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Verbum et Ecclesia
versión On-line ISSN 2074-7705
versión impresa ISSN 1609-9982
Verbum Eccles. (Online) vol.35 no.1 Pretoria ene. 2014
Levirate marriage amongst the Hebrews and widow's inheritance amongst the Yoruba: A comparative investigation
Samson O. Olanisebe; Olusegun A. Oladosu
Department of Religious Studies, Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria
In ancient Israel, even though widowhood was not something people were praying for, when it came, the people involved were protected by the legal and customary structures already in place. One of those structures in the Old Testament is the institution of the levirate marriage where the right and the possession due to a widow without a son for her late husband could be protected and appropriated. A similar custom was also found amongst the pre-colonial Yoruba people through the widow's inheritance which guarantees the welfare of the widow after the demise of her husband. However, these structures have been dismantled by Christianity, thereby exposing the majority of present-day widows to untold hardship. This article, therefore, through historical, descriptive and comparative methods, examines the customs of the levirate marriage and widow's inheritance in the two cultures, ascertains how effective they were in addressing the welfare and protection of the rights and privileges of widows and recommends how the church can better see to the welfare of the widows in the society.
The widows in present-day Nigeria are amongst the groups of people that have not been adequately catered for, both at the family and societal levels. Betty Potash has given the statistics that widows constitute a quarter of the adult female population in many African communities, and yet systematic investigation about them is missing (Potash 1986:1). Fasoranti and Aruna (n.d.:54) also believe that the absence of diachronic studies aimed at showing how widowhood practices have evolved or changed over time, especially as a result of religion, worsens the situation. Many of the widows could be described as victims of circumstances after the demise of their husbands. Ejizu (1989:174) describes how many of these widows have been further exposed to a series of bizarre experiences with the attendant embarrassment and aggravation of distress after the misfortune of losing their husbands. Many have been denied the benefits of their matrimonial home, and their human rights have been subjugated by their husbands' families. As a result, they have been dehumanised and subjected to many untold hardships. For those whose children are still young, many of the children have dropped out of school and have become victims of child labour and child trafficking. There is no adequate facility put in place to take care of the widows and their children in society, either by the relatives of the deceased husband or by the government. However, amongst the Jews and the traditional Yoruba, measures were put in place to take care of the widows through the widow's inheritance that has been displaced by Christianity and modernity today. This article, therefore, seeks to examine the levirate marriage amongst the Jews and widow's inheritance amongst the traditional Yoruba people with the aim of bringing out the purpose of such 'marriage' system, the change that has been brought to it by modernity and the roles that families, the Church and government can play in assuaging the plights of the widows in Nigeria.
The article makes use of a multi-disciplinary approach. Historical and narrative approaches and methods of analysis are used because of the inter-disciplinary nature of the article. The historical method is used by retrospectively narrating how what can be termed as 'widow's inheritance' was being consummated amongst both the Jews and the traditional Yoruba. This understanding of the past will in turn assist to address the present realities on the issues of widowhood. This fact is corroborated by Satlow when he says that 'a scholarly study of the past (can) contribute to burning contemporary societal issues' (Satlow n.d.). Next a comparative analysis of the customs in the two cultures is carried out with a view to show that the customs provided for the social, physical, material and emotional needs of the people and that even though it has been displaced by Christianity, the Church should provide a better and effective way of catering for the welfare of widows.
Levirate marriage amongst the Jews: The process and the people involved
The term 'levirate marriage' (yibbum) in the Old Testament is the custom of a widow (yevamah) marrying her deceased husband's brother or sometimes a near kin. The word 'levirate' has nothing to do with the name Levi or the biblical Levites but is derives from the Latin levir, meaning husband's brother, connected with the English suffix ate, thus constituting levirate (Levirate Marriage n.d.). The description of the custom is first seen in Genesis 38 in the story of Judah, his sons and Tamar. It is to be noted that scholars have put forward the various purposes of the story of Judah and Tamar in Genesis 38 where the issue of levirate marriage was first documented. Whilst some believe that the story is connected with the legitimation of David's claim to the throne, others believe that it portrays the intermarriage between the tribe of Judah and Tamar who was a Canaanite. Emerton (1975:344, 1979:403-408) again believes it to be a story about individuals, a story which contains aetiological motifs concerned with the eponymous ancestors of the clan of Judah and reflects a period when members of the tribe were living alongside Canaanites and intermarrying with them. Friedman sees the story as a folklore attributing demonic forces of death to women. He opines that the etymology of Eve may be from a word meaning snake and that, if that etymology is correct, the story of Tamar in Genesis 38 may be assumed to contain an older folk stratum in which primeval woman herself was associated with the serpent, the symbol of Satan and death (Friedman 1990:25). Concerning the question why the chapter interrupts the Joseph narrative, Hayes (1995:81), whilst discussing various interpretations giving to Judah's confession that Tamar was more righteous than himself, is of the opinion that it is likely that the chapter was inserted to demonstrate the humiliation of Judah, which is seen either as a punishment for his role in the selling of Joseph or for not marrying Shelah and Tamar. In a recent article, Leuchter posits that the literary form of Genesis 38 may have resulted from a scribe writing with an eye to the larger Joseph story, but this scribe's handling of the Judah-Tamar episode points to its origins beyond the sources that constitute the tale of Joseph and his brothers. He believes that, if this was the case, the thematic commonalities may be attributed to a common set of cultural tropes behind each work rather than a single story built from the ground up. He also identify the likely relationship between Genesis 38 and the Tamar-Amnon drama of 2 Samuel 13 since these are the only narratives in the Hebrew Bible where a character named Tamar plays a major role (Leuchter 2013:212). Niditch sees the levirate story in Genesis 38 as a depiction of the place of women in Israel's social structure. To him, a married woman who bears children is to be under the protection of her husband. The unmarried young virgin is to remain under the protection of her father's house except in the case of rape in which the man is expected to marry her to save the girl from becoming a social misfit. But a married, childless widow is considered a social misfit in the society and this may be the reason why the levirate system is put in place so as to save the woman from shame and to ensure her protection. According to Niditch (1979:146), Judah's attempt to send Tamar back to her father's house is highly irregular in Israelite's social structure because she no longer belongs there.
Apart from the Genesis narrative on the levirate, the custom seems to be normative amongst the Jews because it is one of the commands given to the bene yisrael [sons of Israel] by Moses during his valedictory speech in Deuteronomy 25:5-10. He instructed them that, if one of the brothers that are living together dies without having a son, the brother of the deceased should marry the woman and raise a son for the deceased brother. This means the first son of the marriage belongs to the deceased.
However, the brother of the deceased is not under any compulsion to agree to this kind of marital arrangement. He has the option of rejecting the arrangement for reason(s) best known to him, which may be selfish as suggested by Davies (1981a:258-259). If he opted out, it is expected that the wife make this decision known to the elders, and she is expected to remove the sandal of her deceased husband's brother and spit into his face in public and before the elders of the land (Dt 25:9; cf. Rt 4:1-12). In trying to know the importance or symbolism of the act of removing the shoe of the levir, Carmichael (1977:322-323) has put forward the opinions of Gaster and Levy to the effect that shoe removal is an Arab form of divorce in which the man sometimes removes his shoe and states: 'She was my slipper; I have cast her off.' In Arabic, a wife is sometimes figura tively referred to as a 'shoe'. Also in almost universal folk usage, Levy pointed out the erotic significance of the foot as a male symbol and the sandal as a female symbol. The man's renunciation of the woman causes her to withdraw symbolically from him by removing his shoe. She thereby breaks off the potential marital relationship. He no longer has any right to her, and she is now free to marry another (Carmichael 1977:323). Furthermore, Carmichael has seen the ceremony of the removal of the sandal as analogous to the Genesis narrative of the relationship between Onan and Tamar. He suggested that, just as the removal of the sandal from the feet of the levir who refused to perform his duty signifies the man's withholding of conception (since amongst the Arabs the sandal symbolises female genitals and amongst the Hebrew feet symbolises the male organ), the spitting in his face also represents Onan's spilling of the semen on the ground. This is meant to bring disgrace to the man (Carmichael 1977:329-331) and possibly accusing him of being impotent (Miller n.d.). The man then acquires an appellation, in addition to whatever name he bears: 'The house of him who has his sandal removed' (Dt 25:10). This phrase did not only have negative implications for the man himself, but it extended to his household and generation because the appellation became the terms of reference not only to his immediate family but to the upcoming generation. The negative appellation can be described as pointing to the uncaring attitude of the levirate brother. At the end of this opting out process, an official written permission, known as halitzah, is issued to the woman to marry whoever she wants, except the priest. Until she was granted this leave, she was required to enter into a marriage with the brother of her departed husband only (The Shepherd 2000). Halitzah can be chosen by one or both of the parties in order to become free of the duty to marry one another (The New Encyclopedia of Judaism n.d.).
It is to be noted that the marriage between Ruth and Boaz has been seen and interpreted by some scholars in the light of re-enacting the levirate marriage whilst others do not agree with that position. For instance, Siquans (2009:451-452) has shown how Ruth, a foreigner (non-Israelite, being a Moabite, whom Yahweh proscribed from entering into the synagogue in Deuteronomy 23:4-5) and a widow, made use of the legislation in the Torah as regards Israelites' responsibility to care for the foreigner and of the levirate marriage in order to become an integrated member of the Judaean society. Beattie, in contrast, does not see any trace of the levirate marriage in the book of Ruth but the possibility for widows to inherit their husbands' property. To him, since it is impossible for a storyteller to describe what is not known amongst the people, the fact that the author represents Naomi as being in possession of her husband's property must serve as an indication that it was possible in Israelite law for widow's to inherit her husband's estate (Beattie 1974:256).
