TASC Reading Practice Test

Recycling Programs

Whether it’s saving milk jugs, sorting newspapers neatly into a pile, or placing unnecessary office paper in a corner recycling bin, the American recycling experiment continues. Consider the set of recycling statistics, reflected in the bar chart. It compares American recycling rates for select materials (paper, glass, metals and plastics) over a fifty year time frame (1960–2010), using ten year intervals.

The large green bars on the graph show that between 1960 and 2010, paper recycling rates exceeded the recycling rates for the other materials. As the years pass, American recycling habits expanded, with beverage container recycling explaining much of the increase in glass, metals and plastics recycling in 1990. Starting in 1990, yard trimming recycling rates, not presented in the top bar chart, also occupied a larger portion of the average American’s recycling efforts. By 2010, Americans were recycling 57.5% of all their yard trimmings.

In many locations, changing technology and community practices contributed to recycling rate upward momentum over this same sixty year time frame. Reverse vending machines, invented during a 1990s recycling technology wave, now fill space in many retail locations around the country. State beverage container recycling laws and ease of use account for a portion of their long term success.

While circumstances exist where individuals might need a moment to stop and think through any particular recycling task, most modern recycling tasks, like using reverse vending machines, are quite simple, and accomplished by many individuals unreflective participation in organized beverage container recycling programs.

The 9,000 curbside recycling programs in existence between 1985 and 2005 also contributed to increased aggregate recycling rates. Curbside recycling schedules that run concurrent with local garbage collection schedules allow households to schedule garbage and recycling chores for the same day. All curbside recycling programs follow some general rules. Five of the most common are presented below.

• Follow Sorting Guidelines
• Keep Recycled Material Clean
• Know Your Recycling Bins
• Know Your Recycling Day
• In Doubt, Leave it Out

Creating a successful home, school, or work recycling program takes very little effort, while creating substantial environmental and economic benefits. Recycling practices easily blend into modern American life. Most successful recycling programs begin and end with locating their recycling corner. Strategically placing a recycling center in a corner of a high traffic location often works to attract individual attention along with providing a centralized waste removal location.

This passage is adapted from “Recycling Statistics and Facts,” Green Nature, Patricia A. Michaels, 2011.

Recycling Programs

Whether it’s saving milk jugs, sorting newspapers neatly into a pile, or placing unnecessary office paper in a corner recycling bin, the American recycling experiment continues. Consider the set of recycling statistics, reflected in the bar chart. It compares American recycling rates for select materials (paper, glass, metals and plastics) over a fifty year time frame (1960–2010), using ten year intervals.

The large green bars on the graph show that between 1960 and 2010, paper recycling rates exceeded the recycling rates for the other materials. As the years pass, American recycling habits expanded, with beverage container recycling explaining much of the increase in glass, metals and plastics recycling in 1990. Starting in 1990, yard trimming recycling rates, not presented in the top bar chart, also occupied a larger portion of the average American’s recycling efforts. By 2010, Americans were recycling 57.5% of all their yard trimmings.

In many locations, changing technology and community practices contributed to recycling rate upward momentum over this same sixty year time frame. Reverse vending machines, invented during a 1990s recycling technology wave, now fill space in many retail locations around the country. State beverage container recycling laws and ease of use account for a portion of their long term success.

While circumstances exist where individuals might need a moment to stop and think through any particular recycling task, most modern recycling tasks, like using reverse vending machines, are quite simple, and accomplished by many individuals unreflective participation in organized beverage container recycling programs.

The 9,000 curbside recycling programs in existence between 1985 and 2005 also contributed to increased aggregate recycling rates. Curbside recycling schedules that run concurrent with local garbage collection schedules allow households to schedule garbage and recycling chores for the same day. All curbside recycling programs follow some general rules. Five of the most common are presented below.

• Follow Sorting Guidelines
• Keep Recycled Material Clean
• Know Your Recycling Bins
• Know Your Recycling Day
• In Doubt, Leave it Out

Creating a successful home, school, or work recycling program takes very little effort, while creating substantial environmental and economic benefits. Recycling practices easily blend into modern American life. Most successful recycling programs begin and end with locating their recycling corner. Strategically placing a recycling center in a corner of a high traffic location often works to attract individual attention along with providing a centralized waste removal location.

This passage is adapted from “Recycling Statistics and Facts,” Green Nature, Patricia A. Michaels, 2011.

Recycling Programs

Whether it’s saving milk jugs, sorting newspapers neatly into a pile, or placing unnecessary office paper in a corner recycling bin, the American recycling experiment continues. Consider the set of recycling statistics, reflected in the bar chart. It compares American recycling rates for select materials (paper, glass, metals and plastics) over a fifty year time frame (1960–2010), using ten year intervals.

The large green bars on the graph show that between 1960 and 2010, paper recycling rates exceeded the recycling rates for the other materials. As the years pass, American recycling habits expanded, with beverage container recycling explaining much of the increase in glass, metals and plastics recycling in 1990. Starting in 1990, yard trimming recycling rates, not presented in the top bar chart, also occupied a larger portion of the average American’s recycling efforts. By 2010, Americans were recycling 57.5% of all their yard trimmings.

In many locations, changing technology and community practices contributed to recycling rate upward momentum over this same sixty year time frame. Reverse vending machines, invented during a 1990s recycling technology wave, now fill space in many retail locations around the country. State beverage container recycling laws and ease of use account for a portion of their long term success.

While circumstances exist where individuals might need a moment to stop and think through any particular recycling task, most modern recycling tasks, like using reverse vending machines, are quite simple, and accomplished by many individuals unreflective participation in organized beverage container recycling programs.

The 9,000 curbside recycling programs in existence between 1985 and 2005 also contributed to increased aggregate recycling rates. Curbside recycling schedules that run concurrent with local garbage collection schedules allow households to schedule garbage and recycling chores for the same day. All curbside recycling programs follow some general rules. Five of the most common are presented below.

• Follow Sorting Guidelines
• Keep Recycled Material Clean
• Know Your Recycling Bins
• Know Your Recycling Day
• In Doubt, Leave it Out

Creating a successful home, school, or work recycling program takes very little effort, while creating substantial environmental and economic benefits. Recycling practices easily blend into modern American life. Most successful recycling programs begin and end with locating their recycling corner. Strategically placing a recycling center in a corner of a high traffic location often works to attract individual attention along with providing a centralized waste removal location.

This passage is adapted from “Recycling Statistics and Facts,” Green Nature, Patricia A. Michaels, 2011.

The 9,000 curbside recycling programs in existence between 1985 and 2005 also contributed to increased aggregate recycling rates.

