GUN VIOLENCE IN AMERICA: FOR WHO THE BELL TOLLS NEXT.

Just five people shy of Sandy Hook elementary school mass shooting incident that claimed 26 lives, the Uvalde Texas Robb elementary school mass shooting at 21 victims, now ranks among the highest grossing gun carnage in America. It is sad that such frequent blood spilling has tragically become part of our culture as a society. May the souls of the killed now rest.

25th AMENDMENT: ITS NOW ALL CRICKET.

Madam Speaker Nancy Pelosi once questioned former President Donald John Trump's fitness to remain in office due to what she claimed was his declining mental capacity. Does anyone know what Madam Speaker presently thinks about the incontrovertible case which America is now saddled with? Just curious!

WHO WILL REBUILD UKRAINE?

The West should convert frozen Russian assets, both state's and oligarchs' owned, into a full seizure and set them aside for the future rebuilding of Ukraine. Like the Marshal Plan, call it the Putin Plan.

A HERO IS BORN.

I am staying put. I will not run away and abandon my people. The fight is here in Ukraine. What I need are weapons and ammunitions, not a ride out of town like former Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani - President Volodymyr Zelensky.

IT IS WHAT IT IS.

"There is too much hate in America because there is too much anger in America." - Trevor Noah.

WORD!

A life without challenges is not a life lived at all. A life lived is a life that has problems, confronts problems, solves problems and then learns from problems. - Tunde Fashola.

NOW, YOU KNOW.

When fishing for love, bait with your heart and not your brain, because you cannot rationalize love. - Mark Twain.

JUST THE FACT.

In our country, you can shoot and kill a nigger, but you better not hurt a gay person’s feelings - Dave Chappelle

DO YOU?.

“What you believe in can only be defined by what you’re willing to risk for it." - Stuart Scheller.

HEDGE YOUR CRISIS.

Never get in bed with a woman whose problems are worse than yours. - Chicago PD.

PROBLEM SOLVED.

'The best way to keep peace is to be ready to destroy evil. If you Pearl Harbor me, I Nagasaki you.' - Ted Nugent.

OUR SHARED HUMANITY.

Empathy is at the heart of who we are as human beings. - Cardinal Matthew Kukah.

WORDS ON MARBLE.

"Birth is agony. Life is hard. Death is cruel." - Japanese pithy.

REPENT OR PERISH - POPE.

Homosexuality is a sin. It is not ordained by God, therefore same sex marriage cannot be blessed by the church - Pope Francis.

CANCEL CULTURE IS CORROSIVE.


FOR SAKE OF COUNTRY.


MAGA LIVES ON: NO RETREAT, NO SURRENDER!

TWITTER IS BORING WITHOUT HIS TWEETS. #RestorePresidentTrump'sTwitterHandle.


WORD.

"If you cannot speak the truth when it matters, then nothing else you says matters.” - Tucker Carlson.

#MeToo MOVEMENT: A BAD NEWS GONE CRAZY.

"To all the women who testified, we may have different truth, but I have a great remorse for all of you. I have great remorse for all of the men and women going through this crisis right now in our country. You know, the movement started basically with me, and I think what happened, you know, I was the first example, and now there are thousands of men who are being accused and a regeneration of things that I think none of us understood. I’m not going to say these aren’t great people. I had wonderful times with these people. I’m just genuinely confused. Men are confused about this issue. We are going through this #MeToo movement crisis right now in this country." - Harvey Weinstein.


RON DELLUMS: UNAPOLOGETICALLY RADICAL.

"If it’s radical to oppose the insanity and cruelty of the Vietnam War, if it’s radical to oppose racism and sexism and all other forms of oppression, if it’s radical to want to alleviate poverty, hunger, disease, homelessness, and other forms of human misery, then I’m proud to be called a radical.” - Ron Vernie Dellums.


WHAT REALLY MATTERS IN LIFE - STEVE JOBS

“I reached the pinnacle of success in the business world. In others’ eyes, my life is an epitome of success. However, aside from work, I have little joy. Non-stop pursuing of wealth will only turn a person into a twisted being, just like me. God gave us the senses to let us feel the love in everyone’s heart, not the illusions brought about by wealth. Memories precipitated by love is the only true riches which will follow you, accompany you, giving you strength and light to go on. The most expensive bed in the world is the sick bed. You can employ someone to drive the car for you, make money for you but you cannot have someone to bear sickness for you. Material things lost can be found. But there is one thing that can never be found when it is lost – Life. Treasure Love for your family, love for your spouse, love for your friends. Treat yourself well. Cherish others.” - SJ

EVIL CANNOT BE TRULY DESTROYED.