The levirate is a specific law for a specific situation. In Scripture, it is found that the patriarchs practiced it, Moses commanded it and the Jews may well have practiced it in the time of Jesus because the Jews referred to it when testing Jesus in Matthew 22:23ff. (Muldoon n.d.). Commenting on the function or usefulness of levirate marriage on the family, Weisberg (2008:77), is of the opinion that marriage marks the beginning of a new family unit and/or the expansion or blending of existing families. The levirate marriage, in contrast, comes into play when a family experiences the loss of a member. As such, the levirate offers an opportunity to study the family at a moment of breakdown and restructuring and also offer an attempt to mend that which had been broken, reconstituting one part of a family by rearranging its members and realigning their relationship to each other. However, in Weisberg view, the rabbis' unique construct of the levirate results in the creation of an entirely new family rather than reforming the one broken by the husband's death because an individual man or woman's primary obligations should be to an existing spouse rather than to the extended family, as represented by a deceased spouse or sibling (Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion 2009:77-78).
The purpose of the levirate marriage amongst the Hebrews
The purpose of the levirate is to ensure that the lineage of a man who dies without being able to produce an heir would not die out. This concern for ensuring the continuation of the lineage of the deceased is understandable for in Israel it was regarded as a great misfortune for a man to die without male issue. This accounts for people turning to polygamy, adoption and other methods in the bid to have a male child (Davies 1981b:140). This preservation of a man's 'name', according to Burrows (1940:2), involved at least three things. It involved the provision of an heir for his property so that it might be kept in the family and in the normal line of inheritance. It involved also the continuation of his personal life in the life of his son according to a deep-seated conception of the ancient world. To this may be added the idea of welfare in the hereafter as dependent upon the performance of ancestral rites by the descendants. For a man who left no son, there would be nobody on earth to perform these rites. The firstborn son of a levirate marriage would be reckoned as the heir of the deceased brother. It is true that happiness for the ancients would not have been complete without the birth of a son (Bewes 1903-1904:202-206). In the story of Judah and Tamar, however, Onan was not favourably disposed to such an arrangement probably because he wanted to keep the firstborn portion of the inheritance for himself (Wilson n.d.).
Porter has seen the levirate marriage as an example of the principle of corporate personality enshrines in the Old Testament whereby family, clan and tribe are treated as a unit rather than individuals, hence the taking over of the deceased widow by the brother in the family (Porter 1965:379). The marriage can still be seen as a device by God to ensure proper caring for the widow. Reading through the Old Testament, one discovers that, though the land of Israel is described as a land flowing with milk and honey, not all inhabitants possessed land to have access to its benefits. The biblical text mentions certain classes of vulnerable people in the land, which include sojourners, widows, orphans, slaves and hired servants. There are many biblical laws that stipulate how these people should be treated with justice and fairness, and there are laws on how they should be cared for. Hiers (2002:64) enumerates some of those biblical laws. For instance, the condemnation of the oppression of widows and orphans is expressed in Exodus 22:22-24 where it is stated:
You shall not afflict any widow or orphan. If you do afflict them and cry to me, I will surely hear their cry, and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.
One such piece of legislation is the levirate marriage, which is a loose piece of legislation that allows the relevant person the freedom to accept or reject the responsibility stipulated in the law with no stringent penalty except the negative appellation attached to the man who rejects the marital arrangement.
Burrows (1940:7) also identifies as part of the reasons or purposes of the levirate marriage amongst the Hebrew the fact that the widow may be kept in her husband's family so as to take care of her husband's children, administer his property, getting value for her labour in her husband's house and the necessity of making some provision for her support. This is because in some of the cultures of ancient Near East, such as Babylonia, Hittites and Assyria, provision was made for the widow to inherit her deceased husband's property. Such provision was not made in Israel, especially if the widow was childless (Davies 1981b:138-139).
The injunction on the levirate marriage raises a number of questions. For instance, it states that the levirate marriage is allowed in a situation where the brothers dwelt together, and the deceased did not have a son. The questions then are: Did the Hebrew word translated 'son' stand for any child or male child? What if the deceased had already had daughters, are they not children? Does it matter whether the levirate brother has already married his own wife or not? Should the brother of the deceased be younger or older? Is it only blood brothers of the same parents that is qualified to marry the widow, or anyone within the family circle?
Scholars are sharply divided as to the meaning of the phrase 'dwelling together' in Deuteronomy 25:5. Some of these views have been put together by Leggett. For instance, whilst Driver and Miles (in Leggett 1974:44-46) see the phrase to mean brothers who have not divided the inheritance after their father's death, which would indicate their living on a joint estate, Neufeld (in Leggett 1974:44-46) sees the law as a trace of an ancient custom of Hebrew family law which was no doubt out of date in Deuteronomic times. Daube (in Leggett 1974:44-46) argues convincingly that the phrase, as conceived by its author, dealt with a consortium where brothers remained together on the paternal estate after their father's death. Daube believes that, in this case, if one dies without leaving children and the survivor refused to raise seed for him in order that his place in the consortium should be filled again, the widow could summon the traitor before the elders (Leggett 1974:44-46). For Belkin, it must be blood brothers who have equal rights in the inheritance. This invariably meant that a brother from the maternal side is not permitted to fulfil the levirate since he has no right to paternal inheritance (Belkin 1970:281). It can, however, also be the next of kin or a near kinsman or a covenant brother as in the case of Boaz in the levirate marriage of Ruth (Fisch 1982:430-431).
In the Hebrew language, there are different words for son (ben) and daughter (ba't). If the writer had male and female in mind, he would have used both words. In Deuteronomy 25:5, however, the writer used the word ben, which indicates that he is referring to a male child. In another vein, the writer might have been influenced by the Jewish culture which did not give much recognition to women or female children. This suggests the importance attached to male children amongst the Hebrew. This argument, however, raises gender issues such as whether male children are better than or more superior to female children. It confirms one of the purposes of the levirate marriage, which is to maintain the deceased man's name. Maintaining the name included maintaining his inheritance rights since female children were not entitled to inherit their fathers' property (Nwaoru 2002:86-88).
The position of the brother-in-law, whether he should be a younger or older brother, is not specified. The most important requirement is that he should be related to the deceased by blood. In addition, his marital status, whether single or married, does not matter. As a matter of fact, the levirate brother is required to take up his brother's widow regardless of his marital status (The Shepherd 2000). There are many examples of these kind of marriage in the Old Testament. The first case mentioned in Genesis 38 is the case of Judah's three sons. Though some scholars regard the marriage of Ruth to Boaz as a levirate marriage, Hubbard (1991:4-5) disagrees with that position and portrays their relationship as marriage of geulla or redemption by a kinsman-redeemer or a close relative who takes upon himself the duties of redemption or recovery on behalf of a needy family member. Belkin also believes the marriage of Ruth and Boaz to be an agnate marriage (marriages within the family) and not a levirate marriage because neither the go'el nor Boaz was brothers of the deceased. They seemed to have been only kinsmen (Belkin 1970:277, 284).
Widows' inheritance amongst the Yoruba
In Yoruba parlance, inheritance has different meanings. It is considered as property left behind for the heirs, wife and agnatic relatives of the family (Babatunde 1982:69-86). To Lloyd (1959:7), inheritance should not be seen only as the entrance of living persons into the possessions of dead persons, nor should it be seen as a succession to all rights of the deceased. Rather, it is to be considered as the transference of the status from the dead to the living with respect to specific property objects. The meaning of inheritance (ogun jije) considered the word 'Ohun gigun', which indicates that the property left behind by the deceased must not be left alone too long to allow it to disintegrate in quality and use. In this case, the property must be distributed to enhance its quality. In another dimension, 'Ohun gigun' connotes the sweat induced by the labour of the deceased during his life time (oogun) through which he acquired property. This then portends that it is the property acquired by the deceased through hard labour that are now shared as inheritance after his death.
The property to be shared ranges from farmland, houses, material property land property and the widow of the deceased. The most intriguing thing amongst the Yoruba is that the wife of the deceased was not allowed to share in the property as she herself must be inherited even though she contributed so much to production in the agricultural economy of the Yoruba traditional society. As a matter of fact, it has been discovered that 45% of women in African societies as a whole and 53% in sub-Saharan African play a major part in the cultivation of pastures as well as in purely farming economies (Goody & Buckley 1973:108). This formula for sharing inheritance is not unconnected to the tradition of people that puts the legal provisions for the widows at the discretion of men and makes men to be the determinant of who shares what from his inheritance (Okeke 2000:55). Those who have the advantage of sharing from the inheritance are the extended male member of the deceased and the children of the deceased, in some cases.
Adeoye (2003:33) asserts that widows are shared like the property of the dead. Struensee (n.d.) also confirms that widows are regarded as chattel being inherited like other possessions. These assertions are true amongst the Yoruba who consider widows part of the deceased inheritance that must be shared alongside the material property. The concept of widowhood is a double-edged phenomenon. The first has to do with a bereaved woman who is in deep mourning of her husband. This in Yoruba parlance is noted to be opo sise [mourning]. The second nomenclature is opo sisu [widow's inheritance or remarriage]. This is the means by which a younger wife of the deceased is handed over to another man for proper care. Such a man must come from the same family of the dead husband. This practice follows the sayings amongst the Yoruba that adie ki ku ka da eyin re nu [the death of a hen should not warrant the disposal of its egg], indicating that proper care must be given to the belongings of the deceased, both human and material. This form of marriage system amongst the traditional Yoruba usually surfaced when young ladies were given in marriage to very old men who died shortly after, leaving the young ladies widowed. According to Ademiluka, whilst recounting the confrontation of the Christian Missionary with the culture and customs of the Yoruba, he emphasised that such a young widow, in an attempt to raise up children for the barren deceased or just to remain in the family of her deceased husband, would be inherited by a young man, a member of the family of the deceased, who would raise children for the deceased (Ademiluka 2003:138). Whilst discussing the role of women in marriage and family life in the pre-colonial Yorubaland and connecting it to Opo Sisu, Denzer (1994:3) is of the opinion that a wife's responsibilities to the family into which she married lasted for her entire lifetime, extending beyond the death of her original husband, for if he died, she was inherited by one of his brothers or sons but definitely not by her own son.