Recycling Programs

Whether it’s saving milk jugs, sorting newspapers neatly into a pile, or placing unnecessary office paper in a corner recycling bin, the American recycling experiment continues. Consider the set of recycling statistics, reflected in the bar chart. It compares American recycling rates for select materials (paper, glass, metals and plastics) over a fifty year time frame (1960–2010), using ten year intervals.

The large green bars on the graph show that between 1960 and 2010, paper recycling rates exceeded the recycling rates for the other materials. As the years pass, American recycling habits expanded, with beverage container recycling explaining much of the increase in glass, metals and plastics recycling in 1990. Starting in 1990, yard trimming recycling rates, not presented in the top bar chart, also occupied a larger portion of the average American’s recycling efforts. By 2010, Americans were recycling 57.5% of all their yard trimmings.

In many locations, changing technology and community practices contributed to recycling rate upward momentum over this same sixty year time frame. Reverse vending machines, invented during a 1990s recycling technology wave, now fill space in many retail locations around the country. State beverage container recycling laws and ease of use account for a portion of their long term success.

While circumstances exist where individuals might need a moment to stop and think through any particular recycling task, most modern recycling tasks, like using reverse vending machines, are quite simple, and accomplished by many individuals unreflective participation in organized beverage container recycling programs.

The 9,000 curbside recycling programs in existence between 1985 and 2005 also contributed to increased aggregate recycling rates. Curbside recycling schedules that run concurrent with local garbage collection schedules allow households to schedule garbage and recycling chores for the same day. All curbside recycling programs follow some general rules. Five of the most common are presented below.

• Follow Sorting Guidelines
• Keep Recycled Material Clean
• Know Your Recycling Bins
• Know Your Recycling Day
• In Doubt, Leave it Out

Creating a successful home, school, or work recycling program takes very little effort, while creating substantial environmental and economic benefits. Recycling practices easily blend into modern American life. Most successful recycling programs begin and end with locating their recycling corner. Strategically placing a recycling center in a corner of a high traffic location often works to attract individual attention along with providing a centralized waste removal location.

This passage is adapted from “Recycling Statistics and Facts,” Green Nature, Patricia A. Michaels, 2011.

Curbside recycling schedules that run concurrent with local garbage collection schedules allow households to schedule garbage and recycling chores for the same day.

Recycling Programs

Whether it’s saving milk jugs, sorting newspapers neatly into a pile, or placing unnecessary office paper in a corner recycling bin, the American recycling experiment continues. Consider the set of recycling statistics, reflected in the bar chart. It compares American recycling rates for select materials (paper, glass, metals and plastics) over a fifty year time frame (1960–2010), using ten year intervals.

The large green bars on the graph show that between 1960 and 2010, paper recycling rates exceeded the recycling rates for the other materials. As the years pass, American recycling habits expanded, with beverage container recycling explaining much of the increase in glass, metals and plastics recycling in 1990. Starting in 1990, yard trimming recycling rates, not presented in the top bar chart, also occupied a larger portion of the average American’s recycling efforts. By 2010, Americans were recycling 57.5% of all their yard trimmings.

In many locations, changing technology and community practices contributed to recycling rate upward momentum over this same sixty year time frame. Reverse vending machines, invented during a 1990s recycling technology wave, now fill space in many retail locations around the country. State beverage container recycling laws and ease of use account for a portion of their long term success.

While circumstances exist where individuals might need a moment to stop and think through any particular recycling task, most modern recycling tasks, like using reverse vending machines, are quite simple, and accomplished by many individuals unreflective participation in organized beverage container recycling programs.

The 9,000 curbside recycling programs in existence between 1985 and 2005 also contributed to increased aggregate recycling rates. Curbside recycling schedules that run concurrent with local garbage collection schedules allow households to schedule garbage and recycling chores for the same day. All curbside recycling programs follow some general rules. Five of the most common are presented below.

• Follow Sorting Guidelines
• Keep Recycled Material Clean
• Know Your Recycling Bins
• Know Your Recycling Day
• In Doubt, Leave it Out

Creating a successful home, school, or work recycling program takes very little effort, while creating substantial environmental and economic benefits. Recycling practices easily blend into modern American life. Most successful recycling programs begin and end with locating their recycling corner. Strategically placing a recycling center in a corner of a high traffic location often works to attract individual attention along with providing a centralized waste removal location.

This passage is adapted from “Recycling Statistics and Facts,” Green Nature, Patricia A. Michaels, 2011.

The Road Not Taken
by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

(From The Poetry of Robert Frost by Robert Frost, edited by Edward Connery Lathem. Copyright © 1969 by Holt Rinehart and Winston, Inc.)

The Road Not Taken
by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

(From The Poetry of Robert Frost by Robert Frost, edited by Edward Connery Lathem. Copyright © 1969 by Holt Rinehart and Winston, Inc.)

The Road Not Taken
by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

(From The Poetry of Robert Frost by Robert Frost, edited by Edward Connery Lathem. Copyright © 1969 by Holt Rinehart and Winston, Inc.)

The Road Not Taken
by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

(From The Poetry of Robert Frost by Robert Frost, edited by Edward Connery Lathem. Copyright © 1969 by Holt Rinehart and Winston, Inc.)

The Road Not Taken
by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

(From The Poetry of Robert Frost by Robert Frost, edited by Edward Connery Lathem. Copyright © 1969 by Holt Rinehart and Winston, Inc.)

Inaugural Address of John F. Kennedy

So let us begin a new remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate. And if a beachhead of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion, let both sides join in creating a new endeavor, not a new balance of power, but a new world of law, where the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved.

All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.

In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe.

Now the trumpet summons us again; not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are; but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation" — a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself. Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort?

In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility; I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it — and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.

Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on Earth God's work must truly be our own.

Inaugural Address of John F. Kennedy

So let us begin a new remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate. And if a beachhead of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion, let both sides join in creating a new endeavor, not a new balance of power, but a new world of law, where the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved.

All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.

In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe.

Now the trumpet summons us again; not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are; but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation" — a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself. Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort?

In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility; I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it — and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.

Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on Earth God's work must truly be our own.

Inaugural Address of John F. Kennedy

So let us begin a new remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate. And if a beachhead of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion, let both sides join in creating a new endeavor, not a new balance of power, but a new world of law, where the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved.

All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.

In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe.

Now the trumpet summons us again; not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are; but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation" — a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself. Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort?

In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility; I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it — and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.

Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on Earth God's work must truly be our own.

Inaugural Address of John F. Kennedy

So let us begin a new remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate. And if a beachhead of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion, let both sides join in creating a new endeavor, not a new balance of power, but a new world of law, where the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved.

All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.

In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe.

Now the trumpet summons us again; not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are; but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation" — a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself. Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort?

In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility; I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it — and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.

Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on Earth God's work must truly be our own.

