Founded : December 2000 Created By : Esther Aquino and Joseph Garcia
Editor : Amerfino B. Aquino
DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF ESPERANZA AQUINO
Founded : December 2000 Created By : Esther Aquino and Joseph Garcia
Editor : Amerfino B. Aquino
DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF ESPERANZA AQUINO
September 18th, 2008
Bryon Williams graduated from high school earlier this year which prompted our illustrious "JTOL" writer Larry, to pen an article about the fantastic and successful job that Ana has done in raising two boys all on her own. Ana has asked me if she could respond to that article. Here is Ana's response.Dear JTOL,
First of all I want to thank you for all your kind words. Your expressions back in June and your discussion about taking Alanah to Santa Barbara both had me in tears. The past few months (man, close to a year now) have been a blur for me. I’ve watched as my first son, my big baby, got his first girlfriend, went to his prom, graduated from high school, and moved into his first dorm room what feels like a million miles away. I would love to say I went through it all while maintaining poise but honestly that wasn’t always the case. We, or really I, had my blow-ups and breakdowns and they really haven’t completely ceased. J
When I became a mom at such a young age I didn’t have a clue what I was doing. All I knew was I wanted to give my child, and then a couple years later my children, a decent, healthy, and as close to “normal” life as possible. That normalcy, to me, meant going to school and furthering my education in order to open my (and in turn their) options. Although I recently have questioned every parental choice I’ve made, and I’ll get to that in a minute, I am pleased with the fact that my children were raised on college, might I even say the best college, campuses and were exposed to a lifestyle that I at their age had little idea existed.
Over the past few months many people have congratulated and even praised me for Bry’s accomplishments. The truth is I am honored, truly HONORED, to be his mother. It’s hard not to get religious or at least spiritual ;) when I think about it. I truly believe my boys were God-sent. I’ve heard many scary stories from parents of teenagers. Not once has Bryon (or D) argued with me or talked-back to me. God Sent! He has never been blatantly disrespectful to me. God-sent!! And we end every major conversation with “I Love You” even when we disagree on certain choices he has made. Truly, God-sent!!! Ok, so maybe the last one sounds like a marriage. (Oh no, not what I meant, nothing creepy.)
Actually, when Bry was born I did truly fall in love with him. It’s indescribable, my connection to both Bry and D. This is something I don’t see often, it could be that it’s a private connection between parent and child but I have seen it recently with Lisha and Enlai. I remember every year talking to parents who couldn’t wait for school to start to get their children out of their hair and I remember feeling sad and worried, sad that they were growing up and worried that the other germy, dirty kids would make them sick or corrupt them. In my eyes they were perfect. My love for Bry continued to grow and evolve, as he got older. On the pitch, the court, the sand, and the field I was always his biggest and sometimes loudest fan. Not that he had a choice but he never seemed to mind me being there. The truth is we always hung out together, the three of us, going to movies, amusement parks, Vegas, wherever we could afford. There’s no one I’d rather be with than my two boys. Don’t be mistaken though. As in-love as I have been and as much time as we have spent together, we have always had a clear relationship. I am the parent and they are the children. This is something I’m happy to say I’ve only occasionally had to remind them.
Another question I’ve recently heard is, “How do you do it, raising two boys on your own?” My only answer is you just do it. I live day-to-day and handle each challenge as it comes. So those times I may seem distant or even aloof, please know that I’m not being snooty. I’m just handling my parental business, keeping it all together and doing what I have to for my boys and myself.
Over the summer I tried to give Bry a little more freedom. I told myself, ‘he did graduate. Maybe he should be able to go out two days in a row...’ Of course I still had to know exactly where he was all the time but he was and still is underage for Pete’s sake. I thought that maybe it would help me get used to the quiet but it’s palpable and looms over our home. As much as I bug D, it’s just not the same without Bry here.
Driving him out to Arizona, and then home without him, was the hardest thing emotionally I’ve ever had to do. I’ve been a fighter and survivor for so long. I think I have a handle on anger and frustration but loneliness, sadness and a broken heart are not as easy. For some reason, going for a run or to the gym doesn’t help those emotions. It’s crazy how reflective I became during those few days. I questioned every choice made. Should I have moved them around so much? What if us being so close makes it harder for him to survive on his own? What if he resents me for encouraging him to go to a school out of state? They were endless, the questions. With the questions also came regrets. I shouldn’t have sheltered him so much. I should have been a better advocate for his primary education. It seems as though my culture (and I don’t just mean Latina w/ a little Pilipina but more of my family culture) emphasized parenting as teaching my children to be respectful and obedient and putting teachers in charge of teaching. I trusted their teachers to handle their education and made sure they were well-behaved boys. The regrets and questions were never-ending at least for the 6-hour drive home.