After the death of her husband, the widow goes through the mourning period to sever the bond between her and her dead husband (Adeyefa n.d.). The period of mourning is about 3 months during which the widows must stay indoors to observe the mourning rites. They are not allowed to do anything that will take them out, but they have to keep themselves occupied with domestic work. They are not allowed to have any personal attention, bathing, doing their hair or change the cloth they had on during the time of the death of their husband (Johnson [1921] 2001:115). According to Aransiola and Ige (2010), widowhood practices amongst the Yoruba is performed for various reasons such as the protection of the woman from being harmed by the spirit of her dead husband, to prove the innocence of the woman as regards the death of the husband and for the family to ascertain if the woman has been pregnant before the death of her husband so that they may claim responsibility for the pregnancy.
After the mourning, the widow who is qualified for re-marriage within the family would be allowed to choose one of the younger brothers of her deceased husband. There are some criteria that the widow must meet before being allowed to re-marry. These include the fact that she must be young and active for procreation, she must not have been found active in any amoral acts and she should not have been having illicit affairs before the death of her husband. The brother that is to marry the widow must also meet certain criteria such as the fact that he must be of the same family of the dead person, he must be younger than the dead husband, the relationship with the dead husband must have been cordial whilst the latter was alive, there must not have been any reported case of an illicit affair with the widow before her husband's death and he must not have been found to have any connection with the death of his brother.
Before the day agreed upon for the choice of the new husband by the widow, the men from the deceased's family who qualified would have been going to make their intentions known to the widow. On the agreed day, place and time, various items belonging to all the contestants would be brought. The widow would be allowed to choose or point to only one of the many items to be presented on behalf of many contestants amongst the men in the family. Pointing to any of the items shows that she knows the person very well. This is also done to avoid enmity amongst the contestants in the family. Materials or items that were usually used to determine the widow's choice included chewing sticks, head caps and shoes of different contestants. Any of these materials could be used to determine the would-be husband.
The issue of widow's inheritance or remarriage is a decision which, in Yorubaland, belongs solely to the woman. The woman may decide to accept or reject the position of taking another husband. Old women are not allowed to take another husband even if they are yet to give birth to children for their deceased husbands, but preparations are made for their care. It is to be noted that a widow cannot undergo these processes twice. Where there are several women, the heir who succeeds to the headship of the house usually inherits the majority of the women. The woman is expected to decline an offer once or twice, but if rejected the third time, the refusal is taken as final (Johnson [1921] 2001:115-116). It must be stressed that the purpose of widow's inheritance amongst the Yoruba is primarily to ensure the welfare of the widow within the family because the woman is regarded as an inheritance of the deceased and must be taken good care of in the absence of the deceased. The aim is not necessarily to raise up children for the deceased.
Comparative analysis of levirate marriage and widow's inheritance in the Hebrew and Yoruba cultures
Having seen the meaning, processes and purpose of the levirate marriage amongst the Hebrew and widow's inheritance amongst the Yoruba, it seems that the two customs have certain peculiar features whilst not denying the obvious divergences. The two customs are similar in that both are types of re-marriage of the widow within the deceased husband's family after the death of the first husband. Both are connected to perpetuating the inheritance of the deceased husband. In both cultures, women are not allowed to inherit their husbands' property. The property is rather given to the children. Even if the children are under age, amongst the Yoruba, a male member of the family is chosen to hold the property in trust for the children until they are mature enough to handle it. The children, in turn, may then give whatever they deem fit to the mother. This provision does not exist amongst the Hebrews, and it might have warranted the devise of the levirate marriage so as to be able to give the woman the opportunity for sustenance and support from the husband's property. It may even have allowed for the exceptional permission granted by Yahweh to the daughters of Zelophehad in Number 27:1-11 to inherit their father's property in the absence of a male son (Carmichael 2008:232-233). The case of the daughters of Zelophehad is, however, an exception because it involves the inheritance of their father and their deceased husbands. Both traditions are similar in the way they see and treat women. Amongst the Yoruba, women are considered part of the property to be inherited. The will, in most cultures, also provides ample evidence that a woman has no independent legal status but was treated as the personal property first of her father and then of her husband (Phillips 1973:351).
In addition, in both cultures, the process is to be supervised by the elders in the family, and both give the widow the opportunity to remain within the family circle of her late husband. It must be noted that the two cultures attach great importance to procreation. If a woman does not give birth to a child, she is not counted as a full member of her husband's family (Niditch 1979:144-145). The levirate marriage and widow's inheritance, therefore, give the widow the opportunity to stay within her husband's family and give birth either in honour of her husband or to prove her fertility to the people. Furthermore, the two customs have almost, if not completely, faded out in the two cultures as a result of the challenge of Christianity, Western education, civilisation, modernity (Oladosu 2008:77-78), economy and change in gender role and status orientation and awareness.
However, in spite of these similarities, the two customs also exudes certain distinctive differences. These include the fact that the primary purpose differs. For instance, whilst procreation of a male child to continue the name of the deceased is the primary purpose of the levirate marriage, the welfare of the widow is the primary purpose of widow's inheritance. The two cultures attach great importance to the continuity of a lineage through male children. It is believed that, when a woman gets married, the cultural norm demands that she drops her father's name to take up the family name of her husband thereby increasing the numerical growth of her husband's family. However, amongst the Yoruba, a widow does not necessarily have to be childless before she is asked to re-marry in the family. In the Hebrew culture, the welfare of the widow is also part of the secondary purpose of levirate marriage.
In addition, whilst the relationship between the levir and the deceased is not clearly stated in the levirate law, the levir must necessarily be a younger brother or son of the deceased amongst the Yoruba. Furthermore, whilst there is the ceremony of the removal of the sandal in the levirate marriage to shame the man who refuses to take up the duty of perpetuating the name of his deceased brother, in Yoruba culture, it is the woman who determines whether she wants to be re-married and who she is going to marry amongst the younger brothers of her deceased husband. This implies that there is usually a competition amongst the younger brothers of the deceased about who is going to marry the widow because they know that whoever marries the widow automatically inherits the deceased property. Such competition is alien in the levirate prescription because the levir knows that his rejection of the levirate marriage puts him in a better position to take over the deceased portion of the inheritance in their father's property.
In spite of the discernible differences pointed to above in the two customs, the purpose of this article was to show how the levirate marriage and widow's inheritance have been used in the two cultures under consideration as welfare scheme for the widows. It is a fact that widow's inheritance amongst the Yoruba has been displaced by Christianity and some other immediate and remote factors. However, the questions remain: How effective is the welfare scheme that is put in place for the widows by the church? Is the occasional extension of a good-will gift by the church really addressing the needs of the widows? If a welfare scheme is objected against and cancelled, one at least expects a better one as replacement. The fact of the matter is that larger percentage of the widows in Africa in general and Nigeria in particular are still experiencing the harrowing effect of widowhood. Whilst not advocating a return to the levirate marriage and widow's inheritance amongst Africans as a means of solving the problems of dehumanisation, deprivation, dispossession and disempowerment of widows, a clarion call is been sent to the church to revisit her welfare and empowerment programmes for the widows and come up with more practical and effective means of addressing the widowhood challenge in Africa, especially for widows, both old and young, who are childless or whose children are still too young to be able to take adequate care of them. Whilst not demeaning the efforts of the church and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in battling with the eradication of the dehumanising widowhood rites in many of the African countries (Adamu et al. 2011), the adequate social and economic welfare of widows must not be divorced from or neglected in the campaign. It is the church that is best positioned to also help, through the re-engineering of the societal norms and value systems and the need to be our brother's keeper, to fight various degrees of injustice that are being meted out to widows.
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no financial or personal relationship(s) that have inappropriately influenced them in writing this article.
Authors' contributions
S.O.O. (Obafemi Awolowo University) was the initiator of the article. He formulated the abstract, wrote the introduction and the section on levirate marriage in the Old Testament. He also did the comparative section and conclusion. O.A.O. (Obafemi Awolowo University) wrote the section on widow's inheritance amongst the Yoruba and also wrote part of the comparative analysis.
