've heard and read so much about you and what you have done for civil rights of Afro-Americans. The sincerity in your heart was felt by me and I'm sure others around the world. As time went on, the faith you had in God would change your life and the way you were living before you were introduced to Islam. Eventually your search for truth would cost you your life. Through all of this, I feel I know you through your actions and the way you went about handling situations at that time concerning civil rights toward Afro-Americans.

Malcolm, I feel what you did had a great impact on my life and the world around me. I admire your strength, courage, and truth concerning your religious belief. I see and feel a lot of myself in your actions. If it wasn't for your success in finding the truth, I wouldn't be part of Islam today.

Malcolm, I see a lot of myself in the way you went about your search for truth about a religion that would change your life and your overall outlook as well. I saw your willingness to sacrifice yourself for truth about Islam and its divine truth of brotherhood. You gave your life as the ultimate sacrifice for the divine truth about Islam to the world.

Abraham Lincoln had a very limited education and later in life taught himself to read and write. He educated himself enough to attend law school and become a very successful lawyer. He then ran for Congress repeatedly. Despite being turned down three years straight, he never stopped trying. Fifteen years later, after his term in Congress, he went on to become the 16th President of the United States.

During his presidency, Abraham Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Proclamation, which eventually led to Congress passing a law warning the slave owners that when the deadline came their slaves would become "forever free". As a result of one man's willingness to stand out, this country was changed forever.

Abraham Lincoln also wrote the Gettysburg Address, which is universally regarded as one of the greatest public speeches in history. I find Abraham Lincoln to be one of the greatest historical figures in my culture. On April 14, 1865, his life took a tragic turn. He was shot in the back of the head by John Wilkes Booth. Despite having a bullet in his head, Lincoln survived until the next day.

There are few people left today who are willing to stand for what they believe in. Abraham Lincoln gave his life for his beliefs. As a result, this country's people are free. In my eyes this is what makes Abraham Lincoln a famous man.

I have followed him in both sports since he finished school. I am amazed to think that I know a professional baseball player who went to the same school I did. I am so proud to see him on TV. I get choked up when I see him. I thank God we don't hear anything bad about him.

He got his break and the Kansas City Royals picked him up. Mike played his rookie years with the Kansas City Royals for two or three years. Then the Atlanta Braves picked him up and he played with them for about two years. He was a great right fielder. He would do some crazy slide on his belly to get to the ball. Now they have traded him to the Chicago Cubs and they won their division this year.

What I like about Mike is that he didn't change when he made it to the big league. When he comes home he speaks to us every time and doesn't look down on us. I haven't seen Mike or talked to him or his family for three or four years. I would like to ask him how he feels to be in the big league. His Mom still works at Hardee's in the town where he grew up. Last time I saw him I was playing baseball on my kid's play station and he came up on the disc. He was still the same Michael I played with on his Dad's team. He hasn't changed a bit. He hasn't forgotten where he comes from. With the attitude he has he can go far in sports. If I get to see him when I go home again I will get him to say hello to his fan.

MEETING MY DAD

by Glenwood Washington Charlottesville ACE

never met my father until I was a grown man. I think I was over 21 years old.

My mother often told me about him. I can remember when I was four or five years old, he sent me a bike. I was too small for the bike and did not know how to ride it. So I began pushing it up the hill and trying to ride it down. But the peddles would always be turning fast and hitting my legs. One day I figured out how to take the chain off. So I did it. Then it would roll without hurting my ankles or feet. The next thing was to stop the bike. I would ride it down and around the house and start back up the hill so it would stop. I got really good at that after a while

As time went on, I always wanted to meet my father. But it took a long time. My mother worked in Waynesboro during the week, while I stayed with my grandparents on my mother's side. So I would often go over to visit her in town. I got to meet people and they often would ask me my name. One day I was talking to an older gentleman. His name was Mr. Johnson. He also asked my name and I told him. He asked where I was from. I said Nelson County. Then he asked, "Who is your father?" I told him I was named after my father. The man told me he knew a man with my name. They were good friends once. He said he comes into town every now and then.

A few months passed and one day Mr. Johnson saw me in town. He stopped me and said, "Park your car. I have someone for you to meet." So I parked and walked up the street. Mr. Johnson said, "GW, I would like you to meet GW." I thought for a minute, wow, this is my father! So I spoke and he said, "Hi, son." It was a shock, really, but we talked for a long time. He lived out of town. He had come to visit his brothers and sisters. After a while I had to go. So he said, "I will see you, son." I guess about 15 or 18 years went by before I saw him again.

One day I was riding in Waynesboro. I saw a friend and he said, "Your dad is in Staunton and is living up there." So I rode to Staunton and asked a few people about him, and got the address to my uncle's house. I went there and my uncle was outside. I told him who I was and we talked. Then he said, "Let's go over to your father's apartment." So we left. When we got there, we knocked on the door and he opened it and saw me. He said, "Hi, son, come in." We talked for a couple of hours and went to my aunt's house. There we had a snack and had lots of fun. It got late and I had to return home. We exchanged phone numbers and said we would keep in touch with each other.

We did. I often visited him. When his grandson was born I went and picked him up so he could spend a day with us. I got to know him really well. We called each other or I would visit him once or twice a month. He would often talk about his parents.

Then one day I got a call and was told that he was sick. I visited him and he told me he had cancer in the throat. After a while he passed away. I really miss him now. I wish I could have met his parents, my grandparents, before they passed away. Everyone says I am just like both of them.

Two months later I asked a member about joining their group. A week later they voted me in. As we traveled from church to church and to nursing homes singing and praising the Lord, Rev. Hardgrove and I became closer friends. I have now adopted him as my father figure. He is always there when I need him. Sometimes when I am just thinking of him, my phone will ring and it will be Rev. Hardgrove saying, "Hey, bro, it's Reverend, I just called to check on you."

We have also been blessed with his wonderful wife who is very sweet and kind. We visit her often in the nursing home and we take Rev. with us. Now he has moved to Richmond, and we often worry about him being so far away from his family and friends. No matter how far away he is, he is always in my prayers and thoughts. I thank God for bringing him into my life.

would like to meet Davy Crockett because he was born and raised in the mountains like I was, and he was a great hunter. I bet that Davy Crockett hunted bear, deer, turkey, 'coons, and squirrels. I like to hunt too.

I wish it were still like those days when you could go outside and hunt anytime and raise your own food. I could make a decent living if I didn't have to worry about medicine, radio, TV, and electric bills. I would just sit back and listen to the silence and the animals in the mountains. You don't know how peaceful it is. Some people are afraid of the dark. But what you see in the daytime is what you see at night. I go up in the mountains all the time and watch the animals and walk. You can hear the leaves under your feet and the cracking twigs. But people who own land don't want you walking on their land anymore. When I go hunting I don't leave any trash around. It used to be you could go anywhere you wanted when you hunted. But hunters started tearing up fences and gates and throwing trash around, and now the owners don't want people on their land.

Since I can't meet Davy Crockett in person, we read a book about him. He tried hard to take care of his family, feeding them and finding a place for them to live. His first wife died and he married again. He loved to ramble but he did not desert his family. The United States was different then because it didn't have all these buildings and factories and highways. It was all wilderness. I didn't know Davy Crockett was a family man. I didn't know he liked to tell tall tales, and that he served three terms in the Congress. I didn't know he fought the Indians and that he died fighting the Mexicans at the Alamo. I thought he had blazed trails in the Appalachian Mountains. But I would still like to meet him.

dreamed I went to Byalistok, Belorussia in about 1885. Why was I there in the past? I remembered a young man about 20. He dreamed about a simple language, easy for learning but complete for expressing all nuances of the modern life. Suddenly, the young man appeared in front of my face.

"What do you do?" I asked.

He answered, "A language has an easier side and other sides more difficult for a stranger. English sounds are difficult. Therefore, I would choose mediterraneans. I would write one letter for each sound t-ea-ch = t-i-c. I am not going to take the word 'teach' in my project. All people in Europe and America understand the idea of 'instruct'. So I chose, 'instrui' for 'teach'. I am sure you understand 'lerni' without a dictionary, isn't it true?"

He continued, " I wonder that the English conjugation is very simple, consistently systematic. Let us be more consistent! 'I, you learn, but she learns.' I say: 'mi, vi lernas and si lernas' too. Past tense: 'mi lernis'; future: 'mi lernos. Cu vi lernos la linguon?'"

"Yes, mi lernos la linguon. But how can one memorize a lot of words the easy way?"

"Memorizing a lot of words isn't necessary. 'TeachER' = person doing teach, person teaching. 'LearnER' = person learning. 'WalkER' = person walking. In my project, I will use the suffix 'anto' instead of the suffix 'er'. So, 'instruanto, lernanto, promenanto.'"

"But, ... however, ..."

"No, 'but, ... however...' In my project each suffix, prefix has a very precise definition, and it is logically applicable everywhere without exception."

"Fascinating! I'm very happy to meet you..."

I returned from my dream. I was happy to meet even if in a dream a famous man, a real genius in the field of linguistics. Dr. L. L. Zamenhof published his project in 1887 with the signature, Doktoro Esperanto (Doctor Hoping). Soon his dream became a reality. Several writers, philosophers, scientists, simple workers began to use Esperanto in communication: writing, reading, speaking.

