How to Create a Suicide Safety Plan

How to Create a Suicide Safety Plan Depression Suicide Print How to Create a Suicide Safety Plan By Nancy Schimelpfening Nancy Schimelpfening, MS is the administrator for the non-profit depression support group Depression Sanctuary. Nancy has a lifetime of experience with depression, experiencing firsthand how devastating this illness can be. Learn about our editorial policy Nancy Schimelpfening Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Daniel B. Block, MD on January 28, 2020 twitter linkedin Daniel B. Block, MD, is an award-winning, board-certified psychiatrist who operates a private practice in Pennsylvania. Learn about our Medical Review Board Daniel B. Block, MD Updated on February 04, 2020 Mayur Kakade / Moment / Getty Images More in Depression Suicide Causes Symptoms Diagnosis Treatment Types Childhood Depression Information presented in this article may be triggering to some people. If you are having suicidal thoughts, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 for support and assistance from a trained counselor. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911. A suicide safety plan is a written set of instructions that you create for yourself as a contingency plan should you begin to experience thoughts about harming yourself. It will contain a series of gradually escalating steps that you will follow, proceeding from one step to the next, until you are safe. If you have depression, whether it has been diagnosed by a healthcare provider or not, there is a very real risk that at some point in the course of the illness you may experience thoughts of suicide. While the emotional pain that has triggered these thoughts may feel overwhelming, it does not mean that you will lose control or act on your thoughts. In fact, having a suicide safety plan in place is one method you can use to cope with your bad feelings until circumstances change. Tips for Creating a Suicide Safety Plan You should work together with someone you trustâ€"such as your best friend, a close family member, or your doctor or therapistâ€"to develop your suicide safety plan. It is best to get these people involved  since you will most likely need to call on them if you decide to execute your plan. Try to create the plan while you are feeling well and can think clearly, rather than waiting until you are actively suicidal. Put your suicide safety plan in writing and keep it in a place where you can easily find it should the need arise. Information to Include in a Suicide Safety Plan Your suicide safety plan should include several steps and be written in the order presented below. An example of each step is provided to help you think about what that step means for you. When the Plan Should Be Used The first step in creating your suicide safety plan is to familiarize yourself with the types of situations, images, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that might precede or accompany suicidal urges for you. List these warning signs so that you can refer back to them when deciding whether to activate your plan. Its also helpful to familiarize yourself with some of the risk factors for suicide in order to recognize these warning signs if present. A warning sign could be that you tend to isolate yourself and not take good care of your health when you get depressed. How to Calm/Comfort Yourself Create a list of activities that can be soothing to you when youre upset. If you cant think of any examples off-hand, you may wish to brainstorm and try some mind-body methods that have helped others such as breathing exercises or body scan meditation. Or take a look at ?different ways to reduce stress to see if any methods might be helpful for you. A few self-soothing ideas to consider: taking a hot bath, listening to music, or exercising. Your Reasons for Living Create a list of your reasons for living. When you are feeling suicidal, it is very easy to get caught up in the pain you are feeling and forget the positives in your life. Your list will help you refocus your attention on the reasons to keep going until your suicidal thoughts and feelings pass. Some people with or without depression find that keeping a gratitude journal is helpful. If you find yourself feeling suicidal, looking at what you have written may help you focus on the positives in your life until the feelings pass. Consider writing about blessings like your family, friends, dog, health, or faith. Who You Can Talk To Keep a list of contacts you can talk to if you are unable to distract yourself with self-help measures. List names, phone numbers, or other contact information and be sure to have backups in case your first or second choices are unavailable. Your list of trusted contacts may include your significant other, friends, relatives, or your religious leader. Who You Can Turn to for Professional Assistance Create a list of all professional resources available to you, along with their phone numbers, email addresses, and other pertinent contact information. This is also a good place to keep a number for a crisis hotline such as the  National Suicide Prevention Lifeline  at 800-273-TALK (800-273-8255). Members of your professional health care team can include your psychiatrist and your therapist as well as a crisis hotline. If you havent yet seen a mental health professional, take a moment to learn about the different types of therapists who care for people with depression and make an appointment today. Depression Discussion Guide Get our printable guide to help you ask the right questions at your next doctors appointment. Download PDF How to Make Your Environment Safe Plan what steps you can take to make yourself safe. This may involve removing or securing any items that you are likely to use to hurt yourself, or going to another location until the urges have passed. It may also involve getting another person involved to help you. If you feel like hurting yourself, you might plan to go to a public place like a mall, restaurant, or library to distract yourself. Or if you are feeling suicidal, you might ask someone to keep your gun at their house. What Can You Do If You Are Still Not Feeling Safe? If all other steps have failed to keep you feeling safe, go to your nearest hospital emergency room and ask for assistance. Keep the name, address, and directions to the hospital listed in your plan for easy access or save it in your GPS. If you do not feel that you can get to the hospital safely on your own, call 911 or the emergency contact number appropriate for where you live and ask for transport to the hospital. What to Do If a Friend Is Suicidal Many people with depression have friends who are coping with similar challenges. This could be a friend you have met in a depression support group, or simply a friend or family member you have known for a long time. After all, depression is common. After you have completed your own safety plan, encourage others who are coping with depression to create a plan for themselves. How to Help a Friend Who Is Feeling Suicidal How to Use Your Suicide Safety Plan If you begin to experience any of the warning signs of suicide listed in your suicide safety plan, proceed through the steps you have previously outlined for yourself, one by one, until you are feeling safe again. An exception would be if you are feeling out of control and are strongly thinking of suicide. In that case, it is best to call either a trusted friend who can be with you immediately or 911. While you will likely have your suicide safety plan in your home, there are now smartphone safety plan apps that you can take with you anywhere. These apps may be of particular benefit for younger people and those in regions where suicide support options are lacking. At the current time, however, we lack information on how helpful these apps are and some apps have been found to have potentially dangerous content. Plans such as Safety-Net appear to be more comprehensive, but its important to talk to your mental health professional as to whether they recommend one of these apps, and if so, which one they feel is best for you. Tips for Coping With Depression and Suicidal Thoughts

