By now you have probably figured out the whole sustainable lifestyle thing.  You bike to work in your 100% organic clothing (fair trade, of course) and you recycle everything from plastic to cell phones.  But are you still tossing meat into your ninety-nine cent reusable grocery bags?  If so, it might be time to seriously reconsider your diet.

In fact, a study by the National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science concluded that just one measly kilogram of beef is the source of more greenhouse gas pollution than a three hour gas-fueled car ride.  And, switching from a standard American meat-based diet to a vegetarian diet is actually more beneficial to the environment than trading in your SUV for a hybrid.  How?

Check out these major environmental detriments, courtesy of the meat industry.

Animals Who Eat Must Also Excrete

The EPA estimates that, in a single day, just one cow produces the same amount of feces as 20-40 people. Take that, and multiply by 9 million (the estimated number of livestock killed for food each year in the United States alone) and you’ve got yourself a plethora of poop and nowhere to put it.

As a result, excrement leaks into ground water, lakes, and rivers, filling them with pollutants (many of them given to livestock by farmers) such as nitrate, hormones, antibiotics, and ammonia.  These pollutants kill fish by the millions, disrupt natural ecosystems, and not surprisingly, pose a serious health hazard to humans as well.

A Gross Contributor to Global Warming

Poop is not the only toxic waste leaving food animals.  An outrageous 16 percent of methane is emitting annually from “belching, flatulent livestock”.  That’s right.  Burping pigs and farting cows are raising temperatures on earth.

Livestock also emits 18 percent of all greenhouse gases, which is more than that emitted through transport systems.  And 64 percent of ammonia emissions, responsible for acid rain, come from livestock as well.

Animals Aren’t the Only Victims…

Millions of trees are dying, too! It takes an estimated 55 square feet of forest, for growing feed and housing livestock, to make a single quarter-pound burger.  Clear-cutting forests contributes to global warming as well, since trees absorb carbon dioxide, the leading greenhouse gas.

Energy Crisis

During meat transport and production, an unimaginable – and unnecessary – amount of energy is wasted.  According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, it takes 10 times more fossil fuel to produce one calorie of meat protein than it does to produce the same amount of plant protein.

Feed the World

The amount of land we use to both grow animal feed, as well as house billions of livestock, could grow enough food to feed every single human being on the planet.   This means that the estimated 840 million undernourished people in the world remain hungry, while human-bred livestock remain well fed.  It turns out that going veg is not only environmentally responsible – it’s a great karma boost, too!

Want to put an end to meat industry destruction?

• The simplest way you can make a difference is by going veg.  Read tips and facts about getting started.
• If you don’t think you can totally give up meat, start by substituting one or two meals per week with a mock meat option.
• Read more and educate others about an environmentally conscious diet.  Try Jane Goodall’s  Harvest for Hope: A Guide to Mindful Eating,  Frances Moore Lappe’s Diet for a Small Planet, or Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life for starters.

Right now you are probably staring at lead, mercury, cadmium, barium, beryllium, polyvinyl chloride, and brominated flame retardants. No, the toxic waste disposal company didn’t just dump a barrel of chemicals on your desk – these dangerous toxins can be found right inside your precious personal computer.

• Computer screens commonly contain lead, which can cause brain, nervous system, blood, and reproductive problems

• LCD screens and wiring boards, are often made with mercury, with prolonged exposure leading to brain and kidney damage.

• Circuit boards usually contain brominated flame retardants (BFR) which have been linked to learning and memory impairment.

• Inexpensive plastics like polyvinyl chloride (PVC) are manufactured using a vinyl chloride monomer (VCM), a known carcinogen.

With computer sales rising, and technological advancements that leave two or three year old products outdated, more and more electronic waste, or e-waste, is ending up in landfills, where toxins then seep into our land, air, and water. Though many e-waste products could be recycled, most are thrown away without proper care. Sadly, an estimated 50-80 percent of e-waste from the United States is shipped overseas to China and India, where low-income communities are paid to take these toxic chemicals off American hands.

Seeing Green

The current demand for eco-friendly products has left companies pledging to greenify their computers.  Steve Jobs of Apple, formerly criticized for his company’s lack of green efforts, came out with a plan called A Greener Apple, which promises complete elimination of arsenic, PVC, and BFR in their products by the end of 2008. And, VIA Technologies, Inc., based in Taiwan, has started a program aimed at powering their computers with the sun and in 2006, a small Samoan village in the South Pacific became home of the first solar powered cyber community center.

