Work and Life: Servant and Master :: Courage Relationships Papers

Work and Life: Servant and Master Waiting for a friend on the Upper East Side on an unusually fair day, an endearing sight caught my eye. Two adults were carrying a baby in a stroller up the steps of the Met. Besides the parents, there were other adults in the group accompanying the infant like bodyguards to a celebrity. I marveled at this entourage of relative giants huddled around this tiny being, servants lifting the sedan of a little emperor off to view the fruits of his court painters. Without his parents’ care, this frail and helpless creature would essentially perish as fast as he would fall if they suddenly decided to drop his stroller, yet he also had so much power over their lives—power derived not from coercion or election but simply from being born. And even though he was small and weak, they gave their services unconditionally. Growing up in a power-driven individualistic country such as America, it intrigues me how in many ways, we can never escape being servants in our lives even though we think we live in a culture focused on individual freedom and the power of one. It is amazing that we serve bosses who pay us and also serve small children who offer no material reward. The parents managed to balance that stroller so easily between the two of them, never letting it tilt, their little sovereign always in constant peaceful motion, but I wondered if it was just as easy for them to balance their services to home and work. I soon realized that this sun-drenched day was only one out of seven. At some point later in the week, his Little Majesty would be handed over to a nanny or daycare center. His parents would then rush off to office buildings many times as spacious as the world’s biggest nursery, and they would answer to supervisors whose one look of disapproval could cause more damage than a whole night of the little boy’s wailing and whining. Someday, I thought, I would probably have both bosses too, for whom, in different ways, I would work and serve. In order to provide for my family and children, I would have to appease bosses and clients. On a day-to-day basis, it would seem that I was perpetually going from service to service. That made me wonder whether I really have choice and power over my own life, or whether I will merely be a