Presently, Esperantistare, Esperanto "people" live in Europe, Asia, and in other parts of the Earth too, using Esperanto as a second language, not rarely beside a big world language. There are a lot of organizations to practice life with Esperanto. Akademiopor Esperanto observes the language evolution, and UNESCO supports the Esperantists' activities. It recommended Esperanto as a subject in schools. Esperanto lives on also through literature, press, radio, ...like any active language.

Jesus seems like he would be such an interesting person to talk to. When I read my Bible or go to Sunday School to learn about him, I often wonder what it would have been like to have lived during those times. What's amazing is that his life has already covered the past, present, and future. It would have been exciting to have been one of his disciples and to have seen Him "walk on water", turn a few fish into a multitude to feed his people, and to have parted the sea so people could walk through it on dry land. These signs were truly a miracle of Jesus.

Jesus loved us so much that He died to save us from our sins, even though He never knew us. Would we do the same for our brothers and sisters? Think about it, few of us would! He was also the kind of man any lady would have loved to know. He was handsome, not jealous, had a good heart, and could perform miracles. How many men do you find today that can fill those shoes?

If I could meet Jesus I would start by thanking Him for loving all of us so unselfishly and for dying to save us from our sins. I would ask Him if heaven was as beautiful as the Bible says. I would ask Him to take away all hatred in the world and to put an end to all war, wiping out poverty, hunger, and pain. I would ask Jesus to make our world a safer and better place to live in. I would ask for peace and love for all.

It is my desire that I have spoken of this person, Jesus, so highly that you, too, would some day want to meet Him. Oh, what a glorious day that would be!

He traveled here in a covered wagon from West Virginia. I would ask him if it took a long time to get here, if he stopped, and if the family had to sleep on the ground. If we could go back in time, we could see how people survived back then in the winter months.

I would ask if he'd like to live in this time. I'd tell him about TV, cars, and indoor bathrooms. We'd talk about how people live in this time, like how the time we live in now is a faster paced time. Now we don't have much time to spend with people. I wonder what he'd think of all this.

ave my soul dear master,
Save my soul I pray.
Save my soul dear master
From the gates of Hell.
Feed my soul dear master,
Feed my soul I pray.
Feed my soul dear master
With thy holy word.
Feed my soul deal master,
Feed my soul I pray.
So that I may serve thee
Each and every day.

Steven: Hi, Michael, my name is Steven. I am from Virginia, and I have lived there all my life.

Michael: Hi, Steven, nice to meet you. I grew up in North Carolina. I started playing basketball when I was very young.

Steven: How have you been doing since your dad passed away?

Michael: Pretty good, but it's still not the same without dad.

Steven: How do you feel about playing basketball again?

Michael: It feels great to be able to get out and still be able to play.

Steven: Do you like playing for the Wizards more than playing for Chicago?

Michael: Well, it's a great team to play for, but it will never be like playing for Chicago.

Steven: Do you ever think there's a chance for a team to be as good as Chicago was when you were playing?

Michael: I don't know. It just depends on how good the team is and how well they play as a team.

Steven: It's been nice to meet you and ask you a few questions. I hope to be able to come to some of your games sometimes. Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk with me.

During these 12 years I always recall the memories of my family, relatives, and my friends. I really miss them a lot. Especially when I see a loving and caring family pass by my sight. It makes me more sad. At the same time, in my heart, I feel that I am just like a dying flower in mortal need of water, sunshine, and nutrition from the soil, just as a regular child who needs every support from his parents when he grows up. Sometimes my dreams take me to my destination to see my family again, but the next day I know it was a dream from last night.

However, I do have contact with my family through the telephone and we send letters to each other. But these things won't fill my desire to meet them. Sometimes I remind myself that I have lived in the U.S.A. with a green card for four years. After one more year, I'll be getting citizenship. Then with a U.S. passport, I can visit my homeland and meet with my family that I haven't seen for many years. Some day I might bring them over here to live with me, and we will have a wonderful time.

My marriage is to those who do not have the same situation as mine. You have been blessed by God and you should feel yourself lucky.

Much has been written about this historical figure. Who among us has not heard the name Jesus and with it felt some emotion? He greets me as his child, and I greet Him weeping with a heart full of reverence for I am such an unlikely candidate to be standing before Him. He is quiet and smiles tenderly. And then asks me the question I have longed to ask Him. My child, you seek words of love to describe your faith, do you not? Yes, Father. The Holy Spirit has given you those words. Speak your faith to me, my girl.

Father, many of your children live each day in pain, never to fulfill their dreams and silent to your call. They cannot conceive you although you conceived them in love. Their stories are their own but many share a common platform: violence, discrimination and poverty. Society has also played a role often describing these folks as undeserving and without understanding and compassion.

Father, please give me the words to express to these fine folks that this is not your plan, and they deserve much more. Show me how to convey that their dreams and their children's are important and may benefit us all. Teach me the words to a song that embraces your rainbow which you have created to teach us diversity and love for one another. Show me how to extend my hand when someone asks for a quarter of a dollar without assuming the money is for an unhealthy purpose. Show us how to live without fear, which often directs our path, silences our dreams and keeps us in limbo.

Father, I know there is nothing about me you do not know. And like my faith, words are in my blood. I love the choices I have to fit them in a phrase, sentence or paragraph. I particularly love words that describe your children's experience, that touch their wounds and heal their hearts. Words describe us, define us, show the world what we stand and are willing to fight for. Like the tone of our voice, they reveal much about us. Words are snap shots into our soul.

I have become intoxicated with the subject of faith and the words to express my thoughts and feelings, and see in your eyes, Dear Jesus, that our work this day is over, and my journey continues tomorrow.

Before I bid you farewell, though you are never far away, please look once more at the child you have transformed. The child who has also seen poverty, who has witnessed violence and the impact on siblings who have never recovered. She dreams of words to share, words that express the amazing love she has experienced from GOD and you, his son. She wishes you to know the wave of peace that washes over us from the Holy Spirit in times of trouble and how she rejoices in the knowledge that something greater than us is standing by to love and protect us until we return home.

ear Deion Sanders,

I've been playing sports all of my life. I have played lacrosse, track, soccer, and your favorite ... football.

My father has been working all of his life. He is 46 years old. I turned down a soccer scholarship to play attack on Carson-Newman (Junior College) in Tennessee. Financially I wasn't ready.

At this point in my life, I don't ever want to give up being an athlete. When I played football at Charlottesville High School, I played wide out and cornerback for Junior Varsity. I also played special teams on varsity and got a little playing time. I was excellent in practice for a guy who started to play football at the beginning of the school year and not the two-a-days and scrimmages during the summer. Deion, I made honorable mention regional and first team districts. In soccer, I played halfback with seven or eight goals my freshman and junior years at Charlottesville High.

I was hoping that you might want to one day come to my dad's church in Fairfax County in Northern Virginia. I hope to one day win my dad over so that he gives me my trust fund to go to UCLA, then accomplish a goal of being an L.A. Raider.

Mr. Sanders, if you have the time, consider pushing with me through a little faith that through football I can make my dream to lay out my goal to be a running back at UCLA, then a Raider.

Thanks,
A Fan

Every new school year, during the first week, pupils met their teachers, and they talked about the schedule and the different chapters they would have to learn for the whole year. This new school year, during the first week, all our teachers came to meet us like usual and gave us the schedule. But one of our teachers was absent for the first week. Certain classmates who knew him enjoyed him because he taught very well.

Finally, the teacher came to class on the second week. He tried to make jokes with us but I didn't laugh. For this reason, the teacher got mad at me. He called one of us to explain the exercise that he gave us and make the correction. The classmate didn't explain the exercise very well but the teacher didn't say anything, then he left the classroom. The next time he came, he was serious this time. Ever since that day, when the teacher came, the first thing he did was to ask me to show him my exercise and go to the board to make the corrections because he wanted something to punish me.

So I tried to do my exercise every time until the day I forgot to do it. That day, I stood up at the same moment that the teacher came in the classroom. I went automatically to his desk and picked up the chalk. He turned to watch me, and people started to laugh because the teacher pretended that he didn't know what I was doing. He put his two hands in his pockets and asked the class if they had a new teacher. People were laughing again. He went and sat on my desk and said, "Now I am a student and I am going to ask our new teacher to present us his program for the day." People were laughing again and I couldn't stop laughing too, because everything the teacher said and every action he did was funny - we just laughed. When he arrived at the end of the class, he said, "I am going to the office to ask why they gave us a new teacher." He left the classroom and didn't come back. Since that day, we became friends. When he joked with us, I laughed at his entertainment. And when he taught, I was quiet and listened to him carefully.

I will never forget this teacher. By the time the school year finished, I knew that he was a good teacher. Yes, the best teacher I ever saw.

I was about six or seven years old. Just like all little girls, I just had to help mom make that cake. She looked over at me and said, "Oh, you can oil the bottom of the cake pans." As you can guess, I turned over the cake pans and put the oil on the bottom. I was not sure why they made me leave the kitchen, or why everyone was laughing. It was much later in life when I realized that the oil goes on the inside bottom of the pan, not the outside. It's 30 some years later, and now I see why everyone was laughing.

Just the same way, I laugh at my daughters when they help me make a cake. "You go step by step, and now it's time to put in the eggs," I told them. To my surprise, they just dropped them in the bowl without breaking them first. As I look back, I could see myself. I should have said to break the eggs before putting them in the bowl, just the same way my mom should have said put the oil on the inside of the pan.

We see ourselves in our children day to day every time they put their little feet in mud puddles, just the way we had to when we were kids. And they hear the same warning we did, "Don't jump in the mud puddles!" The mud puddles are just too much to resist.