In April 2008 at the Fortune Brainstorm Green Conference, Dell mentioned the release of a desktop computer encased in bamboo – one of the world’s most renewable resources – as an alternative to metal or plastics. Asus even made attempts to create a bamboo laptop, but ended up using less and less bamboo as the product prepared for release.  At any rate, experimenting with bamboo in electronics has harvested promising potential.

With hope for a greener future, check out a few of the current market’s most eco-friendly laptops.

DELL LATITUDE D630 ($783.00)

This five-pound laptop is free from lead, BFR, and PVC, and it meets Energy Star efficiency standards. The Latitude’s parts are not glued together like most PCs, which make them easier to recycle.

But, the Latitude D630 still contains mercury, and the laptop’s parts and packaging are not made from any recycled materials. Dell redeems itself by being the first company to go carbon neutral in 2007, meaning that for all of the C02 they release into the world, they purchase equivalent carbon offsets to break even.

MACBOOK AIR ($1, 799.00)

This super-thin, ultra-light laptop – weighing in at a mere three pounds – is arsenic- and mercury-free, and lead-free, as well, since Apple eliminated the use of these CRT in 2006. And, the MacBook Air is the second laptop to ship out BFR- and PVC-free, preceded by the Sony Vaio in November 2007.

In addition to meeting Energy Star efficiency standards, Apple also made the laptop’s outer case out of easily recyclable aluminum, as well as reduced packaging for the Air by 56 percent.

TOSHIBA PORTEGE R500 ($2,999. 00)

Released in June 2008, the Portégé R500 now under-weighs the MacBook Air as the lightest laptop, coming in at 1.72 pounds. Toshiba also introduces super-long battery power with the Portégé R500, allowing users to work for nearly 8 hours before recharging. How? The computer doesn’t use a hard drive.

Instead it uses a 64 GB solid state hard drive that works just like your USB flash drive. Solid state hard drives eliminate moving parts within the computer, so less energy is wasted during use. This model of the Portégé also features a mercury-free LED backlit display and meets Energy Star standards.

Toshiba itself wins extra points for it’s overall movement toward a greener world, by promoting eco-friendly manufacturing processes at recent green expos and implementing a Toshiba Tree Planting program.

LENOVO THINKPAD X300 ($1,020.00)

In addition to its awesome yet practical touch-screen and swivel-hinge features, the ThinkPad meets Energy Star standards, with a battery life of up to 7 hours unplugged. It sports arsenic-free glass and mercury-free displays, and the ThinkPad‘s packaging is 90 percent recyclable.

Lenovo also encourages purchasing their SolarPowerPAC to charge all X series laptops.

SONY VAIO TZ11 ($2,099.00)

Sony Vaio TZ11 does not contain beryllium or its components, and Greenpeace’s “Searching for Greener Electronics” survey applauded the computer’s “three toxic-free innovations”: PVC-free cables, BFR-free circuit board, and mercury-free LED backlight. However, upon close examination of the Greenpeace PDF report, they conclude that the computer is not entirely PVC- and BFR-free, and does contain these toxic chemicals in other areas.

The Vaio does have an amazing eight to nine hour battery life due to a solid state drive much like the Toshiba Portégé.

CHERRYPAL ($249.00)

It’s not a laptop, but CherryPal’s brand new book-sized desktop is green enough to rival every laptop we know. CherryPal uses just two watts of energy, about as much as a digital clock radio, in comparison to an average desktop that runs on 65 to 114 watts, and laptops that run on 15 to 45 watts. CherryPal is able to run on such little energy because it contains no moving parts, and it is a cloud computer.

Cloud computing means that all your files and applications are stored online and managed by CherryPal. Upon purchase, customers receive 50GB of storage space located in the “cloud” on the Internet. This process reduces energy used by individual operating systems, but still allows for fast browsing online and safe file storage for users.

The down side? Since CherryPal is currently flying solo, you are responsible for providing a monitor, keyboard, and mouse for your new eco-pal, and you miss out on the mobility of a laptop.

The up side? If you already own and prefer a desktop, simply keep your screen and keys, but replace your old, energy-hogging tower with CherryPal, and wha-la! You save money and energy without pitching more e-waste into the world.