Inaugural Address of John F. Kennedy

So let us begin a new remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate. And if a beachhead of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion, let both sides join in creating a new endeavor, not a new balance of power, but a new world of law, where the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved.

All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.

In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe.

Now the trumpet summons us again; not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are; but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation" — a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself. Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort?

In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility; I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it — and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.

Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on Earth God's work must truly be our own.

Inaugural Address of John F. Kennedy

So let us begin a new remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate. And if a beachhead of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion, let both sides join in creating a new endeavor, not a new balance of power, but a new world of law, where the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved.

All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.

In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe.

Now the trumpet summons us again; not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are; but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation" — a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself. Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort?

In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility; I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it — and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.

Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on Earth God's work must truly be our own.

Now the trumpet summons us again; not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are; but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation" — a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself.

The History of Girl Scout Cookies

For nearly 100 years, Girl Scouts and their enthusiastic supporters have helped ensure the success of the iconic annual cookie sale — and they’ve had fun, developed valuable life skills, and made their communities a better place every step of the way.

Girl Scout Cookies had their earliest beginnings in the kitchens and ovens of our girl members, with moms volunteering as technical advisers. The sale of cookies as a way to finance troop activities began as early as 1917, five years after Juliette Gordon Low started Girl Scouts in the United States, when the Mistletoe Troop in Muskogee, Oklahoma, baked cookies and sold them in its high school cafeteria as a service project.

In July 1922, The American Girl magazine, published by Girl Scouts of the USA, featured an article by Florence E. Neil, a local director in Chicago, Illinois. Miss Neil provided a cookie recipe that had been given to the council’s 2,000 Girl Scouts. She estimated the approximate cost of ingredients for six- to seven-dozen cookies to be 26 to 36 cents. The cookies, she suggested, could be sold by troops for 25 or 30 cents per dozen.

In 1933, Girl Scouts of Greater Philadelphia Council baked cookies and sold them in the city’s gas and electric company windows. The price was just 23 cents per box of 44 cookies, or six boxes for $1.24! Girls developed their marketing and business skills and raised funds for their local Girl Scout council. A year later, Greater Philadelphia took cookie sales to the next level, becoming the first council to sell commercially baked cookies.

In 1935, the Girl Scout Federation of Greater New York raised money through the sale of commercially baked cookies. Buying its own die in the shape of a trefoil, the group used the words “Girl Scout Cookies” on the box. In 1936, the national Girl Scout organization began the process of licensing the first commercial bakers to produce cookies that would be sold nationwide by girls in Girl Scout councils.

Enthusiasm for Girl Scout Cookies spread nationwide. By 1937, more than 125 Girl Scout councils reported holding cookie sales. In 1951, Girl Scout Cookies came in three varieties: Sandwich, Shortbread, and Chocolate Mints (now known as Thin Mints). By 1966, a number of varieties were available. Among the best sellers were Chocolate Mint (now known as Thin Mints), Shortbread, and Peanut Butter Sandwich cookies. Girl Scout Cookies for sale during the 1970s included Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Sandwich/Do-si-dos®, and Shortbread/Trefoils® cookies, plus four additional choices.

Early in the twenty-first century, every Girl Scout Cookie had a mission. New cookie box designs, introduced in fall of 2000, were bold and bright, capturing the spirit of Girl Scouting. Two licensed bakers produced a maximum of eight varieties, and all cookies were kosher. And, much to the excitement of our youngest Girl Scouts, Daisies started selling cookies!

This passage is adapted from “Girl Scout Cookie History,” GirlScouts.org.

The History of Girl Scout Cookies

For nearly 100 years, Girl Scouts and their enthusiastic supporters have helped ensure the success of the iconic annual cookie sale — and they’ve had fun, developed valuable life skills, and made their communities a better place every step of the way.

Girl Scout Cookies had their earliest beginnings in the kitchens and ovens of our girl members, with moms volunteering as technical advisers. The sale of cookies as a way to finance troop activities began as early as 1917, five years after Juliette Gordon Low started Girl Scouts in the United States, when the Mistletoe Troop in Muskogee, Oklahoma, baked cookies and sold them in its high school cafeteria as a service project.

In July 1922, The American Girl magazine, published by Girl Scouts of the USA, featured an article by Florence E. Neil, a local director in Chicago, Illinois. Miss Neil provided a cookie recipe that had been given to the council’s 2,000 Girl Scouts. She estimated the approximate cost of ingredients for six- to seven-dozen cookies to be 26 to 36 cents. The cookies, she suggested, could be sold by troops for 25 or 30 cents per dozen.

In 1933, Girl Scouts of Greater Philadelphia Council baked cookies and sold them in the city’s gas and electric company windows. The price was just 23 cents per box of 44 cookies, or six boxes for $1.24! Girls developed their marketing and business skills and raised funds for their local Girl Scout council. A year later, Greater Philadelphia took cookie sales to the next level, becoming the first council to sell commercially baked cookies.

In 1935, the Girl Scout Federation of Greater New York raised money through the sale of commercially baked cookies. Buying its own die in the shape of a trefoil, the group used the words “Girl Scout Cookies” on the box. In 1936, the national Girl Scout organization began the process of licensing the first commercial bakers to produce cookies that would be sold nationwide by girls in Girl Scout councils.

Enthusiasm for Girl Scout Cookies spread nationwide. By 1937, more than 125 Girl Scout councils reported holding cookie sales. In 1951, Girl Scout Cookies came in three varieties: Sandwich, Shortbread, and Chocolate Mints (now known as Thin Mints). By 1966, a number of varieties were available. Among the best sellers were Chocolate Mint (now known as Thin Mints), Shortbread, and Peanut Butter Sandwich cookies. Girl Scout Cookies for sale during the 1970s included Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Sandwich/Do-si-dos®, and Shortbread/Trefoils® cookies, plus four additional choices.

Early in the twenty-first century, every Girl Scout Cookie had a mission. New cookie box designs, introduced in fall of 2000, were bold and bright, capturing the spirit of Girl Scouting. Two licensed bakers produced a maximum of eight varieties, and all cookies were kosher. And, much to the excitement of our youngest Girl Scouts, Daisies started selling cookies!

This passage is adapted from “Girl Scout Cookie History,” GirlScouts.org.

The History of Girl Scout Cookies

For nearly 100 years, Girl Scouts and their enthusiastic supporters have helped ensure the success of the iconic annual cookie sale — and they’ve had fun, developed valuable life skills, and made their communities a better place every step of the way.

Girl Scout Cookies had their earliest beginnings in the kitchens and ovens of our girl members, with moms volunteering as technical advisers. The sale of cookies as a way to finance troop activities began as early as 1917, five years after Juliette Gordon Low started Girl Scouts in the United States, when the Mistletoe Troop in Muskogee, Oklahoma, baked cookies and sold them in its high school cafeteria as a service project.

