My father was in the family business, to which he gave a modern shape. He converted the small grocery shop into a mini-department store. He sold quality goods to his customers and charged reasonable rates. Occasionally he took me to the shop and I observed how he dealt with the customers. Most of them became his intimate friends, because they appreciated his honesty and upright dealings.

As far as my teacher is concerned, discipline and punctuality were his watchwords. He recognized my literary talents and provided encouragement and suggestions to improve my writing. When my first book was published, he wrote to me, “I am proud of my boy.” His advice to his students was: “Have the will to grow, and grow you will!”. He greatly helped me foster my personal development.

Finally, my spiritual guide was benign and kind. He initiated me in to the path of spirituality and taught me to cultivate positive approach to life. He often said: “Spirituality is not an after-retirement project. That which is not practical is not spiritual either. One must cultivate right type of values when one is young”.

I salute the above individuals who have influenced my life. They have been the guiding stars for the improvement of the standard of my life. I owe them debts that I will never be able to repay.

We see women as trendsetters, as decision makers, as political activists, and as role models.

On the other hand, some TV shows and even movies picture women as a mere tool, a man’s “pleasure vehicle”, saying that if you are not strong enough as a professional, as a personality, if you are not married or coupled with somebody powerful and famous, you may have to make compromises to get where you want. Sometimes, the message they are sending, especially to the young girls trying to figure out what they want to do in life, is that: hey, if you want to get rich and famous, here is what you should do, “sell” yourself! In my view, this is also supported, by the “Barbie-like look” of women who starve themselves to fit the standards, to “please” the world. In the Eastern European countries, unfortunately, the image of the woman having to obey “the almighty man” who can make her life a heaven or a living hell still persists.

Anyway, things have changed and we see women in top business positions, in managing boards, in politics, making decisions and making a difference. But is that enough to make her feel like a woman, in the most “human” sense possible, considering that we live in a society where almost everything is about perception and image?

The question does not have a simple answer. A day-care center can provide a setting for the child that allows social interaction and intellectual stimulation. Being with others of their own age group provides the opportunity to learn valuable lessons in sharing, communication and empathy for others. Being in a setting that encourages creativity, growth and curiosity allows them to explore new directions in thinking and expression. Being in a social setting outside of direct parental control gives them exposure to working within a group and proper behavior in the greater world.

However, a day-care center can also provide a setting that encourages bullying, neglect or other negative situations that can be harmful to a child’s physical or emotional well-being. Being subjected to an unsupervised environment where the largest or most aggressive children can run roughshod over the more introverted children can provide terrible lessons to children at both ends of the dynamic. The aggressive children learn that they get what they want by force and the meek children learn that their wants and needs are always to be deferred to those of the aggressive ones.

The answer, then, lies in the quality of day care provided and by the philosophy of the Center itself as regards how the children will occupy themselves during the day and how much supervision the Providers put forth. Every parent is encouraged to check on the quality of service that their chosen day care center provides to insure that children are being given the sort of care that they give when the child is in the home.

Plants seem to have a calming and soothing effect on people. Having a few plants in one’s office or home can help provide a garden- or forest-like ambiance. The green light reflected by most plants seems to be a pleasant sensation of the eyes. Vegetation also absorbs noise year round, and even provides a small amount of warmth (infrared energy) on cold winter days.

Plants filter the air. They can absorb carbon dioxide, volatile organic vapors, hydrocarbon fumes, and so on. Many health experts assert that putting plants indoors in offices and homes can help reduce the amount of indoor air pollutants and thereby also reduce the incidence of various respiratory conditions such as colds and allergies. Of course, not all plants are pleasant to have around. Some plants have parts, saps, or scents that can cause allergic reactions. Others can also grow very quickly and spread very rapidly, and then become very difficult to root out. Common sense and a little bit of knowledge are useful for avoiding these unpleasant plants.

Finally, plants provide the experience and the pleasure of seeing a living thing grow and develop. Many people who have planted and cared for a fruit-bearing tree or a flower-bearing plant would readily confirm their joy in seeing the first fruit or flower bud come out.

Plants are – and very likely will always be – useful for us humans; and their quiet and natural beauty can only add to their importance.

Sheldon is a fascinating character with an overtly intellectual demeanor; he strictly adheres to routine, has a vague understanding of sarcasm, irony and humor in general, he admires his superior intelligence, and generally lacks humility. Sheldon has a very high IQ and has a tendency to over-explain everything, often to the point of irking his audience. Sheldon has several peculiar habits which include sitting in the same spot of the sofa at all times, and forcefully knocking on the door three times while calling out the name of the person he expects to be in the room, and repeating the process until the door is opened. Sheldon also says “Bazinga!” after pulling a practical joke on his friends.

Intellectually, Sheldon is far ahead of his three friends, but he is utterly confused when it comes to ordinary social issues. It takes him a number of episodes of the first season to begin appreciating humor, and empathy is seen to elude him too. Nonetheless, in his own bizarre way, Sheldon proves to be a very loyal friend, especially, strangely enough, to Penny, who seems unable to decide whether she finds him annoying or appealing. Sheldon has been described by many as the breakout character in the Big Bang Theory.