Want to contribute to the the green electronics movement?

• Buy only the greenest electronics. Research your eco-friendly options on EPEAT.
• Turn off your computer when you are not using it. If you have to leave it on for a long period of time, change your power management settings to reduce energy waste.
• Recycle your old computers and electronics with companies who promise safe, legal recycling and disposal methods.
• Write to company CEOs asking them to produce more responsible and sustainable e-products.

Corporate centralization of the world’s food and other goods is increasing food miles, emitting more pollutants, and generally wreaking havoc on our good friend, Earth.  Luckily, the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) is here to help.

In short, BALLE is a network that connects local sustainable businesses throughout the world.  Businesses involved share a common desire to reduce energy use and waste, support localized economies, and explore new, green opportunities, including fair-trade, fair-wages, and healthy work environments, for a sustainable economy.

This inspiring idea came from Judy Wicks, an entrepreneur who opened White Dog Café in the first floor of her Philadelphia home in 1983. By researching ways to green her shop, and listening to her customers requests, she re-designed her menu to create what is now one of the most eco-friendly restaurants in the country. White Dog sources all its food from local organic producers, uses wind and solar power, composts to reduce solid waste, and even recycles any leftover fryer grease into biodiesel.

Soon, Judy decided that the world needed more than just her cafe to make a difference. Through the Sustainable Business Alliance of Greater Philadelphia, she met Laury Hammel, another local entrepreneur who shared her drive for economical change. The pair soon found that other networkers wanted to make a larger difference, as well, and in 2001, Judy and Laury combined their passion for sustainability to co-found BALLE.

Now, seven years later, the business alliance consists of 60 local business networks including more than 15,000 entrepreneurs throughout North America.

Be Wise, Glocalize

BALLE’s mission is to help create “a global economy made up of linked local economies, comprised of businesses that are local, green, and fair”.  In other words, they encourage “Thinking Globally, Acting Locally” – and achieving a sustainable global economy as a result of many successful local economies – a recent trend called “glocalization”.

“Its important to remember that BALLE is not just about localization, but also about global fair trade,” says co-founder, Judy Wicks.  “We are building a global consciousness that all places on earth matter, rather than a system where some places are trashed and exploited for the benefit of others.”

Glocalization is a big idea that begins with small consumer changes.  The movement encourages consumers to buy from an outside source only when they cannot find the product locally.  As Judy puts it, “When we exchange culturally unique products, we learn about each other and appreciate differences.  It makes a lot more sense then shipping products like meat and potatoes around the world that are usually available at home.”

Why Buy Local?

The reasons are endless.  Most importantly, less travel means less pollution, congestion, and habitat loss, and a more sustainable world.

But localization not only benefits the environment – it also benefits you.  Any money you spend locally will be recycled within your living economy to other area businesses and organizations, helping them thrive.   Small businesses also supply you with fair, quality products, and usually provide the most sincere customer service as a result of their investment in the community.  In addition, hometown businesses offer tons of safe, fair-wage jobs for local residents.

Getting Involved

Becoming a BALLE member grants you and your business access to a heap of exciting networks and events, including a three day annual BALLE conference where businesses come together to speak, listen, and exchange ideas.

Still, the easiest way to get involved is by adopting the BALLE mentality – think, act and buy locally, and all areas of the world will benefit.

“Ultimately, I believe our movement will make people happier,” Judy says. “There is a craving for community, for connection with each other and with nature. I see a joyful future in the community life the localization movement is building.” Kudos, Judy.  So do I.

Want to become a member of BALLE and the localization movement?

• First, check to see if your business is eligible to join.
• Then, search the list of networks to find a compatible group in your local area.
  
• If you can’t find a network in your area, expand your entrepreneurial skills and set up a new network for your local economy.

If you are not a small business owner…

• Stay informed by signing up to receive BALLE’s online newsletter and e-mail updates.
• Check out your local networks to see if they have solo sign-ups, local events, or volunteer opportunities.

Eric Ma and Hau Ling “Helen” Chang’s article, ‘NAKED BODIES’: Experimenting with intimate relations among migrant works in South China, provides an excellent and important example of social, physical, and mental shifts in ideology and behavior when migration from a comfortable, traditional lifestyle to a modern, advancing environment occurs.  Though Ma and Cheng do not suggest many new theories, the article is relevant and informative, offering a very specific example of female Chinese migration that can be applied as an analogy to many other migratory situations across the globe.