In July 1922, The American Girl magazine, published by Girl Scouts of the USA, featured an article by Florence E. Neil, a local director in Chicago, Illinois. Miss Neil provided a cookie recipe that had been given to the council’s 2,000 Girl Scouts. She estimated the approximate cost of ingredients for six- to seven-dozen cookies to be 26 to 36 cents. The cookies, she suggested, could be sold by troops for 25 or 30 cents per dozen.

In 1933, Girl Scouts of Greater Philadelphia Council baked cookies and sold them in the city’s gas and electric company windows. The price was just 23 cents per box of 44 cookies, or six boxes for $1.24! Girls developed their marketing and business skills and raised funds for their local Girl Scout council. A year later, Greater Philadelphia took cookie sales to the next level, becoming the first council to sell commercially baked cookies.

In 1935, the Girl Scout Federation of Greater New York raised money through the sale of commercially baked cookies. Buying its own die in the shape of a trefoil, the group used the words “Girl Scout Cookies” on the box. In 1936, the national Girl Scout organization began the process of licensing the first commercial bakers to produce cookies that would be sold nationwide by girls in Girl Scout councils.

Enthusiasm for Girl Scout Cookies spread nationwide. By 1937, more than 125 Girl Scout councils reported holding cookie sales. In 1951, Girl Scout Cookies came in three varieties: Sandwich, Shortbread, and Chocolate Mints (now known as Thin Mints). By 1966, a number of varieties were available. Among the best sellers were Chocolate Mint (now known as Thin Mints), Shortbread, and Peanut Butter Sandwich cookies. Girl Scout Cookies for sale during the 1970s included Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Sandwich/Do-si-dos®, and Shortbread/Trefoils® cookies, plus four additional choices.

Early in the twenty-first century, every Girl Scout Cookie had a mission. New cookie box designs, introduced in fall of 2000, were bold and bright, capturing the spirit of Girl Scouting. Two licensed bakers produced a maximum of eight varieties, and all cookies were kosher. And, much to the excitement of our youngest Girl Scouts, Daisies started selling cookies!

This passage is adapted from “Girl Scout Cookie History,” GirlScouts.org.

The History of Girl Scout Cookies

For nearly 100 years, Girl Scouts and their enthusiastic supporters have helped ensure the success of the iconic annual cookie sale — and they’ve had fun, developed valuable life skills, and made their communities a better place every step of the way.

Girl Scout Cookies had their earliest beginnings in the kitchens and ovens of our girl members, with moms volunteering as technical advisers. The sale of cookies as a way to finance troop activities began as early as 1917, five years after Juliette Gordon Low started Girl Scouts in the United States, when the Mistletoe Troop in Muskogee, Oklahoma, baked cookies and sold them in its high school cafeteria as a service project.

In July 1922, The American Girl magazine, published by Girl Scouts of the USA, featured an article by Florence E. Neil, a local director in Chicago, Illinois. Miss Neil provided a cookie recipe that had been given to the council’s 2,000 Girl Scouts. She estimated the approximate cost of ingredients for six- to seven-dozen cookies to be 26 to 36 cents. The cookies, she suggested, could be sold by troops for 25 or 30 cents per dozen.

In 1933, Girl Scouts of Greater Philadelphia Council baked cookies and sold them in the city’s gas and electric company windows. The price was just 23 cents per box of 44 cookies, or six boxes for $1.24! Girls developed their marketing and business skills and raised funds for their local Girl Scout council. A year later, Greater Philadelphia took cookie sales to the next level, becoming the first council to sell commercially baked cookies.

In 1935, the Girl Scout Federation of Greater New York raised money through the sale of commercially baked cookies. Buying its own die in the shape of a trefoil, the group used the words “Girl Scout Cookies” on the box. In 1936, the national Girl Scout organization began the process of licensing the first commercial bakers to produce cookies that would be sold nationwide by girls in Girl Scout councils.

Enthusiasm for Girl Scout Cookies spread nationwide. By 1937, more than 125 Girl Scout councils reported holding cookie sales. In 1951, Girl Scout Cookies came in three varieties: Sandwich, Shortbread, and Chocolate Mints (now known as Thin Mints). By 1966, a number of varieties were available. Among the best sellers were Chocolate Mint (now known as Thin Mints), Shortbread, and Peanut Butter Sandwich cookies. Girl Scout Cookies for sale during the 1970s included Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Sandwich/Do-si-dos®, and Shortbread/Trefoils® cookies, plus four additional choices.

Early in the twenty-first century, every Girl Scout Cookie had a mission. New cookie box designs, introduced in fall of 2000, were bold and bright, capturing the spirit of Girl Scouting. Two licensed bakers produced a maximum of eight varieties, and all cookies were kosher. And, much to the excitement of our youngest Girl Scouts, Daisies started selling cookies!

This passage is adapted from “Girl Scout Cookie History,” GirlScouts.org.

The History of Girl Scout Cookies

For nearly 100 years, Girl Scouts and their enthusiastic supporters have helped ensure the success of the iconic annual cookie sale — and they’ve had fun, developed valuable life skills, and made their communities a better place every step of the way.

Girl Scout Cookies had their earliest beginnings in the kitchens and ovens of our girl members, with moms volunteering as technical advisers. The sale of cookies as a way to finance troop activities began as early as 1917, five years after Juliette Gordon Low started Girl Scouts in the United States, when the Mistletoe Troop in Muskogee, Oklahoma, baked cookies and sold them in its high school cafeteria as a service project.

In July 1922, The American Girl magazine, published by Girl Scouts of the USA, featured an article by Florence E. Neil, a local director in Chicago, Illinois. Miss Neil provided a cookie recipe that had been given to the council’s 2,000 Girl Scouts. She estimated the approximate cost of ingredients for six- to seven-dozen cookies to be 26 to 36 cents. The cookies, she suggested, could be sold by troops for 25 or 30 cents per dozen.

In 1933, Girl Scouts of Greater Philadelphia Council baked cookies and sold them in the city’s gas and electric company windows. The price was just 23 cents per box of 44 cookies, or six boxes for $1.24! Girls developed their marketing and business skills and raised funds for their local Girl Scout council. A year later, Greater Philadelphia took cookie sales to the next level, becoming the first council to sell commercially baked cookies.

In 1935, the Girl Scout Federation of Greater New York raised money through the sale of commercially baked cookies. Buying its own die in the shape of a trefoil, the group used the words “Girl Scout Cookies” on the box. In 1936, the national Girl Scout organization began the process of licensing the first commercial bakers to produce cookies that would be sold nationwide by girls in Girl Scout councils.

