedding flowers. We all made hundreds and her friend was very pleased. So were we. It was great fun. Who knew school could be fun too. Jeesh. Imagine my surprise.

Mrs. Reed's class always had a relaxed atmosphere that encouraged learning. I was able to learn again. I felt safe in her classroom. I felt smart. This woman was the definition of a teacher. We had a class turtle too. At the end of the school year the whole class was invited to a party at her home. She lived in an area called Jericho Beach in Vancouver. We all got to play at the beach and we had food back at her home. I remember that my mother drove a group of us in her Morris Minor station wagon with wood trim and we got a flat tire on the way home. All happy memories.

I have pulled out my report cards from waaaaay back then. It is not my imagination at all. This is what I discovered.
1964 - grade 3 - 1st. report and second report I had a C+ in arithmatic. Now this was from the school with the split class.
1965 - grade 3 - 3rd report at the new school - I had a D in arithmatic which I managed to bring up to a C- for the fourth term. Mrs. Kennedy had written that my mother needed to see her about getting me extra help in arithmatic. Gee ya think? Maybe she could have taken the time to teach me instead of embarrassing me before she gave me that D.
So now I am promoted to grade 4 and Mrs. Reed's class. Woohoo. My first report card in November of 1965 shows me with a B in math which I managed to carry on through the rest of the year. What did this teacher have to say about my work. "her progress is excellent" although by the third term I am told I need to practice my times tables for 10 minute a day. From this grade on I managed to do fine in school.

So in conclusion what I want to say is that the postition of teacher in a child's life is a very important one. You are entrusted will impressional young minds. I was very lucky that after being beaten down I managed to pick myself up and hold my head higher thanks to a teacher who had compassion and kindness in her heart.

Click on the names below to see their stories.

MY TEACHER - MY GRANDFATHER

Lori says: I am posting this entry for the Writer's Challenge for a friend. I am so glad he is participating because I always enjoy reading his thoughts on life. I know you will enjoy him too. Amman has a most interesting blog called just a thought. He is a deep thinker and when I read his blog it always gets me thinking. We are posting this here for now because it will be part of a series that is starting in February on his blog. We are getting the sneak preview here.

My Teacher, My Grandfather

My grandfather was the smartest, most well read person I’ve ever known. I had the great privilege to live with him for a little over two years in my pre-teens in India. He died a few years ago but he is now more of an influence on me through death than ever before. I see him in myself now more than ever before. Actually I never really saw him in myself until I stopped neglecting my love for writing about 5 years ago.

He was a college professor, he taught English literature. He would eventually become principal of his college. Literature was his passion, my grandmother was his love. He would read every single day. I would play around him while he sat in the veranda reading and constantly underlining. Only his family and close students knew what a truly loving person he really was. To an outsider he might’ve seemed somewhat stern, rigid and maybe even cold. And truthfully he could be all three at times, actually, most of the time, but we all knew of his soft side that peeked out of its shell at the most unexpected moments. He had an air of importance about him. He would be in a tie and sweater vest by six a.m., even on Sundays when he wouldn’t even leave the house. He was a loner, a solitary man by choice. He preferred the company of books to men. There were very few people outside of family that he would happily sit with. Sometimes he would have visitors, like minded men. They would sit in his library, drink whiskey, laugh and talk. No one dared opened that door to hear what they were laughing and talking about, not that any of us would get it anyway. They would sit and drink and talk in there well past my bed time. He viewed most of mankind to be beneath him. Those around him felt that way too. He bored easy among company (aside from his friends mentioned above). But he always stuck around for the whiskey. He was very well respected by everyone. No one ever questioned him. No one ever raised their voice towards him, except my grandmother, the only one that wasn’t scared of him. The man was barely over five feet tall and still seemed larger than life. He wasn’t intimidating per se but he had an aura of authority. He only spoke if necessary and made sure his point was succinct and clear. He was a mystery to me. I would sneak into his library when he wasn’t home and snoop around every nook and cranny trying to solve this mystery. All I really found were words I was too young to understand. I wanted to be intelligent like him.