Dr. Roberta Bondar Biography

Doctor Roberta Bondar is a neurologist and a researcher of the nervous system. For More than a  decade she was NASAs head of space medicine. She was one of the six original Canadian astronauts selected in 1983. In 1992 Roberta Bondar became the first Canadian woman and the second Canadian astronaut to go into space. She spent eight days in space. After her return from space, Roberta Bondar left the Canadian Space Agency and continued her research. She also developed a new career as a nature photographer. While Chancellor of Trent University from 2003 to 2009, Roberta Bondar demonstrated her commitment to environmental science and life-long learning and was an inspiration to students, alumni, and scientists. She has received over 22 honorary degrees.   Roberta Bondar as a Child As a child, Roberta Bondar was interested in science. She enjoyed animal and science fairs. She even built a lab in her basement with her father. She enjoyed doing scientific experiments there. Her love of science would be evident throughout her life. Roberta Bondar Space Mission Payload Specialist on Space Mission S-42  - Space Shuttle Discovery - January 22-30, 1992 Birth December 4, 1945 in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario Education BSc in Zoology and Agriculture - University of GuelphMSc in Experimental Pathology - University of Western OntarioPhD in Neurobiology - University of TorontoMD - McMaster UniversityInternship in Internal Medicine - Toronto General HospitalPost-graduate medical training at the University of Western Ontario, at Tufts New England Medical Center in Boston and at the Playfair Neuroscience Unit of Toronto Western Hospital Facts About Roberta Bondar, Astronaut Roberta Bondar was one of the first six Canadians astronauts selected in 1983.She began astronaut training at NASA in February 1984.Roberta Bondar became chairperson of the Canadian Life Sciences Subcommittee for the Space Station in 1985.She also served as a member of the Premiers Council on Science and Technology.In 1992 Roberta Bondar flew as a payload specialist on the space shuttle Discovery. During the space mission, she conducted a complex set of microgravity experiments.Roberta Bondar left the Canadian Space Agency in September 1992.For the next 10 years, Roberta Bondar led a research team at NASA studying information from dozens of space missions to analyze the bodys mechanisms for recovering from exposure to space. Roberta Bondar, Photographer, and Author Dr. Roberta Bondar has taken her experience as a scientist, doctor, and astronaut and applied it to landscape and nature photography, sometimes in the most extreme physical locations on earth. Her photographs are displayed in many collections and she has also published four books: Landscape of DreamsPassionate Vision: Discovering Canadas National ParksThe Arid Edge of EarthTouching the Earth

Example of the Life of an Immigrant Based on the Book by Esmeralda Santiago Free Essay Example, 1500 words

Add to this the strain between Negi`s parents - her hardworking mother and her errant father, who, despite loving his children, nevertheless had affairs with other women, which in the end instigated Negi`s parents to separate. But before that happens, the often distressing relationships between her mother and father are depicted by Santiago with pain but without judgement, in a way as a child would indeed perceive relations between parents. All these circumstances of Santiago`s childhood, forced into our imagination with the help of the author`s descriptive literary talent, introduces us to the conditions of her life - poverty, conflicts between her parents, and the position of Santiago as the eldest child to help her mother with the rest of children, which, in combination with the expectations that parents laid upon Negi, was inflicting her nascent self-image. Again, due to the impressive level of immersion into the account enabled by the author masterful language, we almost emotio nally relive events that greatly impress Negi along with her, as for example is the case with the bicycle accident in which the youngest brother of Negi hurts his foot. We will write a custom essay sample on Example of the Life of an Immigrant Based on the Book by Esmeralda Santiago or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now In addition to this, the Spanish culture of Puerto Rican society was also exerting a great influence on Santiago. For example, this concerns different roles of men and women in Puerto Rico, where it was normal that if men work hard they may have time for rest, while women are rarely given such a time for recreation even after a much harder toil. As the result of this, women often develop a disrespect and hostility towards men, which surely influenced the worldview of Negi. On the other hand, striving to understand the notion of love Negi gets engulfed in romantic novels that offer a contrasting image of love relationships. The concept of digital, which along with some other Spanish terms Santiago finds difficult if not impossible to properly translate into English, represents another dominant element of the social code of Puerto Rican society that, ironically, often only contributes to the oppression of women.

