Volleyball Tags

Updates: September 11, 2011 - I have been able to get a part-time job which is good news, but the rest is just about the same. Thank you for your help Malum Designs
and Pete B.
Since my previous posts have yielded only four donations over the last five months I thought I would try this approach. My financial problems are quite real. If you find my fable entertaining please send a small donation.
- Fortuna vitrea est, tum cum splendet frangitur -

The Grasshopper and the Ant
A Classic retold by Joseph the Beggar King
Part One

Once upon a time, not so very long ago, there were two friends, the Grasshopper and the Ant. Why these two became friends is a bit of a mystery. The Grasshopper was a dreamer and a drifter. The Ant was a believer and an achiever.

In school the Grasshopper would look out the window without thought and only learned the subjects he found interesting. Sometimes he would fall asleep in Math class, other times when a angry teacher would jump him with a pop question he would give the correct answer in way that would confound them.

The Ant was a teachers dream, he soaked up every subject the system taught him, gave the correct answers in the correct way and got straight A s. He would delight his Math teacher by doing compound interest in his head. The Ant believed that what they taught him would help him succeed and was very completive. After graduating High School the Ant got an Academic Scholarship and the Grasshopper got a Pell Grant.

Within four years the Ant got two BS degrees in Business Management and Engineering. The Grasshopper dropped out after the first year. He went to live with the Rainbow Tribe for a few years. On the way to the bus station he found an old fiddle in a trash pile along the road and when he got station he was able to panhandle his bus fare. That was the Grasshoppers first beg.

The Ant took the College like a fish to water. During open Rush some Greeks invite him to be a brother in their Fraternity. He earned his dues by being the Frat Houses Accountant and made beer money by writing term papers. One day while visiting the Tri Deltas he watches the girls play volleyball and is amazed that even though they are playing a vigorous game not one of them breaks a sweat. It is there he meets the girl of his dreams, Polly Fishbane.

While the Grasshopper was living with the Rainbow Tribe he never meets the girl of his dreams, but it does not really matter too much because they believe in Free Love. So free, in fact, that after what you might call the Honeymoon he found himself getting a little bored with it. From the Rainbow Tribe he learns to live off the fat of country and from his new friend, Buffalo with Runs, he learns to live off the land. Buffalo with Runs was an very old Indian that was adopted by the tribe. He taught the Grasshopper what wild plants were safe to eat or use for medicines. He showed him how to set traps and hunt small game. Then, during one winter Gathering four people froze to dead because they were too stoned to come in out of the cold. The Grasshopper became very sad and hopped away.

The Ant is recruited by a Aerospace firm even before he graduated college and goes to work on the Apollo Program. He and his new wife Polly loved the Florida sunshine and settle down to start the American Dream. They decide to have two and half children. Even though the third kid looked a bit odd the Ant loved him as only a father can. With easy money down and mortgage tax deductions compliments of Uncle Sam, they get a house with a two car garage. Next they get two cars and the Rat Race is on. The Ant loves it! Working on the Apollo Program is more than a job, it is being part of history. Polly loves it! Raising their kids and Keeping up of with the Jones. She starts selling Avon products on the side. The Ant buys the best bass boat in the neighborhood, but only uses it once a year because he too busy working. He sets up his retirement funds and a small stock portfolio. Life is Good!

After leaving the Rainbow Tribe the Grasshopper panhandles his way across the country. He sets up in parks and subways where he pretends to play his fiddle while selling jewelry made of deer anthers and beads. The noise he makes with his fiddle sounds like a cat being killed and people give him money just to make him stop. Before the Cops run him off, the Grasshopper usually made enough in one day of begging to cover his needs for the week. When he is hungry he goes to a Soup Kitchen and when he needs clothing there are the Sharing Centers. Every now and then he lets some good hearted woman try to save him. Life is Good and he hops away.

The Apollo Program ends and the new Shuttle program does not start for a couple of years. The Aerospace company were the Ant works at does not win any of the new bids. They offer him a job in California at 20% less of his salary. Polly and the kids are in a rage. Nobody wants to move and leave their friends. The Ant sells his house at a loss because the real estate market in flooded by the laid offs. The one car and the boat are reprocessed. He sells off his stock portfolio for the down payment on the new house in California and even though money is tight the Ant decides to take the family on a short vacation to Key West to uplift their spirits. He finds the Grasshopper selling deer antler jewelry at the Front Street Market. While Polly and the kids go shopping, he and Grasshopper catch up and have a couple of beers. The Ant tells his friend about the laid offs and the move. The Grasshopper asks him - Are you Happy - ? The Ant says - Yes -. His friend says, - Good - . They watch the sunset and see a green flash on the horizon.
To be continue.

