Panorama-Blaze

   "As each day comes to us refreshed and anew, so does my gratitude renew itself daily. The breaking of the sun over the horizon is my grateful heart drawing upon a blessed word."

 - Terri Guillemets

I walked down one of the busiest streets in New York City. An old man, a passerby like myself, handed me a brown paper box. He said to me with a smile, “Here’s for you, cover your head with it.” That day, the New York skies seemed pretty angry. Gloomy clouds quickly gathered, ready to release the heaviest down pour.  It started drizzling suddenly! And of course, the winds were definitely up for an Olympic marathon.

Although I had no umbrella, I told the man, “Thanks for your offer, but I will be just fine.” I did not even stretch my hand to collect the box. Rather, I urged him to carry on with his journey. He insisted, “No, use this to cover your head.” He handed the box to me and walked through the heavy rain, beaten and soaked! It was not an ordinary rainy day. That was the day before Hurricane Irene struck. And he didn't have to.

Everyone can make lemonade right? You don’t need to be a chef to wash some green or yellow lemons, cut them into equal halves and squeeze them out to make a cup of lemon juice. Must you be a cook to make some syrup by adding one cup of sugar to a cup of water inside a pan and stir on fire a little bit until the sugar dissolves? You can definitely make a glassful of sweet lemonade by adding the cup of lemon juice to the syrup, add an additional half cup of cold water and drop in some ice cubes. Sounds delicious? Who doesn't like lemonade!

“If life throws you a lemon – make lemonade.”

~Joan Collins~

 What does this do for you when this lemonade recipe is applied to real life bitter experiences? It means that to a very large degree, you can wipe away your tears, kill your frustrations and redeem lost time if only you get a little more creative with life’s harsh treatments. If you improvise wisely, you can salvage your citrusy condition and literally turn a sour situation into a sweet and refreshing one. Impossible is still nothing!

I woke up to this news a couple of days back. I thought it was such a remarkable breakthrough for this 45 year old patient. It is also a milestone for medicine, science and the world at large after 30 years of battling HIV/AIDS.

How touching is it to learn that someone actually has gotten cured from HIV! Finally! I think it signifies a new hope for HIV/AIDS research and other kinds of disease research. Here's a quote that caught my attention from the video below: "Am I looking at the first man in world history to be cured of HIV?"

I dream of better days ahead.... when HIV, cancer and other fatal diseases will be no more, what about you? 

I never wondered why. In fact, I had not a single question about his reaction. I felt the same way. I, on the other hand, was not that kind of kid. In our neighborhood and in school, anyone would easily label me the “good child.” It was uncommon to hear an utterance even when my toes were unbearably stepped on. I silently bore it by swallowing the pain and everything. That was not Akwasi at all.

He was the exact opposite of me. It was incredible, nonetheless, how we both naturally fit the “unlike poles attract rule.” We were extreme poles yet best friends. I was the light skinned one, he was dark. I was tall, he was short. I was quiet, he would shout at anything that scared him, made him mad or excited. I wore glasses but he didn’t. I was an introvert, he was clearly an extrovert. And need I even mention how he is a boy and I am a girl? Talk about striking differences!

I do not think it was because we were both cousins and classmates at the same time. As I said, we excellently got along. Some siblings fight over almost anything. We never did and we were only five.

Sweet Mother: Music by Prince Nico Mbarga

When your mother, not only the biological one, but any other strong woman in your life stands up for you and makes sure your comfort is always intact, you know she is spectacular. When you see this amazing woman not only handling family but also managing her career, friends and other social issues whether directly or indirectly in your community, you cannot help but agree with the Nigerian/Cameroonian singer Prince Nico Mbarga's Sweet Mother.

Every mother's day, I am reminded of this song Mbarga sang with his band Rocafil Jazz, which was first released in 1976. This song is sometimes refered to as "Africa's anthem." It basically celebrates motherhood by summarizing the everyday little things mothers do for their children. The suffering they go through, make up the many things they do to contribute to our everyday well being.