The next time you need a laugh, take a moment to look at your child and see yourself. I'm sure you will laugh as well as realize you did the same things they are doing now that you did as a child.

I got the orange barrel out of the water. But the water was so cold, all I could say was "Whew! Whew! Whew!" When I went into the water my eyes were wide open because the water was too cold to be in on February 7, 2000! I got out of the water dripping wet and shaking and cold. I went straight to the truck and turned the heat on high, and just sat and waited to dry off. J.C., M.V., D.P., B.W. and J.C. were laughing and laughing until they hurt. I just sat in the truck and watched them laugh because it was cold outside and, guess what, so was I. Not much room for laughing, for me.

But I did dry off and all was well by lunchtime. It was funny afterwards, and I laughed along with them. But it wasn't funny at the time it happened.

We live in U-Heights apartment. Have you ever gone there? There are UVA students and foreign country people who are living here for short time like us. We are from Korea. I know three Korean families in U-Heights. One day we visited one family who will go back to Korea. That time I met another Korean woman. She has lived in U-Heights for just one month and she is a visiting professor. We said, "How do you do?" and "Nice to meet you." She told me, "Your first son is really tall and second son is small. I think the difference between your sons' age is very big." I could not understand immediately. But just a little time after I noticed what happened. She thought my husband was my first son. Oh, no! He is older than me by three years, but he looks very young. Also, he always wears tight-fit blue jeans. When I lived in Korea people thought he was my younger brother. But here people thought he was my son.

The other day I met one of my ESL classmates at Belk. We just said hello. After a few days I saw her in class. She asked me, "Who was the man beside you?" I said to her, "He is my husband." "Really. I thought he was your younger brother or your son," she told me. I just smiled and said, "Yes, he looks very young."

He is 34 years old now but a lot of people think he is a teenager. It may be funny to other people but it is not funny to me. I live with someone who looks young and I love him.

All of this was sent to Washington, D.C. In one and a half months we found out that Helen would take a part in the third round. In the third round she had to collect many different documents: references from a teacher and an adult who knew Helen very well, a health certificate, and information from school about her progress in her studies. Also, she had to take part in psychological games with a group of pupils and a half hour interview. After that we waited for six months for results. Helen jumped for joy when she learned - she was accepted. She was very happy! I should think so! Four hundred pupils took part in our region in this competition, but only eight would go to the U.S.

It means she received a scholarship from the State Department of the U.S. All expenses, including round trip tickets to the U.S., insurance, visa and studying at a high school were covered by the State Department of the U.S.

Helen lives in a very kind, very good family with an exchange student from Japan near Las Cruses, now. The exchange student's name is Kasumi. She is 17 years old. Helen and her exchange sister, Kasumi, have become very close. It is fun to watch them sitting together, teaching each other Japanese and Russian. Both of them have also picked up a lot of Spanish. And we thought she was there just to learn English! It was particularly amazing to hear Kasumi waking up Helen in the morning by telling her to get up in Russian.

Once I received an e-mail from Helen. She wrote me about a situation that happened with her at school.

"Today I was in a funny situation at my school. Last night I had a very bad dream and did not sleep well. Today at school, during third period, everybody was doing some stuff that I had already done. So I started getting ready for my test in history, for fourth period. I took out my folder and started to read the material, and then I closed my folder, put my head on it, and ... fell asleep. Can you imagine what happened when I woke up? They all were laughing at me! I had HUGE writing on my face - all over it - HISTORY!!! In black. With marker! I had this writing on my face. I had this writing on the folder I was sleeping on, so it copied to my face!!! It was so confusing. So, I'm not going to sleep during my classes anymore. It was funny, anyway..."

So, life can be funny.

Every day I am busy preparing for going to school. I have to finish all things to do as a housekeeper. For example, wash the clothes, wash dishes, make the lunch for my husband, and clean up the room and living room. At last I leave my house to go to school. My class begins at 1:00 p.m. It takes about ten minutes from my house to the school by my car. But I leave the house 20 minutes early.

The time when I am on my way to school is my favorite time of day. There are three ways to arrive at school. One way is by highway. It is the shortest and fastest way. The second way is easier to drive. The third way has many traffic signals, so it takes much time, but it has a beautiful road. Naturally, I choose the third way.

Before I go to school, I am nervous a little, imaging how wonderful today is going to be. I feel good when I think my car is running the way. I start to drive slowly in order to look all about and see what the outside scene is like. But don't worry; I keep the speed limit. The way is connected to the University Hall and UVA tennis courts and Corner area and the bridge over the Amtrak.

Whenever passing the UVA tennis courts, I feel the activity, energy and the scene gives vitalization to me. When I go by the bridge, in my mind comes a romantic movie. So I become sentimental. I open the window. Then, I take soft breaths. I meet a gentle breeze and enjoy bright sunshine. I feel like enjoying this peaceful scene as long as possible. I leave for school 20 minutes before class starts and choose this way even though it takes more time.

I have another joy in the middle of going to the school. Sometimes, I meet my classmates on the way to school. I pick them up and we talk about what happened over the weekend and small talk, something like that. I can spend my favorite time with my good-hearted classmates. I also love these scenes and people.

At last, I arrive at school. So I start a day with a pleasant mind.

When I got to his job, he wanted to show me a car, so I went to see it. After I got out of the truck, I realized I had on my pajamas. I went back to my truck and the doors were locked. There I was, out in the cold with the truck running, locked up, and still in my pajamas.

We were on a main street with a lot of traffic but there was no phone close by. My son had to go to a store and call home for my wife to bring us another key.

While we waited, I forgot how cold it was and I ran from side to side around the truck to keep the people going by, in the cars, from seeing me. One of the cars just happened to be the police. He turned around and came back. He pulled in just as I was running to the other side of the truck. He turned the blue lights on me. He wanted to know what I was doing in a car lot, in my pajamas, and ducking from side to side. As I stood still to talk to him, a lot of traffic went by and saw me after all and with the police lights on me. I forgot how cold it was. I had run enough to stay warm.

My son laughed enough to keep him warm and as my wife pulled up with the key, she laughed until she was crying. Now I always look down to see what I have on before I leave home!

We walked on and instead of turning around to go back where we started, we continued following the marks on the trees. Eventually the time got late and it started to get dark. We had gone about a mile or so away from my Mom and brother. I told my sister-in-law that we ought to just sit down on a log which was there in the woods.

We were scared sitting there. We tried to yell for my Mom and brother. They heard my sister-in-law yelling, but they didn't hear me, and they couldn't find us. So we had to continue to sit there. We heard all kinds of noises, and we were both scared that much more.

Finally a man came up to us and asked if we were lost. We told him that we were walking the trail and following the signs, thinking they would take us right back where we had started. The man told us not to be scared. He said he knew the mountains like he knew the back of his hand. Then he asked if that was our family way up on the hill above us and we said yes. I asked him where we were, and he told us that we had walked ourselves into Nelson County.

In the end, we got back to our family after being missed for seven hours. My family and the police wanted to thank the man, but he had left and we had not gotten his name.

Now it is 12 years later. Sometimes we get to talking about it, and we laugh about it.

have a granddaughter that I really love. She is very smart. Her name is Alexandra.

When she comes to my home she says, "Hi Fannie." She knows that I hate for her to call me by my name, but she sneaks and says it. Then she laughs about it.

When she calls my name "Fannie", she looks around to see if anyone is paying attention to her. My husband says, "Did she say Fannie?" and I say "Yes".

Then she says, "Did I really say that?" and she laughs about it. She puts her hand over her mouth, and a big laugh comes out.

When her mother says something about it she says, "I only said 'Hi Fannie.'" Then her mother says, "What did I tell you about that?" and she laughs about it. Her mother says, "I told you not to call your grandmamma by her name", and she says, "I only said 'Hi Fannie'," and laughs again.

When my sister comes over, she asks, "Did Fannie come home yet?" She always calls my granddaughter Fannie, because of the way she calls me by my name, and we just laugh about.

I love my granddaughter so much, even though she calls me Fannie. She gives me a lot to be happy about.

One afternoon, a postman knocked on my door. He wanted me to sign for a certified letter. I was surprised. "Where is the letter from?" I asked. When I opened it, the letter said, "Congratulations! You are a winner in the Kroger Plus Sweepstakes. You have won a GE washer. Each time you used your Kroger Plus Card and purchased selected cleaners, you were automatically entered into our current sweepstakes." Is this true? I doubted it. When my husband came back home, I showed the letter to him. He also didn't believe it. The next day, my husband called GE and was told that it was true. We finished filling in some forms for the contest. At that time, I was happy to be a winner.

After about a month, the washer was delivered to my apartment. All my friends said, "You are very lucky!" But, in fact, it was a big problem. The washer was very bulky. I couldn't use it in my small apartment because there is not enough room. Also, I don't have the plumbing hook-up. So we tried to sell it. Unfortunately, nobody was interested. The washer is still in my living room. I have a 3-year-old little girl, and every day she plays in the living room. When the sunshine comes into the room, the washer always shields it.

Many people hope that they can win a sweepstakes, but in my opinion, it may not be a real lucky thing.

Oh, I am not kicking it because times have changed! We all have grown up healthy in spite of the hog brains. It didn't kill us, but made us all healthy and strong. When we all get together and talk about old times, the laughter gets loud. But it was not funny at that time, back in the old days.