The truth is we are so close. I would often tell him and D that we were a team and we all had to pull our weight to make our team succeed. These discussions came when he began slacking with his studies. Those were some tough times. I considered sending him out of the state or even the country to do some volunteer work; to see how fortunate he was. I considered sending him to live with my parents to finish his junior year. I remember telling (or yelling at) him, “let them see you fail because I can’t stand around and watch it.” After talking to his advisor at a parent-conference I decided to give him another chance and he did it. He pulled his weight and ended up doing quite well his senior year. You can read his personal statement below that I have to admit after the many edits from Sern, Oj, Sil and myself, is more biographical than autobiographical.
All in all, I cannot express how proud I am of my son. Not just for graduating from high school (an accomplishment I never made) and not just for becoming a Sun Devil but for being a wonderful human being.
Bryon, I am honored, absolutely honored, that God chose me to be your mother. I love you honey!
Bryon's Personal Statement
Prompt #1
I grew up in college.
My mom gave birth to me at age 18. My little brother was born less than three years later. As a single mother without money and an education, my mom had seemingly insurmountable obstacles to overcome in order to provide her boys with the life she never had. That’s why she took us with her to “college” when we were very young. We followed her as she got her G.E.D., as she went to junior college, then to UCLA, and finally to UC Berkeley for graduate school. We lived in university housing, met her professors, mastered the computers at the student lab, and learned how to make macaroni and cheese to help her get through finals. Each time she graduated, we graduated.
My mom ingrained in us that attending a high-quality university was not an option, but rather a new requirement in our family. Recently, I heard Barack Obama say, “I don’t want to wake up in four years and find out we still have more black men in prison than in college.” I jokingly told my mom that she should be part of his campaign because she had single-handedly laid the path for my brother and me to help that dream come true.
But along the way, my path became rocky, and I diverged.
My grades began to fall and my motivation and drive turned into fear and disappointment. How could I complete this trail my mom had worked so hard to blaze for me? How could I live up to her great expectations? Was I as dedicated as my mom? Was I as smart as my uncle who graduated from Stanford Law School? My high school years were suddenly filled with doubt, manifesting itself in my less than stellar G.P.A. sophomore and junior year.
During the spring of my junior year, I convinced my mom to allow me to tryout for the Southern California all-star rugby team, The Griffins. Beforehand she pulled me off the local club team because of my poor G.P.A. I made the U17 team and performed extremely well during The Pacific Coast Tournament at Stanford, well enough to be recruited by the national team. As I spent the summer in different tournaments and camps throughout the nation, I found the passion and discipline to get back on the right path. Finally, I had my own course! No one in my family had played this sport. Some were not even remotely familiar with rugby and here I was excelling at it. This helped me to renew my commitment to success and turn things around. My guidance counselor now praises me because I have the highest G.P.A. in my cohort.
My mom and rugby taught me to set a goal, keep my eye on it, and then move towards it offensively, not defensively. Rugby not only exposed me to pressure situations, it helped me to thrive on them. When pressure arises I feel like I am ready to take it on even when events may seem impossible. Through all my experiences I feel like I can stay calm and keep cool when pressure situations arise.
Now I’m ready to start creating my own path and blazing my own trail. My goal is to be a guidance counselor. I have had guidance from my mom, my uncle, and my coaches and teachers (even when I did not want it)! By becoming a counselor, I want to help others find their path toward success the way these people have helped me. I will look after my students and will do everything in my power to see that they succeed in setting and attaining their goals, even if they have temporarily lost their way. I will share with them the stories of my mother’s devotion and my own triumphs and shortcoming to hopefully inspire them to their own successes.
But before I go on to be a counselor, it is my turn to lead my family to college, and it is my turn to graduate. And the day I graduate, I am certain that my mom will say, “We did it! We graduated.”
Born September 18th
Singer Jimmie Rodgers is 75.
Actor Robert Blake is 75.
Actor Fred Willard is 69.
Singer-actor Frankie Avalon is 68.
Guitarist Kerry Livgren (Kansas) is 59.
Actor James Gandolfini (The Sopranos ) is 47.
Singer Joanne Catherall of Human League is 46.