Zoe’s Tale PART I Chapter Four

Let me tell you about that jade elephant. My mother's name – my biological mother's name – was Cheryl Boutin. She died when I was five; she was hiking with a friend and she fell. My memories of her are what you'd expect them to be: hazy fragments from a five-year-old mind, supported by a precious few pictures and videos. They weren't that much better when I was younger. Five is a bad age to lose a mother, and to hope to remember her for who she was. One thing I had from her was a stuffed version of Babar the elephant that my mother gave to me on my fourth birthday. I was sick that day, and had to stay in bed all day long. This did not make me happy, and I let everyone know it, because that was the kind of four-year-old I was. My mother surprised me with the Babar doll, and then we cuddled up together and she read Babar's stories to me until I fell asleep, lying across her. It's my strongest memory of her, even now; not so much how she looked, but the low and warm sound of her voice, and the softness of her belly as I lay against her and drifted off, her stroking my head. The sensation of my mother, and the feeling of love and comfort from her. I miss her. Still do. Even now. Even right now. After my mother died I couldn't go anywhere without Babar. He was my connection to her, my connection to that love and comfort I didn't have anymore. Being away from Babar meant being away from what I had left of her. I was five years old. This was my way of handling my loss. It kept me from falling into myself, I think. Five is a bad age to lose your mother, like I said; I think it could be a good age to lose yourself, if you're not careful. Shortly after my mother's funeral, my father and I left Phoenix, where I was born, and moved to Covell, a space station orbiting above a planet called Omagh, where he did research. Occasionally his job had him leave Covell on business trips. When that happened I stayed with my friend Kay Greene and her parents. One time my father was leaving on a trip; he was running late and forgot to pack Babar for me. When I figured this out (it didn't take long), I started to cry and panic. To placate me, and because he did love me, you know, he promised to bring me a Celeste doll when he returned from his trip. He asked me to be brave until then. I said I would, and he kissed me and told me to go play with Kay. I did. While he was away, we were attacked. It would be a very long time before I would see my father again. He remembered his promise, and brought me a Celeste. It was the first thing he did when I saw him. I still have her. But I don't have Babar. In time, I became an orphan. I was adopted by John and Jane, who I call â€Å"Dad† and â€Å"Mom,† but not â€Å"Father† and â€Å"Mother,† because those I keep for Charles and Cheryl Boutin, my first parents. John and Jane understand this well enough. They don't mind that I make the distinction. Before we moved to Huckleberry – just before – Jane and I went to a mall in Phoenix City, the capital city of Phoenix. We were on our way to get ice cream; when we passed a toy store I ran in to play hide-and-seek with Jane. This went smashingly until I went down an aisle with stuffed animals in it, and came face-to-face with Babar. Not my Babar, of course. But one close enough to him that all I could do was stop and stare. Jane came up behind me, which meant she couldn't see my face. â€Å"Look,† she said. â€Å"It's Babar. Would you like one to go with your Celeste doll?† She reached over and picked one out of the bin. I screamed and slapped it out of her hand and ran out of the toy store. Jane caught up with me and held me while I sobbed, cradling me against her shoulder, stroking my head like my mother did when she read the Babar stories to me on my birthday. I cried myself out and then when I was done, I told her about the Babar my mother had given me. Jane understood why I didn't want another Babar. It wasn't right to have a new one. It wouldn't be right to put something on top of those memories of her. To pretend that another Babar could replace the one she gave me. It wasn't the toy. It was everything about the toy. I asked Jane not to tell John about Babar or what had just happened. I was feeling out of sorts enough having just gone to pieces in front of my new mom. I didn't want to drag my new dad into it too. She promised. And then she gave me a hug and we went to get ice cream, and I just about made myself throw up eating an entire banana split. Which to my eight-year-old mind was a good thing. Truly, an eventful day all around. A week later Jane and I were standing on the observation deck of the CDFS Amerigo Vespucci, staring down at the blue and green world named Huckleberry, where we would live the rest of our lives, or so we thought. John had just left us, to take care of some last-minute business before we took our shuttle trip down to Missouri City, from where we would go to New Goa, our new home. Jane and I were holding hands and pointing out surface features to each other, trying to see if we could see Missouri City from geostationary orbit. We couldn't. But we made good guesses. â€Å"I have something for you,† Jane said to me, after we decided where Missouri City would be, or ought to be, anyway. â€Å"Something I wanted to give you before we landed on Huckleberry.† â€Å"I hope it's a puppy,† I said. I'd been hinting in that direction for a couple of weeks. Jane laughed. â€Å"No puppies!† she said. â€Å"At least not until we're actually settled in. Okay?† â€Å"Oh, all right,† I said, disappointed. â€Å"No, it's this,† Jane said. She reached into her pocket to pull out a silver chain with something that was a pale green at the end. I took the chain and looked at the pendant. â€Å"It's an elephant,† I said. â€Å"It is,† Jane said. She knelt down so that she and I were face-to-face. â€Å"I bought it on Phoenix just before we left. I saw it in a shop and it made me think of you.† â€Å"Because of Babar,† I said. â€Å"Yes,† Jane said. â€Å"But for other reasons, too. Most of the people who live on Huckleberry are from a country on Earth called India, and many of them are Hindu, which is a religion. They have a god called Ganesh, who has the head of an elephant. Ganesh is their god of intelligence, and I think you're pretty smart. He's also the god of beginnings, which makes sense, too.† â€Å"Because we're starting our lives here,† I said. â€Å"Right,† Jane said. She took the pendant and necklace from me and put the silver chain around my neck, fastening it in the back. â€Å"There's also the saying that ‘an elephant never forgets.' Have you heard it?† I nodded. â€Å"John and I are proud to be your parents, Zoe. We're happy you're part of our life now, and will help us make our life to come. But I know neither of us would want you ever to forget your mother and father.† She drew back and then touched the pendant, gently. â€Å"This is to remind you how much we love you,† Jane said. â€Å"But I hope it will also remind you how much your mother and father loved you, too. You're loved by two sets of parents, Zoe. Don't forget about the first because you're with us now.† â€Å"I won't,† I said. â€Å"I promise.† â€Å"The last reason I wanted to give you this was to continue the tradition,† Jane said. â€Å"Your mother and your father each gave you an elephant. I wanted to give you one, too. I hope you like it.† â€Å"I love it,† I said, and then launched myself into Jane. She caught me and hugged me. We hugged for a while, and I cried a little bit too. Because I was eight years old, and I could do that. I eventually unhugged myself from Jane and looked at the pendant again. â€Å"What is this made of?† I asked. â€Å"It's jade,† Jane said. â€Å"Does it mean anything?† I asked. â€Å"Well,† Jane said, â€Å"I suppose it means I think jade is pretty.† â€Å"Did Dad get me an elephant, too?† I asked. Eight-year-olds can switch into acquisition mode pretty quickly. â€Å"I don't know,† Jane said. â€Å"I haven't talked to him about it, because you asked me not to. I don't think he knows about the elephants.† â€Å"Maybe he'll figure it out,† I said. â€Å"Maybe he will,† Jane said. She stood and took my hand again, and we looked out at Huckleberry once more. About a week and a half later, after we were all moved in to Huckleberry, Dad came through the door with something small and squirmy in his hands. No, it wasn't an elephant. Use your heads, people. It was a puppy. I squealed with glee – which I was allowed to do, eight at the time, remember – and John handed the puppy to me. It immediately tried to lick my face off. â€Å"Aftab Chengelpet just weaned a litter from their mother, so I thought we might give one of the puppies a home,† Dad said. â€Å"You know, if you want. Although I don't recall you having any enthusiasm for such a creature. We could always give it back.† â€Å"Don't you dare,† I said, between puppy licks. â€Å"All right,† Dad said. â€Å"Just remember he's your responsibility. You'll have to feed him and exercise him and take care of him.† â€Å"I will,† I said. â€Å"And neuter him and pay for his college,† Dad said. â€Å"What?† I said. â€Å"John,† Mom said, from her chair, where she had been reading. â€Å"Never mind those last two,† Dad said. â€Å"But you will have to give him a name.† I held the puppy at arm's length to get a good look at him; he continued to try to lick my face from a distance and wobbled in my grip as his tail's momentum moved him around. â€Å"What are some good dog names?† I asked. â€Å"Spot. Rex. Fido. Champ,† Dad said. â€Å"Those are the cliche names, anyway. Usually people try to go for something more memorable. When I was a kid I had a dog my dad called Shiva, Destroyer of Shoes. But I don't think that would be appropriate in a community of former Indians. Maybe something else.† He pointed to my elephant pendant. â€Å"I notice you seem to be into elephants these days. You have a Celeste. Why not call him Babar?† From behind Dad I could see Jane look up from her reading to look at me, remembering what happened at the toy store, waiting to see how I would react. I burst out laughing. â€Å"So that's a yes,† Dad said, after a minute. â€Å"I like it,† I said. I hugged my new puppy, and then held him out again. â€Å"Hello, Babar,† I said. Babar gave a happy little bark and then peed all over my shirt. And that's the story of the jade elephant.