In general, the article is a case study, or as Ma and Cheng describe it, an “ethnographic study”, on the lives of migrant female factory workers who move from rural China to a newly industrialized South China. These females, usually around ages eighteen to twenty when they leave, have grown up in a tightly knit farm community with traditional values and ultimate family influence.  Higher wages in the South force them to become factory workers, where they consequently experience a culture shock on a number of levels.  As Ma and Cheng put it,

“This Chinese compressed modernity features multiple sociocultural layers juxtaposed with each other.  In spatial terms, factory zones are layered with agricultural communities.  In cultural terms, traditional practices are mixed with consumer lifestyles.  In social terms, the working class comes into close contact with the increasingly affluent middle class, creating an astonishing social inequality” (204).

And here begins the migrant workers’ struggle.  On top of these divides, they must also deal with conflicting sexual identities and choices as they leave behind their families’ influence and dive into a new world of sexual freedom.  The workers feel “naked” between all solid and safe identities presented to them by their old and new environments.  What makes the situation of the migrant workers even more unique, however, is the fact that they must return to their home in rural China when they reach their early thirties.

This means that each worker knows and accepts the idea that shifting from a rural to an urban lifestyle is only a temporary internal migration, and this, in turn, creates more conflict.  In this way, Ma and Cheng’s “naked” metaphor applies to the women’s lack of protection from the social forces they encounter, both from their northern home and their new southern residence.  Additionally, these women struggle between what is learned, the traditional values from their family at home, and what is natural human desire, or individual sexuality that surfaces with their new sexual freedom in South China.

Migrant Bodies

In the article, Ma and Cheng hit on some very important sources of conflict in behavior within the migrant workers, but it seems to me that some considerations are left out.  First, though, it is necessary to explore main points that Ma and Cheng have analyzed.  They began with body image struggles.  As ideas about body image have been implanted within the females from their hometown, it is not surprising that when the freedom to display themselves in non-traditional ways presents itself, a conflict arises.  The women struggle to present themselves physically in a way that agrees with home values, but that also accommodates to their new factory lifestyle.  For example, girls who might dress in a baggy t-shirt for work may put on a tight or revealing dress in order to go to the dance clubs at night.

Ma and Cheng make reference to Goffman’s quote, here, in which he states, “The body is not only a receptor and manifestation of social meaning, but also a generator of meaning itself” (205).  We see that in the ways that female workers not only follow the new “dress code” for going out, but also encourage others, by means of body and word, to present themselves in similar ways.  At one point, the article discusses the young women’s critique of Helen Chang’s attire, saying that she looked too much like a boy with her short hair and baggy clothes.  Clearly, this form of almost rebellion dress would not be allowed, praised, or encouraged in the women’s rural home.

Forbidden Words

Ma and Cheng also explore the new language that these workers acquire during their time in the urban factories.  In this section of article, a dormitory type lifestyle is described, which provides the workers a library full of new and formerly forbidden resources to read.  Among these are romance novels and urban magazines, both forms of media teaching the workers a more modern way of life.  From this, though, Ma and Cheng find that text messaging extremely sexist comments from male to female workers has become a trend.  Language like, “Sexy women are braindead, and they all become loose chicks,” and “wife stays home; your lover stays in your bed; send salary home; share bonus with your lover; when sick, go home; when you feel great, go to your lover” (207) is shared among the workers, and females are not appalled but rather excited about these promiscuous language exchanges.  Their new sexual identity prevents them from realizing the oppression within these words.

This, to me, seems problematic, in that these ideas may seem temporary and appear to only exist in the realm of the factory, but we must remember that the girls will eventually go home, and will undoubtedly take some of their new values back with them.  While free choice may seem like the new, liberating alternative to their previously traditional marriage plan, the women become scared when they remember the oppressive sexual and relationship values at home.

Matchmaking

Ma and Cheng move on to discuss marriage, where we learn that most rural Chinese marriages are actually set up, or arranged by a “matchmaker”.  On page 210, a young woman tells Helen about the process, claiming that,

“Usually you meet the man recommended by the matchmaker on the fourth day of New Year.  Then you get engaged on the seventh day.  Then you go back to work in the factory.  Then, by the end of that year, you come home and get married.”