All of a sudden we witnessed a little ghost-looking kid by the door in the living room. At first we were all stunned, then we all started laughing. It was Susan, one of my twins, covered with flour from head to toe. We were still laughing when Diba appeared in the same manner. In fact, Susan was there to tell us that something was wrong with her sister, Diba, not knowing that she looked like a ghost herself.

When I went to the kitchen, I found out that they had opened the bottom shelf of the kitchen cabinet, taken out the flour bags, and started pouring and throwing the flour at each other all over the entire kitchen area. At first we were all shocked and worried when they quickly disappeared from the living room, in the blink of an eye. Later on when we found out what they had done, we could not stop laughing. I also had a long day of cleaning ahead of me!

Oh my Djurja, I am so happy. I would like to tell you what has happened. I came to work on my unit on Thursday. I got a new schedule for the day shift. About ten o'clock one of the nurses called me for help. I was walking behind her and asking, "What is happening?" Then she opened the door of the day room and said, "Congratulations!" I was really impressed by what they did for me. They had a big party because I am employee of the month at UVA Hospital. I got a gold ID card and a lot of benefits. I was crying and very happy.

My co-workers and my husband were happy for me. They took a picture with me, and I don't have enough words to explain to you how I was feeling. I am very happy and surprised.

But ... neither of us got into the faculty where wanted. She entered another faculty in the same university. It was the administration faculty. I was sure I'd stay at home and spend the year preparing to try again next year. Then my parents said, "Enter anywhere, please, because if you stay at home you'll become too lazy to learn." I entered Klaipeda's University to study childhood education.

My friend and I were on different sides of Lithuania. In the beginning we were talking a lot through the phone. And I dreamed that after this year I could enter VDU and we would be able to see each other more than twice a week.

After my year studying at Klaipeda's University, my parents said, "Finish your degree at this university, please. After you finish, if you still want to study economics, you could enter there." Of course, they explained to me why this was their decision. It's simple. My year of studies had cost them money, and they didn't want to throw their money to the wind.

Both Jurgitas (as our friends usually called us) spent a wonderful summer - traveling, walking, telling all the details of last year. But she had changed. She had started to like math and enjoyed being an administrator. And me? I disliked my studies. I didn't want to be a teacher.

September's studies started and I returned to Klaipeda's University. I decided to find something interesting in my studies. In the end of the year I finally found it ... psychology! In the third year I started to study psychology in addition to teaching. I became very busy. Jurgita and I could seldom talk. She found lots of new friends and very suddenly married.

Five years passed very quickly. I got a job as a psychologist in Children House (this was a home for children with unfit parents). I liked it. Jurgita was now only my friend, not my best friend. She liked working as an administrator in the bank. And she was busy in her life.

It could be funny. But that's life. I always dreamed of working with numbers. My friend hoped for a job where she could communicate with people, helping them to understand themselves. We were best friends, complementing each other. But now ... It could be a fun joke if it wasn't real life.

Mama, with her ideals high, taught us lessons that we knew we had to learn. There were proverbs to help us go through life, to know which road to turn. At night we filled the heating stove with wood, as much as it would hold. In the morning, how we shivered as we warmed our hands and toes. The aroma of coffee was always bubbling in the gray speckled granite pot as we combed our hair in the mornings. Dad would carry water from the spring to wash our dirty clothes and dishes. We rolled down the hills in a barrel and we climbed up high and tall in the trees. Grandpa carved a whistle from a willow and made a super duper sling shot. I can almost smell the sourdough biscuits, raised so high and light. We can taste the spicy apple butter, kept cold in our cellar at night. I remember the view from the top of the mountains and the hush of the valley below. The overalls my daddy wore to work so many years ago were so soft and warm.

Times like that stir a fond emotion from a source so deep within. A time of love and happiness where my memory journey ends, a time that has come and gone forever passing onward with the wind. And as I turn my thoughts away, I weep for the child of yesterday.

I like going to my friend's house. He is like family to us. We play together a lot. I also watch football games there with him and his girlfriend. His name is Buck. We watch television and play video games together a lot. We order pizza and eat chips and drink sodas. Also we go places together and shop all the time. My brother, Roy, comes along, too.

I bring in wood to keep the house warm when it is cold outside. Sometimes it gets down in the teens. We saw wood and bust it for the winter months that are very cold. I wash clothes and dry them. My mom washes the dishes in the dishwater. I have a girlfriend who I talk to every night and I tell her everything. I stay in my room most of the time and listen to my radio. I watch television half of the night. I like orange juice. I drink it sometimes because I am the only diabetic in the family and I have to watch my sugar. I have lost twelve pounds and my sugar is well controlled. I also have high blood pressure and I am on blood pressure medication. My mother keeps the house clean all of the time and my dad just does little odds and ends. My brother, Chris, lives in another town a little ways away from me. He visits every Sunday and brings his girlfriend with him. My other brother, Al, lives away from us too, and visits as often as he can.

We watch television together. We like to watch Fear Factor, the Chamber, the Chair, Jeopardy, and Wheel of Fortune. We do stuff sometimes like order fast food or play checkers a lot. We also watch movies together and listen to races or watch college football or basketball together. We very seldom go out to eat dinner at a restaurant. I like to cook; I cook all sorts of food. My mom likes to bake cakes and other desserts. My dad likes to work on stuff and repair stuff. My brother, Roy, likes to play football in the snow. My nephews are a handful; I help my mother watch them. They like to tease and pick on each other. They behave themselves sometimes. My family gets along well and we like doing things together. I like to work on the computer a lot. I like to type up stuff on the computer for my family.

That is my happy family. We do everything together. Like the saying says, "the more you stay together the happier you'll be." We do everything together and we are all so happy.

My hopes and dreams are that one day I will be married to someone who cares about me and I care about her. We will have a family together and raise them up together. My dream is that I will some day own a house with four bedrooms, two and a half baths, and a basement.

I love my dog and I miss her. She is twelve years old, not young. She would be in her sixties if she were a human. Just before my leaving from Japan, she was very weak because of old age. She could neither hear nor take a long walk. I've been worrying about her. I'm afraid that I wouldn't see her again. I'm not sure whether she'll be fine after two years.

Anyway, she looks very fine in the pictures. She likes eating tomatoes my mother raises in the garden of my house. Of course, the tomatoes are for my family, not for my dog. Once my dog stole a tomato. My mother scolded her.

However, she doesn't seem to give up. One day she was alone in the garden. She came near tomatoes, smelled them, and looked up at them longingly. My mother secretly took her pictures while she was hesitating in front of the tomatoes. Those are the pictures sent to me this time.

According to the comment written on the back, she didn't succeed in getting tomatoes. She could reach none of them.

Now I have my brother and my wife in the hospital at the same time. My wife stayed there about five days and she was discharged. My brother was there for eleven days before he was discharged. Just when I thought everything was going fine, I am back at the hospital again. I did not expect to be back so soon. This time, in July, I went to work and returned to find my wife's blood all over the bed. She did not know what she was doing. We called the Gladstone Rescue Squad. They took her back to the hospital again. This time she had a bleeding ulcer.

I spent most of my time in 2001 in and out of the hospital.

I respect the way you carry yourself - your values of self, family, your leadership, your moral and togetherness. For example, when eating we all say grace before the first plate. When problems occur you handle them with control. If someone went astray, you said what the outcome would be. You were a parent first, then a friend; you didn't take any disrespect off me or anyone else. I love the way you stand for your beliefs, keeping the family together.

My Ebony Queen, my mother and friend, I'd like to say thanks. I am very fortunate to have you in my life. There should be a lot more mothers like you with effort. To me you're worth more than what society sees you as. You've prepared me for obstacles and taught me to never give up. You've taught me values and to love myself and others.

I love you for many reasons, not just because you have given me things. You're my hero. I'll never doubt you or your love. You have nourished my mind, body and soul. You have made me understand life. Your boy became a man.

Sincerely in debt,
Your son, Lamont, to a strong woman.

hen I first laid my eyes on you,
I knew you were all my dreams come true.
You were a gift from up above -
A beautiful child for me to love.

I watched as you began to grow,
And I tried to teach you things you needed to know.
I never thought there would come a day
When I would have to go away.

I never meant to cause you shame,
But I made some mistakes and only I'm to blame.
It really tears my heart that we're so far apart.
Just keep me with you in your heart.

I hope you know that I am sad
And I realize you might be mad.
You need to know that I'm okay
And I'll be coming home some day.

I'm asking you to be really strong.
I won't be gone for too very long.
And when I finally do come home,
I promise that I'll never roam.

I want to know about your day -
What you eat and where you play.
Even though I can't be there,
I still would like the chance to hear.

Please don't feel that you're alone;
I'll write and call you on the phone.
I pray each night that God will guide you,
While I cannot be there beside you.

You trust in God and have no tears,
For love will never disappear.
Even though we're not together,
You'll be a special part of me forever.

For me, being in prison has been a very hard and emotional experience. It makes me sad being away from my husband and children. Knowing I can't hug and kiss them and tell them how much I love them before going to sleep makes me sad a lot of the time. I miss the special times we used to share together. We used to enjoy family picnics, going to church on Sundays, and going to the park.

Coping with the bad times as well as the good times has its reward. When one of my family members is sick, we tend to pull together more to help them recover. When my sister was sick and dying of lupus, the whole family shared the responsibility of caring for her only daughter. Having a close family helps me to deal with my time in prison. My sister took care of my children when I was going to court, and she could not have managed without the rest of my family's support. Times like these make me appreciate how important a good family relationship is.