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Adeyefa, T., n.d., Widowhood: A life gone miserable?, viewed 10 December 2012, from http://businessdayonline.com/NG/index.php/family/15862-widowhood-a-life-gone-miserable [ Links ]
Aransiola, J.O. & Ige, A., 2010, 'Widowhood practices among the Yorubas of South West Nigeria: Are there differences in what women experience due to their status?', in Gender and Behaviour, viewed 11 December 2012, from http://www.readperiodicals.com/201012/218773301.html [ Links ]
Babatunde, O., 1982, 'Asa Isinku ati Ogun Jije', in O. Olajubu (ed.), Iwe Asa Ibile Yoruba, Longman, Lagos. [ Links ]
Beattie, D.R.G., 1974, 'The book of Ruth as evidence for Israelite legal practice', Vetus Testamentum 24(3), 251-267. [ Links ]
Belkin, S., 1970, 'Levirate and agnate marriage in rabbinic and cognate literature', The Jewish Quarterly Review, New Series 60(4), 275-329. [ Links ]
Bewes, J.A., 1903-1904, 'The goel in Ruth 4:14-15', American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literature 20, 202-206. [ Links ]
Burrows, M., 1940, 'The ancient oriental background of Hebrew levirate marriage', Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 77, 2-15. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1355235 [ Links ]
Carmichael, C.M., 1977, 'A ceremonial crux: Removing a man's sandal as a female gesture of contempt', Journal of Biblical Literature 96(3), 321-336. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3266188 [ Links ]
Carmichael, C., 2008, 'Inheritance in Biblical sources', Law and Literature 20(2), 229-242. http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/lal.2008.20.2.229 [ Links ]
Davies, E.W., 1981a, 'Inheritance rights and the Hebrew levirate marriage: Part 1', Vetus Testamentum 31(2), 138-144. [ Links ]
Davies, E.W., 1981b, 'Inheritance rights and the Hebrew levirate marriage: Part 2', Vetus Testamentum 31(3), 257-268. [ Links ]
Denzer, L., 1994, 'Yoruba women: A historiographical study', The International Journal of African Historical Studies 27(1), 1-39. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/220968 [ Links ]
Ejizu, C.I., 1989, 'African Christian widows: An agnostic definition', Asia Journal of Theology 3(1), 174-183. [ Links ]
Emerton, J.A., 1975, 'Some problems in Genesis XXXVIII', Vetus Testamentum 25(2a), 338-361. [ Links ]
Emerton, J.A., 1979, 'Judah and Tamar', Vetus Testamentum 29(4), 403-415. [ Links ]
Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR), 2009, Excerpts of new books, viewed 10 December 2012, from legacy.huc.edu/chronicle/71/flipbookk/files/assets/basic-html/page [ Links ]
Fasoranti, O.O. & Aruna, J.O., n.d., 'A cross-cultural comparison of practices relating to widowhood and widow inheritance among the Igbo and Yoruba in Nigeria', Journal of World Anthropology: Occasional Paper III(1), 53-73. [ Links ]
Fisch, H., 1982, 'Ruth and the structure of covenant history', Vetus Testamentum 32(4), 425-437. [ Links ]
Friedman, M.A., 1990, 'Tamar, A symbol of life: The "killer wife" superstition in the Bible and Jewish tradition', Association for Jewish Studies Review 15(1), 23-61. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0364009400002804 [ Links ]
Goody, J. & Buckley, J., 1973, 'Inheritance and women's labour in Africa', Journal of the International African Institute 43(2), 108-121. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1159323 [ Links ]
Hayes, C.E., 1995, 'The midrashic career of the confession of Judah (Genesis XXXVIII 26), Part I: The extra-canonical texts, targums and other versions', Vetus Testamentum 45(1), 62-81. [ Links ]
Hiers, R.H., 2002, 'Biblical social welfare legislation: Protected classes and provisions for persons in need', Journal of Law and Religion 17(1/2), 49-96. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1051395 [ Links ]
Hubbard, Jnr., R.L., 1991, 'The go'el in Ancient Israel: Theological reflections on an Israelite institution', Bulletin for Biblical Research 1, 3-19. [ Links ]
Johnson, S., [1921] 2001, The history of the Yorubas, CSS, Lagos. [ Links ]
Leggett, D.A., 1974, The levirate and goel institutions in the Old Testament, Mack Publishing, Cherry Hill. [ Links ]
Leuchter, M., 2013, 'Genesis 38 in social and historical perspective', Journal of Biblical Literature 132(2), 209-227. http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/jbl.2013.0025 [ Links ]
Levirate Marriage, n.d., viewed 14 December 2008, from http://scriptures.lds.org/bd/l/25?sr=1 [ Links ]
Lloyd, P.C., 1959, 'Some notes on the Yoruba rules of succession and on "family property"', Journal of African Law 3(1), 7-32. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0021855300005696 [ Links ]
Miller, J.E., n.d., 'Procreation values: Polygamy and levirate marriage', viewed 21 April 2010, from http:othershepherd.org/miller_10_polygamy_Marriage_sex_and_Bible.pdf [ Links ]
Muldoon, D.K., n.d., Levirate Marriage, viewed 03 December 2012, from http://www.pceasydney.org.au/sermons/Levirate_Marriage.pdf [ Links ]
Niditch, S., 1979, 'The wronged woman righted: An analysis of Genesis 38', The Harvard Theological Review 72(1/2), 143-149. [ Links ]
Nwaoru, E.O., 2002, 'Primogeniture in the Old Testament and reversed rights of succession', The Nigerian Journal of Theology 16, 74-89. [ Links ]
Okeke, P.E., 2000, 'Reconfiguring tradition: Women's rights and social status in contemporary Nigeria', Africa Today 47(1), 49-63. http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/at.2000.0018 [ Links ]
Oladosu, O.A., 2008, 'The challenge of modernity to the practice of circumcision in Islam, Christianity and Africa Traditional Religion among the Ife people', M.A. dissertation, Department of Religious Studies, Obafemi Awoloeo University, Ile-Ife. [ Links ]
Phillips, A., 1973, 'Some aspects of family law in pre-exilic Israel', Vetus Testamentum 23(3), 349-361. [ Links ]
Porter, J.R., 1965, 'The legal aspects of the concept of "corporate personality" in the Old Testament', Vetus Testamentum 15(3), 361-380. [ Links ]
Potash, B., (ed.), 1986, Widows in African societies: Choices and constraint, Stanford University Press, Stanford. [ Links ]
Satlow, M.L., n.d., 'Jewish marriage in antiquity', H- Net Reviews in the Humanities and Social Sciences, viewed 03 December 2012, from http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php,9016 [ Links ]
Siquans, A., 2009, 'Foreigness and poverty in the case of Ruth: A legal way for a poor foreign woman to be integrated into Israel', Journal of Biblical Literature 128(3), 443-452. [ Links ]
Struensee, V.V., n.d., 'Widows, aids, health and human rights in Africa', viewed 11 December 2012, from http://liphea.halliance.org/featurepresentationpages/james-key-transformationalstewardship/additional-readings-and-websites/documents-andresources/WIDOWS,%20AIDS_%20HEALTH%20AND%20HUMAN%20RIGHTS%20IN%20AFRICA.pdf [ Links ]
The New Encyclopedia of Judaism, n.d., viewed 16 December 2008, from http://www.answers.com/topic/levirate-marriage-1 [ Links ]
The Shepherd, 2000, The Shepherd: An Orthodox Christian Pastoral Magazine Xxi(4), viewed 30 April 2010, from http://www.saintedwardbrotherhood.org/2000/shepherd_December_2008_B.pdf [ Links ]
Weisberg, D.E., 2008, Levirate marriage and the family in ancient Judaism, University Press, England. [ Links ]
Wilson, A., n.d., 'Sermon on Genesis 38: An exposition of Genesis', viewed 21 April 2010, from http://www.gracepcanh.org/files/Gen38WEB.pdf [ Links ]
Samson Olanisebe
Department of Religious Studies, Obafemi Awolowo University
Ile-Ife 220005, Nigeria
Email: email@example.com
Received: 16 Jan. 2013
Accepted: 28 Nov. 2013
Published: 24 Mar. 2014


text:
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Despite a 20-5 second-half run by UMass Boston, the nationally-ranked No. 18 MIT men's basketball emerged with a 54-44 victory on Tuesday night. Senior Mitchell Kates (Colts Neck, N.J.) led all scorers with 19 points as the Engineers improved to 7-1 on the year. Junior Rahshjeem Benson (Boston, Mass.) compiled 13 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, three steals, and two blocks for the Beacons who saw their ledger lower to 5-3 this season.
MIT quickly established a 14-2 lead which grew to 28-11 at the intermission. The hosts generated 15 points off of 15 UMass Boston turnovers and enjoyed a 40.9 first-half shooting percentage while holding the Beacons to a 17.4 clip.
The Engineers' advantage ballooned to 21 points early in the second stanza courtesy of layups from sophomores Matt Redfield (Los Altos, Calif.) and Andrew Acker (Merion Station, Pa.). Sophomore Vinny DeLucia (Miami, Fla.) rattled off eight straight points to ignite UMass Boston's run which narrowed the gap to 37-31 midway through the frame. A layup by Kates ended the rally but the Beacons continued to attack, trimming their deficit to five on two occasions, the last on a Benson jumper that made the score 44-39 at the 2:49 mark.
A pair of free throws by sophomore Paul Dawson (Stone Mountain, Ga.) and senior James Burke (Scotch Plains, N.J.) gave MIT some breathing room; however, sophomore Cody Edmond (Plaquemine, La.) buried a three-pointer to make the score 48-42 with 1:11 left to play. Kates responded by scoring six of the final eight points to secure the victory.
Senior Will Tashman (Atherton, Calif.) racked up 18 rebounds, eight points, four steals, and three assists for the Engineers. Redfield finished with eight points and seven boards as freshman Justin Pedley (Kennewick, Wash.) posted seven points, four rebounds, and two steals.
DeLucia notched 10 points and two steals for the Beacons as Edmond added eight points coming off the bench.
MIT returns to the road on Thursday, Dec. 6 for a non-conference tilt at Salem State University while UMass Boston continues its road trip on Saturday, Dec. 8 at Little East Conference foe Keene State College.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
|2013-05-16, 21:53
|Link #1
Join Date: Dec 2003
Age: 37
How should this sub-forum be organized?
This is a sub-forum specific for the Index novels and manga. How should it be organized?
The basic rules are:
- each thread should have a single defined focus
- no thread should be a "chat room" or "social club"
- no shipping threads
- nothing that is otherwise forbidden by our forum rules (incl. no posting of raws, etc.)
I want to open it up to the fan community to think about what makes the most sense.
You'll note that the original Index novel discussion thread was closed because it's just way too big and unwiedly and so became basically a chatroom with a lot of recurring/repetitive topics and discussion. So this is something I'd like to avoid now that there's this sub-forum.
|2013-05-16, 22:45
|Link #5
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
It would be optimal to have threads for each volume release much like each episode in anime but that means moderators would have to keep track of the series and make a new thread when appropriate.
Various speculation threads should probably be moved(or recreated) into the subforum since those threads are generally Light Novel heavy anyways.
Possibly a general speculation and update thread where we can discuss between the various light novels but with more of a defined purpose rather than just talk about XYZ.
Character discussion should probably have their own seperate threads from the main subforum as well.
|2013-05-16, 22:50
|Link #7
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
I think arc separation is better than volume separation. However, I'm not really sure whether such a separation is beneficial as discussion of old material is much less (and normally referenced from new material), and it's always the latest release that get the most attention at any one time.
On another note, I'm not sure whether we should also have character threads (for novel specific reveals) and 'newer' characters, but that will again be confusing since the 'slower' manga is in this subforum as well.
|2013-05-16, 22:51
|Link #8
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
It definately brings the focus down onto one area at least.
The previous thread, we jumped around from practically volume to volume at whim having like 3 conversations at once.