In the factory, though, traditional values are uprooted, and women and men date and carry out sentimental and sexual relationships without the commitment to marriage.  Many even carry out these relationships while they are engaged to a man back home.  Even though sexual and relationship freedom exists in the factory setting, Ma and Cheng suggest that the women are still prone to revert back to their traditional values most of the time.  This brings us back to the naked metaphor, in that the new sexual freedom in the factories is scary and unacceptable in traditional minds.  Most women eventually fall back on the safety of traditional matchmaker marriages because they will gain support from their family, as well as the feeling that there are “clothed”, or set for life, with their matched mate.

Strength in Distance

What is interesting, though, is the courage that the women find in their distance from home.  One worker stated that it was easy to disagree or stand up to her parents while she was at the factory because she could simply hang up the phone.  This appears to be an example of conflicted ideology; the girls might think they want a safe, traditional life purely because they have no choice at home and it is easier, when in actuality, they may not agree with their family’s traditions.  Only with the power of distance, though, can they stand up for themselves and still feel a certain degree of safety.  They fear their family’s control in close proximity, but they also fear the “nakedness” or lack of protection and support in a world of free relationship choice.

Overall, the article speaks about female migrant workers and their situation within the rural to urban migration, but what is left out of this article somewhat is an explanation as to why there are so many more females than males.  Ma and Cheng mention that it is difficult for the women to find a lover in the factory setting because the population of women so highly outnumbers the men, and some of the women even took out ads in the paper to find a boyfriend.  Ma and Cheng never quite explain the overpopulation of women in these factory jobs, but it seems to play a large role in the developing issues and identities of these female workers.  Would the situation be different if male workers existed more readily inside the factory environment?

Ma and Cheng also leave any discussion of homosexual relations out of the article, which seems like a very relevant area to discuss.  I assume, as a reader, that these Chinese migrant workers who come from traditional rural backgrounds come from an ideology that homosexuality is mainly taboo.  How, then, could Ma and Cheng not experience any form of homosexual or bisexual experimentation within the urban factory setting?  Upon further research, I concluded that this study and article were approved by the Chinese government, which may explain the omission of this seemingly important aspect of gender and sexual identity formation.  However, minimal discussion about the issue would have been beneficial in understanding migrant conflicts.

Close to Home

Though it seems distant, these migrant workers are not all that different than American college students.  In many ways, the journey to college for an eighteen year old provides them with exposure to new ideas in an environment away from the control and direct support from their families.  While college students do not necessarily go back to their hometown after gradation, they do feel the pressure from their family to follow a traditional path – graduating and then attending graduate school or finding a solid career.  For some, their family values may be similar to the Chinese workers, and upon entering college they may find that they disagree with the morals and traditions practiced by their families.  This leaves them “naked” as well, trapped between the conflicted sides of their identity. They want both the protection, safety, and support of their home, as well as the freedom to liberate themselves in the college environment and explore new and exciting possibilities.

While Ma and Cheng’s article lacks some crucial points, it can be highly useful when universally applied.  We are all migrants and we all experience conflicting social, sexual, and mental identities throughout our course of life.  This study on female Chinese migrant workers is simply a specific example of an important and progressing global issue.

During, Simon. The Cultural Studies Reader. New York: Routledge, 2007.

Like every other Wednesday, students began lining up far before 4:30 p.m. outside of Peabody-Snyder Residence Dining Hall.  It was Fat Don’s Wednesday, also known as their one and only chance to eat some decent food with their meal plan credits.   However, today was different.  The line stretched from the dining hall entrance, through the Snyder lobby, and out onto a nearby street, and it seemed to be growing by the second.

Anxious students fiddled back and forth in line, for sometimes over an hour, as the smell of summer barbecue floated up their noses and overwhelmed their taste buds.  As they moved forward in line, the grassy area between Peabody and Snyder came into view, and so did the food.  Hungry students in line soon began to realize that they had many more food lines to tackle before they could fill their growling tummies.
Three men, dressed in strange, colorful outfits, and also called “The Pink Flamingos” played their tropical rendition of Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl” as students tapped along to the beat from their picnic tables in front of the stage.

Colorful rings of soft plastic hung around nearly every neck at the cookout, because every Fat Don’s attendee had been “lei’d” by the woman who scanned their I-card.  No, this was not a normal Fat Don’s Wednesday.  This was Fat Don’s done Hawaiian style.