Now that I am away from my family, I feel I am missing so much of their life. I know they are missing me as much as I'm missing them, and it's hurting us all to be apart. But I know I can't keep looking back; I need to look forward to the time when we can be together again as a family. Even though a lot has changed while we've been separated, we can still pick up where we left off - that is, being the loving, caring family that we were striving to be.

There are many things that help me make an ordinary family a special one. Remembering each other, helping each other in times of need, and showing love and understanding are all very important things I learned in my family life. Some things might change, like we'll all get older or we might lose a loved one, but the way we feel about each other as a family won't change.

Most people don't have a close relationship with their family. They go through the pain and sorrow alone with no one other than faith in God to comfort them. I feel that I am doubly blessed, because I have both. I thank God for my family, whom I love dearly and who loves me dearly, also.

I am now 44 years old, and I have been married twice to abusive men who beat me and tried to kill me. Their explanations were "you're too cute to live," or "I want your money for drugs." My first husband beat me and hung me by the neck with a dog chain from our bedroom door. Next he stripped me of all my clothes, poured ice cold water on me and pushed me out of the house with snow knee deep on the ground. I ended up sleeping in my mother's car naked all night until he went to work the next day.

Finally, with my grandmother's help, I divorced him and five years later I married a man whose legs I fell in love with - because they were hairy! We've been married for eighteen years. He also started out being abusive. He introduced me to a life of crime and drugs. We both ended up in prison not being able to write or see each other.

My hopes are to do my time, get out of prison, and seek out my options of obtaining a career and living a happy life without drugs and prison.

In helping myself to change my life, I have obtained my GED. I am still taking positive classes while incarcerated to insure myself of a life change. I truly hope to become a better person by helping others to stay out of prison and working toward a happy life. I hope to remain being a wife and some day become a good mother, friend, daughter, aunt, and grandmother - to be a special lady as I feel today I am.

We're all God's creation and in being so we need to love ourselves as well as others. I'm doing my best to change my life and to become a decent, successful person of whom my family, husband, society and I can be proud.

'm from West Africa, Togo. It is a small country located between Ghana and Benin. I can tell you that my country has four seasons: summer, spring, dry season, rainy season. At Christmastime, the weather is dry and cool. Togo is a wonderful country and has beautiful sunshine.

Approximately 50% of Togolese are Christian, 40% are Muslims and the remainder are Animists. Most of the Christians live in the South and many of them speak Ewe. Togo is bordered at the north by Burkina-Faso, on the South by Gulf de Guinnee, on the West by Benin and East by Ghana. The capital of Togo is the City of Lome. Togo has about 55% of the population being different ethnic groups and around 4 million people total. Togo has one of the most heterogeneous populations in Africa. The two largest groups are the Ewe, who are concentrated in the South and are comprised of many small groups (Adj-Ewe, Peda, Mina, Guin, Plah, etc.) and the Kabye, who are concentrated in the Noreth and Central parts of Togo and are known as skillful terrace farmers. French is the country's official language, about half of its people speak or understand Ewe. The second most widely spoken African language is Kabye.

My best friend from the North is a very nice person, Denise. She and Tantie are two of my best friends. Denise is 24 years old and Tantie is 25 years old. Denise is someone who is very important to me and Tantie is the second person who is very special to me. They love me and I love them too. We love to be together. They are always there when I need them and they treat me well.

Since I left my country 11 months ago, Denise has been writing me letters and sending me e-mails. I remember one time in my life when Tantie wrote me: "Sandra, I thank God for the great times we had together." I'll be so glad to find someone extroverted like them here in the USA. Denise, Tantie and I are all like rainbows coming around the bend, and when I see that they're happy, well, it sets my heart free. I have a dream to go back one day.

Three years ago I got really sick; my family was there for me. My husband, Judson,did the cooking, cleaning, and visited with me every night. Jarrod did the same and also was a big help with his sister. Kelly was a big help although it was hard. I was really sad that I could not be there for them. I love my family very much. I don't know what I would have done without my family's love and support.

We have been blessed and are grateful.

It seemed like the older Stephanie and I got, the better we got along. I think what really made the difference is that when I was 17 I shot myself. I could see how much it hurt her and the rest of the family. Stephanie came to see me every day when I was in the hospital. She showed me how much she really cared. After I got out of the hospital, we became good friends.

Stephanie was diagnosed with cancer eight years ago. When she found out she had cancer it was hard for her to accept it. But she had to. She started doing treatments, and I think they operated, too. Stephanie is still having problems bleeding.

At one point, Stephanie was at a standstill with the doctors. She wasn't getting any better. She was staying the same. We couldn't figure out why Stephanie wasn't getting better until my brother-in-law looked in her car and found nine fifths of empty vodka bottles in the trunk. So when she went back to the hospital my brother-in-law went with her and told the doctors what he had found. Now the doctors knew what was wrong. The doctors told Stephanie if she didn't stop drinking alcohol, she wouldn't be around much longer. She said, "What do you mean?" The doctor said, "You will die." After that Stephanie changed her mind about drinking.

Stephanie is doing better now. She sees the doctors often to check on everything. She is very strong-hearted and will tell you what she thinks in a heartbeat. With everything she was going through, she still had time to help our Dad, because he was sick, too. Our father's name was Herbert. He was a meat cutter for Kroger's. He found out he had cancer, too. So Stephanie took him for treatments every day for weeks. There wasn't anything else they could do for him. The cancer had gone too far. But Stephanie took care of everything for him. The last two days of his life Stephanie and I never left his side. I'll never forget my Dad, and every time I see my sister or talk to her, I tell her I love her.

By that time I had two children, Tony and Monica. I am very proud of them. They both got their education. Tony went to St. Anne's-Belfield. He went on to college in Maryland. After a year he got a good job in the bank. But after making up his mind, he joined the United States Air Force. After basic training, he moved to Wyoming, then to Italy for three years. Now he is stationed in Illinois as a doctor. He has chosen the Air Force as a career. Tony has a wife and two children. I love them very much and am very proud of him for the choices he has made.

My daughter, Monica, is working at State Farm. Monica has recently moved back to Charlottesville after three years in North Carolina. Monica married a marine who was stationed in North Carolina. They have two children. It is so good to have her back near me. I hope Tony and Monica will both show my grandchildren how important an education will be to reach their goals in life.

To my children and grandchildren, I love you and get the highest education that you possibly can!

here are five people in my family: my wife, Denise, and I and my three kids, Lauren, Cameron, and Gregory. My oldest son, Cameron, has cerebral palsy and can't walk without a walker, and he can't do as much as the other kids. So my dream for him is that in the future he will be able to walk without the walker and do more things without it. He really tries to do a lot for himself now because he is in middle school and he is a teenager now. He really likes nascar racing and he had always wanted to go see a race. Last year he won two tickets to go to Richmond. He and I went to watch the race, and he really enjoyed it. That was one of his goals in life: to see a nascar race.

My son, Gregory, likes playing sports. He plays baseball and football and is really good at them. I am hoping one day he will be a big star in baseball or football. He also has a hobby of racing dirt bikes and four-wheelers so maybe one day he will go on the circuit to race. He is a good outdoorsman and likes hunting and fishing.

My daughter, Lauren, is really good with computers, so hopefully when she graduates she will go to college and get a really good education in computer skills. These days computers are taking a lot of jobs away from people, and everything is worked by computers. She is almost old enough to get her learner's permit, so I have to look forward to her asking to drive soon.

My wife has a good job as an assistant manager at Amoco-Dairy Queen in Crozet. She likes working close to home because you never know when one of the kids is going to get sick. She has been there for a year and a half. She has a really hard job because she has to make sure everything goes right and to keep track of the money. She is a really good mother and wife, too.

For myself, I dropped out of school when I was 16. But now I work for VDOT, and I am going back to school to get my GED. I advise anyone that has the opportunity to do the same thing to really think it over and go for it. It makes me feel better about myself, and it shows my children that education is very important. I haven't taken the test for my GED yet, but I am working really hard to get ready for it. When it is done I hope it will benefit me at my job for VDOT or something else in the future.

A lot of people that work for VDOT are kind of ashamed about coming back to school, but they should not let it bother them. They should think about themselves and take the opportunity to take the class to help them read and write better. It is a great opportunity.

A lot of people in Novi Sad are of mixed nationalities, and my family is, too. My father was half German, my mother, half German and half Croatian. My husband is a Serb. Our children are mixed more than I am. The people in our province speak several languages: Serbian, Hungarian, Slovakian, Romanian, Ukranian, and German. In my parents' house, my parents and grandparents spoke three languages: Serbian, German, and Hungarian. I spoke these three languages equally well when I was only five years old. In school, I learned Russian, French and, later, Esperanto, but never English. Now I need only the English, because our daughter has lived in the U.S. for ten years already. We visit her and her son. I need to speak to people, and I can't. This is why I am here, in this class. I am very happy to have excellent teachers and good classmates. Moreover, it is very interesting to be and to talk with people from different countries.

I was an only child of my parents. My father died relatively young, when I was six years old. I, and later my husband and my children, lived with my mother until her death seven years ago. She was 100 years old. We have two children: a son, who is 37, and a daughter, who is 35. Each of them has one son, so we have two grandsons. The older, from our daughter, is eight; the younger, from our son, only three years old. As you see, we are old grandparents. The problem is that the one lives in Yugoslavia, the other in the U.S. We always miss one or the other.