Even then, some of the stuff in there had no relevence to the novel at all.
Sizing it down in some way is our goal.
|2013-05-16, 22:54
|Link #9
We're Back
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Redgrave City
Age: 30
I don't like arc separation though- Everybody would always bring up some past arc one way or another.
Volume separation would be like episode separation; if you click on 7, you better be aware of 6, 5, 4 etc.
|2013-05-16, 22:56
|Link #10
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
Set up one big Light Novel speculation thread.
Or create the new volume thread ahead of time (2-3 months before) and hybrid it full of both speculation and then discussion once the novel comes out.
Or create two seperate threads of speculation and then discussion each time a volume comes around.
|2013-05-16, 23:01
|Link #11
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
I don't know, since I don't visit it much these days
|2013-05-16, 23:05
|Link #12
We're Back
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Redgrave City
Age: 30
...or maybe I'm over thinking it- episode threads don't need a speculation version....
Last edited by Chaos2Frozen; 2013-05-16 at 23:28.
|2013-05-16, 23:51
|Link #13
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Dollars
Since the novels always tend to have many foreshadowing, I think we need to divide it to two parts. First one is general thread that consists of past novels and future novels to talk about plot developments in index-verse, while the other one is the current novel since they tend to produce many discussions too.
...anyway, is it not the time to open light novel thread yet?
|2013-05-17, 00:03
|Link #14
Join Date: Dec 2003
Age: 37
One comment I would make is that you could have a different standard for past novels and novels going forward.
For example, you could have one single thread for the entire first novel series, one thread for NT up to say 5 or 6 (whatever), and then one for 7 and one for 8... or whatever. (I don't follow the novels so help fill in the gaps here.) And you could also create the thread for the next volume as soon as the previous volume comes out so that speculation about the next volume goes there until it's out.
Anyway, that's just an idea to throw into the pot, but you all can keep on refining it.
|2013-05-17, 00:15
|Link #15
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2008
Age: 35
I'd like to toss my vote in the hat for "different thread for each LN" but mainly for going forward (start with NT 7). Maybe a rule that discussing stuff that hasn't yet been translated should be behind spoiler tags...
NT 5&6 go together and are recent enough so they might be able to sustain their own thread as well.
For older content... I haven't been reading the LN thread as much as others so hopefully someone else can come up with a better way to divide them, but perhaps:
-one for LN1-13 (basically all that has been animated).
-one for the Side Story novels (but any new SS novels would get their own thread).
-one for 14-22
-one for NT1-4.
Basically it would be nice if someone reading through the novels didn't have to read through all 30ish to begin discussing it without fear of being spoiled (personal bias: I had read through all of them so I could read the LN thread ). Separating the threads would help... kinda like landings on a staircase.
Edit: Also a generic separate spoilers and speculation thread for not-yet-released LNs... sometimes a leaked novel summary turns out to be spot on accurate.
Last edited by Primary Consult; 2013-05-17 at 00:28.
|2013-05-17, 03:27
|Link #16
Join Date: Dec 2003
Age: 37
|2013-05-17, 03:38
|Link #17
We're Back
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Redgrave City
Age: 30
I'm fine with combining all of the "Old Testament" books into one thread and all of the New Testaments into individual threads.
I don't think side stories require their own thread.
At the same time, I suppose theres not much point giving the earlier NT books their own thread though and its easier to bunch them up.
My suggestion:
1) "Old Testament" Light Novel Series Thread
2) "New Testament" Light Novel Series (Act 1) Thread
3) To aru Majutsu no Index - New Testament Volume 7 Thread
Subsequent releases would get their own threads similar to Anime Episode Threads.
I Just remembered that we would still be getting side stories from the Railgun DVD... maybe Primary Consult is right.
Just toss in some bible related title for the special volumes thread
|2013-05-17, 05:58
|Link #18
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
my suggestion would be,
1. Combining the entire old testament into one thread
2. for the new testament, dividing it into "Arc", after all some stories in the new testament do directly connected to each other like NT 1-2, 3-4, 5-6
3. Current "Arc", which is NT 7
4. Side Stories
5. Generic Discussion, Spoiler, Speculation thread
i guess thats all?
|2013-05-17, 06:22
|Link #19
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Splitting Novel thread between Old / New testament will not really make any difference.
Old testament is no longer being discussed and if the current thread will have 1500 or 150 pages will not bother anyone.
Side Stories could use their own thread (note there are both Railgun and Index ones) but currently there is no "active" one.
Though after Railgun anime ends, there will be new one - Index SSS.
(and if Index airs this fall, there will be another Railgun one)
There could be other threads like news, side characters.. but I am not sure how active they will be.
PS: the LN thread was so active because:
1. - there was a lot of missing threads and so everything was forced to be discussed there.
(interviews, news, side stories, anime anticipation, side character discussions (Misaki for example), artbooks..)
2. - spoiler policy everywhere else also helped to move everyone there, because they could freely discuss everything
3. - the fact one of the MOST ANTICIPATED LNs came out just now and everyone was eager to discuss it (easily 5 pages per day) as it is being translated (and you closed it...)
|2013-05-17, 07:19
|Link #20
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Canada
I like the idea of creating character threads here for people that we normally wouldn't get character threads for as the anime-only viewers wouldn't know about them. For example we could get a Hamazura thread, a Mugino thread, a Kakine thread, etc.
It might be a good idea to put a Misaki thread into the Railgun manga subforum too.
|Thread Tools


text:
Today I am beginning to feel very sad. Its not the sad that you would think. I mean, I miss my husband but I am not sad for him. I am sad because of what we as a family and what my children have to leave behind when we move in 3 weeks.
When we first got here we were nervous because we heard nothing good coming from our neighbors about D.C. public schools. I was very nervous about moving here the first week of August and only having 2 weeks to research, interview and select a school we felt fit our needs. Being very pregnant this was not going to be easy. Zeus and I pressed on and to our amazement both of school aged children were accepted into a school we thought sounded good.
Fast forward to today. We now have 3 children in this school and will never forget the memories we have made here.
Now, D.C.P.S have a terrible reputation and I am not sure why. We are in a public school on Capitol Hill and I could not be happier. These children have been able to experience history as they learn it.
What I wouldn't give to have been able to read about MLK, JR. and visit the place of his speech, much less perform the speech for hundreds at the very spot he gave it. AMAZING.
What I wouldn't give to have my teacher come to my birthday party. Yes, Our teachers attend our birthday parties. Now that is love and commitment.
What I wouldn't give to have been able to go to one of the worlds greatest art museum after learning what art means to us.
What I wouldn't give to have visited Ford's Theatre and the house across the street when learning about President Lincoln.
What I wouldn't give to have been able to walk the halls of the U.S capitol after a government lesson.
What I wouldn't give to have stepped into the White House after learning its history and the history of the Presidency.
What I wouldn't give to have visited world class farms after our animal lessons.
What I wouldn't give to have experienced Inauguration as a child.
What I wouldn't give to have visited Arlington national cemetery EVERY single memorial day.
Life lessons coupled with field trips to engrave them into your mind.
What I wouldn't give to have been able to drive by the U.S. Capitol every.single.day I went to school.
What I wouldn't give to have professional actors come give acting lessons once a week.
What I wouldn't give to have a professional storyteller come tell me stories once a week.
What I wouldn't give to have all sorts of gardens around my school to start, cultivate, write about, eat and learn about.
These are the things that we are going to miss. The list goes on and on. Children going to school with Senators children, federal employees children, children of lost soldiers, Chinese adopted children, poor children, and rich children. I am more than pleased to have experienced the love of teachers, principals and administration.
D.C.P.S may get a bad rap but it is not going to come from me. I will walk away praising the work those people do because they use their hearts. My children are better children today after being a part of a great family here in D.C. I must thank the staff, teachers and administration of the Capitol Hill Cluster school to include Peabody and Watkins elementary schools. Thank you for your kindness, love and patience. Thank you for loving my children and caring for them much like I do. We leave this place with you all in our hearts. We had teachers from Pre-K all the way to fourth grade and everyone of them was incredible. Thank you so much.
This week my son had his last school assembly. I cried. If you know me it takes a lot to make me cry. I was sad because I know at our next place we will not be able to share Americas rich history as clearly and as memorably as we have here. Here he is singing about Rosa parks and Martin Luther King Jr and the civil rights movement.
What I wouldn't give to make my children's lives the best they can be.
Blessings to all of you and I welcome you back here to read more about The Haskins House on the move.
Friday, January 29, 2010
What I wouldn't give
Today I am beginning to feel very sad. Its not the sad that you would think. I mean, I miss my husband but I am not sad for him. I am sad because of what we as a family and what my children have to leave behind when we move in 3 weeks.
Sweet writings of HaskinsHouse at 5:43 PM 1 comments
Labels: Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Washington D.C., watkins
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
What do you live for?
Sweet writings of HaskinsHouse at 11:27 AM 0 comments
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Perfect Storm
Tonight as I stand changing the clothes from the washer to the dryer I started thinking.
No, don't say your little sarcastic comments. Uh oh shes thinking. No, I don't need anymore negative right now. I was thinking about the life I lead and the life my family leads.
I look at what is required of a military family. I look at what is required as a Stay at home mom. I look at what is required as a Single parent. I look at what is required as a part time wife.
Military family.
Most think we get all these special privileges. Not so much. As a military family we are subject to short term assignments, meaning moving to a place for a very short while only to move less than a year later. Is that easy? You tell me. Want my answer? No! heck no! Does it happen often? Sure it does. Not everyone experiences it, but it happens. Then you must start all over making friends, creating another support group, opening yourself up and figuring out who you can trust and who you can't. You have to run around like a chicken handing pieces of paper called "orders" to everyone on base to prove you have to move and set up a million appointments. Sometimes being a military family requires you to have short notice moves. Where they, The Gov't, hands you these so called "orders" and you have to move sometimes less than 30 days. Most people will never experience the life of a military family. Most people will not have pity for a military family. Most people choose to ignore the strife and struggles of a military family. Most people never listen or care to listen to a military families story.