Every Wednesday night, during regular dinner hours, the Peabody-Snyder Dining Hall plays host to Fat Don’s, a popular specialty restaurant best known for its carnivorous menus and freshly grilled taste.  Fat Don’s outstanding reputation is a result of its scrumptious meal alternative to everyday dorm food.  Wednesday, April 27, was the final Fat Don’s serving of the Spring 2005 season, and the Fat Don’s crew added a special twist to their weekly festivities.   The Fat Don’s grand finale, annually deemed as the “Big Kahuna” cookout, is a Hawaiian themed feast that draws in record breaking crowds each year.  The Big Kahuna is a fantastic gathering of University students, all anxious to devour a real meal, and catch a glimpse into the summer atmosphere that they have been longing for all semester.

“I just love it because I really feel like I am on vacation in Hawaii,” said sophomore International Studies major, Sara Hislop, as she placed a steak on her crowded paper plate.

Rib-eye steak was a popular meat choice, along with chicken breasts, brats and barbeque pork.
“I just came for the pulled pork,” said freshman Computer Science major, Matt Geske, who waited in the food line for 20 minutes in order to snag some of his precious meat.  Geske also waited in the original line outside of Fat Don’s for around 50 minutes before he even caught a peek of his favorite food.

“I would probably wait even longer if I had to,” he said.  “Fat Don’s is delicious food, and a great environment to hang out with your friends in.  It’s definitely worth the wait.”

Geske knew exactly what to expect while he devoted nearly an hour of his day to standing outside Peabody Hall.  Other first time visitors at Fat Don’s were less prepared.

“There’s a whole pig on the table over there!” said freshman Anthropology major, Brittany Piper, as she scooped pasta salad on to a large portion of her plate.

Guests were warned on the Big Kahuna event flyers that a “whole pig” would be included at the cookout.  The pig, lying among decorative green leaves, with a huge portion of its body absent and already distributed to hungry students, was complete with a red apple locked between its pointy teeth. Despite the warning, some consumers were still shocked.

“I had to come to this line because I couldn’t walk past that thing,” said Piper, who is a partial vegetarian.
Unlike Field of Greens, a specialty restaurant on campus that serves strictly vegetarian foods, Fat Don’s provides options for both meat lovers and vegetarians.  Pasta salad and fruit salad, along with corn on the cob and potatoes, are only some of the non-meat selections.  Fat Don’s also offers a mouth-watering dessert line, including a cotton candy machine, which is an exclusive feature during the Big Kahuna cookout.

“Last year, I came late, and I didn’t get any cotton candy,” Hislop said, as she made her way towards the huge and growing cotton candy line,  “So this year, I’m going there before I finish my main course.”  Even attempts to beat the crowd to a certain line failed, as lines never seemed to die down.  These constant mobs of students placed a high demand on the chefs preparing the food.

Jeff, a chef for the Peabody-Snyder Dining Room, as well as Fat Don’s, claimed that preparation for the Big Kahuna began many weeks in advance.

“This is a lot of meat to handle,” Jeff said, while manually flipping over about 30 chicken breasts on his massive outdoor grill.  Jeff’s grill was one of five similar grills, each one covered with chicken breasts.

“I don’t mind all the work,” he said,  “And as long as I can cook for them, I’m happy.  It’s a great thing for the students to be able to come out here, and just enjoy the mood of it all.”

Students agreed that the mood of Fat Don’s Big Kahuna was one of the main reasons they attended.

“I just like all the fun colored leis, and the whole summer party feel,” said Piper.  “It’s a great break from school work, and it reminds me that summer is coming.”

With only two weeks left of classes and exams, some students are even using their Big Kahuna experience as motivation to study.

“I love the smell of cooking outside on the grill,” said Geske.  “I’m not going to wash my clothes when I get back to my room.  And then whenever I am feeling lazy, I’m going to go smell them, so they’ll remind that I only have to work hard for one more week.  Summer is right around the corner.”

As students began clearing out, having stuffed themselves with seconds, thirds, and even fourths, they dreaded the schoolwork that waited for them on their desks at home.  But their stomachs were full, and their clothes were drenched in the smell of cookout.  Fat Don’s Big Kahuna had left its mark, and students were at ease, knowing that summer was near.