"The threat of evil is ever present. We can contain it as long as we stay vigilant, but it can never truly be destroyed. - Lorraine Warren (Annabelle, the movie)


ONLY THE POOR WISH THEY HAD STUFF?

“I’m not that interested in material things. As long as I find a good bed that I can sleep in, that’s enough.” - Nicolas Berggruem, the homeless billionaire.

Thursday, April 21, 2016

NEVER GIVE UP ON LOVE - LEIGH CRANIAL.

“I felt like I’d known him a long time,” said Tin of her and Matt’s first meeting (Credit: Christine Miguel and Matt Mandino)
It was an instant attraction when this flight attendant and pilot met at a Chennai beachside restaurant. After a long-distance love affair around the world, the rest became history. When they were children living on opposite sides of the world, Christine “Tin” Miguel and Matt Mandino had something in common: they were afraid of flying. 

Growing up as one of six children in the Philippines, Tin would hold her sister’s hand in a tight grip whenever they flew. In the US, Matt was so nervous about boarding a plane that his parents had to drag him to the airport. “I was afraid of heights too,” Matt laughed. 

As they got older though, both were seized with a sense of wanderlust. Their desire to see the world outweighed their initial fears, and eventually, they not only conquered their fear of flying, but they made it their careers. Tin became a flight attendant and Matt, a commercial pilot. 

It was because of their jobs in aviation that they both found themselves at a restaurant on the beach near Chennai, India, in June of 2012. Matt was living there, working for Indian airline Jet Airways. Tin, who was based in Saudi Arabia, had a layover in Chennai and had decided to spend the day at the beach with a colleague. They headed to lunch at Santana restaurant (178, Fisherman's Colony, Othavadi Street; +91-944-429-0832,) overlooking the water.  

“We were the only ones in the restaurant when Matt and his friend walked in,” Tin recalled. “I thought he was cute and, for some reason, felt like I’d known him a long time.” 

Matt was also instantly attracted. “Her smile was so pretty and comforting. I went up to her and asked what she was eating. She said ‘calamari’, and I actually reached down and grabbed some off her plate because I’d had a couple of beers. Usually I’m not that outgoing,” he said. “[My friend and I] asked what they did for a living and they said they were flight attendants, and we’re like, ‘we’re pilots!’” 

“And I rolled my eyes,” Tin laughed. “He gave me his card and he said he’d be happy to show me around the next time I was in India. I sent him an email a few days later, and we started writing back and forth. I was scheduled to be back on my birthday in September.” 

On their first date, Matt drove to pick her up from her hotel. “He was so late,” Tin remembered. “Later I found out [it] was because he had driven all over town looking for flowers. He asked if he could fly to my next destination to see me again, and soon after that, he asked me to be his girlfriend.” 

They got to know one another while travelling, meeting as often as possible and heading off on adventures across India. Then, in 2013, Matt moved to Hawaii. 

Tin remembers the day she was helping Matt pack for his move. “I was thinking, ‘I care about him so much, but it’s Hawaii, which is on the other side of the world. It will take 48 hours to travel just to see him, and it’s expensive,’” she said. “I thought that, if nothing happened, at least we’d had a great time. But of course I was hoping we would end up together.” 

That day, Matt presented Tin with a family heirloom – a sapphire promise ring – and asked her to come to Hawaii on a fiancé visa. “It's the same ring that his dad gave to his mom,” Tin said. “His mom and I both have September birthdays and sapphire is our birth stone. From that point on, I realized he was willing to make it work.” 

“I asked if she would mind moving, and she said ‘I’ll live wherever you want, even if we have to live in a cardboard box,’” Matt remembered. 

I always think there will be opportunities and jobs everywhere,” Tin said, “But each person is unique. There’s only one Matt. We don't know where we'll be based next, but it doesn't matter as long as we are together.” 

Unfortunately, it would still be months of paperwork before they could be reunited for good. “Just to gather the requirements was a process,” Tin said. “While Matt was working in Hawaii, I was still living in Saudi Arabia, so he invented a game called ‘Follow Tin’ where he would fly on his free time to see me wherever I was scheduled.” The couple met in cities like Geneva, Milan and Barcelona. “Our layovers were often only 36 hours so it was really special,” Matt said. “We made a lot out of the short time we had together.” 

Finally, in July 2014, Matt and Tin were married in Hawaii. “I just wanted the marriage, I didn't need a wedding,” said Tin about the simple courthouse ceremony. “We decided to save our money for other things.” 

The couple now lives by the beach in Bali, content to finally be under the same roof for good. Reflecting on their years spent in a long-distance relationship, Tin said that there are some positive aspects to being apart. “It makes you more passionate. You really think about what you want and ask ‘is this worth the time and the energy?’… If you love each other, you don’t give up.”

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