Stories

Fate is a funny thing.  A person can focus on the big things only to
see those achievements largely forgotten as people remember them for
something that, at the time it was accomplished, seemed small and
inconsequential.  Other times fate will strike a person who possesses
only modest goals and catapult that person's creation to greatness.Take Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. 
Mention his name at Christmas time and practically everyone in the
world knows his story.  But, where did Rudolph come from?  

The year 2006 is the 300th anniversary of the birth of Benjamin
Franklin.  The tenth son of a Boston soap and candle maker, Franklin
was apprenticed, at age 12, to his brother James' newspaper, the New England Courant, where he learned the printing
trade.  At seventeen, following a dispute with his brother, Franklin
ran away and fled to Philadelphia.  It was in Philadelphia where he
rose to fame and dazzled the world with his wit, inventions, scientific
discoveries and public service.  The list of Franklin's accomplishments
in  the eighty-four years between his birth in 1706 and death in 1790
and is too huge to enumerate here.  
Rather that list the details of Franklin's life or his numerous
accomplishments, let's take a look at Franklin through the eyes of
Franklin's fictional Poor Richard the namesake of
Franklin's famous Poor Richard's Almanac.  In the
Almanac, which was written and published annually by Franklin from 1732
to 1757, Franklin dispenses numerous one and two line tips for better
living.  The almanacs contained other information, but are best
remembered for these short one or two line bits of wisdom.  Poor Richard's Almanac was an immediate success and
made Franklin known throughout British North America.
Most, if not all, of these sayings were not original but copied from
others going all the way back to the Book of
Proverbs in the Old Testament.  On the one
hand they are common sense guidelines for good living that should be
obvious and known by everyone.  On the other hand, they are so basic
and obvious that most people don't think about them which is why the
majority of the human race, since the time of Adam and Eve, continues
to make the same stupid choices and mistakes generation after
generation.  
Because of these sayings and Franklin's own long and successful life,
he is often held up as an example of the wisdom of living by these
guidelines.  Franklin did probably try, and try is
the operative word, to live by them.  More than likely, Franklin used
them as a daily reminder in his life-long struggle to do the right
thing.  Like the rest of us, Franklin's actions did not always live up
to these ideals. There were periods in his life when he squandered his
money, over indulged in food and drink and enjoyed the favors of other
women (his eldest son, William was the product of a illicit union
before his marriage).  But he struggled on and kept trying to follow
these bits of wisdom and, looking at his life as a whole, we see that
he succeeded more than he failed. So, armed with the knowledge that the
advice from Franklin's Poor Richard is not only good
but also helped Franklin in his struggle to do what was right, we will
proceed.
Like many people today, Franklin, from his portraits, had a weight
problem.  So, let's take a look at Poor Richard's
advice in this area first.  You will note in these instructions, as in
his instructions in other areas, Franklin stresses moderation rather
than denial.  Eating is for pleasure as well as nourishment but, done
in excess, the pleasure is not only diminished but other problems
result as well.  The goal here is balance in daily activities.Eat to live, and not live to eat.
To lengthen thy Life, lessen thy Meals.
A fat kitchen, a lean Will.
I saw few die of Hunger, of Eating 100000 .
Eat few Suppers, and you'll need few Medicines.
Excess in all other Things whatever, as well as in Meat and Drink, is also to be avoided.
Wouldst thou enjoy a long Life, a healthy Body, and a vigorous Mind,
and be acquainted also with the wonderful Works of God? labour in the
first place to bring thy Appetite into Subjection to Reason.
If thou art dull and heavy after Meat, it's a sign thou hast exceeded
the due Measure; for Meat and Drink ought to refresh the Body, and make
it cheerful, and not to dull and oppress
it.

Money is the next category and one, A penny saved is a penny
earned, that many associate with Franklin.  Franklin followed
many of these precepts and became wealthy.  But he also went against
the wisdom presented here at times in his life and lost (for example,
on an early trip to London to gain further training in the printing
trade he squandered his funds and was forced to return home broke). 
Here, Franklin is not only passing on the wisdom of the ages, but also
has personally experienced both the benefits of following this advice
(as evidenced by his success and fortune) and the consequences of
ignoring it (as evidenced by some notable failures in his life).  In an
era where use of credit is widespread,  savings small and people are
stressed out by people trying to satisfy unlimited wants, it pays to
pause and reflect on these sayings.
Buy what thou hast no need of and ere long thou shalt sell thy necessities.
If you know how to spend less than you get, you have the philosopher's stone.
If you would know the value of money, go and try to borrow some.
So much for industry, my friends, and attention to one's own business;
but to these we must add frugality if we would make our industry more
certainly successful. A man may, if he knows not how to save as he
gets, keep his nose all his life to the grindstone, and die not worth a
grout at last.
The use of money is all the advantage there is in having it.
There are three faithful friends - an old wife, an old dog, and ready money.
Time is money.
Wealth is not his that has it, but his that enjoys it.
Ne'er take a wife till thou hast a house (& a fire) to put her in. (In other words, don't get married until you can afford it. 
(NOTE:  the (& a fire) refers to the ability to
furnish the house with heat and light – and much more by today's
standards. Franklin is obviously not suggesting that the wife be thrown
into a fire).
He that buys by the penny, maintains not only himself, but other people.
Again, He that sells upon Credit, asks a Price for what he sells,
equivalent to the Principal and Interest of his Money for the Time he
is like to be kept out of it: therefore

While cramming for a very important test, my roommate and I realized we
needed food, but we none at the apartment.  We ran to the closest places we
could think of - Dominos, Quiznos, etc - but they were closed.  Pressed for
time, Odette and I decided to try this strange Brazilian place that was right
across the street from our familiars.  It was modern style, and it was a very
high-class place, which made us college students in our pajamas feel out of
place.  We didn't care, because the test was more on our minds than our
appearance.

The most exotic and beautiful waiter came up to us and listened to our
story:  "we have a test tomorrow, we need food.  What's the fastest thing you
have?"  He was polite and understood our situation.  He gave us a
recommendation, but we realized we didn't bring any money because we were in
such a rush.  He told us that our school has a special deal with them that we
get 20% off our purchase, and so we were in luck.

Labor
Day marks the traditional end of summer.  Following Labor Day, the
season begins to change.  The days get shorter, the nights cooler and
the leaves on trees turn brilliant colors and then fall to the ground. 
As farmers concentrate on their harvests and children head back to
school, store shelves suddenly overflow with pumpkins, witches,
skeletons and other scary creatures.  For, with the advent of Fall, we
know that Halloween is just around the corner.

Yes, you might know me for having posted an article on "Internet employment fraudsters and scam artists". I am here to just add on to this subject by giving people a well known link that might save people from participating in illegal internet money laundering scams unwittingly. Although there is a wealth of information out there for everyone's public viewing, I think it is important to take note that these warnings can be taken for granted. I am providing another link that people maybe interested in using for research purposes on this critical topic.

THE LINK IS: http://www.scamfraudalert.com

Hey y'all,

I was just wondering, When do we get paid for this type of blogging???? How long have all of you been up here and actually got paid??? I'm curious as to whether I've joined something for freelance blogging, or is this a business??? Comments are appreciated on this topping of FUSEPRESS's idea of us getting cash.

By Sharon Tavaya (c) 2005

If we were to reminisce back to 2004 Fall/Winter session, you would have noticed that there were construction fences surrounding various parts of the York Campus grounds. Some of these fences had various arts, in the form of graffiti, placed on them. _______________________________________________________________________________________