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We of '03 Nice excerpt from an online college diary that I just read... Take a note. "The seasons come, the seasons go;/The earth is green, or white with snow;/But time and change shall naught avail/To break the friendships formed at Yale." That's it, except I want to tell you that yesterday I saw the actual (?) Pooh animals in NYC at the New York Public Library branch across from MoMA (53rd St, in case you want to see for yourself). I am now looking at a postcard that shows the five of them, sitting together in a glass case in the children's library on the second floor. It was a kind of pilgrimage for me -- and odd to see them in their actual (?) selves. Not as real as the Velveteen Rabbit, although the love of many of us for Pooh and his friends may also have loved them into "real" by now. Eeyore so patched, Piglet so small, Tigger poised energetic, Kanga without Roo, and Pooh's slouch so familiar (even though this bear is not the original one given to Christopher, if I remember right). Five friends, together. Friends of each other and of mine (and some of you, I surmise). Although comparisons are never quite right, I recall the night (and a late one) two weeks ago when my three roommates and I from sophomore year were reunited for the first time since then (one was a Fulbright Scholar who completed our quad for one year. He came to the US for the first time since then to see his daughter in DC). Four friends, as if no time did not pass at (as one said, we looked different but were the same people -- real). Which makes me think of you and the friends you make and have, friends who come and go, friends who are real enough for a (long?) time. You may not know that Yale's Alma Mater celebrates friendship above all else (except maybe a chauvinism for Yale itself). The first verse ends: "The seasons come, the seasons go;/The earth is green, or white with snow;/But time and change shall naught avail/To break the friendships formed at Yale." You and I know the worth of friendship (N so does Sandy think...). Let me assure you that the worth does not subside -- we love each other into existence, into being. From Milne: "Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. 'Pooh!' he whispered. 'Yes, Piglet?' 'Nothing,' said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw. "I just wanted to be sure of you.'" Be sure. 
The Prince and the Princess Once upon a time, there was a prince who, through no fault of his own, was cast under a spell by an evil witch. The curse was that the prince could speak only one word each year. However, he could save up the words so that if he did not speak for a whole year, the following year he was allowed to speak two words. (This was before the time of letter writing or sign language.) One day, he met a beautiful princess (ruby lips, golden hair, sapphire eyes) and fell madly in love with her. With the greatest difficulty, he refrained from speaking for 2 whole years so that he could look at her and say, "My darling." But at the end of these 2 years, he wished to tell her that he loved her. So he waited 3 more years without speaking, bringing the total number of silent years to 5. At the end of these 5 years, he realized that he had to ask her to marry him. So he waited another 4 years without speaking. Finally, as the 9th year of silence ended, his joy knew no bounds. Leading the lovely princess to the most secluded and romantic place in that beautiful royal garden, the prince heaped a hundred red roses on her lap, knelt before her, and taking her hand in his, said, "My darling, I love you! Will you marry me?" And the princess tucked a strand of golden hair behind her dainty ear, opened her sapphire eyes in wonder, and parting her ruby lips, said, "Pardon?" :-)) 
If You Love Someone Here are times in life... When the person you will love, For the rest of your life. Walks into your life. Sometimes, just sometimes... You hurt that person, You push them away. Not meaning to, But you do. Because you do this... You lose that person, They walk away. At times... You are afraid, To go on, after this. But what choice do you have? All you can do... Is hope that one day, If that person really was the one. You will meet again. And if, just by chance... You get that second chance, Remember the past. Learn from your mistakes, And never let them happen again. And by doing this... You will find out, That a lifetime of happiness awaits. If kisses were water, I'd give u a sea, If hugs were leaves, I'd give u a tree, If spaces were love, I'd give eternity, And if u are true and sincere to me, I'll keep all my love just for thee. And every morning when you open your eyes, Tell yourself that it is special. Every day, every minute, Every second is a gift from God. You've got to dance like nobody's watching, And love like it's never going to hurt. People say true friends must always hold hands, But true friends don't need to hold hands Because they know the other Hand will always be there. 
THE MOST IMPORTANT BODY PART My mother used to ask me what is the most important part of the body. Through the years I would take a guess at what I thought was the correct answer. When I was younger, I thought sound was very important to us as humans, so I said, "My ears, Mommy." She said, "No. Many people are deaf. But you keep thinking about it and I will ask you again soon." Several years passed before she asked me again. Since making my first attempt, I had contemplated the correct answer. So this time I told her, "Mommy, sight is very important to everybody, so it must be our eyes." She looked at me and told me, "You are learning fast, but the answer is not correct because there are many people who are blind." Stumped again, I continued my quest for knowledge and over the years, Mother asked me a couple more times and always her answer was, "No.But you are getting smarter every year, my child." Then last year, my grandpa died. Everybody was hurt. Everybody was crying. Even my father cried. I remember that especially because it was only the second time I saw him cry. My Mom looked at me when it was our turn to say our final good-bye to Grandpa. She asked me, "Do you know the most important body part yet, my dear?" I was shocked when she asked me this now. I always thought this was a game between her and me. She saw the confusion on my face and told me, "This question is very important. It shows that you have really lived in your life. For every body part you gave me in the past, I have told you were wrong and I have given you an example why. But today is the day you need to learn this important lesson." She looked down at me as only a mother can. I saw her eyes well up with tears. She said, "My dear, the most important body part is your shoulder." I asked, "Is it because it holds up my head?" She replied, "No, it is because it can hold the head of a friend or a loved one when they cry. Everybody needs a shoulder to cry on sometime in life, my dear. I only hope that you have enough love and friends that you will always have a shoulder to cry on when you need it." Then and there I knew the most important body part is not a selfish one. It is sympathetic to the pain of others. People will forget what you said...People will forget what you did But people will NEVER forget how you made them feel. Good friends are like stars...You don't always see them, but you always know they are there. -Bharat Pallod |