Enthusiasm for Girl Scout Cookies spread nationwide. By 1937, more than 125 Girl Scout councils reported holding cookie sales. In 1951, Girl Scout Cookies came in three varieties: Sandwich, Shortbread, and Chocolate Mints (now known as Thin Mints). By 1966, a number of varieties were available. Among the best sellers were Chocolate Mint (now known as Thin Mints), Shortbread, and Peanut Butter Sandwich cookies. Girl Scout Cookies for sale during the 1970s included Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Sandwich/Do-si-dos®, and Shortbread/Trefoils® cookies, plus four additional choices.

Early in the twenty-first century, every Girl Scout Cookie had a mission. New cookie box designs, introduced in fall of 2000, were bold and bright, capturing the spirit of Girl Scouting. Two licensed bakers produced a maximum of eight varieties, and all cookies were kosher. And, much to the excitement of our youngest Girl Scouts, Daisies started selling cookies!

This passage is adapted from “Girl Scout Cookie History,” GirlScouts.org.

The History of Girl Scout Cookies

For nearly 100 years, Girl Scouts and their enthusiastic supporters have helped ensure the success of the iconic annual cookie sale — and they’ve had fun, developed valuable life skills, and made their communities a better place every step of the way.

Girl Scout Cookies had their earliest beginnings in the kitchens and ovens of our girl members, with moms volunteering as technical advisers. The sale of cookies as a way to finance troop activities began as early as 1917, five years after Juliette Gordon Low started Girl Scouts in the United States, when the Mistletoe Troop in Muskogee, Oklahoma, baked cookies and sold them in its high school cafeteria as a service project.

In July 1922, The American Girl magazine, published by Girl Scouts of the USA, featured an article by Florence E. Neil, a local director in Chicago, Illinois. Miss Neil provided a cookie recipe that had been given to the council’s 2,000 Girl Scouts. She estimated the approximate cost of ingredients for six- to seven-dozen cookies to be 26 to 36 cents. The cookies, she suggested, could be sold by troops for 25 or 30 cents per dozen.

In 1933, Girl Scouts of Greater Philadelphia Council baked cookies and sold them in the city’s gas and electric company windows. The price was just 23 cents per box of 44 cookies, or six boxes for $1.24! Girls developed their marketing and business skills and raised funds for their local Girl Scout council. A year later, Greater Philadelphia took cookie sales to the next level, becoming the first council to sell commercially baked cookies.

In 1935, the Girl Scout Federation of Greater New York raised money through the sale of commercially baked cookies. Buying its own die in the shape of a trefoil, the group used the words “Girl Scout Cookies” on the box. In 1936, the national Girl Scout organization began the process of licensing the first commercial bakers to produce cookies that would be sold nationwide by girls in Girl Scout councils.

Enthusiasm for Girl Scout Cookies spread nationwide. By 1937, more than 125 Girl Scout councils reported holding cookie sales. In 1951, Girl Scout Cookies came in three varieties: Sandwich, Shortbread, and Chocolate Mints (now known as Thin Mints). By 1966, a number of varieties were available. Among the best sellers were Chocolate Mint (now known as Thin Mints), Shortbread, and Peanut Butter Sandwich cookies. Girl Scout Cookies for sale during the 1970s included Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Sandwich/Do-si-dos®, and Shortbread/Trefoils® cookies, plus four additional choices.

Early in the twenty-first century, every Girl Scout Cookie had a mission. New cookie box designs, introduced in fall of 2000, were bold and bright, capturing the spirit of Girl Scouting. Two licensed bakers produced a maximum of eight varieties, and all cookies were kosher. And, much to the excitement of our youngest Girl Scouts, Daisies started selling cookies!

This passage is adapted from “Girl Scout Cookie History,” GirlScouts.org.

For nearly 100 years, Girl Scouts and their enthusiastic supporters have helped ensure the success of the iconic annual cookie sale — and they’ve had fun, developed valuable life skills, and made their communities a better place every step of the way.

Camping with the Bears

Sometimes the world can surprise you. What you expect is not always what you get, as the mind is fickle, seduced by fancy. We people are fickle, too, more often than not agreeing blindly with our neighbors. It takes so much more to march an unknown course that none have tread before.

In the summer of 1999, my friend Arika and I set out to camp in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains. The staff were quick to warn us about the bears, and rightfully so because bears could be sighted any given evening in the area. As we drove into the campsite, we saw a handwritten sign warning us about bears again.

We moved at a good speed to establish our camp before nightfall, chatting back and forth. Arika quickly set up the tent under an aspen tree while I cooked an easy meal. After eating, we stuffed the tent full of our sleeping gear, and soon enough settled into silence.

I barely breathed the quiet mountain air. I was listening for bears.

It wasn’t long before I heard a rustling sound, and I held my breath to listen more carefully. A deep growling followed. It was the low guttural noise made only by a large animal. There was silence for a few moments, and then I heard it again.

“Arika,” I said in a panicky whisper. “Wake up! I hear something outside the tent. Do you?” We lay there side by side, and after a few moments, she whispered back that she didn’t hear anything. Arika rolled over on her side, but I stayed lying on my back, legs rigid and arms tense at my sides, ears tuned to the dark world lurking outside.

Sleeping was out of the question. Someone had to be awake to protect us in case of attack, so I volunteered myself. I heard it again, first the rustling sound of a big animal stumbling through fallen leaves, then the low growling that followed. I could see its shadow moving then, dancing lines across the walls of our tent.

“Arika! Wake up right now- I hear it again!"

“Huh? I don’t hear anything.”

“Listen,” I said, but I knew she had just rolled over and gone back to sleep.

The third time I heard the noises, the truth hit me like a clap of thunder. That low, guttural noise was Arika snoring as she slipped into a sound sleep. You’d think that I would have been able to put that together more quickly. But the mind is like a fertile field; plant it with an idea, and that idea will grow to fruition.

Camping with the Bears

Sometimes the world can surprise you. What you expect is not always what you get, as the mind is fickle, seduced by fancy. We people are fickle, too, more often than not agreeing blindly with our neighbors. It takes so much more to march an unknown course that none have tread before.

In the summer of 1999, my friend Arika and I set out to camp in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains. The staff were quick to warn us about the bears, and rightfully so because bears could be sighted any given evening in the area. As we drove into the campsite, we saw a handwritten sign warning us about bears again.

We moved at a good speed to establish our camp before nightfall, chatting back and forth. Arika quickly set up the tent under an aspen tree while I cooked an easy meal. After eating, we stuffed the tent full of our sleeping gear, and soon enough settled into silence.

I barely breathed the quiet mountain air. I was listening for bears.

It wasn’t long before I heard a rustling sound, and I held my breath to listen more carefully. A deep growling followed. It was the low guttural noise made only by a large animal. There was silence for a few moments, and then I heard it again.