As you can imagine, school came first with my grandfather. I never had a problem with that, I was always somewhere in the top three of my class. This was not enough for him. He would make me read text books during the summer so I had a head start when the school year started. He wasn’t Christian but made me read the children’s version of the bible for the life lessons. He sneered at the idiotic Bollywood movies I loved so much and would show me old Charlie Chaplin movies and Laurel and Hardy and old Hindi movies. Even my illiterate grandmother would surprise me with the occasional English or her understanding something I said to my grandfather in English. She obviously learnt from my grandfather. All these things that I hated at that time I would come to appreciate later in life. Seems we all go through something like that with our parents or in this case my grandparents.

I went back to India about five years ago. It would be the last time I saw my grandfather. He was old and seemed a foot shorter. He didn’t talk much and didn’t care if I did but he wanted me in his immediate vicinity as much as possible. He showed me some of his sketches (I think my grandfather would’ve rather been a sketch artist like I a musician). They were good but there was a definite recurring theme, lone cabins in the woods, the solitary wolf, untouched forests… go figure. I now think this might have to do with the love of his life being fatally ill for over twenty years and being completely helpless to do anything about it but watch her wither away. But I didn’t know him before this so I can’t say for sure. When I left a month later I took a little piece of his library with me. I’ve been collecting from it ever since. Whenever a relative goes to India I look forward to the books from his personal library that they bring me back. He literally had thousands of books. (He donated 2000 to his college to give you an idea.) A couple of months before his passing I called him on a whim requesting to hand pick some books for me. I wouldn’t receive them until after his death. The first book I read was the biography of J. Krishnamurti. This book changed my life and much of what I write in my blog is influenced by him, Khalil Gibran and of course, my grandfather.

His library is slowly turning into mine. Fortunately he usually dated when he read them and some date as far back as the early 40s, underlined with his footnotes and all. So as you see, he is still the biggest influence on me even through death. Those books might not contain his personal words but they helped in shaping him and they are now shaping me.

REMINDER - WRITER'S CHALLENGE #3

The date is fast approaching. Get your post ready for the 3rd Writer's Challenge. Mr. Linky will go up on Thursday, January 14 and I would hope to have you linked up by the 15th.
If you don't have a blog and would like to join in just email me your story and I will post it for you.

Our topic this month is Teachers That Made A Difference in Our Lives...Good or Bad.

Hey don't go yet...did you leave me a note?

REMINDER - WRITER'S CHALLENGE #3

This is just your reminder that the third Writer's Challenge is due on January 15, 2010. In case you forgot the topic this month is "Teachers who have made a difference in your life...good or bad".

I will post mine and put up a Mr. Linky gadget for you to link up with on January 14. If you don't know how to use it I will be happy to help you. If you don't have a blog but would like to join in just email me your story and I will post it on my blog for you.

Now get busy writing all of you. Don't worry we don't grade your papers here.

WRITER'S CHALLENGE #3 - TEACHERS IN OUR LIFE

Hello friends. It is time to start thinking about the topic for our 3rd. Writer's Challenge. I have really enjoyed the last two challenges and I hope many of you will join in for this one.
Remember we are not looking for a professional paper but a story you can share with the same relaxed attitude you show us on your everyday blog posts. We don't grade your paper. So here is the topic for our next Writer's Challenge. You can read the first challenge here and the second one here. You can see what others wrote by clicking on their links at the bottom of those posts.

TEACHERS WHO MADE A DIFFERENCE IN YOUR LIFE

GOOD OR BAD 

What teacher made a difference in your life? Was it a positive experience or a negative one? Did they make you even more determined to succeed? Or did they stamp out the spark? 

We will present these stories on January 15th. I will put up a Mr. Linky list for you to join in. If you don't know how to use it just email me and I will explain how to link your story up to the list. Pretty simple really.

Don't have a blog but want to join in? You can email me your story and I will post it on here for you.

WRITER'S CHALLENGE THIS WEEKEND: REMINDER

Here is the reminder many of you asked for: 

Click here for the Writer's Challenge link up.  

HERE
Or you can just go to the previous post. It isn't very far away. 