Actress Holly Robinson Peete (Hangin' With Mr. Cooper ) is 44.
Singer Ricky Bell (Bell Biv Devoe, New Edition) is 41.
Actress Jada Pinkett Smith is 37.
Actor James Marsden (The Notebook,Ally McBeal ) is 35.
Rapper Xzibit is 34.
Actors Taylor and Brandon Porter (Party of Five ) are 15.
Getting Old
A group of senior citizens were sitting around talking about their ailments:
"My arms are so weak I can hardly hold this cup of coffee," said one.
"Yes, I know. My cataracts are so bad I can't even see my coffee," replied another.
"I can't turn my head because of the arthritis in my neck," said a third,
to which several nodded weakly in agreement.
"My blood pressure pills make me dizzy," another went on.
"I guess that's the price we pay for getting old," winced an old man as
he shook his head.
Then there was a short moment of silence...
"Well, it's not that bad," said one woman cheerfully. "At least we can still drive!"
Today's useless fact - When did the A to F grading system start? And what happened to E?
An excellent question and one we thought we could answer in a flash. Not so. After much digging, we found an article in The Washington Post that states the first letter grade given in the United States was a "B" at Harvard University in 1883. Prior to that time and up to about 1900, most institutions of higher learning used the numeric system (0-100) for grading. According to the Georgia State University web site, from about 1900 to the 1960s, colleges and universities became more general in grading. Hence, the letter-grade system became popular.
Georgia State University surveyed 1,395 two-year colleges, four- year colleges, and universities, and found 89.8% use the letter- grading system with a tendency to add plus or minus.
About that "E" grade -- some schools have used the E instead of F, but we speculate too many students tried to convince their parents the "E" stood for "excellent." It's much harder to trick parents into believing an "F" stands for "fantastic."
Some academics oppose this system of grading. One Stanford University professor claims students tend to take only courses in which they can get good grades. It would be much better, he states, if students explored courses in subjects of interest to them and there were no grades. Where was this guy when we were in school?
That's all for this week. Have a super weekend!
The following is what appeared in Wednesday's edition.
Just Thinking Out Loud
I guess it’s time to start telling you about some of the things that really bug me. Ok, all right, here she goes:
Why is it that when people park their cars on the street, they leave a space wide enough for a bike but too small for a car to fit? If they moved up closer to the car in front of them, then you could park without a problem. So next time you park on the street, move up closer to the car in front and then maybe you’ll give me enough room to park.
How many times have you heard women complain about us guys leaving the toilet seat up? How we’re inconsiderate in not putting it down for them when they go to the bathroom. Well, how inconsiderate of you women to leave it down for us! Now we’re inconvenienced by having to raise the seat before we use the toilet.
And then what about that food (sandwich, leftovers from Tony Roma’s, dessert from Cheesecake Factory, or you fill in the blank), we’ve saved in the fridge and have thought about eating it since last night. And you can’t wait to sink your teeth into it, only to find that, a) someone else has eaten it or, b) your wife has tossed it because it had been sitting in the fridge for longer than who knows when! Nothing gives me that empty feeling more than that letdown. It’s like your insides have been ripped out and placed on a tray. Now, it wouldn’t take much to take care of these few things now, would it? Just thinking out loud.
Born September 17th
Actor David Huddleston (Blazing Saddles,The Big Lebowski ) is 78.
Actor Paul Benedict (The Jeffersons ) is 70.
Singer LaMonte McLemore of the Fifth Dimension is 69.
Singer Fee Waybill of The Tubes is 58.
Actress Elvira is 57.
Comedian Rita Rudner is 55.
Puppeteer Kevin Clash (Elmo on Sesame Street ) is 48.
Director Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge ) is 46.
Singer BeBe Winans is 46.
Actor Kyle Chandler (Early Edition ) is 43.
Rapper Doug E. Fresh is 42.
Actor Malik Yoba (New York Undercover ) is 41.
Actor Matthew Settle (Gossip Girl ) is 39.
Rapper Vinnie of Naughty By Nature is 38.
Singer Anastacia is 35.
Singer Marcus Sanders of Hi-Five is 35.
Singer-actress Nona Gaye is 34.
Drummer Chuck Comeau of Simple Plan is 29.
Bassist Jon Walker of Panic at the Disco is 23.
