High and Lifted Up

High and Lifted Up

It was a windy day.
The mailman barely made it to the front door. When the door opened, Mrs. Pennington said, "hello", but, before she had a real chance to say "thank you", the mail blew out of the mailman's hands, into the house and the front door slammed in his face. Mrs. Pennington ran to pick up the mail.
"Oh my," she said.
Tommy was watching the shutters open and then shut, open and then shut.
"Mom," he said, "may I go outside?"
"Be careful," she said. "It's so windy today."
Tommy crawled down from the window-seat and ran to the door. He opened it with a bang. The wind blew fiercely and snatched the newly recovered mail from Mrs. Pennington's hands and blew it even further into the house.
"Oh my," she said again. Tommy ran outside and the door slammed shut.
Outside, yellow, gold, and red leaves were leaping from swaying trees, landing on the roof, jumping off the roof, and then chasing one another down the street in tiny whirlwinds of merriment.
Tommy watched in fascination.
"If I was a leaf, I would fly clear across the world," Tommy thought and then ran out into the yard among the swirl of colors.
Mrs. Pennington came to the front porch.
"Tommy, I have your jacket. Please put it on."
However, there was no Tommy in the front yard.
"Tommy?"
Tommy was a leaf. He was blowing down the street with the rest of his play-mates.
A maple leaf came close-by, touched him and moved ahead. Tommy met him shortly, brushed against him, and moved further ahead. They swirled around and around, hit cars and poles, flew up into the air and then down again.
"This is fun," Tommy thought.
The maple leaf blew in front of him. It was bright red with well-defined veins. The sun-light shone through it giving it a brilliance never before seen by a little boy's eyes.
"Where do you think we are going?" Tommy asked the leaf.
"Does it matter?" the leaf replied. "Have fun. Life is short."
"I beg to differ," an older leaf said suddenly coming beside them. "The journey may be short, but the end is the beginning."
Tommy pondered this the best a leaf could ponder.
"Where do we end up?"
"If the wind blows you in that direction," the old leaf said, "you will end up in the city dump."

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"I don't want that," Tommy said.
"If you are blown in that direction, you will fly high into the air and see things that no leaf has seen before."
"Follow me to the city dump," the maple leaf said. "Most of my friends are there."
The wind blew Tommy and the maple leaf along. Tommy thought of his choices. He wanted to continue to play.
"Okay," Tommy said, "I will go with you to the dump."
The winds shifted and Tommy and the leaf were blown in the direction of the city dump.
The old leaf didn't follow. He was blown further down the block and suddenly lifted up high into the air.
"Hey," he called out, "the sights up here. They are spectacular. Come and see."
Tommy and the maple leaf ignored him.
"I see something. I see the dump." The old leaf cried out. "I see smoke. Come up here. I see fire."
"I see nothing," the maple leaf said.
Tommy saw the fence that surrounded the city dump. He was happy to be with his friend. They would have fun in the dump.
Suddenly, a car pulled up. It was Tommy's mom. Mrs. Pennington wasn't about to let her little boy run into the city dump.
"Not so fast," she said getting out of the car. "You are not allowed to play in there. Don't you see the smoke?"
Tommy watched the maple leaf blow against the wall and struggle to get over. He ran over to get it but was unable to reach it.
Mrs. Pennington walked over and took the leaf. She put it in her pocket.
"There," she said, "it will be safe until we get home."
Tommy smiled, ran to the car and got in. He rolled down the back window and looked up into the sky. He wondered where the old leaf had gone. Perhaps one day he would see what the old leaf had seen - perhaps.

What is a Dinosaur

What is a Dinosaur?

Millions of years ago, long before there were any people, there were dinosaurs. Dinosaurs were one of several kinds of prehistoric reptiles that lived during the Mesozoic Era, the "Age of Reptiles."


The largest dinosaurs were over 100 feet (30 m) long and up to 50 feet (15 m) tall (like Argentinosaurus, Seismosaurus, Ultrasauros, Brachiosaurus, and Supersaurus). The smallest dinosaurs, like Compsognathus, were about the size of a chicken. Most dinosaurs were in-between.
It is very difficult to figure out how the dinosaurs sounded, how they behaved, how they mated, what color they were, or even how to tell whether a fossil was male or female.

