This is specially dedicated to anyone who has lost a pet. I couldn’t lie to say that I understood what you had gone through since I did not own and lost any pet before. But I sincerely hope that you can find the strength to move on from the words and song. And one day, you will be reunited with your pets at the Rainbow Bridge.
The Rainbow Bridge Poem
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food and water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable. All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.
The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing: they miss someone very special to them; who had to be left behind. They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. The bright eyes are intent; the eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to break away from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster. YOU have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.
Do you know now that I must be going
To a place full of happy memories
In an emerald meadow by a Rainbow Bridge
You can hear heaven’s anthem on the breeze
Well, a heavenly light falls around me
In a twinkling my youth has been restored
Over green hills and valleys once again I roam free
Like the days when on eagle’s wing we soared
I’m surrounded by many companions
And together we pass our pleasant days
Every need is provided, there is nothing I lack
Save for you to whose memory my heart strays
When you’re heaven-bound
There’s a place you pass through
Called the Rainbow Bridge,
I’ll be waiting there for you
Yes, I’ll be waiting for you
With a heart that’s tried and true
Till the day I can feel , once again,
Your arms around me
Fare thee well now for I must be going
Dry your tears, no you must not cry for me
Till the day that we meet again at long journey’s end
At the Rainbow Bridge,
You know that’s where I’ll be
Today, I would like to share with you the theme song from the movie Departures (Okuribito) by Yojiro Takita. It won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2009 Oscars. This is probably the best movie I have watched this year. It touches on one of the taboo subjects in Japan and yet the director had sensitively and beautifully brought out the subject. The theme song by Joe Hisaishi is simply enchanting and powerfully moving.
The festive season is fast approaching and there will be numerous parties where you’ll be having a great deal of fun. When there are parties, there are always alcoholic drink and many reasons for one to drink more. Before you take another shot, think again, “Am I going to drive later?” If you are, most probably you want to be more discipline. If you are not, drink all you want and make sure you have someone to see you home safely.
During this time, you’ll see a lot of commercials, banners and posters to remind individual to drink responsibly. I believe that most people are responsible … at least all my friends drink responsibly. When they are drunk, they always make sure that someone else who is sober will be at the wheel. Probably next time, if you know that your friends are drunk or have been drinking a lot, you may also want to exercise a little social responsibility to stop him/her from driving.
Drunk driving is an offence in most countries around the world. Anyone who is convicted of injuring or killing someone while under the influence of alcohol can be heavily fined, in addition to being given a lengthy prison sentence. In Singapore, repeated offence of drunk driving can cause you to be fined up to $30,000 SGD and three years’ imprisonment. For an offender causing death or serious injuries can also be caned up to 6 strokes.
In a report from CNN, a man in LA was charged with three counts of murder when he ran a red light and struck a car, killing a Major League Baseball pitcher and two others while under the influence of alcohol. Just for that split seconds he had caused lost and miseries to three families.
According to the Office for National Statistics of UK, “There were 8,724 alcohol-related deaths in 2007, lower than 2006, but more than double the 4,144 recorded in 1991. The alcohol-related death rate was 13.3 per 100,000 population in 2007, compared with 6.9 per 100,000 population in 1991.”
In the US, in 2006, an estimated 17,602 people died in alcohol-related traffic crashes—an average of one every 30 minutes. These deaths constitute 41 percent of the 42,642 total traffic fatalities (from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)
In Singapore, there was a significant rise in drink-driving arrests recording a 7% rise from 3,733 cases in 2006, to 4,009 cases in 2007. From a speech by Dr. Teo Ho Pin, dated 13 December 2006; he cited an accident which happened earlier in March that year. Two colleagues were on their way home together on a motorcycle and they crashed into the centre divider along Bukit Timah Expressway and their bodies were found lying along the road. It was found later that both men had a high concentration of alcohol in their blood. In that tragedy, two families lost not only their sole breadwinners but also their husbands and fathers. Indeed as what he mentioned, “The penalties of drink-driving are very high – with the ultimate penalty being death.”
Often time, you may think that you are still sober enough to drive after drinking but there are too many cases where drunk drivers caused death of their loved ones and innocent parties.
Prevention is always better than cure. If you are going out on a group, there can be a designated driver to send the rest home. And in the case when even the designated driver had a few drinks, there is always public transport or a cab instead. Never leave things to chance. Please do not ruin your night of fun and enjoyment and be sentenced to a lifetime of guilt and regret.
Today, I will be touching on a heavy topic and yet this could concern you and I and people around us. According to the National Stroke Association, Stroke is the third leading cause of death in America and the No. 1 cause of adult disability. Fortunately, according to them, “80% of strokes are preventable.” Thus we have the POWER in us to prevent Stroke.
What is Stroke?
According to MayoClinic.com, “A Stroke occurs when the blood supply to a part of your brain is interrupted or severely reduced, depriving brain tissue of oxygen and nutrients. Within a few minutes, brain cells begin to die.” And according to the fact sheet by National Stroke Association, “Two million brain cells die every minute during stroke, increasing risk of permanent brain damage, disability or death. Recognizing symptoms and acting fast to get medical attention can save a life and limit disabilities.”
In so speaking, time is an important factor here and it can very well be the deciding factor on whether the person suffering from a Stroke attack can recover completely. Therapy with clot-busting drugs must start within three hours. Quick treatment not only improves your chances of survival, but may also reduce the amount of complications resulting from the stroke. The challenge is recognizing Stroke as most people are unaware of the symptoms.
How do we recognize the symptoms of Stroke?
The symptoms of Stroke include:
Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg; especially on one side of the body
Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
Sudden severe headache with no known cause
In recognizing these symptoms, there is an easy test to further determine if a person has suffered from Stroke attack or are having symptoms of Stroke. I received an email from a friend about this simple test and decided to Google for some information to check its validity. True enough, I found a few sources providing the same information.
This simple test will help you detect stroke symptoms and Act F.A.S.T.:
F: Facial weakness, can the person smile; have their mouth or eyes drooped? A: Arm weakness, can the person raise both arms? Does one arm drift downward? S: Speech difficulty, can the person speak clearly and understand what you say? T: Time to act, act FAST and call for ambulance or paramedics immediately
According to the email which I received, it mentioned that there is one more way to know if a person has suffered a stroke – ask the person to stick out his/her tongue (I have not been able to verify this point). If the tongue is not straight or droops or slants to one side rather than coming straight out of his/her mouth, it is an indication of a Stroke.
If the person has difficulty in performing any one of these tasks, it is more than likely he/she has suffered a Stroke and medical help should be IMMEDIATELY called for.
As the saying goes, “Prevention is better than cure.” Since it was mentioned earlier that we have the POWER in us to prevent Stroke, let us take a look at some of the deciding factors:
If we can act F.A.S.T with a person who has suffered from a Stroke, we can not only save the person’s life but also improve the person’s chance of complete recovery. You may view some statistics of Stroke from TheUniversityHospital.com. If this information is useful to you. Please pass around this F.A.S.T. Wishing everyone great health and goodness in every areas of your life.
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This is specially dedicated to anyone who has lost a pet. I couldn’t lie to say that I understood what you had gone through since I did not own and lost any pet before. But I sincerely hope that you can find the strength to move on from the words and song. And one day, you will be reunited with your pets at the Rainbow Bridge.
The festive season is fast approaching and there will be numerous parties where you’ll be having a great deal of fun. When there are parties, there are always alcoholic drink and many reasons for one to drink more. Before you take another shot, think again, “Am I going to drive later?” If you are, most probably you want to be more discipline. If you are not, drink all you want and make sure you have someone to see you home safely.
According to the 
“These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into