Underground Railroad Essays - Slavery In The United States, Slavery

Underground Railroad Essays - Slavery In The United States, Slavery Underground Railroad I know you're wondering, what railroad? Well the simple fact is that everybody has heard of the Underground Railroad, but not everyone knows just what it was. Firstly, it wasn't underground, and it wasn't even a railroad. The term Underground Railroad actually comes from a runaway slave, who while being chased swam across a creek and was out of the owner's sight. The owner said ...must have gone off on an underground railroad. That man was Tice Davids, a Kentucky slave who decided to live in freedom in 1831. The primary importance of the Underground Railroad was the on going fight to abolish slavery, the start of the civil war, and it was being one of our nation's first major anti-slavery movements. The history of the railroad is quite varied according to whom you are talking. Slavery in America thrived and continued to grow because there was a scarcity of labor. Cultivation of crops on plantations could be supervised while slaves used simple routines to harvest them, the low price at which slaves could be bought, and earning profits as a bonus for not having to pay hired work. Slaves turned to freedom for more than one reason. Some were obsessed with being free and living a life where they were not told how to live. Others ran due to fear of being separted or sold from friends and family. Then there were some who were treated so cruely, that it forced them to run just to stay alive. Since coming to America as slaves even back as far back as when the first colonies began, slaves wanted to escape. They wanted to get away from the situation they were forced into. Those who were free were the whites who were somewhat separated in values. The North, was a more industrialized area where jobs were filled by newly imported immigrants, making them less dependent on slave labor. The South, however had rich fertile land mostly used for farming. Huge plantations were cleared and needed to be worked. The people of the area tended to be more genteal, and seemed not quite adjusted to hard work, but more of giving orders. The idea of telling people how to do their work just seemed to fit all too well into this scenario. The railroad didn't have a certain location. Slaves had been running since the 1500's on their own. When the idea caught on amoung brave slaves, was when it started. Slave owners in the South certainly weren't happy about the loss of property. It seemed like too much money was being lost.This caused the South to pass the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793. This titled slaves as property of their owners and gave permission to the owners to retrieve runaways any where in the states, even those states that were free. The North was angry about the treatment of the slaves and was not happy about owners being allowed to come into their states to take the slaves back. Finally, the North decided to do something about it. To return the fire thrown at them by the South, they would take away something that the North thought was morally wrong,and the South's riches. They would help the slaves escape to freedom. The slaves were now angry, scared, and confused. Hearing of this Underground Railroad, they slowly began to run, more and more. By 1807 a law was passed to make it illegal to import anymore slaves. Agricultural improvements came along, and with the limited number of slaves left in the states, the value of the slaves went up very quickly. Abolition Societies began to form, and along with religious groups became active in helpin gslaves to freedom. The Railroad beggan to take shape. A shape that is to this day very hard to describe. Traks were laid to aide the slaves to freedom. People talked in secrecy to make safe paths for the slaves to run on. These were the tracks. Letters were sent that had terminology or code for the balcks. A lot of the terms come from things found along railroads. This is because real railroads at this time were the newest thing and happened to be the topic of choice for conversation.