The Family Tree of Vincent Van Gogh
His dizzy aunt--------------Verti Gogh
The brother who ate lots of prunes ----------Gotta Gogh
The brother who worked at a convenience store --Stop n Gogh
The grandfather from Yugoslavia ---------------U Gogh
The cousin from Illinois --------------Chica Gogh
His magician uncle------------------------Where- diddy Gogh
His Mexican cousin-------------------------A mee Gogh
The Mexican cousin's American half-brother ---- Gring Gogh
The nephew who drove a stage coach------------- Wells-far Gogh
The constipated uncle--------------------- Can't Gogh
The ballroom dancing aunt------------------- Tang Gogh
The bird lover uncle--------------------- Fla min Gogh
The fruit loving cousin----------------------- Man Gogh
An aunt who taught positive thinking --------- Way-to-Gogh
The little bouncy nephew------ --------------- Poe Gogh
A sister who loved disco --------------------- Go Gogh
His niece who travels the country in an RV ---- Winnie Bay Gogh
Today's useless fact - What do you call the carved woman on the bow of a ship? What are its origins?
A figurehead is any carved figure on the bow of a ship -- they're not strictly limited to women. Figureheads through the ages have included snakes, horses, eagles, unicorns, elephants, bulls, lions, and prominent politicians. Why put a figurehead on your boat? For good luck, of course. Sailors are a superstitious breed. The ancient Chinese and Egyptian sailors anointed their ships with occuli (eyes), to help them find their way across rough seas. The Phoenicians later added wooden carvings of animist deities including serpents and birds. The figureheads protected the ship, and inspired fear in the hearts of enemies.
It wasn't until the late 1770s that human figures began appearing on the bow of ships. Exotic foreigners, fierce soldiers, and proud statesmen were quite popular, along with figures modeled after ship owners' wives. This probably tied into sailors' view of ships as female entities.
Figurehead carving is artisan's work today -- commissioned and incredibly labor intensive. There are still active maritime woodcarvers out there, just like in good old time.
That's all for today. Tune in tomorrow for more stuff.
The following is what appeared in Tuesday's edition.
Just Thinking Out Loud
Did you happen to hear about the 9-year old boy who was not allowed to play Little League? Officials for the league ruled that Jericho Scott couldn’t pitch in the league because he threw too hard, about 40 mph. And when his team refused to change his position, the league disbanded the team! Lawyers were then brought in and now a legal battle is taking place.
I think it’s kind of sad. Here is a boy with considerable talent for throwing the ball and will not be able to “show what he’s got.” Also, it’s sad for the other boys on the other teams who will not get to show their talent in hitting against him or at least trying to hit him. Isn’t that what sports and competition is about? Don’t you want to face the best to show what kind of game you’ve got? I know that’s what I’d want. Whether you hit him or struck out, at least you tried. And that’s all we can ever ask of our athletes, and that’s to go down swinging!
Just thinking out loud.
Born September 16th
Actress Lauren Bacall is 84.
Blues singer B.B. King is 83.
Actor Peter Falk is 81.
Singer Betty Kelly of Martha and the Vandellas is 64.
Drummer Kenney Jones (Small Faces, Faces, The Who) is 60.
Actress Susan Ruttan (L.A. Law ) is 60.
Bassist Ron Blair of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers is 60.
Actor Ed Begley Jr. is 59.
Singer David Bellamy of the Bellamy Brothers is 58.
Jazz guitarist Earl Klugh is 55.
Actor Christopher Rich (Reba, Murphy Brown ) is 55.
TV weatherman Mark McEwen is 54.
Singer Frank Reed of The Chi-Lites is 54.
Illusionist David Copperfield is 52.
Actor Mickey Rourke is 52.
Country singer Terry McBride is 50.
Actress Jennifer Tilly is 50.
Singer Richard Marx is 45.
Comedian Molly Shannon (Saturday Night Live ) is 44.
Singer Marc Anthony is 40.
Comedian Amy Poehler (Saturday Night Live ) is 37.
Singer Musiq is 31.
Actress Alexis Bledel (Gilmore Girls ) is 27.
Actress Sabrina Bryan (The Cheetah Girls ) is 24.
Actress Madeline Zima (The Nanny ) is 23.
Actress Kyla Pratt (Fat Albert,Dr. Doolittle ) is 22.
Singer Teddy Geiger is 20.
Musician Nick Jonas of The Jonas Brothers is 16.
Zen Master
The Zen Master is visiting New York from Tibet. He goes up to a hot
dog cart and says," Make me one with everything." The hot dog vendor
fixes a hot dog and hands it to the Zen Master, who pays with a $20
bill. The vendor puts the bill in the cash box and closes it.