I used to be a teacher, but I have been retired for 13 years already. I worked in the same school for 30 years. There were children from the ages of 11 to 15 years, Serbs and Hungarians, so I taught German to Serbians, and Hungarian. I liked my job, and I liked my students. I sill have contact with some of them, but now I like to cook and to bake, and I would like to be useful to my children and my family. The family is the most important thing for me.

In my spare time, I like walking with my husband along our favorite river, climbing in the mountains, going to the theatre and to concerts, traveling, and keeping company with good friends. We have a little cottage and around it a garden. We have fruit trees: apples, pears, plums, peaches, grapes, and flowers. I like to work there. I like nature very much.

This is all; this is a short story of my life.

To me family is a little more than that. For example, the other day my grandson told me he had four grandmothers, and I think he really does.

Now I come from a family of nine. Six brothers and two sisters and there's me. When we add mom and dad, it's eleven. My family is very large once everybody is counted. I also have two very close friends that are sisters to me.

I have two children and two grandchildren whom I really enjoy. They are very good children. They are doing well and I am very proud of them. I love and thank God for them. That's a little bit about my family.

Now I will tell you what family means to me. A family is all those things, but it is a lot more. Family is people who care about you and are always there for you no matter what. You can always go to your family when there is nowhere else to go.

To me family means love and friendship and safety. This is what a baby feels when he is all wrapped up in his mother's arms. This is what a family really is - love over all else.

My daddy worked on the farm from dawn to dusk. We always had plenty to eat. We raised our own crops. We also raised hogs, chickens, horses, and cows. My mama did all the milking, so we had our own milk and butter. We didn't have a refrigerator; therefore, we had to put the milk and butter in a spring to keep them cold in the summer. We didn't have running water, so we had to tote water from a spring to have water to drink, to cook with, and to take baths.

We were a very happy family. We didn't have the finest, but we had a roof over our heads, food on the table, and shoes on our feet. We were raised in a good Christian home where there was plenty of love. My parents tried to provide the best they could for us. I was very proud of them.

My parents wanted us to get a good education. However, some of us quit school. It was our choice at the time; it wasn't that we didn't have a chance to finish school. Three of my five brothers graduated from high school. One of them made a career in the Navy and two in the Army. Out of us six girls, only one sister graduated, and the rest of us quit school. Some got jobs and married, but all of us are retired now.

After I quit school, I went to work in Richmond, Virginia. I lived there for three years and worked at a hospital as a nurse's aide. I got laid off and didn't really like living in the city, so I decided to move back to the country. That's when I met my husband. We dated for one year, and then we decided to get married. We had two sons and one daughter. Our daughter graduated from high school, but one of our sons didn't. We lost our other son to bone cancer when he was 15 years old. He died in 1982. That same year, I lost my daddy and a brother-in-law. It was a very sad time for us.

I didn't go to work until my children were in school. I wanted to stay with them when they were little. I tried to raise my children like my parents tried to raise my brothers, sisters, and me with a lot of love and in a good Christian home. My husband and I have four wonderful grandchildren, two boys and two girls. I'm very thankful every day for all of my family.

I lost my job of 27 years last year. I got laid off for good. I'm not old enough to draw Social Security, but I do get a little retirement although it's not much. That's why I am now going to GED and computer classes to try to further my education, so I can get a better paying job. I think positive, and I'm never giving up.

Also I hope that the Lord Almighty will grant us peace, health, and long lives so that we will enjoy the fruit of our labor. Moreover I hope my children will have a good education, be respectful and grow up to be good children that anyone would love to have in their lives.

My dream for my family is for each one of them to achieve their goals and live up to their expectations. Each one of us has different goals that we want to achieve in the future, e.g., as for me, my personal dream is to have a good education and to be a good mum, wife and nurse so that in the future I will be a help to old people.

The most important milestone that has ever occurred in my family was when I got pregnant with my twin girls. I was first told that I would never have any more children in my life. When I was in Africa, my doctor, at my request, put me on pills that stopped me from having kids. It didn't bother me much because I was a single mum with two children.

After I arrived in the U.S., in just one month I happened to meet the man who would become my husband. In two weeks he decided to marry me. But knowing that I couldn't have any more kids, I refused the proposal; and gave him the reasons of my refusal as I stated earlier on. He told me that he could feel it that I would have children. We got married, and I was glad that I had let him know about my situation of not being able to have children.

We got an appointment with a doctor. I went into detail with the doctor. He ran some tests. He told me that he was going to try, but he couldn't make any promises. He put me on fertility pills for one year, but things did not work out as expected. The doctor asked me to discontinue the pills because staying so long on that particular treatment, I would get cancer. I did as the doctor ordered me for my safety, but he ordered pregnancy tests before I left. I did as I was told. The result was positive. Our surprise was not only one child, but two. My husband and I were very excited about the news.

In conclusion, never say it will never happen because here I am with two beautiful children and a happy family.

y family is a very important part of my life. It consists of my fiancé, Tommy, and my two wonderful sons, Tyler and Thomas. Tommy is a carpenter. Tyler is five years old, and Thomas is one year old.

I have a lot of hopes and dreams for them both. The most important one is for them to finish school. If they want to go to college I would be so proud of their decision. They need the most education they can get these days. To get a good job, it helps to have as much education as you can.

I want them both to be good people. I want them to have positive attitudes about their future. If they ever need anything or have a problem I hope they come to Tommy and me first. I know they will have lots of friends.

A milestone that has occurred is meeting Tommy. He really changed my life a whole lot. I have never been so happy in my life. Having my two sons was a wonderful thing that happened, too. I had Tyler at sixteen years old but I don't regret it at all. I love my family so much and don't know what I would do without them.

The strength I receive from my family gives me the energy to dream and pray at night that my daughter always will be happy through the good and bad times life will bring. I pray that she always keeps courage to finish school and hopefully become a beautiful model that I dream she will become one day.

I dream and hope for Tywana as well. For example, she always keeps her head up through all the bad times in life. I know they can be hard as a rock when they hit. As for Tywana and me, I hope we can always be friends, together or not together. If we couldn't be friends, I wouldn't have all the power I need because I would be missing the strength and energy that I would be receiving from her love. Then it would be a piece of me missing. Just like a board game, if you don't have all the pieces to the game, it isn't the same nor is it any fun.

So that's why I can call my family my strength because they give me the energy to carry on each and every day of my life.

I feel that I've not had that. I've been separated from my family for so many years. I don't feel I have family. Family to me is mom, dad, brother, sister. Yes, I have all of them but where are they when I need them? No one is there for me.

I have three brothers and three sisters. I just found Dad in 2001. It was a very happy day for me when I met Dad. He was happy also to meet me after 40 years, but it made me very sad to know that Dad was only 40 miles away and never attempted to find me. There are a lot of days when I feel like my family doesn't love me because we don't even see each other but maybe once every six months or so, and that's only if I go to visit them. They never come to visit me; they never call me.

Family. What is that? I don't know. I'm not accepted because I believe that whether you're family or not if you steal you should be made accountable for your action. My mom or sister believes that if you can get away with it then you're not wrong. I believe that whatever you do that's against the law is wrong.

My mom will be 65 years old on February 13, 2002. I know she's getting older; everyone says you need to get closer to mom because she's not going to be around much longer. I just can't bring myself to do it.

My mom has been so abusive to me over the years. How do I forget the things she has done? I've tried so hard to forgive her and forget, but it just keeps coming back every time I see her. I say to myself why doesn't she love me? I feel as though she's treated me like I wasn't her child.

There was even one time my baby brother said to me, "You're not mama's child. You're adopted." So I went to mom and I asked her. She said you came out of me just like the rest of my children did. So why do I feel like I'm adopted then?

If I am her child, why has she treated me as though I'm not her baby? Mom has always told everyone that out of seven children, I was always the selfish, stubborn one, but I don't feel as though I'm stubborn or selfish. I don't mind giving or sharing anything that I have with anyone. So why doesn't my family love me?

Family-family to me is my son. My new family is my fiancé and his two children. They love me so much that I can really feel the love. I thank God that I finally feel loved and know what family love is really all about after 42 years in this world.

My brother was the first to own his own home. He has a place of his own to raise his family. The house has four rooms, a porch, a large chimney, and lots of land. We all dream of owning a house just like his.

And many of my family, including myself, are looking forward to going to college for a better future. We want to take up computer skills and learn keyboard. We also want to learn about other courses. We are planning for a better job and looking for better ways of making more money.

My family and I like to be independent and on our own, and we are planning for our future in advance.

I love him for he treats me well. He always talks with me. He also spends time with me. We never fight; he does not hit me or raise his voice to me.

He means everything to me. I am very glad I found someone like him to spend the rest of my life with. Anyone who gets a good man like I have, better hold on to him. You don't always find a good one like I did. Some men like to get drunk and beat up their wives, but mine doesn't. He is the best loving man anyone would ever want to know.

That is my husband. He is very special to me, and I love him for that.

One good part is that my brother will be paying for my trip, just to come and see him. I sure hope things go well for me.

I want to drive with my sister and brother-in-law in their mini-van, or I wouldn't mind going by train. I don't want to fly.

When I get there, all I want to do is see California, shop, eat, and rest. I want to have a nice time with my brother.

I have four nieces and eleven nephews, two of them I have never met. I have a host of great nieces and nephews. Their ages run from one year old up to thirteen.

One day I would like for my whole family to come together. I would like to get to meet my two nephews that I've never seen.

I have a family of my own also. I am a mother of two, a son and a daughter, and a grandmother of three. My kids are the most important things in my life after God. He always comes first.