American Dream essays

American Dream essays What exactly is the American dream? Most people have never really thought about this before even though deep down inside they have an idea of what their personal dream is. Ever since the first settlers arrived in Jamestown to set up a new colony in this vast new world, it stood as a place of freedom that was not available anywhere else in the world. People flocked here in search of a new, better life. Over the course of history, however, this dream has changed in many ways. Through interviewing people from different generations, this change in the American dream becomes evident. Helen was born in 1922 into a poor family that lived on a farm. She was put to work on the farm during her early childhood. When I was growing up, children were expected to do their share of the work. I worked some days from sunrise to sunset with my father on the farm along with my brothers and sisters (Bell). Though she had wanted to graduate, Helen only went to school through the eighth grade before she had to drop out in order to help her sick sister. She had dreams of growing up and becoming a music teacher, however she ended up working in a pants plant for 45 years of her adult life. According to her, the perfect life consisted of being ...a good, godly woman with a loving husband and a roof over our heads (Bell). To her, money was not as important as it is to many people in todays society. She found contentment in other things besides wealth, as she lived a happy life with her caring husband and, eventually, became the mother of a family of eight kids. Eddie was born in 1948. With the exception of not having a father, he had a fairly normal childhood until the age of 14 when he moved out to live on his own. Growing up, I always thought of the perfect life as having a loving family, lots of money, a nice house, and a nice car (Edwards, E). He stayed in school and eventually ...

Plagiarism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 13

Plagiarism - Essay Example Special Forces--were working through Argentine intermediaries to set up contra safe houses, training centres, and base camps along the Nicaraguan-Honduran border." (Peter Kornbluh, "Nicaragua," in Michael Klare (ed), Low Intensity Warfare (New York, 1983), 139.) In the early 1980s, the Reagan Administration made increasing use of Honduras as a base for the contra war. The Administration set up a number of military and training facilities--some American, some contra, and some housing Argentine mercenaries--along the border between Nicaragua and Honduras (Kombluh 139). The country, as one observer noted, was little more than "a [stationary] aircraft carrier," which he described as "the USS Honduras† (Lafeber 309). The strike officially began on May 29, and on June 1 the manufacturers met publicly to plan their resistance. Their strategies were carried out on two fronts. They pressured the proprietors into holding out indefinitely by refusing to send new collars and cuffs to any laundry. Also the manufacturers attempted to undermine directly the union’s efforts to weather the strike. They tried to create a negative image of the union through the press, which they virtually controlled. They prevented a few collar manufacturers in other cities from patronizing the unions’ cooperative laundry even though it claimed it could provide the same services for 25 percent less. Under these circumstances, the collar ironers’ tactics were much less useful. Two days after the strike began on May 29, the manufacturers met publicly to plan their response. They had two strategies. They pressured the owners into holding out indefinitely by declining to send new collars and cuffs to any laundry, and they tried to directly destabilize the union’s efforts to outlast the strike. They also tried to create a negative image of the union through the newspapers, which they virtually controlled. They prevented a few collar manufacturers in other cities from using the