Stay at home Moms!
Well this is the most thankless job you will ever experience. No seriously, you are on call 24/7/365 without extra pay.
You have to make sure kids are up and get ready for school or you have to get them ready for school. Then you shuttle to school or the bus. You wash clothes and sheets. You cook lunch and dinner. You have to do dishes 3 or more times a day. Your name is called 5 million times a day. You wipe butts. Clean toilets. Clean sinks that get dirty again hours later. You scrub carpets. You pay bills. You forget to shower. You organize cabinets and garages. You make beds and call your friends. You miss your shows and vacuum the carpets. You scrub the tile and wipe down the table. You hug and kiss the ouchies and boo boos. You worry. You wait. You lose yourself to become someones mom. You have to grocery shop. You do laundry and check the mail. You fill out homework sheets and pass out field trip money. You listen to 4 little ones days all at the same time. You help with homework while you haven't seen that in 20 years. You suggest problem solutions. You listen to arguments and settle fights. You discipline and coach the sports team. You do all this and more without a single THANK YOU. You do this without a paycheck. You do this without any promotion or reward. You do this to provide the best for your kids and give them have what you didn't. THE HARDEST MOST SELFLESS JOB IN THE WORLD
Single Parent!
Remember the above paragraph. Now throw in there a traveling, training, hardly at home father and your job just got 10 million times harder because now you have to do it all on your own without any physical support, mental support, or anyone to tell you they are with you and you can do it. Now you have to ask those people you barely know to help you. You have to juggle it all in 2 hands hoping nothing falls while you dance to the birthday parties, field trips, doctor appt's, luncheons, and God forbid hospitals all while dealing with a cranky baby, hungry siblings and poopy pants. FUN!!!
Part Time Wife!
You are never told or taught how to be this, part time wife. How to call or Text without being too nosy or overbearing. You are not taught how to be casual when you are fuming mad at the spouse on the other end of the phone. They don't tell you that you will not hear from your spouse for days sometimes weeks and not worry. You are never taught to be patient and loving when your spouse forgets about you and how your day went. You have to learn and figure out that your needs are never as important as the trips, traveling and training. You are not told about how stressful you make their day. You have to figure out how to be in his life without being there physically. You have to figure out how to stay positive when you feel less than and completely 2 inches tall. You have to figure out how to be the shining light 250 or 5000 miles away. You have to learn not to expect a Thank you. You have to learn how to deal with the sarcasm when all you needed or wanted was sympathy. You have to be ready for them to come home early. You have to be willing to cancel plans when they get called out early. You have to learn to wash their laundry with lightening speed when they are only home 18 hours. You have to squash any expectations for birthday's or Anniversaries because they are not THAT important. Being this PT wife has got to be one of the hardest things you will ever do.
All of these things are tough. But when you put all of these things together you just stepped in my life for a brief minute. Yes, I am a military family, stay at home mom, Single parent and part time wife. All of these things can be amazing. They can be humbling. All of these things can also combine to become the perfect storm.
I am grateful to be a wife and mother. I am grateful for having a husband that cares for his family and has a job. Don't get me wrong things could be a heck of a lot worse. But I think if they were worse I may not be here. What I am getting at is that today I am feeling powerless, helpless, unappreciated, nameless, and downright dumb.
I have come to the conclusion that I must surrender my hopes and dreams for myself. My children's hopes and dreams have to come first. My Husbands job will always determine where I live, what I live in, the kind of schools my kids go to and how much he sees us. It is never easy. I hope that one day I can come to gripes with this conclusion. I would like to accept it with open arms instead of it being shoved into my tightly crossed arms.
Lord help me release the Ice skating, counseling, photography and travel. Help me accept the snot, puke, dirty nails, and showerless days. Until then please keep this Perfect Storm from gathering steam and moving into the next low pressure area over my head.
Sweet writings of HaskinsHouse at 8:06 PM 1 comments
Labels: Family, military, sad, stay at home mom, wife
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
A flash of what could've been
I love my life, albeit extremely stressful and difficult, I love it. I need to continue to remind myself of this especially when there is a trail of dog poop down the hall left from little shoes, or a sink piled high of pots and pans that can't go through the dishwasher, or slow to get dressed children at 7 am, or a cute sleepy little boy that does not want to go with me to the bus stop in the morning. I love my life
Tonight God gave me a little nudge. Well more like a shove. Nevertheless he got my attention.
The munchkins and I sat down to play the newest of new board game called Connect 4x4. Actually Zulu and I started playing and then Omega and Zero wanted to play too so I definitely welcomed them. After only winning one game out of 5 I noticed the clock hanging above the T.V. It said 7:55pm. Opps, missed bedtime. Oh well!
I gently instructed the children to go brush those little "toofies" while I put the game away. Minutes after sending them off I hear Zero panicking in the midst of arguing little boys and she sounded BAD. I dropped the game and went running only to find Ziggy not breathing and blue with his mouth wide open. He was in hysterics to say the least. I excitedly sent Omega off to get ice while I figured out what happened and got Ziggy to come to. Yes, he was slightly unresponsive and kinda googly eyed. Zero and Zulu were my eye witnesses and explained exactly what happened very clearly.
Am I kidding? NO! Ziggy has had about 4 similar events in the last year. All the while Zeus has been away due to military travel. Yea, thanks. Every. Single. Time.
So what feels like hours is only mere minutes. I question him like he is a Guantanamo detainee. What is your name? How do you spell it? How old are you? Who is the girl standing beside me? What are we doing soon? Do you know where you are? I repeat these over and over thinking oh crap I am going to have to make THAT call. A quick prayer to God asking for help and bam he remembers every question I asked him and answered them all correctly. WHEW!!! Scared, Heck yea. Nothing compares to the fear that was pulsating through my veins. I was picturing all those TV movies and terrible news stories replacing those people with my son and I. Thankfully He is ok. There is a nasty cut and Bright Blue blood bubble on his hairline.
Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you what happened. Silly me. I get ahead of myself sometimes. Sorry bout that.
While trying to get his toothbrush he decided to stand on the lid of the toilet seat. When he reached over the lid slid dumping him directly on the floor head first. He ended up landing on the gold metal strip that holds down the carpet over the linoleum. NOT GOOD!!!
What a flash of what could've been. I am thankful for his safety. I am thankful for his life and I promise I will do better and I will slow down and relish the life of a mother with 4 beautiful, smart, talented and smiling young children.
Ziggy I love you my child and please please try to land on your feet just a little more.
Sweet writings of HaskinsHouse at 9:34 PM 0 comments
Friday, January 8, 2010
Building one bra at a time!
Hey Bloggy Buddies!
Sweet writings of HaskinsHouse at 12:00 PM 0 comments
Labels: america, frustration, social issues
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Today was a great day but, as I sit here thinking how relaxed I was It brings back the memories of 2009.
What a year! The year started out amazing with my husbands 30th birthday, our acceptance to AFOTS, a wonderful spring break, awesome summer trip and then well a few bumps were placed in the road.
I made some mistakes that I am not proud of, but that I accept. Those mistakes lead to some harsh consequences that I seem to think still do not fit the crime but none the less were handed down.
I lost a few good people in my life. Not by death. Not really sure exactly when or how but nevertheless they are gone and I will forever mourn those lost relationships. I have given it to God and that has given me peace. But it does not take all the pain and sadness away. I understand that it will fade over time but will leave a lasting scar to my heart.
I made a few amazing friends throughout this whole ordeal and I am most grateful for that today. I was also able to nurture a few other relationships thus sealing them as Gold.
There were great accomplishments this past year like weight loss, size reduction, optimism and beautiful growth in my marriage. I managed to learn more about my children and to be accepting of their little personalities, flaws and all. I was able to help others in tough times like providing childcare, helping paint, some times even mowing. I was given the great opportunity to grow a very young relationship with someone I might have never known. God is great.
I am most thankful to all those( you know who you are) who stepped up to help me. Who saw a need and said something. Those that made me important to them and their lives. Those who gave completely anonymously out of the goodness of their heart. Thank you each and everyone of you for your extreme kindness. Whether it was babysitting, chatting, monetary, and just plain thoughtfulness each something was well appreciated.
Life is quite an amazing journey. The year 2009 is now history and for that I am MOST grateful.
With 2010 here and alive and I looking forward to awesome things like a family move, a great pay raise, a new position as a wife and mother, and new hope that lost relationships will be replaced with bigger and better new ones. A new perspective of God my father and his hand in my life and my children's. I am renewed with his spirit and understand his love is undying. No twitter post, blog post, facebook update, phone call or misunderstanding will tear us apart. I have a friend til the end and that is all I need. He is here with me no matter if I have my morning face, happy face, sad face, or disgusted face on. At 3am when I am crying in deep desperation he is there holding my hand. Every once in a while I need a little reminder of that and I am grateful to wonderful facebook friends, tweeps and family for sending me those little reminders always at just the right time.
My hopes for this year include big things, fun places, peace, love and joy. I always say I have 2 things I love more than anything in life those are my family and my camera. HAHAHA, I sure do love taking photos.
Look for more photos on my blog, shorter more frequent blog posts and a deeper understanding of who I am.
I am going to try to be more transparent. There is nothing to hide. There is no reason to lie. I am me and I am learning to love me. Why don't you join me?
Welcome 2010 and all the adventures life will provide me and my family.
Blessings and Happy New Year to all of you.