This West African highlife, sang in Nigerian Pidgin English, with a touch of Congolese Soukous-style guitar remains one of most popular songs in Africa and the world in its entirety. With this song, I salute my own mother, all mothers in my life, and mothers everywhere in the wold. They are a real blessing to humanity. Where would we all be without our mothers? We would actually not have birthdays to celebrate without them, or would we?

Yes! Zip! Zap! It's a wrap! It's been such a ride! Finally, it's the end and I am zipping and zapping up at the finish line with victory, relief and lessons. The A to Z Blogging Challenge I must say, has  indeed been a challenge but I was zealous!

I had the zeal to finish it reagardless. I missed some days but I made them up because I wanted to see the end of it. I owe most of the bumps I came across to the fact that I was not prepared one bit for this (And all those bumpy roads were expected). I found this out of the blue, on another writer's blog, and immidiately thought it would be fun. I bought into the idea and decided to be a part of it.

Important Lesson Learned: Becareful of what you wish for. Be mentally and physically prepared for the journey you choose to embark on. (Ooh yeah, you have to do your homework well lol).

Technically, this is supposed to be a post on the letter 'x'. But 'x' is a tough one. Before this post, I was thinking about words that begin with 'x'. I had a pretty tough time coming up with a word I like. I then resort to the dictionary and it did me no good because I couldn't find  a lot of variety in there. So I began to think about all the scientific names of flowers that begin with the letter x. Did I hear you ask, "Why flowers?" Well, it's spring and since spring sprung, I haven't done any post on it.

And really, flowers are what put the word "spring" in this season. Of course, I had to turn my attension to science to find a flower name that begins with an 'x'. In in my findings, I came across many but they did not interest me much. Then I thought, x chromosomes! It just popped up in my head out of the blue. With chromosome, we cannot mention 'x' without 'y'. So voiala, I had to fuse my posts on 'x' and 'y' into one. Yeah, I found a creative way to do it. No, I didn't cheat! Ha!

What are x and y chromosomes anyway? Ultimately, at the mention of x and y chromosomes, we automatically mention genetics! Do you know how we get the features of our parents to become who we are? Do you have a clear understanding of what goes into the genetics of your physical appearance? These videos will take you through a step by step explanation of what genetics are all about. Enjoy the rest of the post. I hope you learn as much as I did.

W is for the 'word' in spoken word! As a poetry lover, who loves both the writing and the performance of poetry, I could not resist making a post on spoken word. During the writing of poetry and the writing of anything in general, words have to be chosen carefully to well convey the message intended.

I believe that it is not only during the art of writing that words have to be carefully chosen. Our words in everyday life, whether spoken or written have the power to make or break us. Our words in any form can hurt our neighbor. Our words have the ability to make someone's day.

Words from us can either encourage or discourage other people. They make up our thoughts and intensions. Therefore, words do more than speak. They do speak but the art of creating a piece with them, like poetry, speaks even louder! I hope this video of poetry performance speaks to you! W is for word! W is for the 'word' in spoken word!

Vision

I have not walked on common ground,

Nor drunk of earthly streams;

A shining figure, mailed and crowned,

He makes the air so keen and strange,

The stars so fiercely bright;

The rocks of time, the tides of change,

Are nothing in his sight. 

The universe blows my mind! I never could imagine it's expanse and amount of creatures and things it holds. It's our place of existence and that of other organisms. It's vast, it's amazing, it's incredible and everything in between. Everyone has their own understanding  and interpretation of how the universe came about, when it began and when it may even end. Having an understanding of the universe is one thing, accepting that of others is another. Either way, information sharing and the gathering of knowledge that others may have is always important. This is an amazing informative doccumentary on the universe. It mainly dwells on the science and a historical knowledge of the universe. Enjoy!