There were lots of different kinds of dinosaurs that lived at different times.
• Some walked on two legs (they were bipedal), some walked on four (they were quadrupedal). Some could do both.
• Some were speedy (like Velociraptor), and some were slow and lumbering (like Ankylosaurus).
• Some were armor-plated, some had horns, crests, spikes, or frills.
• Some had thick, bumpy skin, and some even had primitive feathers.

The dinosaurs dominated the Earth for over 165 million years during the Mesozoic Era, but mysteriously went extinct 65 million years ago. Paleontologists study their fossil remains to learn about the amazing prehistoric world of dinosaurs.


The dinosaurs went extinct about 65 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous period, which was a time of high volcanic and tectonic activity. There are a lot of theories why the extinction occurred. The most widely accepted theory is that an asteroid impact caused major climactic changes to which the dinosaurs couldn't adapt.

Although dinosaurs' fossils have been known since at least 1818, the term dinosaur (deinos means terrifying; sauros means lizard) was coined by the English anatomist Sir Richard Owen in 1842. The only three dinosaurs known at the time were Megalosaurus, Iguanodon, and Hylaeosaurus, very large dinosaurs.

The oldest known dinosaur is Eoraptor, a meat-eater from about 228 million years ago.

I had a Dream

I would like to congratulate the new elect president of the United States de America, by the results obtained in yesterday. Day 4 of November of 2008 will happen to history, and we have had the luck to be able to live this great moment. From my point of view, Barack Obama represents the American dream, a loaded dream of symbolism, illusions and new projects, now only it is to wait for if all those promises of change are fulfilled. Next, I hang the speech that I pronounce Obama in Chicago yesterday: If still it is somebody that way that still doubt that the United States is a place where everything is possible, that still is asked if the dream of our founders follows alive in our times, that still the force of our democracy questions, tonight it is his answer. It is the answer given by the tails that extended around schools and churches in a number how this nation never has seen, by the people who waited for three hours and four hours, many of them for the first time in their lives, because they thought that this time had to be different, and that their voices could suppose that difference. It is the answer pronounced by the young people and old, rich and poor, democratic and republican, black, white, Hispanic, indigenous, homosexual, heterosexual, disabled or the nondisabled ones. Americans whom they transmitted to the world the message of which never we have been simply a collection of individuals nor a collection of red states and blue states. We are, and we will always be, the United States of America. It is the answer that lead to that during as much time they have been advised being skeptical and afraid and doubtful it exceeds what we can obtain, to put hands to the arc of History and to once again twist it towards the hope in a day better. Time in arriving has taken, but tonight, due to which we did in this date, these elections, at this moment decisive, the change has come to the United States. Tonight, I received an extraordinarily courteous call of McCain senator. McCain senator fought releases hard and in this campaign. And he has fought still more releases hard and by the country that he loves. He has held sacrifices by the United States that we cannot nor imagine. All we have benefitted from served by this brave and sacrificed leader. I congratulate to him; I congratulate to Palin governor by everything what they have obtained. And I am wishing to collaborate with them to renew the promise of that nation during the next months. I want to thank for partner in this trip, a man who campaigned from the heart, and made of spokesman of the men and the women with those who child in the streets of Scranton and with those who traveled itself in train from return to his house in Delaware, the elect vice-president of the United States, Joe Biden. And it would not be here tonight without the untiring endorsement of my better friend during last the 16 years, the stone of our family, the love of my life, next the first lady of the nation, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia I love, you to two more than you can imagines. And you have gained the new puppy that will accompany to us until the new White House. And although no longer it is with us, I know that my grandmother is seeing us, along with the family who did of me what I am. I tonight throw them in lack. I know that my debt towards them is incalculable. brother Mayan, my brother Soul, to the rest of my brothers and brothers, very many thanks for all the endorsement that you have contributed to me. I am thanked for all you. And director of campaign, David Plouffe, the hero nonrecognized of this campaign, that constructed the best one, the best political campaign, I create, in the History of the United States of America. strategist in head, David Axelrod, that has been a partner mine to each passage of the way. To the best field equipment than one has been made up in the history of the policy. You made reality this, and I am thanked for always reason why you have sacrificed to obtain it. But mainly, I will not forget