WRITER'S CHALLENGE #2 MY FAVORITE MOVIE

I am so glad you have joined me for the second Writer's Challenge. The first one was well received and showed us some very deep emotions. This one was chosen to lighten the mood somewhat but then it occurred to me that the same thing could happen if the movie chosen was one that evoked sadness but was nonetheless a favorite. Regardless of why it is your favorite we all look forward to reading your stories and maybe seeing a movie from a different perspective.

Being There (1979)

Peter Sellers

Shirley MacLaine 

Melvyn Douglas

Peter Sellers was nominated for a Golden Globe (won) and Best Actor for an Academy Award for his performance. This was the last film he made before his death.

Chance the Gardener was a simpleton. Growing up in the home of a wealthy man he did chores around the property unless he was busy watching t.v., his only connection to the world outside of the front gate. When the old man dies Chance is literally out in the cold when he leaves the property for the first time in his life with no lifeskills whatsoever.

When he is injured by a limo driver his world takes a most interesting turn. Off he goes to an estate with Shirley MacLaine where he becomes a revered man of great depth and intelligence amonst the political movers and shakers in Washington.

Chance's simple minded statements are often mistaken as humor or confused with deep and profound thoughts. He speaks his mind literally but others interpret it in their own way. When Chance says all he has is the room upstairs that is exactly what he means, a bedroom. The big businessman he is talking to thinks he is refering to death and heaven. 

Most of Chance's brilliant advice is related to what he knows about gardening. It is a perfect metaphor for the political questions that are posed to him. He talks of the roots of the plants and the changing of the seasons and the President thinks he is referring to economic growth in the spring.
 
That is what I love about this movie. It shows how people are so easily swayed. How they thrive on what they think he is saying. They read great wisdom into his innocent observations and it spreads like wild fire. It shows how if you sound like you know what you are talking about then others will follow. 
I think this is such a brilliant movie and the bedroom scene is not to be missed.

It was filmed mostly around the Biltmore House in Asheville, North Carolina. This is such a stunning mansion, a beautiful setting for a movie. 

WRITER'S CHALLENGE REMINDER

Just a reminder that this Friday night I will post Mr. Linky here so you can link up with our Writer's Challenge. 

Our topic this month is
YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE & WHY

This is strictly for fun and does not require any writing skills at all. If you can write an email or a post for your blog than you can do this. 

EVERYONE IS WELCOME

If you don't have a blog and still want to join in then just email me what you have written and I will post it on here.

Mr. Linky will be up Nov. 13-15. 

WRITER'S CHALLENGE #2 REMINDER

Just a reminder for the Writer's Challenge. 

Tell us about your favorite movie and why you watch it over and over again. 

I watched mine again last night to refresh my memory. I watched it with one of my sons and he really enjoyed it too. 

 Everyone is welcome to join in. If you don't have a blog and want to join just email me your write up and I will post it for you. No writing talent required. If you can write a post for your blog you can write in the Writer's Challenge. It is for fun and I won't be grading papers. If you need any help linking up let me know.  

I will put up Mr. Linky by November 13th and leave him up until November 15th.

WRITER'S CHALLENGE #2

Our second Writer's Challenge has begun and you have a month to complete it. I am sure none of you will procrastinate until the end will you? No? Good!

I want to thank all of you who took part in the first challenge. The stories were so amazing and from the heart. If you missed them you can find the links to read them here. 

We are going to lighten it up a bit this time with a fun challenge. 

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE OF ALL TIME AND WHY?

It can be a comedy, drama, western, horror. Tell us what you liked about it and why you probably watch it over and over again. The way it makes you feel hopeful or cry buckets. Whether it scares the bejeezus out of you so you snuggle up closer to your sweetie for protection or laugh so hard you need protection.
You will have until Sunday, November 15th. to write this. Mr. Linky will most likely go up on the Friday night before. That will give you plenty of time to link up. 

We won't be doing a Writer's Challenge in December as we are all just too busy and we don't need anything else on our plates.

Don't have a blog but would like to join in. No problem. Just email me your story and I will post it on my blog and link it up for everyone else to find. We would love to have you.