Sweet writings of HaskinsHouse at 4:20 PM 0 comments
Friday, January 1, 2010
The Best Yet
This place was UN freaking Believable. We were in the woods by ourselves with snow on the ground in a log cabin. I walked up to the door and there was a sweet message from the staff wishing us a happy anniversary. When I opened the door I felt me knees get weak. I think tears wanted to come out but it was just to cold. The room was lit with battery operated t-lites. There was a dozen roses on the dining table with a chocolate rose next to them. On all the tables, end tables dressers and what have you were scattered red and pink rose petals. The Bed had a big rose petal heart. The fire was lit. Soft music was playing. OH my. I was in extreme heaven at this point. WOW, that was all I could say. WOW! That was so stinking romantic. We hurried to get everything in and unpacked because we had a dual massage coming 30 minutes after arriving. And yes, we had side by side massages in out cabin. Thanks Blue valley Massage. The ladies were very good. Then we had some time to kill so after the most relaxing peaceful massages we decided it was time to take advantage of our own hot tub on the back porch. Zeus grabbed the wine and glasses and set up the Checkers. We drank Moscato and played checkers in the hot tub. Now remember there was snow on the ground, woods all around us and out of nowhere came a family of 5 deer. Oh boy, it just keeps getting better. We relaxed while playing checkers and watching the deer. Breathtaking is about the only word that can describe this place and setting. I really thought I was in a movie at one point. What better way to spend with your spouse than this. My Zeus hit it spot on this time. After that we needed to shower and head back to town which was a little over 75 minute drive to meet some long time friends for dinner.
Sweet writings of HaskinsHouse at 11:39 AM 2 comments
Labels: Anniversary, Family, football hall of fame, fun, love


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Here is an aspiration prayer written by HH the 14th Dalai Lama for the swift rebirth of Penam Rinpoche...
[Translated from the Tibetan by Ven. Lozang Jamspal, Ph.D. and Robert W. Clark, Ph.D., March 2011. From the Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso, a Shakya Buddhist monk and teacher of the Dharma, on the 24th day of the 3rd month of the Iron Tiger year of the 17th cycle, corresponding to the common date of May 7, 2010.]The Lord Buddha, solar source of the sublime doctrine, supreme savior of the world, exalted son of Suddhodana,
As well as Nagarjuna, Asanga, the Seventeen Sages of Nalanda, and so forth,
Are all embodied in Dolpopa, sublime master of the wisdom of emptiness and the heart of pure compassion,
We pray to him: please bestow, right now, the supreme accomplishment of virtue.
We pray humbly to Pema Namgyal, honored kinsman,
Holder of the doctrinal system of the omniscient Dolpopa,
Bestower of the sublime power of the treasury of knowledge and wisdom,
Of the exalted deity of speech (Manjushri) with the beautiful reddish yellow complexion.
You allowed the all-illuminating sun of your physical presence to dissolve,
Into the limitless expanse of ultimate reality, leaving behind your bereaved disciples,
Considering that, please allow the moon of a new rebirth to smile upon us,
So that the night blooming lotus (kumuda) of the Buddha's doctrine blooms once again.
May the unfailing exalted blessings and powers of the Three Jewels,
And the force of the unfailing principle of dependent arising,
Cause all of these prayers, aims and hopes, without exception,
To be accomplished in accordance with our wishes without obstacle or delay.
The leadership of the monastic assembly of Jonang Lungkya Monastery, together with all of its associated monks and laypersons, expressed the need for a special prayer for the quick return of Ngawang Pedma Namgyal, Preceptor of Jonang Lungkya Ngedon Mingur Ling Monastery. In accordance with their sincere requests, I have written these verses. May their aim now be fulfilled.


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For most of us, Monday will be a day off. It's Labor Day, a federal holiday that celebrates the contributions of America's 153.2 million workers. Schools will be closed, as will government offices, banks and many other businesses.
Labor Day's roots extend back to Sept. 5, 1882, when American labor leader Peter J. McGuire organized the first parade of about 10,000 workers in New York City. The Carpenters and Joiners Union secretary was inspired after seeing a labor festival in Canada.
Local governments are considering an option to contract with Tax Management Associates to recoup tax dollars owed by residents who are improperly claiming tax credits and exemptions on property taxes.
The city of Lancaster, town of Kershaw and Lancaster County Council recently heard a presentation about the program.
Tax Management Associates conducts tax audits to catch residents improperly paying 4 percent taxes on homes listed as a primary residence; residents improperly claiming a homestead exemption; and businesses not paying their taxes properly.
The troubled Edenmoor development in Indian Land has been in the news regularly for the last few months.
Many of the stories have been long and complicated because the issues surrounding the stalled development are complex, involving the county's Forfeited Land Commission, developers, financiers, tax and bond sales and pending contracts. And much of what has taken place has been behind closed doors, making it even more difficult to make sense of what's going on.
Dennis Cauthen was trying to help fellow firefighter Randy White find the right word. White was describing how it felt for the Elgin Volunteer Fire Department to be one of several fire departments trying to save the blazing historic Lancaster County Courthouse that early Aug. 4 morning in 2008.
"Honored," said Cauthen, fire chief. "We're honored to have helped the city (of Lancaster) and other departments save the courthouse."
The last couple of weeks have been really busy for teachers, students and their families. Some families have been scrambling to get in those last few days of vacation fun before the school bells ring Monday morning.
Many students and their parents took advantage of the recent sales-tax-free weekend to buy school supplies and clothes.
For several weeks now, teachers have been preparing their classrooms for the return of students Monday.
The start of the 2011-12 school term will feature David Shamble in the principal's office at Indian Land High School. Shamble, a former assistant principal since 2007, is replacing Kathy Faris.
Faris, the IL principal for the last five years, resigned her post in mid-July, about a month before the start of the upcoming school term.
Shamble, who considers Faris his mentor, will no doubt continue many of the initiatives she started. But he will also have his own agenda for the Class AA high school.
You have to give it to scam artists – some are getting pretty creative. And dire economic times are breeding ingenuity among some of the best.
In the past six months, The Lancaster News has published several articles about various scams in Lancaster County.
In February, reporter Reece Murphy shared the plight of a woman who was summoned to Springs Memorial Hospital in the wee hours of the morning. The caller, who identified himself as a highway patrolman, said she had a family member at the hospital and to get there fast.
Tax hikes and fee increases have been in the news a lot lately, as they always are this time of year. All across the county, residents are learning they will have to pay more in taxes and fees in the upcoming year.
Lancaster County School District recently approved a 5-mill tax increase, which will cost the average Lancaster County homeowner about $20 more this year.
The town of Kershaw's budget includes a 1.2-mill tax hike, which will cost its homeowners $4.80 more in yearly taxes on a $100,000 home. It also increased its water and sewer bill by $7.
HOPE needs help. Helping Other People Effectively (HOPE) of Lancaster aids the community through its roster of caring volunteers.
HOPE in Lancaster Inc. is a faith-based, nonprofit organization that provides short-term emergency assistance to those in crisis.
HOPE has a crisis of its own. During the summer months, volunteer help tends to drop a bit with helpers taking vacation.
At the same time, those in need, no matter the situation, need assistance.
The clients can't wait as their plight never takes time off.
Donna Hartley was pleasantly surprised when she opened the door to her office Monday morning. Hartley, executive director of Kershaw Area Resource Exchange (KARE), said there were three checks targeted for Youth Serve.
Youth Serve is a program that recruits teenagers to help repair area homes for the needy and elderly, who are unable to do the repairs themselves.
Youth Serve is a part of KARE, which provides an array of services to people in the southern portion of Lancaster County.
Copyright © 2019
The Lancaster News is your source for local news, sports, events, and information in Lancaster County and Lancaster, South Carolina, and the surrounding area..


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91.17 km 299118.30 feet 56.65 mi 23503.00 seconds 391.72 minutes 6.53 hours 8.68 mi/hr
Did this ride back in August, but I wanted to blog about it. I rode the entire length of the Rutland Trail, end to end. Skipping, of course, the couple of sections where the trail is closed because bridges are out.


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Despite the hoopla over the LaFerrari hybrid, the greenest Ferrari a person can buy is a bicycle.
The same goes for Porsche, whose Bike S and Bike RS are zero-emission complements to the automaker's turbocharged 911s; BMW, which imports the performance and exclusive design of its M series to an M Bike; and a handful of other, predominantly European car companies that are ditching engines and losing a couple wheels with branded bicycles.
"You don't always have to go by car," according to a 2013 catalog for Mini, which, in addition to its Clubman and other compact cars, is now selling folding bicycles. For sale at Mini dealers since November, the aluminum-framed bikes are hinged on the crossbar and handlebar stem to collapse them inside a Mini trunk.
"We keep a couple here for test drives, so if someone's in service waiting, we let customers ride around the dealership and pop some wheelies and come back," said Teresa Hillstead, parts adviser at Crevier Mini in Santa Ana, which sells the bikes.
Billed as "the ultimate in flexible transportation," they are made by Dahon, based in Los Angeles, and retail for a fraction of the cost of a four-wheeler: $548 to $613.
Full-sized bicycles from other automobile manufacturers are also a bargain, comparatively. BMW bicycles start at $1,200, Porsches at $4,500, Ferraris at $4,295, and Lamborghinis at $32,000. The two-wheeled Lambo Impec is trimmed with the same carbon fiber as the Aventador supercar. It just lacks the 700 horsepower and $387,000 price tag.
Auto-branded bicycles are not new. They're merely the latest example of a longstanding relationship between cars and bicycles that dates back to 1903, when the French magazine L'Auto founded the Tour de France bicycle race to help build interest in cars. Recent years have seen car-bike collaborations between Volkswagen and Trek, McLaren and Specialized, and Spyker with Dutch bicycle maker Koga, but the number of collaborations is growing.
This weekend, Smart will showcase its pedal electric cycle, or ebike, as part of a 10-day ride-and-drive event for its plug-in Smart EV at Santa Monica Place. The electric bicycle is, arguably, the most interesting product in years from Smart, the Mercedes-Benz mini car brand.
The smart ebike debuted at the LA Auto show in 2010, went into production a year later and is being sold in Germany for about $3,800. Mercedes-Benz plans to launch a pilot program with the 15-mph ebike in select U.S. cities later this year.
"There's an association between the bike being cool and fun and your car being cool and fun," said Dan Koeppel, a contributing editor to Bicycling magazine.
If bicycles are perceived as healthful, trendy and technologically innovative, Koeppel said, auto-branded cycles may be an attempt to draft that image.