to whom really belongs this victory. It belongs to you. It belongs to you. I never seemed the aspiring to this position with more possibilities. We did not begin by far money nor with many endorsement. Our campaign was not devised in the corridors of Washington. One began in the back gardens of DES Moines and in the quarters to be of Concord and in the porches of Charleston. It was constructed by the workers and the workers who resorted to the few savings that they had to donate to the cause five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars. It acquired force of the young people who rejected the myth of the apathy of their generation, which they back let to his houses and their relatives to do works that tried little money and less dream to them. It acquired force of the people not so young that they made against the frozen cold and the ardent heat to call to the doors of strangers and the million Americans who offered volunteers and organized and demonstrated that, more than two centuries later, a government of the town, by the town and for the town she has not vanished of the Earth. This is your victory. And I know that you did not only make it to gain elections. And I know that you did not do it by me. You did it because you understand the magnitude of the task that is ahead. While we celebrated tonight, we know that the challenges that will bring to us at some future date are the majors of our lives - two wars, a planet in danger, the worse financial crisis for a century. While we are here tonight, we know that there are brave Americans who awake in the deserts of Iraq and mountains of Afghanistan to gamble the life by us. There are mothers and parents who will remain kept awake in the bed after the children have fallen asleep and they are wondered how to the mortgage or the medical invoices will pay or to save the sufficient thing for the university education of its children. There is new energy to be useful, new jobs to create, new schools to construct, and threats to answer, alliances to repair. The way ahead will be long. The ascent will be raised. Perhaps we do not arrive in a year nor in a mandate. Nevertheless, the United States, never I have been as hopeful as I am tonight from which we will arrive. I promise to you that, we, like town, will arrive. There will be mishaps and beginnings in false. There is many will not be in agreement with each decision or political mine when he is president. And we know that the government cannot solve all the problems. But always I will be sincere with you on the challenges that they confront to us. I will listen to you, mainly when we differed. And mainly, I will ask that you participate to you in the work to reconstruct this nation, of the unique form in which block by block has become in the United States during 221 years, brick by brick, encallecida hand on encallecida hand. What winter began 21 months ago in the heat of cannot finish in tonight autumnal. This victory in itself is not the change that we looked for. It is only the opportunity so that we make that change. And that cannot happen if we return to like were before. It cannot happen without you, without a new spirit of sacrifice. So we make a call to a new spirit of the patriotism, of responsibility, in which each makes use and it works more and the one of the other worries not only about we ourself but. We remember that, if this financial crisis has taught something to us, it is that cannot have a Wall s$street (financial sector) prosperous whereas Main Street (the commerce of on foot) suffers. In this country, we advanced or we failed like a single nation, a single town. We resist the temptation to fall to the partisanship and meanness and immaturity that have intoxicated our political life for as much time. We remember that he was a man of this state that took for the first time to the White House the flag of the Republican Party, a party founded on the values of the self-sufficiency and the freedom of the individual and the national unit. Those are values that all we shared. And whereas the Democratic Party has gained a great victory tonight, we make with certain humility and the decision to cure the divisions that have prevented our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation much more divided that ours, we are not enemy but friendly. Although they have put them to the passions under tension, do not have to break our bows of affection. And to those Americans whose endorsement I have left to win, it has perhaps not obtained your vote tonight, but I listen to your voices. I need your aid. And I will be your president, also. And to all those that see us tonight from beyond our coasts, from parliaments and palaces, to which they are joined around the radios in the corners forgotten the world, our histories are diverse, but our destiny is shared, and arrives a new dawn from American leadership. To those, to which they would collapse to the world: We are going to you to win. That they look for La Paz and the security: we supported to you. And that they are asked if the light of the United States still illuminates so strongly: Tonight we have demonstrated once again that the authentic force of our nation comes not from the power of our arms nor from the magnitude of our wealth but from the lasting power of our ideals; the democracy, the freedom, the opportunity and Love.

Willies Kingdom

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