“Arika,” I said in a panicky whisper. “Wake up! I hear something outside the tent. Do you?” We lay there side by side, and after a few moments, she whispered back that she didn’t hear anything. Arika rolled over on her side, but I stayed lying on my back, legs rigid and arms tense at my sides, ears tuned to the dark world lurking outside.

Sleeping was out of the question. Someone had to be awake to protect us in case of attack, so I volunteered myself. I heard it again, first the rustling sound of a big animal stumbling through fallen leaves, then the low growling that followed. I could see its shadow moving then, dancing lines across the walls of our tent.

“Arika! Wake up right now- I hear it again!"

“Huh? I don’t hear anything.”

“Listen,” I said, but I knew she had just rolled over and gone back to sleep.

The third time I heard the noises, the truth hit me like a clap of thunder. That low, guttural noise was Arika snoring as she slipped into a sound sleep. You’d think that I would have been able to put that together more quickly. But the mind is like a fertile field; plant it with an idea, and that idea will grow to fruition.

Camping with the Bears

Sometimes the world can surprise you. What you expect is not always what you get, as the mind is fickle, seduced by fancy. We people are fickle, too, more often than not agreeing blindly with our neighbors. It takes so much more to march an unknown course that none have tread before.

In the summer of 1999, my friend Arika and I set out to camp in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains. The staff were quick to warn us about the bears, and rightfully so because bears could be sighted any given evening in the area. As we drove into the campsite, we saw a handwritten sign warning us about bears again.

We moved at a good speed to establish our camp before nightfall, chatting back and forth. Arika quickly set up the tent under an aspen tree while I cooked an easy meal. After eating, we stuffed the tent full of our sleeping gear, and soon enough settled into silence.

I barely breathed the quiet mountain air. I was listening for bears.

It wasn’t long before I heard a rustling sound, and I held my breath to listen more carefully. A deep growling followed. It was the low guttural noise made only by a large animal. There was silence for a few moments, and then I heard it again.

“Arika,” I said in a panicky whisper. “Wake up! I hear something outside the tent. Do you?” We lay there side by side, and after a few moments, she whispered back that she didn’t hear anything. Arika rolled over on her side, but I stayed lying on my back, legs rigid and arms tense at my sides, ears tuned to the dark world lurking outside.

Sleeping was out of the question. Someone had to be awake to protect us in case of attack, so I volunteered myself. I heard it again, first the rustling sound of a big animal stumbling through fallen leaves, then the low growling that followed. I could see its shadow moving then, dancing lines across the walls of our tent.

“Arika! Wake up right now- I hear it again!"

“Huh? I don’t hear anything.”

“Listen,” I said, but I knew she had just rolled over and gone back to sleep.

The third time I heard the noises, the truth hit me like a clap of thunder. That low, guttural noise was Arika snoring as she slipped into a sound sleep. You’d think that I would have been able to put that together more quickly. But the mind is like a fertile field; plant it with an idea, and that idea will grow to fruition.

Camping with the Bears

Sometimes the world can surprise you. What you expect is not always what you get, as the mind is fickle, seduced by fancy. We people are fickle, too, more often than not agreeing blindly with our neighbors. It takes so much more to march an unknown course that none have tread before.

In the summer of 1999, my friend Arika and I set out to camp in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains. The staff were quick to warn us about the bears, and rightfully so because bears could be sighted any given evening in the area. As we drove into the campsite, we saw a handwritten sign warning us about bears again.

We moved at a good speed to establish our camp before nightfall, chatting back and forth. Arika quickly set up the tent under an aspen tree while I cooked an easy meal. After eating, we stuffed the tent full of our sleeping gear, and soon enough settled into silence.

I barely breathed the quiet mountain air. I was listening for bears.

It wasn’t long before I heard a rustling sound, and I held my breath to listen more carefully. A deep growling followed. It was the low guttural noise made only by a large animal. There was silence for a few moments, and then I heard it again.

“Arika,” I said in a panicky whisper. “Wake up! I hear something outside the tent. Do you?” We lay there side by side, and after a few moments, she whispered back that she didn’t hear anything. Arika rolled over on her side, but I stayed lying on my back, legs rigid and arms tense at my sides, ears tuned to the dark world lurking outside.

Sleeping was out of the question. Someone had to be awake to protect us in case of attack, so I volunteered myself. I heard it again, first the rustling sound of a big animal stumbling through fallen leaves, then the low growling that followed. I could see its shadow moving then, dancing lines across the walls of our tent.

“Arika! Wake up right now- I hear it again!"

“Huh? I don’t hear anything.”

“Listen,” I said, but I knew she had just rolled over and gone back to sleep.

The third time I heard the noises, the truth hit me like a clap of thunder. That low, guttural noise was Arika snoring as she slipped into a sound sleep. You’d think that I would have been able to put that together more quickly. But the mind is like a fertile field; plant it with an idea, and that idea will grow to fruition.

We people are fickle, too, more often than not agreeing blindly with our neighbors. It takes so much more to march an unknown course that none have tread before.

Camping with the Bears

Sometimes the world can surprise you. What you expect is not always what you get, as the mind is fickle, seduced by fancy. We people are fickle, too, more often than not agreeing blindly with our neighbors. It takes so much more to march an unknown course that none have tread before.

In the summer of 1999, my friend Arika and I set out to camp in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains. The staff were quick to warn us about the bears, and rightfully so because bears could be sighted any given evening in the area. As we drove into the campsite, we saw a handwritten sign warning us about bears again.

We moved at a good speed to establish our camp before nightfall, chatting back and forth. Arika quickly set up the tent under an aspen tree while I cooked an easy meal. After eating, we stuffed the tent full of our sleeping gear, and soon enough settled into silence.

I barely breathed the quiet mountain air. I was listening for bears.

It wasn’t long before I heard a rustling sound, and I held my breath to listen more carefully. A deep growling followed. It was the low guttural noise made only by a large animal. There was silence for a few moments, and then I heard it again.

“Arika,” I said in a panicky whisper. “Wake up! I hear something outside the tent. Do you?” We lay there side by side, and after a few moments, she whispered back that she didn’t hear anything. Arika rolled over on her side, but I stayed lying on my back, legs rigid and arms tense at my sides, ears tuned to the dark world lurking outside.

Sleeping was out of the question. Someone had to be awake to protect us in case of attack, so I volunteered myself. I heard it again, first the rustling sound of a big animal stumbling through fallen leaves, then the low growling that followed. I could see its shadow moving then, dancing lines across the walls of our tent.

“Arika! Wake up right now- I hear it again!"

“Huh? I don’t hear anything.”

“Listen,” I said, but I knew she had just rolled over and gone back to sleep.