We were thrilled to receive a letter from People to People that our daughter had an opportunity to travel to Italy, Sicily, and Greece for 20 days to participate in a community help program. She is a pre-AP student, volleyball player, cross country runner, softball player, basketball player. She wants to be a Pediatrician.

I would love for her to take advantage of this life enhancing opportunity. My husband is a cop and I am a kindergarten teacher. The cost of the trip is $6500.00. If anyone is able to help it would make a big difference in our little girl's life.

I have been working in a juvenile transition home for 10 years as a night guard and recently I have been aware of some of the teenagers being into photography and video editing. Having had used Apple products myself for the past 6 years, I thought it would be nice if those teenagers could be given something nice to work with. Generally speaking, those teenagers some from broken home or home where parents neglect them. In 90% of the cases, our day staff (social workers) succeed in finding their "place" in society. Some finding jobs, some continuing post high school studies. But a nice helping hand is always good.

In the past, we have received bikes from local sports shops, ipods from walmart, outdoors sports equipment (basketball and volleyball nets) Most donations were significant but none where the teenagers could explore their creativity on a more artistic level.

I am therefore, in their names, "begging" for either iMacs, Macbooks or money to acquire them for our residents. Any money donations can be sent to my paypal. For actual HARDWARE donations, you can contact me at email address snooper71 @ GMAIL . COM where i will provide you with the resident address and business info that you may need to "write off" your donations

thanks
Steve

My name is Ann.

My past:
I used to have 4 jobs and took care of myself and daughter. I fell in love with a man with maxxed out credit. That was 14yrs ago. After many promises to marry me I became ill. I had a birth deffect which caused weight gain, problems bending turning and lifting. Toxins filled my system until my bleeding in the embillical cord started. I became a prisoner in my non functioning body. After 6 months of bleeding and surgeries I was released but told I would have a long healing process. I am doing somewhat better but still cannot do alot of bending although I am proud to say I can tie my shoes :)

The Event that changed my daughters life:
My fiance and I had purchased a fixer upper and our family moved in and shortly after the economy messed up and so did our finances even more. My fiance left us with the mortgage and no car, no income, no food, no nothing. We lost our home and I was forced to move to the only place I could afford to move. I recieve $65 a month child support.

My daughter had spent her whole life going to the same school. She has dyslexia and is LD. She works hard and managed to be a honor student taking all honors classes. She plays 3 sports in hopes that she will be able to obtain a college scholarship otherwise she knows we will never afford to go. She was President of her class and Capt of her volleyball team when we had to remove her from her school. Her GPA dropped due to combining classes and classes where not on the same page. She lost a seal on her deploma because her new school didnt offer all the honor classes she needed. She is still working to get an advanced deploma and she just got back on the honor roll. She was lined up to get into the fire dept and to take lifeguard classes when her dad left. All things I couldnt afford to give her. :( I managed to sell half of our belongings to pay for drivers ed.

The home we moved into 8 months ago needed electrical work and more. We had no where else we could go so we had to take it. They agreed to let me move in for cheap if I could fix it. My brother pays my rent, phone and electric but I am still with out a car to allow me to get to work. We live about 20 minutes from town. Our driveway is 1/2 mile long and when we got 3 ft of snow this winter we walked out to get ride to the store. Our town has no job openings. I have no living room furniture, no tv and we have mattresses on the floor in the good part of the house.

Recently to add to the stress I had a tooth fall out and part of it remained. It got infected and when the gums swelled my tooth next to it broke out. :(

My future:
Right now I feel like I am losing the fight. I know my daughter deserves so much more and I am not afraid to work for it. I spent months online trying to make money online from home. No luck. I seriously dont know what else to do then to beg and pray. I spent many years volunteering my time and I was on many boards. I keep wondering why me and my daughter? Where is our help? I fear I will lose my home or even worse...my child. Please help.

I am looking for about $1000 to start my business which I can make my own hours and I have people lined up for business, I am a photographer.
I could seriously use a few thousand to get a reliable car.
I could use about $1000 for my daughter to go to camp and for much needed clothes.
I could use funiture, household items, towels, and a tv.

Thank you in advance, every dollar counts.