My grandchildren are my pride and joy. They bring me joy and happiness when they are around. My grandchildren are by my son who is 23 years old. He has a set of twins who are two years old and a son six months old. We have a lot of twins in our family.

My daughter is 16 and she has one more year in school. Hopefully she will attend college. She is also into church. I am so proud of her because she is not a street girl.

I am also proud of myself for raising two fine children. I'm especially proud because I have raised them by myself.

My family is a big group of people, but they are the most important part of my life. One day we will all get together, and I will see those nephews of mine. I just hope my eyes won't be closed when they come.

I would also like to see my sister and her husband get back together and help raise their grandchildren. Another thing I would like to see is that my brother and his son get along. My nephew has been in so much trouble since he finished high school. My brother has lost a lot of time from work and spent a lot of money trying to keep his son out of jail. My mother worries about them both all the time.

I'm hoping and praying that some day, soon, all of this is going to happen.

It started on November 18th, deer season that is, as we prepared for the hunt. In the morning, J.J. didn't want to go so I took J.R. instead. We saw two deer but did not shoot and we called it a morning. When we told J.J., he got excited and wanted to go, but he doesn't like to sit; he'd rather use the dogs.

That afternoon we ran the dogs and he missed two does. I believe he was a little discouraged, so he wanted to hunt in the morning, feeling for a walking shot instead of running. We went about 6:00 a.m. with high hopes, but returned about 9:00 a.m. tired and hungry. I think he was upset but didn't let on.

That afternoon we decided to run again, so he went to his usual spot, but it seemed that his confidence was low. About half an hour into the drive, I heard two shots come from the bottom, then an excited voice on my hand-held radio. "Daddy, I shot a four-point buck!" Our conversation went on for a couple of minutes until I made my way down the hill. As buck fever had slowed a little, the four-pointer turned into a high-spike buck. We exchanged hugs and congratulations, some laughter at the points and how close the deer had come (15 feet). Then we said a prayer of thanksgiving to God, had a word of encouragement for J.R. and made our way home.

I hope and pray that my Dad and I will also share in this moment with my other son, Johnathon.

We need to stop and look at situations at hand. We need to take time with our children and listen to them; they will let you know what's gong on. Really know your children, love them, and protect them from danger. Moms need to stay home more. Ask yourself, "Do I really need that new car, or can I stay home and be there for my children?" No one will ever love and discipline your children like you do. Be aware of your children's needs. When it comes to love or things, I think they will pick love.

Who are our children watching? Maybe the TV has been babysitter too long for them. We need to set examples and not show them how to drink or take drugs or use profanity in our homes. How can we ever expect our children to do right if all they see is the wrong way to live? We need to show a good example because they are watching us, and our actions speak louder than words. That saying we have all heard, "Do as I say and not what I do." Watch out, parent! This is a wrong message to send to your children. What we do, I promise, they will triple, good or bad. So don't send messages to them that say it is okay to do this when you're older. The bottom line is, young or old, if it is wrong - it is wrong - period.

I have written about many different situations. How are we going to change them? Simple! Just focus on what I have talked about and start living that way. One thing is for sure; if we do the same tomorrow as we have done today, things will not change. We need to be good examples, moms and dads. Straighten up and be a parent; have control over your children. Show them and teach them respect. Be the leader you should be in your home so they may learn to be leaders in the future. No one is born a leader; this is taught and it starts at an early age at home.

Live a life that your children can follow. Don't live a double-standard life and be a double-standard parent. Let's get our families back together and have a strong bond between family members. Husbands and wives, act like you love each other and are committed to the end. Take time to listen to your children and hear their cries. Be humble and keep God at the head of your home, the first in your life. Love one another and work together. Learn to laugh again, parents!

My hope is that my daughter pays attention to what her mother said, for her own benefit and the benefit of others.

Today, I have a son. He is now eight years old. I've been with him from day one. Without him, I can't imagine what life would be like. To watch him grow is to watch a flower grow. Sometimes after a hard day's work, or with the daily problems that come with life, he's there to comfort me. With life, challenges change daily. I believe that life is a balance. For me he is that balance. Sometimes when I'm at my weakest point, he's there. To the readers or mother who reads this, you will probably question what about her? She's the seed that helps the flower grow.

Since last September terrorists' attacks, things seem to be going in different directions. Large companies folding, job lay-offs, racism, anthrax. I can't justify all that's going on. I believe that the only thing we have left is family. This country came together after 9/11 as a family. I urge all people to go home to your families. Take care of your kids and be there for them. As for me, I have Malcolm who's always there for me. Watching him grow healthy, strong, and wise is like watching a flower grow.

As I write this, I receive a phone call long distance from New York. January 25, Thursday, the loss of my sister-in-law who had a heart transplant four years ago. She leaves behind two teenage daughters and a son. I ask myself the question, "Where do they go from here?" I'm driving this route from Virginia, a six-hour ride. My son has many questions. Most of his questions are about death, maybe I should have told him more about life. Confusing as this may sound, I still get up each morning and take on another task.

Sunday, February 10th, is Malcolm's birthday. I'll throw him a surprise party and take him out to a movie. He also wants a play station that he'll find in his room.

While all this is going on, I'll take time out for thoughts thanking him for nine wonderful years. Today I'll rest, turn on the TV to CNN News. Guess what? More problems. Every day things seem to be getting more and more complicated. Family - that's when I'll turn to Malcolm. Watching him grow is a process like a flower that flourishes with love and care.

Our middle daughter is named Sama, she was born in 1994 in Pakistan, and she is in the second grade at Clark School. Furthermore, our youngest daughter is Saher and she is two years old.

I have a dream for them. They get educations in the U.S. because Saha wants to be a doctor and Sama wants to be an engineer.

When I went to work in Kabul and in Pakistan, my mother took care of them. Now I want to say something about my mother:

Without you how can I live?
How can I live without you?
The night seems as long as ages
The day seems as long as ages
Come here my heart says
Lonely I feel again
I miss you again.
I am nervous again
You are making me restless
I have so many wishes and desires
Come here my heart says.
My heart has so many wishes and desires
I am lonely without you
How can I live without you?

I didn't have a good time there because I didn't want to be there, but we must be in Pakistan so my country was at war. Then we came to USA in 2001. We are very lucky because we continue our life in USA and everything is better than Pakistan, but our life changed here. First our language change; I can't speak English very well. I am like a child. I hope I learn English and my English should get well.

When we came here at the first week my listening was too bad so I got English class. I am learning, but now my English is okay.

In here we have a more comfortable life than Pakistan. In Pakistan I was worried all the time because some unknown person force me. They told me that why girls come in our school but now I am relaxed.

TO MY BELOVED MOM

by Duangporn Blazy Charlottesville ESL

or a long time, I've refused to talk about my mother. It is not that I don't love her, but I have so little memory about her. All my life, I have wished I had magic powers so that I can bring my mother back to life or else just be able to talk to her again.

My mother died when I was 5 years old. I've known her only from a few photos we have, and even less from my family. It seemed like nobody wanted to talk about her. I grew up with my father, my brothers and sisters. My sister told me that my mother got sick right after she had me. My aunt said if my mom had not had me she would live another 50 years.

In my memory, my mom was always in bed. She was as thin as a stick. My father took care of us, eight little monsters, and he worked at our restaurant until 2-3 in the morning. My older sisters and brothers needed to help my father at the restaurant after school. I was too young so I stayed home with my little sister and my mom. Later, when I was 3 years old, my father sent me to a convent school behind our house. At first, the school refused to take me, for I was too young. Then, the director, who was a nun, changed her mind after talking to my mom. I guess my mom probably told the director that she would die soon and would need someone to take care of me. Every morning, my sister would walk me to school, then went to hers.

One morning, my mom had a visit from a Chinese doctor. I was curious about what he would give her as a treatment and if he could cure her. So that morning after my sister dropped me off, I walked home. I told my mom that the school was closed. She wouldn't believe me. Besides, the school was just behind our house and we could hear the morning prayer before the classes started. My mom was so upset and started to cry. I didn't mean to be a bad girl. I just wanted to be with her when the doctor cured her. I never had a chance to explain.

That Chinese doctor apparently did not have any magic. He didn't cure my mom. So my father insisted that my mom needed intensive care. Since the very beginning, my mom had refused to stay at the hospital for she wanted to see her children every day, and I think she knew that she would never come home again. She was right. She was in the hospital for four months. I was never allowed to visit her there. When I met her again, it was her funeral. I learned later that she died of cancer.

Today, I'm married and I'm the mother of a 4-year-old boy. I am 32 years old, exactly the age when my mom passed away. I am old enough and I want to know every single thing about my mom. However, my sisters think that it was better for me not to have any memory of our mom suffering and dying. When I asked my father, he usually said I look just like my mom. If he didn't have eight children to take care of, he would go and stay with my mom. It must have been be so hard for my mom to leave such young children behind. She has missed so many things in her life.

Mom, I wish you were there, on my graduation day,
I wanted you to be there when I received my diploma,
I wanted you to be proud of me,
I wanted you to hold me, and cherish my hard working day.

Mom, I wish you were there, on my wedding day,
I wanted you to know the man I have chosen,
I wanted you to give me advice, like other moms,
I wanted you to bless my new life.

Mom, I wish you were there, on my labor day,
I want you to hold your grandson,
I want you to be his grandma,
I want you to help me to raise this little boy...

God, please give me just one more day
So that I can hold her...for the last time,
So that I can say how much I miss her and how much I love her,
So that I can tell her that she will never die in my memory.