The third time I heard the noises, the truth hit me like a clap of thunder. That low, guttural noise was Arika snoring as she slipped into a sound sleep. You’d think that I would have been able to put that together more quickly. But the mind is like a fertile field; plant it with an idea, and that idea will grow to fruition.

Camping with the Bears

Sometimes the world can surprise you. What you expect is not always what you get, as the mind is fickle, seduced by fancy. We people are fickle, too, more often than not agreeing blindly with our neighbors. It takes so much more to march an unknown course that none have tread before.

In the summer of 1999, my friend Arika and I set out to camp in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains. The staff were quick to warn us about the bears, and rightfully so because bears could be sighted any given evening in the area. As we drove into the campsite, we saw a handwritten sign warning us about bears again.

We moved at a good speed to establish our camp before nightfall, chatting back and forth. Arika quickly set up the tent under an aspen tree while I cooked an easy meal. After eating, we stuffed the tent full of our sleeping gear, and soon enough settled into silence.

I barely breathed the quiet mountain air. I was listening for bears.

It wasn’t long before I heard a rustling sound, and I held my breath to listen more carefully. A deep growling followed. It was the low guttural noise made only by a large animal. There was silence for a few moments, and then I heard it again.

“Arika,” I said in a panicky whisper. “Wake up! I hear something outside the tent. Do you?” We lay there side by side, and after a few moments, she whispered back that she didn’t hear anything. Arika rolled over on her side, but I stayed lying on my back, legs rigid and arms tense at my sides, ears tuned to the dark world lurking outside.

Sleeping was out of the question. Someone had to be awake to protect us in case of attack, so I volunteered myself. I heard it again, first the rustling sound of a big animal stumbling through fallen leaves, then the low growling that followed. I could see its shadow moving then, dancing lines across the walls of our tent.

“Arika! Wake up right now- I hear it again!"

“Huh? I don’t hear anything.”

“Listen,” I said, but I knew she had just rolled over and gone back to sleep.

The third time I heard the noises, the truth hit me like a clap of thunder. That low, guttural noise was Arika snoring as she slipped into a sound sleep. You’d think that I would have been able to put that together more quickly. But the mind is like a fertile field; plant it with an idea, and that idea will grow to fruition.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a women’s rights activist and a leader in the movement that eventually secured American women the right to vote. Her early education, upbringing, and interest in social matters set her on a path of leadership, and she inspired other men and women to take up the cause as well.

Unlike other activists such as Susan B. Anthony, who was clearly focused on the issue of voting rights for women, Elizabeth Cady Stanton wanted to promote the broader issue of women’s rights and address issues such as women’s custody and property rights, employment and income rights, divorce laws, birth control, and abortion. Even though Anthony and Stanton disagreed on the focus of the women’s rights movement, they remained friends and continued working together towards voting rights for women.

Stanton remained focused on her work, writing many important books, documents, and speeches for the women’s rights movement. She also traveled and lectured widely, earning money to pay for her sons to attend college. Stanton promoted voting rights for women in several states, and she made an unsuccessful attempt to secure a U.S. Congressional seat from New York.

As Stanton grew older, she became more active internationally, and in 1888, she worked to found the International Council of Women. In the U.S., it took until 1890 for the divided supporters of the women’s rights movement to eventually reunite as the National American Woman Suffrage Association, and Stanton became the organization’s first president. After spending over five decades working towards equal rights for women, Elizabeth Cady Stanton died in 1902, still some twenty years before women gained the right to vote.

Because of her controversial ideas, Elizabeth Cady Stanton was initially overshadowed by Susan B. Anthony, who was more often recognized as the founder of the women’s rights movement. Over time, however, formal recognition of Stanton’s work has increased. Today, Elizabeth Cady Stanton is rightly acknowledged for taking a founding role in the movement that secured voting rights for women and for shaping the broader movement towards more equal rights for women in society at large.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a women’s rights activist and a leader in the movement that eventually secured American women the right to vote. Her early education, upbringing, and interest in social matters set her on a path of leadership, and she inspired other men and women to take up the cause as well.

Unlike other activists such as Susan B. Anthony, who was clearly focused on the issue of voting rights for women, Elizabeth Cady Stanton wanted to promote the broader issue of women’s rights and address issues such as women’s custody and property rights, employment and income rights, divorce laws, birth control, and abortion. Even though Anthony and Stanton disagreed on the focus of the women’s rights movement, they remained friends and continued working together towards voting rights for women.

Stanton remained focused on her work, writing many important books, documents, and speeches for the women’s rights movement. She also traveled and lectured widely, earning money to pay for her sons to attend college. Stanton promoted voting rights for women in several states, and she made an unsuccessful attempt to secure a U.S. Congressional seat from New York.

As Stanton grew older, she became more active internationally, and in 1888, she worked to found the International Council of Women. In the U.S., it took until 1890 for the divided supporters of the women’s rights movement to eventually reunite as the National American Woman Suffrage Association, and Stanton became the organization’s first president. After spending over five decades working towards equal rights for women, Elizabeth Cady Stanton died in 1902, still some twenty years before women gained the right to vote.

Because of her controversial ideas, Elizabeth Cady Stanton was initially overshadowed by Susan B. Anthony, who was more often recognized as the founder of the women’s rights movement. Over time, however, formal recognition of Stanton’s work has increased. Today, Elizabeth Cady Stanton is rightly acknowledged for taking a founding role in the movement that secured voting rights for women and for shaping the broader movement towards more equal rights for women in society at large.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a women’s rights activist and a leader in the movement that eventually secured American women the right to vote. Her early education, upbringing, and interest in social matters set her on a path of leadership, and she inspired other men and women to take up the cause as well.

Unlike other activists such as Susan B. Anthony, who was clearly focused on the issue of voting rights for women, Elizabeth Cady Stanton wanted to promote the broader issue of women’s rights and address issues such as women’s custody and property rights, employment and income rights, divorce laws, birth control, and abortion. Even though Anthony and Stanton disagreed on the focus of the women’s rights movement, they remained friends and continued working together towards voting rights for women.

Stanton remained focused on her work, writing many important books, documents, and speeches for the women’s rights movement. She also traveled and lectured widely, earning money to pay for her sons to attend college. Stanton promoted voting rights for women in several states, and she made an unsuccessful attempt to secure a U.S. Congressional seat from New York.

As Stanton grew older, she became more active internationally, and in 1888, she worked to found the International Council of Women. In the U.S., it took until 1890 for the divided supporters of the women’s rights movement to eventually reunite as the National American Woman Suffrage Association, and Stanton became the organization’s first president. After spending over five decades working towards equal rights for women, Elizabeth Cady Stanton died in 1902, still some twenty years before women gained the right to vote.

