Repairing Broken Dreams

Can you imagine how you might feel when you know you are a person, because you look like one, you walk, speak, act, eat ,sleep, work, hope, love, dream ... like one, but in the eyes of the world and all governing laws, you are not even considered exiting human beings? And your fathers, grandfathers and the ones before them, neither? Going as far back as 40,000 years, the Australian aborigines are the most ancient civilization of the planet, still living. Some of them took part a few years ago in Sydney in the worldwide celebration of the Day of the Youth, with the visit from the Pope Benedicto XVl present. They were not even recognized as human beings until as late as 1967!! Only then the referendum decided to include the aborigines in the census for the very first time. With some adjustments, the census concluded that the indigenes population was of 461,160 people, which represents 2,4% of the world's population. After this first and rather belated grant of citizenship, an open apology was effected by the Australian authorities to their compatriots, who were inhabitants of the islands even long before the colonization. On that scandalous late date, merely on the 13th of February 2008, the Prime Minister of the labour party, Kevin Rudd, presented an apology to the indigenes in the Parliament in Canberra. HIs predecessor, John Howard of the conservative party, eluded 10 whole years to do so. The official apology asked for forgiveness of the compatriots, 'for the laws and policies of the successive parliaments and governments, which had inflicted deep pain, suffering and loss '. He didn't add the part that such oversight had lasted centuries, historically termed as ' the bobbed generation ', from 1910 to just after 1970. During that 'lost' period, more than 50.000 aborigines children were practically yanked from their mothers' arms, to be taken away from their legion, and to be educated out of their culture, brought up by whites families and institutes. Totally pulling them out of their roots, wiping out all traces of their backgrounds. May the next 40,000 years be the peaceful and prosperous ones for everyone of them. Tags:aborigines,indigenes,Australia

How Old Is GrandPa?

It's amazing the times and events we lived through, often without consciously noticing their coming or going ...

Stay with this -- the answer is at the end. It will blow you away.

One evening a grandson was talking to his grandfather about current events.
The grandson asked his grandfather what he thought about the shootings at schools, the computer age, and just things in general.

The Grandfather replied, 'Well, let me think a minute, I was born before:

' television
' penicillin
' polio shots
' frozen foods
Xerox
' contact lenses
' Frisbees and
' the pill
There were no:
' credit cards
' laser beams or
' ball-point pens

Man had not invented:
' pantyhose
' air conditioners
' dishwashers
' clothes dryers
and the clothes were hung out to dry in the fresh air and

Man hadn't yet walked on the moon
Your Grandmother and I got married first . . . And then lived together.
Every family had a father and a mother.

Until I was 25, I called every man older than me, 'Sir'.
And after I turned 25, I still called policemen and every man with a title, 'Sir.'
We were before gay-rights, computer- dating, dual careers, daycare centers, and group therapy.

Our lives were governed by the Ten Commandments, good judgment, and common sense.

We were taught to know the difference between right and wrong and to stand up and take responsibility for our actions.

Serving your country was a privilege; living in this country was a bigger privilege.

We thought fast food was what people ate during Lent.

Having a meaningful relationship meant getting along with your cousins.

Draft dodgers were people who closed their front doors when the evening breeze started.

Time-sharing meant time the family spent together in the evenings and weekends-not purchasing condominiums.

We never heard of FM radios, tape decks, CDs, electric typewriters, yogurt, or guys wearing earrings.

We listened to the Big Bands, Jack Benny, and the President's speeches on our radios.

And I don't ever remember any kid blowing his brains out listening to Tommy Dorsey.

If you saw anything with 'Made in Japan' on it, it was junk

The term 'making out' referred to how you did on your school exam.

Pizza Hut, McDonald's, and instant coffee were unheard of.

We had 5 &10-cent stores where you could actually buy things for 5 and 10 cents.

Ice-cream cones, phone calls, rides on a streetcar, and a Pepsi were all a nickel.

And if you didn't want to splurge, you could spend your nickel on enough stamps to mail 1 letter and 2 postcards.

You could buy a new Chevy Coupe for $600 . . . But who could afford one?
Too bad, because gas was 11 cents a gallon.

In my day: ' 'grass' was mowed,
' 'coke' was a cold drink,
' 'pot' was something your mother cooked in and
' 'rock music' was your grandmother's lullaby.
' 'Aids' were helpers in the Principal's office,
' ' chip' meant a piece of wood,
'hardware' was found in a hardware store and
' 'software' wasn't even a word.

And we were the last generation to actually believe that a lady needed a husband to have a baby. No wonder people call us 'old and confused' and say there is a generation gap... And how old do you think I am?

I bet you have this old man in mind ... you are in for a shock!

Pretty scary if you think about it and pretty sad at the same time.
This man would be only 59 years old