MY GRANDMA - THE PERSON I WOULD MOST LIKE TO MEET

by Jing Zhang
Charlottesville ESL f I could meet a person in the past, I would like to meet my grandma first. Although my grandma passed away 20 years ago, she is still alive in my heart. She always appears in my dreams and memory because I am missing her so much. If I could meet her, I would tell her that I love her and I would like her to share modern civilization with us.

My grandma was a traditional Chinese woman. She was honest and industrious. I was brought up until I was seven years old by my grandma. My mother was at a university studying at that time, so I lived in a village with my grandma. She always busied herself with housework and farm work since I can remember. She even cultivated wheat at age 60. We moved to a bigger city after my mother graduated from university, and my grandma lived together with our family.

Life at that time was not so convenient and comfortable. We just had a black-and-white TV and we did not have a washing machine. We used coal to cook and we washed clothes by hand. My grandma always did everything for us in pleasure. She was always considerate to others. In the evening, my grandma always told stories and Chinese traditional myths to us. Although she did not receive higher education, she was knowledgeable about life. She knew a lot of legends and fairy tales. My brother and sisters were always attracted and moved by her wonderful stories.

Time is flying and our life has greatly changed. We now have a huge house with a large color TV, an auto-washing machine and so on. We have a luxurious car by which we can travel everywhere. Regretfully, my grandma could not live to now. The more conveniently we live, the more I miss her. I wish she could sit in my car when I drive to get around. I wish she could live today to share the modern civilization with us. I can imagine how jubilant she would be if all the wishes could be true.

MY FAMILY

by Benny Mathew
UVA, Charlottesville ESL e came to the USA June 3, 1999. My wife and two children and I are now in Charlottesville. My wife's name is Lali. She is a nurse and she took the CGFNS exam and got a US Visa. At first, we lived in New York. Then my wife got a job at UVA so we moved here. I like Charlottesville. It's a nice place. We bought a house last year. We plan to stay here at least five years. We have two daughters, Amala and Alin. Amala is 7 years old and Alin is 3 1/2 years old. Now Amala studies in the second grade. This is a small story of my family.

MY FAMILY

by Deeba Tasleem
UVA, Charlottesville ESL was born in Kabul, Afghanistan and my date of birth is February 17. I grew up in a big, wonderful, and educated family that contained nine persons or members. My dad was a lawyer, and my mom is a housewife. I had three brothers and four sisters and all of them graduated from school and university. My older brother graduated from law school and he worked as a lawyer, too. My other brothers worked as teachers, and my sisters had different jobs. I graduated from the Department of Meteorology and then I worked as a Meteorologist at the airport for two and a half years. Everyone in the family loved each other, and we never thought we would get separated from each other.

As war changes everything in a country and destroys everything in everyone's life, so our life changed too, and I lost my father and one of my brothers in war in Afghanistan. That was the worst part of my life and I will never forget it. After that, my mom, who is so kind and wonderful, was the only person to take care of everyone in the family and did not let us feel sad about anything.

The situation in Afghanistan got worse day by day and finally it made my other brothers separate from us. After that, we couldn't risk staying in Afghanistan anymore and we left Afghanistan for Pakistan. We stayed in Pakistan for about two years; then we applied for coming to the USA in the United Nations High Commissioner's office. After having some interviews, we were accepted as US refugees and we left Pakistan for the US.

We got here on September 23, 1999, and we have been here for two years and five months. We got different jobs after being here two months in the US. My mom is the only one who doesn't know the language. She learns just a few sentences. Sometimes she talks in English that sounds very funny, but I think she will be all right. So right now everyone is fine and happy and we have our own jobs. Now we know the value of peace.

FAMILY

by Arthia Ingram
Fluvanna was born and raised in Portsmouth, Virginia. My mother's name is Carleen Griffin and my father's name is Oscar Ingram, Jr. They had a baby girl whom they named Deloris Griffin. After a couple of years, she got pregnant again and told my dad. That's when my father married her in 1970. I was born in 1971. My mother named me Arthia Ingram.

As time passed, she and my father broke up. Well, my mother met this other man, and she got pregnant again. This time she had twins, Calvin and Karen. I think my mother was running from man to man, because later on down the road she had another baby girl. Her name was Rosa Ingram. Well, all of us are Ingrams except my oldest sister.

As I got older, my mother started to leave us at home by ourselves. Her baby brother lived with us. She would leave us and party day and night. She didn't give a damn if we had something to eat or not. One day she met this man from Norfolk, Virginia. She started going out with him all the time and we were at home getting raped by her baby brother. He raped my baby sister first. Then he raped me and I was only nine years old. That's when my life fell apart. I told my mother and she didn't even believe me. She beat me because she thought I was lying. She didn't care about anything except herself. She came home one day and beat my oldest sister so badly that she busted her head open with a broken broomstick. Blood came running down her face. I started to cry, and when she turned around to see who cried, that's when my sister ran out the door. My mother got in her car and went after her but couldn't find her. I was glad.

When she got back to the house, the police were at the door. My aunt and father called the police and Social Services, and they charged her with child neglect. The next day we went to court and the judge gave my aunt custody of her. I was mad because she came out of court laughing. My father said, "You think that this shit is funny?"

After all that was over, the man from Norfolk asked my mother to marry him. We moved to Norfolk where she got married. We were there for a while, but my mother started going off again. Her husband couldn't stand me. He beat me one day. I called my father and told him. My father told my mother I wasn't his child and that better be his last time. It wasn't. He beat me again and when my mother came home, he told her I was going to tell my daddy, and that's when she beat me with anything she could get her hands on.

I ran to the Social Services Office, and they took me away from my mother. We went to court and the judge told her she will never get another job in the state of Virginia. Time went by and as we got older, my oldest sister and I got pregnant, and we agreed to tell mother together. As the years went by, my sister and I ended up getting a place together. One day my sister and I, our boyfriends, and some friends were in the kitchen playing cards and smoking pot. The children were in the living room playing on the floor in front of the television. Somebody knocked at the door. When I answered, it was our mother. She came in and we talked. She introduced us to her Jamaican friend. She said she would be right back but we already knew she was in the car getting high. Later she came back in, and her friend left her. He said he was coming back to get her. She was in the living room with the children. I really don't know what happened, but I heard my son Jemont's cry to the top of his lungs. I went in there. She stood over him yelling at him to go to bed. I said he doesn't have to go to bed. I asked her why she hit him. She left her handprint on his back. We started fussing at each other, and I told my mother when I get high, I don't beat my children and that she wouldn't either. I said, "You had your chance to raise us, but you didn't, so don't come in here picking on my son." She hit me, and that's when I hit her back. My sister tried to pull me off my mother but she couldn't, so she started crying. When my mother and I stopped fighting, that's when I found out how she really felt about me. She told me I was a mistake; the only reason you're here is because the rubber broke. My mother told me after she had me, if she would have fallen asleep and the nurse had taken me out and come back in with me, she would have told her I wasn't her baby. My mother said, "You looked like a white baby and you were the ugliest baby I ever had."

I ran out of the house to my aunt's house and told her what happened. She told me to go get my children and we could stay the night. The next day I went to see my grandparents. My father was there and he had heard everything. We talked and he said I wasn't wrong. You see this was my life, and it goes deeper than this. All I'm trying to say is that it hurts when you find out someone you love never loved you or wanted you. This is why I have so much pain inside me. I still have all these memories inside but now that I'm letting them go. I hope I can go on with my LIFE.

MY FAMILY

by Juan Puente
UVA, Charlottesville ESL y family is composed of five persons: my wife, three children, and me. My children are Juan Carlos, seventeen years old; Eduardo, fourteen years old; and Guadalupe, six years old. Juan Carlos is studying in the preparatory school. We are Mexican and our native language is Spanish.

I have twelve brothers, four girls and the rest are men. My father is Juan and my mother is Crecencia. My father has horses and cows, and they're great parents. I love all my family. All my family was born in Mexico.

When I just got married, a fire devastated my house, and since then I have no house of my own. I wish to buy one here in the US or one in Mexico because it is what we wish, me and my family. When I came to the US, I promised my family to buy a house.

Before, I had cows, but not now, because I had to sell all my cows because no one had food for the cows. Now I wish I could go back to Mexico and live together forever with my family and be very happy. Our lives were very difficult in those days and I do not wish to remember them.

I love my family because it is beautiful.

LIFE CHANGES FOR THE FUTURE

by Lamar Williams
Charlottesville/Albemarle s I sit in Albemarle and Charlottesville Regional jail, I have had plenty of time to contemplate how things have changed for me as a new Christian. Along the way, things haven't been easy, and being incarcerated surely isn't making it any better. As I push forward to try to live a more righteous life, there are many challenges I've overcome, staying steadfast in faith, hope, and love for others. One of the biggest problems I've had to face is trying to stop doing things my own way. It seemed like every time I handled situations on my own will, it resulted in larger problems and that would get me into places I didn't want to be in, such as jail. I have had to make many changes to become a more spiritual person. Some of these changes include giving up cursing and listening to music that reminded me of the old Lamar, and learning to love and forgive those that dislike me.

Slowly but surely I began to progress and as I kept praying, God heard my cry for help. Blessing after blessing just started rolling in. Many experienced believers of the Lord Jesus Christ came into my life, and I felt the Lord our God's work being done in my new life in Christ. September 10, 2001 it was two months of worshiping the word of truth and I just had finished the book of Jude which is before Revelation. Now I must tell