What you think does matter

Book review of: “Beyonders A world without heroes” by my son (a 10 yr. old). It’s summer and my son has been reading up a storm. Being the type of parent that I am I wanted to run a test – you know, see if my son really was reading, understanding as well as enjoying the books he was reading. I also wanted to take the time to sharpen his writing skills (or at least have him practice his writing skills). So what I did was simple, I asked him to write me a review of his latest book. Of course I had to give him some tips on how and what I wanted but he happily went to work. No he wasn’t happy that I asked him for a two word review but, after a bit of coaxing he did what needed to be done. Below is and image of his hand written review and I have typed out his review (now that I think about it – I should have had him type this out). Book Title: Beyonders - A world without Hereos Author: Brandon Mull Review By: Isaac Beyonders is about a boy named Jason that meets another person...

Broken – no other choice 1980 I am sitting at my desk desperately hoping the school day flies by. I really don’t like it here, things haven’t been going well and being the class outcast once again is taking its toll on me. There’s a knock at the classroom door, one of the office administrators walks in and calls the teacher over to the side. Soon two large men dressed in dark suits walk in and one of them whispers something into the teacher’s ear. The classroom is silent; everyone is trying to listen in on what is being secretly said between them. We are all anxious, curious about what is happening. The entire classroom turns to look at me in shock when the teacher calls out my name and motions me to come forward. “Take all your stuff with you.” She says with this tense ring in her voice. I was excited and nervous all at the same time. I couldn’t help but smile on the inside, do you see me, that’s right look at me, I am important. As I put everything I had into my bag, all...

Broken – no other choice I’ve never been to the movies, I wasn’t sure how to respond but if this was an added bonus to getting out of school early – I am all in. As the men in the front seat quietly talked to each other I spent my time looking out the window. I was thinking about how great this would be for me, tomorrow I would be back in school telling all the kids how I spent the day at the movies. I would finally have something that would make me special, make me important and something that will make them all very jealous of me. They parked the car and quickly walked me into the theater, they didn’t even pay for a ticket, they just flashed their badges and continued to walk me right in. The room was dark, they directed me to a seat three rows up from the front and smack dab in the middle of this humongous brightly lit screen that showed dancing cartoon popcorn and candy characters. This was the best day of my life. The movie started and the title popped onto the screen – Ai...

Broken – no other choice Broken, a small boy faces a grave decision all on his own. Life has been a series of hardship, horrific circumstances and unbearable heartaches. The decision is obvious - the only way out is to end it all. The choice is clear; in order to escape this life of sorrow there can only be one inevitable course of action. What do you do when you are broken? When hope, is all but a shattered dream that has long ago slipped through your fingers like shifting sand. Tired of the pain, the sorrow, the desire to give up can overwhelm you. Who do you call when there is no one to call, when the person who should have protected you – abandons you? Based on a true story The flood of memories overwhelmed me. My heart begins to sink, my entire chest increasingly hurts with every pounding heartbeat. Tears begin to flow, streaming down my cheeks. I was having difficulty breathing; I was struggling to hold back the endless waves of emotions. My mind ran back and forth as it r...

Broken – no other choice 1 Happiness, everyone wants it but so few seem to truly find it. The definition of happiness is what exactly? Is happiness when you have everything you want? Is happiness when you feel good about something, someone or about yourself? If happiness is a feeling then isn't it just fleeting, like the wisp of the wind it is here now and gone before you even know it? Is happiness something you decide on, like my mother who likes to say "you choose to be happy and you choose to be sad". What does that even mean? Do I really have a choice in the matter, because if I do, who do I talk to? Where can I write and mail a letter to? But most of all, to whom do I address my grievances? Happiness, now that may well be an utter and complete foreign concept to me. I wouldn't know what happiness looked like even if it came up hit me in the face and said "hello, here I am you loser". After all I live in a world made not of my own choosing,...

Who doesn’t like a David and Goliath story – where the little guy against all odds comes out winning in the end? No one, everyone loves these kinds of stories. But what if it were a bit different? What if it was more like a dream shatters and a superhero saves the day! I love stories about success – especially the ones that show and prove that when one person succeeds – other people benefit as well. A dream was formed and it became successful, time past and hard times destroyed the dream. Hundreds of people were put out of work and a business had to close – but fear not! A superhero was in the horizon. Look in the sky, it’s a bird, it’s a plane no it’s… A small child in a cape! Fall River Apparel Company saved by unlikely hero By Sarah Lybrand Fall River Apparel is a cut and sew contracting business that has gone from a $3 million company in its heyday, to shuttered and bankrupt after the manufacturing bust, to back in business more than a decade later. Remarkably it and ...

Kip and Mona Lisa Harding are just your average high school sweethearts … with 10 children. Oh, and seven of those 10 children have gotten into college by the age of 12 (so far), and the youngest three are well on their way to joining them. First, a little about our kids. Our three eldest daughters are Hannah, 26, an engineer since age 22; Rosannah, 24, an architect with her own practice; and Serennah, 22, one of the youngest doctors in the U.S. Navy. Some of our boys are currently studying to become a computer scientist; a musician/composer; and a scholar of the Middle Ages (who currently has the highest average in his college classes). Another child, also now in college at age 11, is considering a law degree. "How do you do it?" Since the release of our book "The Brainy Bunch," this has been the question we hear the most. People want to know how we get our children into college early — did we break or bend some sort of golden rule? They think it's imposs...