EPISODE XII - THE PARACHUTE BABY (It is Tuesday morning day 5; Mr. Leousis is once again replacing the gym teacher but not for gym. Today, the class was supposed to have CPR. He addresses the students :) "Normally, you people bug me to tell you a story but today, I am excited because the story I am about to tell you, fits in with this course of CPR. I do not think a teacher could devise a better strategy to teach the importance of this subject than to speak about an actual personal life experience. There are three such short stories I wish to share with you. So here we go: I was teaching at Bancroft Elementary school in Montreal when the importance of training teachers and administrators in CPR was beginning to take hold. It was the time of watching films on reels, there were no CD's or NetFlicks, so you can imagine how long ago that would be; I would say almost thirty-two years ago. At one such staff professional day, we were going to watch a film on procedures of CPR, to get a general understanding; after that, we would be trained using a manikin. In this lengthy 45 min. film, we observed such techniques as Chest compression, clearing airways, mouth-to-mouth technique and so many others. By the end of the film, my head was spinning from overload. I ended my school day and headed for home; it was an hour-long drive to the suburbs. I longed to get home and be with my young children, Yllet and Eiffe: Yllet was almost a toddler of two and newborn Eiffe was only weeks old. I would normally attend to my son, Yllet and read to him a children's story while my wife would nurse Eiffe, just before we turned in for the night. I had gone to bed, waiting for my wife to arrive when her normal lullaby songs she would sing the baby stopped; this was not the way it was normally done: She would place the baby in her crib and continue the lullaby until she reached our bedroom, so that the baby would continue hearing the maternal sounds, yet now she went silent!Seconds later, she appears at the door, gasping for air, calling out to me, "Louis, the baby isn't breathing"! I immediately jumped up, went into the baby's room and sure enough, the baby had gone silent. I picked her tiny body up and moved towards the bathroom sink where I tried desperately to think of what I must do; what had I seen in the film that I could use.
Sure enough, in the CPR film, there was a five-minute scene of someone holding a doll, fully rested on their left arm and using their right hand to try to dislodge whatever was stuck in the baby's mouth or throat. I tried doing this but to no avail; the baby's pink color was getting blue, and my panic was hitting the roof of my throbbing pulse! I called out to my wife to run and get the neighbor to care for our toddler while I tried mouth to mouth and whatever else came to my mind to try to save our baby. There was no time to call for an ambulance. We got into our car, a standard, VW, Rabbit model car. My wife could not drive a standard car so now, I had to manage all. Press the clutch, change gears while holding the baby in one hand, blowing into her mouth and doing much praying: "Please ancients save my baby!" For a moment, I felt this calm as if the entire world around me was moving at incredibly slow, slow; I mean, "slow motion" (Mr. Leousis emphasis). In the haze of sight and illusion, I could see a mother bearing her infant child in a nursing position, the infant content, Mono Lisa elusive smile, staring right at me. She spoke: " Δεν υπάρχει δημιουργία χωρίς θυσία και τον πόνο. Κάθε φορά που η Γη φέρει βουνά υπάρχει ένα δάκρυ, κάθε φορά που μια μητέρα φέρει ένα παιδί υπάρχει πόνος. Μπορείτε δεν μπορεί να βλάψει ένα παιδί με σωματικό πόνο, αν είναι η αγάπη μετριέται και ζωογόνος - χτυπήσει το βρέφος τώρα!"
(There is no creation without sacrifice and pain. Each time the Earth bears mountains there is a tear, each time a mother bears a child there is pain. You cannot hurt a child with physical pain, if it is love measured and life-giving, strike the infant now!) I could not believe what I was being told to do, how could I strike my infant, I hesitated. The hospital was at least 15 min away, the baby was not breathing, anger and tears filled my eyes and I cried out, please forgive me! We arrived at the hospital gates, I got out holding my limp infant in my hand, there was no time. I gave her a crushing blow in the back, so hard that if she were not suffocated already from whatever was choking her, certainly I would have killed her from my powerful blow! As I saw this monstrous horror in my mind's eye, at the same time I heard the most precious cry, which I will never forget… Our baby burst into a nagging, "wonderfully piercing cry," she was saved! We rushed to the emergency, placed her on a bed where the attending physician just pinched her baby fat and said, "She will be o.k." I dropped to my knees as if I had carried the world of Atlas. I now knew that I should have followed through, and listened to the words of the Elysium.Till this very day, I always say, "Take Eiffe, put her on a plane and parachute her down, anywhere in the world. She will survive", she is "The Parachute Baby":
My "CPR," experience does not end there. Years later, at a Pizza Hut, in Waterdown, Ontario,while having lunch with my younger son, we heard some commotion around the bend of the restaurant. A mother's crying call for an ambulance, a father desperately trying to revive this six-year-old boy, the child was choking! I rushed over and asked the parents for permission to intervene; there were no vital signs. I maneuvered my finger right down the child's throat searching and hoping to reach whatever was blocking his esophagus, without success. I thought of the Elysium's advice of persistent, loving pain, and I pressed deeper. I persisted and noticed that he was still alive when I pressed deeper into his throat and noticed that he was gagging. He popped out a finger-sized piece of bread. He was saved! I am no hero, but I always remember the skills of CRP and the wisdom of "The Light". Sometimes, we have to cause pain in order to save lives, as long as, "it is love measured and life-giving." We must take the risk at our peril if we are wrong; the only way to take ownership of your decisions and live up to your responsibilities towards others. If I have not convinced you of the vital importance of learning CPR through my story, please accept the gift below, I hope it will someday help you save a life and make you a hero. Oh, by the way, at the introduction, I mentioned that there are three stories I wish to relate to you; the next one will follow next time we have a class together... wait for the adventure! By Elias Leousis, (Η αγάπη είναι το μελάνι, η σοφία είναι το μήνυμα.) Love is the ink wisdom is the message! 