Still, it's "very hard to make a convincing argument that you'll get the best bike with the latest technology and the most style using a car brand," Koeppel said.
A self-described "real bike guy," he added: "There's no chance I would ever buy a Porsche- or Ferrari-branded bicycle because we have our own legendary brands. A serious bike enthusiast wants a Colnago, not the Ferrari Colnago. The cachet carries more toward the uninformed than the informed."
That attitude is mirrored at Celo Bikes in Laguna Hills. An authorized dealer of Ferrari-branded Colnago bicycles, it's the rare bicycle shop to carry an auto-branded bicycle because the bicycle itself has so much credibility.
"The Ferrari Colnago is designed more or less for recreation – amateurs who drive a Ferrari who like the name and the Formula One paint job," said Marcel Calborn, a former bicycle racer and owner of Celo Europa.
Serious cyclists, he said, buy the Colnago C59, a hand-built carbon fiber road racer that "rides like a dream" with hydraulic disc brakes, electronic Shimano components and carbon fiber wheels that can cost upward of $20,000.
Colnago is literally the Ferrari of bicycles. Colnago, in Cambiago, Italy, makes the carbon tubing for its top-of-the-line C59 bicycle frame in the same Maranello, Italy, facility where Ferrari builds its Formula One race cars. Its Ferrari-branded bicycles, the CF8 and CF9, are the latest in a 34-year lineage of Colnago Ferraris that began when cyclist Ernesto Colnago set out to build the world's first carbon-fiber bicycle and could only find the material at the Ferrari factory.
Ever since, Ferrari has given its Formula One race team drivers Colnago bicycles to help them train and to ride the race tracks before strapping in to their 200-plus mph cars for each punishing 189-mile race. At the end of this year's 19-race Formula One series, the bikes will be sold through authorized Colnago dealerships.
Like the bikes of other prestige automakers, Porsches "are for the person who already has a $10,000 bicycle that's fully specced out who wants to be seen with something that resembles what they drive on a daily basis," said Adam Miller, product manager of driver selection for Porsche Cars of North America in Atlanta, Ga.
Porsche's Bike S and the Bike RS mimic the silhouette of the 911 with an arched backbone. Designed by the Porsche Design Studio in Austria and built by a German manufacturer, the aluminum-framed Bike S sells for $4,500. The carbon-fiber Bike RS is equipped with Magura hydraulic disc brakes and Shimano components and sells for $8,000. Each bike is available in three frame sizes with custom paint that can be color-matched to a Porsche car.
The German automaker introduced the bikes at last year's Shanghai Auto Show and started selling them through Porsche dealers in January.
Sales "aren't as successful as a baseball cap with a Porsche logo, but we are very, very pleased with the success we've had with them in the North American market," Miller said. "I've had a 918 customer buy the Bike RS just to hang up in his garage as a show piece."
Contact the writer: firstname.lastname@example.com orTwitter @OCRcarpenter


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A weight 2 modular form which happens to be a normalised cuspidal eigenform with rational coefficients has a natural geometric avatar---namely an elliptic curve over the rationals. It seems to be a subtle question as to how this notion generalises---this question was raised by Tony Scholl in conversation with me the other day. For example I guess I wouldn't expect a weight 3 normalised cuspidal eigenform with rational coefficients to be the $H^2$ of a smooth projective surface, because any such surface worth its salt would have (1,1)-forms coming from a hyperplane section, whereas the Hodge numbers of the motive attached to a weight 3 form are 0 and 2.
But in weight 4 one can again dream. A rigid Calabi-Yau 3-fold defined over the rationals has 2-dimensional $H^3$ and the Hodge numbers match up. Indeed there are many explicit examples of pairs $(X,f)$ with $X$ a rigid Calabi-Yau 3-fold over $\mathbf{Q}$ and $f$ a weight 4 cuspidal modular eigenform, such that the $\ell$-adic Galois representation attached to $f$ is isomorphic to $H^3(X,\mathbf{Q}_\ell)$ for all $\ell$.
The question: Is it reasonable to expect that (the motive attached to) every weight 4 normalised cuspidal eigenform with rational coefficients is associated to the cohomology of a rigid Calabi-Yau 3-fold over $\mathbf{Q}$?


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I met with The Hyperfactory the other day, and they talked me through the technology behind the UN Voices Campaign for the United Nations. In Australia, where the UN doesn't really have too much an impact, it seemed critical that their big push to get Australian's thinking about social issues made some noise, and make noise it did, by creating a world first with Talking Posters.
Using unique image recognition software and mobile donation platforms, Saatch & Saatchi along with The Hyperfactory allowed people to take a photo of a persons mouth (on outdoor posters), MMS it to a special number which would decode the photo and recognise which story that photo belonged to, which triggered an instant call back to that persons mobile phone, where the call-back-charge was instantly donated to the UN Voices Campaign fund.
I really loved the mix of mainstream and mobile working together so perfectly, not to mention an amazing microsite that capped off a perfectly integrated campaign. The UN Voices campaign won a suite of AIMIA awards in March 2009.


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Next Episode of Ranma ½ is
not planed. TV Show was canceled.
After taking a surprise dip in a cursed spring while on a training journey in China,
martial artist Ranma Saotome and his father, Genma, aren t quite themselves
anymore. Now Ranma turns into a girl whenever he s splashed with cold water,
and Genma turns into a panda! Their new forms cause nothing but confusion at the Tendo dojo, where Soun Tendo is waiting to introduce one of his three daughters to Ranma as his fiancée! Turns out Genma and Soun arranged the match long ago, but the girl, Akane, and the boy, Ranma, aren t exactly crazy about the idea, or each other! Or are they? Watch the gender switching, jealous rages, and martial arts battles unfold all over again!
Kappei Yamaguchi(Ranma Saotome)
Toshihiko Seki(Mousse)
Ryuusuke Oobayashi(Soun Tendo)
Noriko Hidaka(Akane Tendo)
Hirotaka Suzuoki(Tatewaki Kuno)
Rei Sakuma(Shampoo)
Megumi Hayashibara(Ranma Saotome)
Minami Takayama(Nabiki Tendo)
Kikuko Inoue(Kasumi Tendo)
Kouichi Yamadera(Ryoga Hibiki)
Kenichi Ogata(Genma Saotome)
Hiromi Tsuru(Ukyo Kuonji)
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Skiing in Wanaka
Wanaka Heliskiing & Ski Touring
Whare Kea's chalet, at 1750 metres above sea level on the slopes of Dragonfly Peak, makes an ideal base for heliskiing and ski touring in the dramatic alpine setting..
The surrounding Southern Alps offer unspoiled powder, with the glistening terrain boasting 400 runs over 200 peaks, varying from 600 to 1200 metres.
Harris Mountains Heli-Ski has been operating ski trips in the Wanaka area for more than two decades. All Wanaka heli-skiing adventures can conveniently start from Whare Kea's front lawn and include a gourmet lunch on the mountains at the chalet.
The Wanaka Experience package is designed for competent skiers, taking in three beautiful, gently graduating runs. Skiers and snowboarders looking to push the limits should try the Wanaka Maximum Vertical package, which accesses seven of the area's most challenging runs.
Resort Skiing in Wanaka
A half-hour drive from Whare Kea Lodge brings you to some of the world's finest resort skiing, with beautiful wide basins and an abundance of powder.
Cardrona Alpine Resort hosts 345 hectares of skiing and snowboarding terrain, with three beautiful basins and more than half the runs in the intermediate category. There is plenty of choice for beginners and advanced skiers, with multiple ski lifts.
With an average annual snowfall of 2.7 metres, there's no shortage of beautiful coverage at Cardrona. Grooming machines run overnight and ensure all runs are in peak condition. Snowmakers are also in place to supplement the natural snow in the Main and Captain's basins, if needed. Half-day and full-day lift passes are available for the whole mountain.
Treble Cone boasts 550 hectares of skiable terrain, the largest in the South Island. While it has less infrastructure and fewer lifts than Cardrona, the runs are longer and more exhilarating, going up to four kilometres.
It has super-wide slopes and has consistently won the People's Choice category in the New Zealand Ski Area Service Awards. And it's the off-season training ground for the national ski teams of Austria and Norway.
Situated at a higher altitude, the area receives an abundance of snow during the season. A small fleet of grooming machines ensures the terrain is consistently smooth going. Half-day afternoon passes and full-day passes, and lift pass and rental packages are available.
Wanaka is also the home to the Snow Farm – New Zealand's premier cross-country ski field. With over 40km of groomed cross country trails, snow mobiling, snow shoeing, sledding and dog sled tours – there is fun for everyone – regardless of skill level.
Hosted Resort Skiing
NZ Snow Tours offers tailor-made, hosted ski days for you to experience Wanaka's outstanding ski resorts. With their local knowledge and expertise, you will be shown the best ski runs and hidden secrets that these resorts have to offer.
Your experienced host will take care of the driving, lift tickets and arrangement of any rental equipment or lessons required. All that's left for you to do is enjoy, take in the sights and most importantly, ski !!


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Summer Friday
Labels: Bags, Leather, Made in New York, Spring/Summer '15
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- TRUNK is a lifestyle boutique set within a welcoming industrial space, frequented by women looking for much more than the latest fashion craze. The three independent designer-owners of TRUNK, Aimee G, Samoy Lenko and Radka Design are proud to create, design and manufacture their work in New York. TRUNK provides a stimulating platform for their creations, as well as for the works of invited local designers and artists. Collections featured at TRUNK include distinctive women's wear, jewelry, accessories, art and furniture, all locally designed and manufactured, making a bold creative statement that "style can be created and found locally."


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This guide is created to provide information regarding the recycling and reuse of various materials. This is not an all-inclusive list, just a guide to get you started. An additional outlet that allows you to search for locations to recycle and reuse is www.earth911.com. This website allows you to search for the material and area in which you are looking to recycle.
For more information please call the Division of Solid Waste Management at 607-778-2250 or visit www.gobroomecounty.com.