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Charity Logo

Charity of the Month

CHARITY OF THE MONTH - HEIFER INTERNATIONAL

In December I am riding for Heifer International. Founded in 1944, Heifer International works with communities around the world to end hunger and poverty and to care for the Earth. Its approach is more than a handout. Heifer provides animals (e.g., heifers, goats, water buffalos, chickens, rabbits, fish, and bees) and training to impoverished people in over 30 countries. The animals can give milk, meat, or eggs; provide draft power; or form the basis of a small business. Communities make their own decisions about what crops, animals, and market strategies make sense for their everyday conditions and experiences.

Heifer International is based on 12 Cornerstones, such as Sustainability; Genuine Need and Justice; and Gender and Family Focus. Perhaps the best known Cornerstone is Passing on the Gift, in which Heifer recipient families pass on the offspring of their animals to others in need. In this way, whole communities can raise their standard of living.

A donation to Heifer International also can make a wonderful alternative holiday gift. Instead of yet another sweater for Grandma that she really doesn’t need, why not donate a Heifer animal or a share of an animal in her honor? Does your child really need so many new toys? Instead of five new toys, give him/her three new toys and a Heifer flock of chicks. Heifer has honor cards to let your loved ones know of your gift on their behalf.

I have set up a Team Heifer page to support Heifer International through A Year of Centuries. My goal is to raise $500. Please make your donation through https://teamheifer.heifer.org/AYearofCenturies. If you would like more information about Heifer’s work, please visit www.heifer.org. Whether you give to honor a loved one or make a regular donation, thank you for taking steps to transform the world for the better.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Fibs

Yesterday I shared my cycling haikus.  Today I’m going to tell you about a type of poem you probably aren’t familiar with.  It’s a fib, short for Fibonacci sequence.  It’s like a haiku on steroids.  First, you have to understand the Fibonacci sequence.

By definition, the Fibonacci sequence begins with 0 and 1, and each subsequent number is the sum of the previous two numbers.  Thus, the infinite sequence includes 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55…. The Fibonacci sequence has a multitude of mathematical applications, but it also appears in the beauty of nature.  Fibonacci numbers can be found in everything from nautilus shells to tree branches to flowers to honeybee ancestry.

A fib is a poem with 1 syllable on the first line, 1 syllable on the second line, 2 syllables on the third line, 3 syllables on the fourth line, etc.  Theoretically, a fib can have an infinite number of lines, but most fibs stop with the sixth line of 8 syllables.

Fibs are great any day of the year, but they are especially fun on November 23 (11-23).  Here’s a sampling of fibs that I’ve written:

Animal Companion

Dog
Cat
Hamster
Iguana
All fine choices but
Pet rocks need much less maintenance


Back to School

Read
Write
Cipher
The basics
But no time for that
Too busy building self-esteem


Biology Lesson

Boing
Boing
High bounce
Hop, skip, jump
Joey kangaroo
Imprinting on a basketball


Color My World

Bush
Gore
The year
2000
Red states and blue states
Now it’s only black and blue states


Crime Scene Investigation

Snap!
Pop!
Crackle!
Murder scene
Whodunnit?  Oh, no!
The Cereal Killer strikes back


Do You Hear What I Hear?

Toot!
Beep!
Honk!  Honk!
Traffic jam?
Good guess, but you’re wrong
It’s just Grandpa blowing his nose


The Glass Is Half Full

Drat!
Zit
Again
And I thought
Only teens got them
Oh, well - better than an age spot


The Buck Stops Here

Buck
Doe
Could be
Money but
Not here in Jasper
The deer capital of Georgia


Mama Knows Best

Grab
Eat
Listen
Yep – crunchy
Mama always said,
“Peel your shrimp before you eat them!”


Not Up to Par

Fore!
Whoops!
Oh, no –
Not again
I’m such a hacker
There goes yet another windshield


Pen Pal  (Note: Cousin Dan Jordan is the Jasper County Clerk of Superior Court)

Dear
Dan
Please write
More often
I just hear from you
When you give me jury duty


Trapped

Eek!
Help!
A mouse!
It scares me
I am way too old
For these new-fangled computers


Under the Big Top

Clowns
Freaks
Sideshows
Animals
A three-ring circus
That also describes government


Weekly World News Update

Boy?
Girl?
Which one?
I don’t know
The sonogram gave
Inconclusive information
It’s either Bigfoot or Bat Boy’s two-headed love child


XYZ

Hey!
You!
Yeah, you!
Check it out
Your fly is open
Tee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee


The Twelve

James
John
Peter
Thaddaeus
Simon the Zealot
Andrew, James son of Alphaeus
Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, and Judas
I’m glad that’s all of the apostles because I’ve just run out of room in this poem


Scooby Doo Synopsis

Yikes!
Zoinks!
A ghost!
Or is it?
Thanks to Scooby Snacks
And a Rube Goldberg booby trap
The gang solves the mystery and captures the villain
Who fumes, “I would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren’t for you meddling kids!”
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