Because of her controversial ideas, Elizabeth Cady Stanton was initially overshadowed by Susan B. Anthony, who was more often recognized as the founder of the women’s rights movement. Over time, however, formal recognition of Stanton’s work has increased. Today, Elizabeth Cady Stanton is rightly acknowledged for taking a founding role in the movement that secured voting rights for women and for shaping the broader movement towards more equal rights for women in society at large.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a women’s rights activist and a leader in the movement that eventually secured American women the right to vote. Her early education, upbringing, and interest in social matters set her on a path of leadership, and she inspired other men and women to take up the cause as well.

Unlike other activists such as Susan B. Anthony, who was clearly focused on the issue of voting rights for women, Elizabeth Cady Stanton wanted to promote the broader issue of women’s rights and address issues such as women’s custody and property rights, employment and income rights, divorce laws, birth control, and abortion. Even though Anthony and Stanton disagreed on the focus of the women’s rights movement, they remained friends and continued working together towards voting rights for women.

Stanton remained focused on her work, writing many important books, documents, and speeches for the women’s rights movement. She also traveled and lectured widely, earning money to pay for her sons to attend college. Stanton promoted voting rights for women in several states, and she made an unsuccessful attempt to secure a U.S. Congressional seat from New York.

As Stanton grew older, she became more active internationally, and in 1888, she worked to found the International Council of Women. In the U.S., it took until 1890 for the divided supporters of the women’s rights movement to eventually reunite as the National American Woman Suffrage Association, and Stanton became the organization’s first president. After spending over five decades working towards equal rights for women, Elizabeth Cady Stanton died in 1902, still some twenty years before women gained the right to vote.

Because of her controversial ideas, Elizabeth Cady Stanton was initially overshadowed by Susan B. Anthony, who was more often recognized as the founder of the women’s rights movement. Over time, however, formal recognition of Stanton’s work has increased. Today, Elizabeth Cady Stanton is rightly acknowledged for taking a founding role in the movement that secured voting rights for women and for shaping the broader movement towards more equal rights for women in society at large.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a women’s rights activist and a leader in the movement that eventually secured American women the right to vote. Her early education, upbringing, and interest in social matters set her on a path of leadership, and she inspired other men and women to take up the cause as well.

Unlike other activists such as Susan B. Anthony, who was clearly focused on the issue of voting rights for women, Elizabeth Cady Stanton wanted to promote the broader issue of women’s rights and address issues such as women’s custody and property rights, employment and income rights, divorce laws, birth control, and abortion. Even though Anthony and Stanton disagreed on the focus of the women’s rights movement, they remained friends and continued working together towards voting rights for women.

Stanton remained focused on her work, writing many important books, documents, and speeches for the women’s rights movement. She also traveled and lectured widely, earning money to pay for her sons to attend college. Stanton promoted voting rights for women in several states, and she made an unsuccessful attempt to secure a U.S. Congressional seat from New York.

As Stanton grew older, she became more active internationally, and in 1888, she worked to found the International Council of Women. In the U.S., it took until 1890 for the divided supporters of the women’s rights movement to eventually reunite as the National American Woman Suffrage Association, and Stanton became the organization’s first president. After spending over five decades working towards equal rights for women, Elizabeth Cady Stanton died in 1902, still some twenty years before women gained the right to vote.

Because of her controversial ideas, Elizabeth Cady Stanton was initially overshadowed by Susan B. Anthony, who was more often recognized as the founder of the women’s rights movement. Over time, however, formal recognition of Stanton’s work has increased. Today, Elizabeth Cady Stanton is rightly acknowledged for taking a founding role in the movement that secured voting rights for women and for shaping the broader movement towards more equal rights for women in society at large.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a women’s rights activist and a leader in the movement that eventually secured American women the right to vote. Her early education, upbringing, and interest in social matters set her on a path of leadership, and she inspired other men and women to take up the cause as well.

Unlike other activists such as Susan B. Anthony, who was clearly focused on the issue of voting rights for women, Elizabeth Cady Stanton wanted to promote the broader issue of women’s rights and address issues such as women’s custody and property rights, employment and income rights, divorce laws, birth control, and abortion. Even though Anthony and Stanton disagreed on the focus of the women’s rights movement, they remained friends and continued working together towards voting rights for women.

Stanton remained focused on her work, writing many important books, documents, and speeches for the women’s rights movement. She also traveled and lectured widely, earning money to pay for her sons to attend college. Stanton promoted voting rights for women in several states, and she made an unsuccessful attempt to secure a U.S. Congressional seat from New York.

As Stanton grew older, she became more active internationally, and in 1888, she worked to found the International Council of Women. In the U.S., it took until 1890 for the divided supporters of the women’s rights movement to eventually reunite as the National American Woman Suffrage Association, and Stanton became the organization’s first president. After spending over five decades working towards equal rights for women, Elizabeth Cady Stanton died in 1902, still some twenty years before women gained the right to vote.

Because of her controversial ideas, Elizabeth Cady Stanton was initially overshadowed by Susan B. Anthony, who was more often recognized as the founder of the women’s rights movement. Over time, however, formal recognition of Stanton’s work has increased. Today, Elizabeth Cady Stanton is rightly acknowledged for taking a founding role in the movement that secured voting rights for women and for shaping the broader movement towards more equal rights for women in society at large.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a women’s rights activist and a leader in the movement that eventually secured American women the right to vote. Her early education, upbringing, and interest in social matters set her on a path of leadership, and she inspired other men and women to take up the cause as well.

Unlike other activists such as Susan B. Anthony, who was clearly focused on the issue of voting rights for women, Elizabeth Cady Stanton wanted to promote the broader issue of women’s rights and address issues such as women’s custody and property rights, employment and income rights, divorce laws, birth control, and abortion. Even though Anthony and Stanton disagreed on the focus of the women’s rights movement, they remained friends and continued working together towards voting rights for women.

Stanton remained focused on her work, writing many important books, documents, and speeches for the women’s rights movement. She also traveled and lectured widely, earning money to pay for her sons to attend college. Stanton promoted voting rights for women in several states, and she made an unsuccessful attempt to secure a U.S. Congressional seat from New York.

As Stanton grew older, she became more active internationally, and in 1888, she worked to found the International Council of Women. In the U.S., it took until 1890 for the divided supporters of the women’s rights movement to eventually reunite as the National American Woman Suffrage Association, and Stanton became the organization’s first president. After spending over five decades working towards equal rights for women, Elizabeth Cady Stanton died in 1902, still some twenty years before women gained the right to vote.

Because of her controversial ideas, Elizabeth Cady Stanton was initially overshadowed by Susan B. Anthony, who was more often recognized as the founder of the women’s rights movement. Over time, however, formal recognition of Stanton’s work has increased. Today, Elizabeth Cady Stanton is rightly acknowledged for taking a founding role in the movement that secured voting rights for women and for shaping the broader movement towards more equal rights for women in society at large.