Latest Stories

Most recently published stories in FYI.

“Price Per Gallon”
“Price Per Gallon” was created Feb.-March 2003 for an open annual doll show at a Southern Oregon art gallery. The U.S. invasion of Iraq had just started, confusing an already perplexed and frightened world so soon after 9/11. Searching for ideas for the doll show, I found this doll at a thrift store and was attracted by the oddity of a doll with a frown on her face.
By Pam j Cooper5 years ago in FYI
...oops! Did I buy that?
4 Items recently purchased that were great, just ok, and downright terrible. 1. Cat Cave - All in all, pretty great! I woke up like any other Saturday morning. I went to the kitchen to brew a cup of coffee, sit in my cozy kitchen chair While I scroll mindlessly on social media. Just then I got a *PING*!
By Vanessa R. Powell5 years ago in FYI
IS JUSTICE BLIND, OR SILLY?
IS JUSTICE BLIND, OR SILLY? WEIRD STATE LAWS
By Fabian Ellis5 years ago in FYI
Homework was Invented? By Who?
Homework??? Yes! we have all heard this term before in our everyday learning years. We sometimes feel lazy when we do it or don't even bother to open the book and start to work on the problems right away. We hear the sounds of "ugh" whenever we get weekend homework. Remember having a lot of homework from having six or seven classes, Yup? I remember homework used to be fun and colorful, but that was when I was little and haven't memorized my ABCs yet. I remember coloring with big fat crayons, sometimes we feel like eating them right before lunch. Has it ever occurred to you that Homework was invented by someone? and how it all began? Who thought of inventing something that makes us fall asleep the minute we read the first three lines of page one or making excuses to our teachers of how your homework was eaten by a dog or inventing other ways to not turn it in. When do you think about it? maybe not? Yours and my answers would be "no" or "Yes" depending on how truly we hate or love homework. Almost everything is invented by someone who is a normal person just like you and me. They decide that whatever they invent is going to be the next big thing or simply making our lives easier. I don't mean Benjamin Franklin who invented electricity or should I say discovered electricity. Homework was truly invented in America by one of our fellow Americans who made us work hard every day for the past 18 years or more. There is probably something you probably don't know about and that is that Homework was invented by Horace Mann, an American educator who decides that being just taught in private rather than the public was not just not enough. He thought that you deserve to have an education that is paid for by the public. So you can thank him for getting free education and not one cent comes out of your pocket, but nowadays there are private and other schools requiring fees unless you go to public school where it's free. If you hate homework then blame it on this guy who made you write essays and long hours of reading, so don't blame it on your teachers and educators. I'm kidding about that and do your homework because you might want to thank him and your teachers someday. Horace Mann was the man or maybe the godfather of education or to the world, he was simply known as the father of common school. It makes you think that this man was not after money or fame, but going after quality education. He goes to lecture people about education and on and on about how public education is more universal and how it should be taught by professional teachers who are trained about this sort of stuff and not people who don't know what they are doing. Mann's principles of "normal schools" made him travel around the world and was particularly impressed by the education school system in the country of Prussia. Ok so blame it on Prussia and not Mann for making you do homework every day. Once again I'm kidding or not but the whole point is that watching the school give students mandatory assignments to complete at home was a genius idea that Mann brought back to America. Therefore; Homework was now part of school rituals that became part of American students' lives since the 19th century. I can see why some schools and buildings are named after him. Some know about him and some like myself didn't even know who he was. It was fascinating to know where homework began in America and who was responsible for ruining our free time at home. Then again, I'm kidding, I know I kid a lot but it makes sense where all things come from.
By Myra 5 years ago in FYI
The Breakup and The Iconic Song
Near the top of the heap of classic Madonna songs is "Like A Virgin." The tune helped jumpstart her career by being the first of nearly 50 #1 hits. Most people know the song from just the first chord and the living legend's familiar voice.
By Edward Anderson5 years ago in FYI
Spring 2021 starts on March 20th, unless it started on March 1st.
“Happy first day of Spring!” A coworker said to me, and she wasn’t the first one to say it. I looked outside, it was snowing. It had snowed almost everyday since November. What were these people thinking? This was not Spring.
By Buck Hardcastle5 years ago in FYI
I fought the Law and the Law won.
It's unfortunate that we need rules, regulations and guidelines to live by. Why can't we just do the right thing all the time? Is it because we are all different? Is it because we can't be trusted? Or is it because we just don't care? I don't know the answer to that my friend but what I do know is that we need laws. What would the world be like without them? It's easy to imagine the chaos if there were no consequences to our actions. I would hope that we all want to abide by the law whether we agree with them or not but in some cases, we don't even know that we are about to break a law. That's because some laws make little to no sense and are not obvious to anyone. Let's take a journey into the little know and highly questionable laws that exist, most of which are still enforced to this day.
By Lamar Wiggins5 years ago in FYI
History of St. Patrick
Did you know that the patron saint of Ireland was not born in Ireland, but in Britian? He initally hated Ireland -- with good reason -- then later loved it.
By Bill Petro5 years ago in FYI
The difference between HIS STORY and HISTORY; the truth behind the cherry tree.
Everyone knows the story about George Washington and the cherry tree, but is it true? Why was the tale written, and is there some truth behind it?
By Danielle Weed Bell5 years ago in FYI
Get Your Head Out of the Sand!
Have you ever been told not to bury your head in the sand? Where do you think this strange statement came from, and what do you suppose it means?
By Denise Brandell Mastrocola5 years ago in FYI
Irena Sendler
“We all have to ask ourselves, “what would I have done?”” Many of us may never have heard of this woman but, fortunately, her bravery during World War Two is recorded within the pages of history. A Polish humanitarian, social worker and nurse, Irena helped to save Jewish childrens lives from the ‘Holocaust’ (concentration camps). Her unselfishness is an example to us all.
By Ruth Elizabeth Stiff5 years ago in FYI
Myth and Legend
The art of storytelling has been around since the beginning of time. Stories are not just here to entertain us. In ancient times stories were law. The people of past lived by these stories. In the present we call these stories myth or legends. While people might know the basics of lore. I have been fascinated with the legends of the past. That is my obscure wisdom.So buckle up, we are going on a trip to the past. The time of ancient Greece.
By Malik LaFon5 years ago in FYI