Basketball requires as much skill, strength and effort as football Research Paper

Basketball requires as much skill, strength and effort as football - Research Paper Example Basketball game requires a lot of energy during the game. Just, like football, the time span for the game is long enough to require a sufficient amount of strength, to keep along. Therefore, the athletes take strength-building sections, which include hitting the gym. There are many benefits of strength training to athletic performance. Apart from being the integral component for power for athletes, it also improves performance in the case of pure endurance. Endurance is a key thing in basketball because of the many intense rounds that they have to play in a single match. Therefore, explosive power is not the major goal of strength training in athletes but endurance is (Ivey & Stoner 56). Basketball is majorly a game of wits and skills. Strength and body size are not enough to win a basketball game. In addition, the rules set to play a basket ball game are so intense that they require the players to be very skilled and high mastery of the game. For example, ball handling requires many skills since it is the major part of the game. An effective ball handler should keep the ball out of the opponent’s hand. However, the player in possessing of the ball cannot take more than two steps without dribbling the ball. The player will have to make some critical decisions, which determine the person and when to pass the ball during offensive attack. Thus, the game requires a lot of concentration and a clear mind that can make informed decisions at critical moments. Another critical area is in shooting at the basket. The basket is small enough thus requiring skills to enter the ball from near it or from a three-point range. This requires a keen eye coordination (Leboutilli er 5). Basketball is an effort work. The whole team needs to stick together through out the game and produce their best. The game requires hard work in the pitch to achieve their target. This is also the same in football where they have to

Lenovo Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Lenovo - Case Study Example Lenovo has declared its might in its website, detailing the expanse of its operations. To quote: Lenovo is a US$21 billion personal technology company... We have more than 26,000 employees in more than 60 countries serving customers in more than 160 countries†¦ We are defining a new way of doing things as a next generation global company (Lenovo 2012). It is interesting, hence, to know that Lenovo has had humble beginnings and, more importantly, it is a technology company that emerged from China, a developing economy and outside of the Silicon Valley. The company started modestly as a spinoff of China’s Institute of Computing Technology, a research institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Tsui, Bian and Cheng, 2006, p.303). From there on, it began supplying parts and building computers for technology companies such as IBM. Lenovo, which operated under the name of Legend Holdings during its early years, gradually became a dominant PC maker in China. By 2003, it began its internationalization ambition. According to its CEO, Chuanzi Liu, â€Å"With a 30 percent share of the Chinese PC market, Lenovo realized that its opportunity for further domestic expansion was limited,† and that â€Å"Since the global PC market was estimated at around $200 billion, it could pose huge potential for us (p.574).† ... In order to tackle market globalization, there are many barriers involved and the type of operations management required is radically different from its own. The organization has effectively identified these problems themselves: 1) the organization did not have a brand name that could invoke worldwide recognition; 2) Lenovo did not have a strong presence in the world market; and, 3) there is a lack of human resources to effectively run and manage a truly global company (Liu, p.574). In internationalization and, much more, in the case of being a multinational company, the operations such as those involving organizational culture and human resources are very international in scope and must adhere with international standards and norms while ensuring a high degree of integration and responsiveness at the same time. Lenovo was able to address the problem and its complexities in a bold and ambitious move. In 2005, it acquired IBM’s PC business. This strategy addressed several criti cal challenges that it had identified previously. It boosted the organization’s global brand by â€Å"piggybacking† on IBM’s reputation and the company’s products such as the ThinkPad brand (see Lenovo’s performance during this period in Fig. 1). This enabled the company to penetrate lucrative markets such as the United States, as well as additional market segments that IBM and its acquisitions were particularly known for such as large enterprise, midmarket and, most particularly, laptop computers (Gupta, Wakayama and Rangan, 2012, p. 195). The OM involved is aligned with the â€Å"springboarding† approach that involves the acquisition of critical resources at home and abroad in order to penetrate markets, compete with rivals and