Comets

It is an icy body that releases gas or dust. They are often compared to dirty snowballs, though recent research has led some scientists to call them snowy dirtballs and contain dust, ice, carbon dioxide, ammonia, methane and more. It orbit the sun, but most are believed to inhabit in an area known as the Oort Cloud, far beyond the orbit of Pluto. Occasionally a comet streaks through the inner solar system; some do so regularly, some only once every few centuries.

Halley's Comet

Halley’s Comet is named after English astronomer Edmond Halley who first determined its period of orbit. It was the first comet to be recognized as having a periodic orbit.

COINS LEFT ON TOMBSTONES

While visiting some cemeteries you may notice that headstones marking certain graves have coins on them, left by previous visitors to the grave.

These coins have distinct meanings when left on the headstones of those who gave their life while serving in America's military, and these meanings vary depending on the denomination of coin.

A coin left on a headstone or at the grave site is meant as a message to the deceased soldier's family that someone else has visited the grave to pay respect. Leaving a penny at the grave means simply that you visited.

A nickel indicates that you and the deceased trained at boot camp together, while a dime means you served with him in some capacity. By leaving a quarter at the grave, you are telling the family that you were with the solider when he was killed.

According to tradition, the money left at graves in national cemeteries and state veterans cemeteries is eventually collected, and the funds are put toward maintaining the cemetery or paying burial costs for indigent veterans.

In the US, this practice became common during the Vietnam war, due to the political divide in the country over the war; leaving a coin was seen as a more practical way to communicate that you had visited the grave than contacting the soldier's family, which could devolve into an uncomfortable argument over politics relating to the war.

Some Vietnam veterans would leave coins as a "down payment" to buy their fallen comrades a beer or play a hand of cards when they would finally be reunited.

The tradition of leaving coins on the headstones of military men and women can be traced to as far back as the Roman Empire.

Did you know?

Face Illusions are ambiguous images which exploit similarities between two or more distinct images. They are also known as reversal images, puzzle images and perceptual rivalry.

Optical Illusions

Do you see it?

The Journey

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice – – -
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
‘Mend my life!’
each voice cried.
But you didn’t stop.

You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations – – -
though their melancholy
was terrible. It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.

But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice,
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do – – – determined to save
the only life you could save.

By Mary Oliver

Still I Rise

 You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I’ll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don’t you take it awful hard
‘Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own backyard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I’ve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

By Maya Angelou

Just As You Are

Destructive thoughts within our minds
can keep us in despair...
those doubts and insecurities
are not worth the pain they bear.

It's sad to carry baggage
that causes grief and shame...
and in time we come to realize
we have ourselves to blame.

We can choose our way of thinking
and ask God to give us peace...
as we pray for a healthy attitude,
our negative thoughts will cease.

These human hearts are fragile
and sometimes we can't see...
it takes some effort on our part
to find worth and security.

Don't let those demons haunt you
and keep you in the dark...
just know that God, who formed you,
loves you just the way you are.

by Jill Lemming

We Wear the Mask

We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,--
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.

Why should the world be overwise,
In counting all our tears and sighs?
Nay, let them only see us, while
We wear the mask.

We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
To thee from tortured souls arise.
We sing, but oh the clay is vile
Beneath our feet, and long the mile;
But let the world dream otherwise,
We wear the mask!

by Paul Laurence Dunbar

The Fire Inside

When all is lost and hope has fled
When fear is strong and strength is dead
When love and joy abandon you
When mental anguish grows in you

When the last of efforts fail to save
When your fate is ill, your mind enslaved
And when your head hangs low in misery
This is when you'll find the key

A single ember from deep within
Burns hotter and hotter, as flames begin
The fire of truth will light the way
And help you fight, this lonely day

The battle is long, the struggle is rough
Never regret not giving enough
For when we offer our very best,
Our very soul is put to the test

Stand tall and true and you'll prevail
Just hold on tight and never bail
You will survive if you don't quit
Victory is there, if you reach for it

One day in the future, you will look to the past,
And know you had what it takes to last
So never give up and good things will come,
Not just honor and pride, but a job well done.

by Anonymous