Brenton Creation

By: Charles Dickens There are dark shadows on the earth, but its lights are stronger in the contrast.

By: Cesar Chavez The end of all knowledge should be service to others.

By: Carol Burnett When you have a dream, you've got to grab it and never let go.

By: Carl Jung Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.

By: C.S.Lewis Failures, repeated failures, are finger posts on the road to achievement. One fails forward toward success.

By: Buddha Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.

By: Bruce Lee Knowledge will give you power, but character respect.

By: Brigitte Bardot My parents gave me a strict upbringing, which at times has caused me to suffer distress but today I am grateful to them for it.

By: Booker Washington I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has had to overcome while trying to succeed.

By: Bob Marley One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.

By: Bob Dylan A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom.

By: Blaise Pascal Jesus is the God whom we can approach without pride and before whom we can humble ourselves without despair.

By: Billy Graham Each life is made up of mistakes and learning, waiting and growing, practicing patience and being persistent.

By: Beyonce Knowles If everything was perfect, you would never learn and you would never grow.

By: Bertrand Russell The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.

By: Benjamin Franklin We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid.

By: Bill Gates It's fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.

By: Henry David Thoreau It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.

By: Friedrich Nietzsche We love life, not because we are used to living but because we are used to loving.

By:   Walt Disney All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.

By: George Sand There is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved.

By:  Benjamin Franklin Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.

By: Voltaire God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well.

By: Samuel Beckett Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.

By: H. Jackson Brown, Jr. The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.

By:  Albert Einstein You can't blame gravity for falling in love.

By:  John Galsworthy Love has no age, no limit; and no death.

By:  George Orwell Happiness can exist only in acceptance.

By: Sigmund Freud Being entirely honest with oneself is a good exercise.

By:  Sun Tzu The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.

By: Karl A. Menninger Love cures people - both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it.

By: Will Rogers Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.

By:  Francis of Assisi Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love.

By:  Henry James Do not mind anything that anyone tells you about anyone else. Judge everyone and everything for yourself.

By:  John Keats I love you the more in that I believe you had liked me for my own sake and for nothing else.

By:  A. P. J. Abdul Kalam Let us sacrifice our today so that our children can have a better tomorrow.

By:  Winston Churchill Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.

By:  Nelson Mandela Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world

By:  John Quincy Adams If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.

By: Marcel Proust Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.

By: Napoleon Hill If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way.

           By:  Ingrid Bergman A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous.

             By:  Soren Kierkegaard Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.

                     By:  Euripides Friends show their love in times of trouble, not in happiness.

Thomas Jefferson Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.

Aldous Huxley There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that's your own self.

Walt Whitman Keep your face always toward the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you.

―  J.R. Rim “ The more you get set into your own world, the smaller your world becomes.”  ―  J.R. Rim

― Charles Haddon Spurgeon ,  Lectures to My Students “A dash of humor will only add intense gravity to the proceedings, even as a flash of lightning only makes midnight dreariness all the more impressive.” 

―   Paulo Coelho ,  Brida “Accept what life offers you and try to drink from every cup. All wines should be tasted; some should only be sipped, but with others, drink the whole bottle.” 

SINIGANG by Marby Villaceran “SO, what happened?” She had finally decided to ask the question. I had been wondering how long my Tita Loleng could contain her curiosity. I continued to pick out tomatoes for the  sinigang  we were to have for dinner. I wasn’t usually the one who assisted my aunt with the cooking. She preferred my younger sister, Meg, for I knew far less in this area—not having the aptitude, or the interest, I guess—for remembering recipes. That didn’t matter today, though. This time, Tita Loleng wanted more than just an extra pair of hands in the kitchen. “Nothing much,” I answered offhandedly. “We did what people usually do during funerals.” I reminded myself to tread carefully with her. Though I did not really feel like talking, I could not tell her off for she took offense rather easily. I put the tomatoes in the small  palanggana , careful not to bruise their delicate skin, and carried them to the sink. “Did you meet… her ?” Tita Loleng asked. T

UNDER THE MANGO TREE by Hugh Aaron ©2003 by Copper Sturgeon ONE would think we were a couple of returning heroes. “Americanos, Americanos,”  the naked children shouted, zigzagging like circus clowns in mad circles around us as Billiard Ball and I ambled abreast down the beaten path through the shade of the green canopy. Heavy duffel bags hanging from our shoulders were laden with gifts: bottles of beer, cartons of cigarettes, cans of fruit juice. Repeatedly sweeping past us like zephyrs, each child snatched a bar of sweet chocolate from our extended hands. We were no less boisterous than they, shouting along with them, asking their names, having a good time ourselves, caught up in the infectious joy of their freewheeling abandon. Such was the character of our entry into Lubao time after time. As we walked down the village street, people waved from their houses repeating our names, people we didn’t recognize from our earlier visit. “Hullo Beelyard Ball,” and “Al. Hullo. Comu