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EPISODE XVI - NEEDS, WANTS, AND DEMANDS
Restless young minds are again at my door of consciousness, asking for more advice on a multitude of issues to which I am honored to respond. I can categorize your questions into three main groups, needs, wants, and demands; so let us attempt each one in its turn.
Needs:
Being part of the living world, the "corporal" world, the animal world; be we a tiger cub, a monkey or human, we have basic needs that we cannot do without. It is instinctive for our survival that these "needs" be secured long before we are able to provide for ourselves.
Those who give us birth, our parents, are themselves bound to these laws of survival because they too are part of this psychology.
In other words, healthy parents will not deny you, food, water, sleep etc.. As important is your ability, your right, for you to express yourself through your sexuality. Here is where we get into a touchy subject. Many teens get all excited because somewhere along the way, this subject is made taboo, dirty and something best be kept in the darkness. In fact, it is one of the most vital needs of youth and our very existence as a species depends on it.
Your sexuality is part of who you are and who you express yourself to be; it is part of your name. I will not deal with the "mechanics" of this subject. By now, your curiosity and the Internet has educated you enough to know more than I can attempt to describe here. What I am interested is to help you get over the "psychological guilt," that might be placed on you at this early stage. Your curiosity sometimes puts you in embarrassing situations, shame, and guilt, which it should not.
A boy wrote to me that he was caught viewing, "inappropriate" content, on the Internet. He was made to feel very guilty about it; this should not be so. Your curious minds are asking questions; questions that your guardians, your parents, teachers, wise men/women, should be ready to help you explore. In most cases, it is no one's fault; it is just that there is no certainty when it is the "appropriate time." That is why there must be trust, love, and forgiveness. However, you must also realise what a powerful human entity you have become; nature has now bestowed upon you, the power to reproduce another human being. That is a great responsibility; one that you must not take likely.
Up to this point, you have been fed, cared for, and nurtured, by someone else. Your parents or guardians have assumed, and dedicated, a large part of their lives in your care. The question you should be asking is whether you are ready to equal that care, if not be ready to give more?
Look at the chart below, it is a good guide for you to follow. See what steps you need to go through in your growth to “self-actualize". That is, to be fully aware of your identity and name, in order to be ready to take on the responsibility and care of another human being.
These are the steps that you will "naturally" go through, but you must be patient. The fact that you have grown your wings, does not mean you can fly. That is why you need to listen and be patient and seek those around you, the adults, to show you the way. Remember, it is in adult's best interest, their very "existence" depends on it, that you succeed in life.
Wants:
To desire to have something or someone is part instinctive like your "needs"; also something to strive for and reach one's goals. This desire is a healthy attitude to have. Most young people find themselves getting into trouble when they "demand" to have their "wants", without having contributed anything towards their attainment. They confuse their "needs", (which have been met up until now by others, by their parents or guardians), with something that is desired but not vital; something that must be earned.
It is like taking part in a class project; something that you are all familiar with, where you are expected to contribute your fair share of the work. In fact, as you well know, those that contribute more than their fair share, are always sought after by other students. Those that do not pull their weight are usually, isolated, and dismissed from play. That is why my young friends, take advantage of this period in your lives. Be responsible contributors, in work, laughter, and joy. By doing so, you will attain many rewards because "wants" are "the currency" of many. If you give as much of this currency as you demand, you will be rewarded multiple times in return.
Demands:
Demands come about when there is some "misunderstanding" between one's "needs" and "wants." It is not a comfortable place to be because there is a perception that some injustice exists. You see, young friends, you have every right to demand basic human survival "needs", be met by those who gave you life. Issues usually come about, when you demand that someone meet your "wants" as well. For example, you have every right to demand food, shelter, love and care from your parents but you cannot "demand" things, just because "everyone else" has; if you know what I mean. In fact, you should realise a "secret"; most parents want to meet your "demands", but they should know better, not to give in to these temptations. If they do, you will lose out in life and, they will be irresponsible parents: A formula that will harm you, in the long run. It is much easier for a parent to give in to your demands, than for them to take the responsible course and deny your immediate gratification of things that might cause you harm. Helios, the sun God, did just that with his son, Phaethon.
"Phaethon, challenged by his playmates, sought assurance from his mother; that his father was the Sun God. She gave him the requested assurance and told him to turn to his father for confirmation. He asked his father for some proof that would demonstrate his relationship with the "Sun God." When the God promised to grant him whatever he wanted, he insisted on being allowed to drive the sun chariot for a day. Placed in charge of the chariot, he was unable to control the horses. The earth was in danger of being burnt up and, to prevent this disaster; Zeus killed him with a thunderbolt.[6]
I can relate to you many tragedies that have taken place. Numerous parents have given in and allowed their children "their chariots" for a joyride, only to witness the loss of their children or worst of all, children maimed for life. The other side of this "anomaly", is having parents, who themselves are fearful of letting go. Parents who refuse to take the responsibility to "push out of the nest," their young so that they can take flight.
I have often witnessed bird's nests, where the mother will push the young chick out of the nest, in order for the young bird to take flight. It is the most difficult decision a loving parent will make. On your side of the equation, when you make "demands" of your parents, the question you should ask, are you ready to take on such a responsibility of someone else's life? Remember, once you jump out of the nest, there is no coming back. Once you express your sexuality and give birth to another human being, there is no sending it back - returns and refunds do not apply in real life!
I hope I have not been too, “patronising” my young friends. I have said much and not told you a story; watch the following video of few words but strong meaning: “The Push”.
By Elias Leousis,
(Η αγάπη είναι το μελάνι, η σοφία είναι το μήνυμα.)
Love is the ink; wisdom is the message!
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