"Where's my change?" asks the Zen Master. And the vendor responds,
"Change must come from within."
Today's useless fact - Why does a full moon look larger when it rises than when it is overhead?
We grieve to report that there is no single satisfactory explanation for this storied phenomenon, otherwise known as the "moon illusion." The apparent size difference in the moon was noted in the 7th century B.C. by Chinese and Greek astronomers, and has been puzzling heavy intellectual hitters ever since: Aristotle, Ptolemy, Roger Bacon, Leonardo da Vinci, Johannes Kepler, Rene Descartes, and Karl Gauss. As of last count, there are at least eight competing theories and one whole book devoted to the moon illusion.
What do we know as fact? The moon illusion is a psychological, not a physical phenomenon. The moon always subtends (i.e., takes up) an angle of 0.5 degrees in the sky, so something must be going on between our retina and our cortex. The more popular theories have involved comparisons with buildings and other objects on the horizon, differences between apparent size when looking horizontally and looking vertically, and the physical position of eyeballs in the cranium. The first theory seems to have the most popular support, even though the moon illusion occurs on water as well as land.
That's all for today. Tune in tomorrow for more stuff.
The following is what appeared in Monday's edition.
Just Thinking Out Loud
I ran across this during my teacher training and thought it made a very good point.
The following is the philosophy of Charles Schultz, the creator of the 'Peanuts' comic strip. See if you can answer questions.
1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America.
4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winner for best actor and actress.
6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.
How did you do? The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners. Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one:
1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.
5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.
Easier?
The lesson: The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that care. They care about you. Just thinking out loud.
Born September 15th
Actor Jackie Cooper is 86.
Actor Forrest Compton ("Gomer Pyle USMC") is 83.
Comedian Norm Crosby is 81.
Actor-sportscaster Merlin Olsen is 68.
Actor Tommy Lee Jones is 62.
Movie director Oliver Stone is 62.
Drummer Mitch Dorge of Crash Test Dummies is 48.
DJ Kay Gee (Naughty By Nature) is 39.
Drummer Allen Shellenberger of Lit is 39.
Actor Josh Charles ("Sports Night") is 37.
Actress Amy Davidson ("8 Simple Rules") is 29.
Birthdays of the past:
1890, Dame Agatha Christie, mystery writer; died 1976.
1928, Cannonball Adderley, jazz saxophonist; died 1975
Batty
A vampire bat came flapping in from the night covered in fresh blood and parked himself on the roof of the cave to get some sleep. Pretty soon all the other bats smelt the blood and began hassling him about where he got it. He told them to go away and let him get some sleep. However, the bats persisted until finally he gave in.
"OK, follow me," he said and flew out of the cave with hundreds of bats behind him. Down through a valley they went, across a river and into a forest full of trees. Finally he slowed down and all the other bats excitedly milled around him.
"Now, do you see that tree over there?" he asked.
"Yes, yes, yes!" the bats all screamed in a hungry frenzy.
"Good," said the first bat tiredly, "Because I didn't!"
Today's useless fact - What exactly is a "black hole" and how does it suck up light?
A black hole is the result of a massive star that has collapsed. Every celestial object has what is known as an 'escape velocity'. The more massive and dense an object, the larger the escape velocity will be. The escape velocity of a celestial body is the speed required to get away from the celestial body into space and be able to leave completely, not just orbit it.
What a makes a black hole black, is that it has an escape velocity so great, that not even the speed of light can escape. When light approaches a black hole, it begins to bend, in accordance with Einstein's work which showed that the massive objects bend space-time.
When light crosses the boundary known as the 'event horizon', light is bent so far to the point where it is directed into the center of the black hole (through a type of orbit).
Now, if light cannot escape the gravitational pull of a black hole, then nothing else can since nothing can travel faster than the speed of light.
This is the reason a black hole is black. Evidence for black holes is present but there isn't any actual hardcore proof. The reason being is most information analyzed from space is acquired through Electromagnetic radiation (visible light, x-rays, ultraviolet light, radio waves, etc). But a blackhole absorbs all EM radiation, therefore we get nothing. What we have seen though, is a star or other massive objects orbiting something black/invisible. The only explanation could be a black hole. Also, astronomers caught a glimpse of gas being pulled from a star and traveling into something black.
That's all for today. Tune in tomorrow for more stuff.