Earth Structures Free Essays

Lesson Goal: Recognize how bedrock responds to tectonic forces originating deep within Earth. 1. Compare and contrast stress and strain. We will write a custom essay sample on Earth Structures or any similar topic only for you Order Now In material science, strain is express by deformation caused through the action of stress on a physical body. It is calculated by a change in two body states; beginning and final states. The difference in two states expresses the (numerical) value of strain. Strain is equal to a change in size and shape of a physical body. Strain can be categorized in to two types; homogenous and non-homogenous. Homogenous strain is referred if the strain is equal the entire portion of the body while non-homogenous strain; the strain is equal to a portion of a body. Stress is equivalent to force per unit area. It is calculated by the intensity of internal forces performing within a body across imaginary internal surfaces. This results to externally applied and body forces. Stress is related to force while strain is related to deformation. In stress-associated properties, all materials have temperature dependent differences. Static fluids support the hydrostatic pressure; it will flow under shear stress. Moving viscous fluids supports the dynamic pressure (Samaniego â€Å"Stress, strain and fault patterns†). 2. Distinguish between joints and faults. What makes a fault active? In geology, joint is a fracture in a rock mass, which has no offset. It refers to non-lateral movement of one side relative to the other while a fault refers to a fracture in rock mass where one side slides laterally past to the other. The structure of a joint forms a solid and hard rock that stretches past its elastic modules. In any case, the rock fractures in a plane perpendicular to the extensional stress is paralled with compressive stress. Joints naturally exist when erosion removes overlying rocks. This reduces the compressive load and allowing the rock to expand laterally. In addition, cooling of hot rock masses and cooling joints forms joint (Joint 2007). There are three major classifications of faults. These include normal, reverse and strike slip faults. The (tectonic) stresses due to plate motions were developed over time and breaks in the crust of the Earth. The rocks at uneven periods break up. This results to earthquakes. Normal faulting originated at the divergent boundaries while reverse faulting originated at convergent boundaries. Normal faulting is associated with crustal extension while reverse faulting is associated with crustal shortening. Lastly, strike-slip faulting originated at transformed boundaries (Reches â€Å"Faulting of rocks in three-dimensional strain fields II. Theoretical analysis†). 3. Explain what each type of unconformity implies about the sequence of geologic events. Four types of unconformity include; disconformity, nonconformity, angular unconformity and paraconformity. Disconformity refers to an unconformity between parallel layers of sedimentary rocks representing a period of erosion. Nonconformity exists between sedimentary rocks and igneous rocks. The sedimentary rock lies above and deposited on the pre-existing and eroded igneous rock. Unconformity refers to a break in the continuity of sedimentary rocks caused by erosion. Paraconformity appears when the beds above and below are parallel; no erosion-al surface is present. In any case, the unconformity results to a separation and/or deposition of two rock masses causing the sequence of geologic events (Unconformity 2007). Works Cited â€Å"Joint. † 2007. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. , Columbia University Press. 9 December 2007 http://www. infoplease. com/ce6/sci/A0826522. html. Reches, Z. â€Å"Faulting of rocks in three-dimensional strain fields II. Theoretical analysis. † 31 March 2003. Technophysics. 9 December 2007 http://www. sciencedirect. com/science? _ob=ArticleURL_udi=B6V72-48894N0-2S_user=10_origUdi=B6V9D-3X2HYRH-S_fmt=high_coverDate=05%2F20%2F1983_rdoc=1_orig=article_acct=C000050221_version=1_urlVersion=0_userid=10md5=ca2e0b329475a6f5a70a37b5eda89e86. Samaniego, A. â€Å"Stress, strain and fault patterns. † 30 July 1999. Journal of Structural Geology. 9 December 2007 http://www. sciencedirect. com/science? _ob=ArticleURL_udi=B6V9D-3X2HYRH-S_user=10_rdoc=1_fmt=_orig=search_sort=dview=c_acct=C000050221_version=1_urlVersion=0_userid=10md5=715c8aab57dd7baa2d89a90c55869bbd. â€Å"Unconformity. † Sci-Tech Encyclopedia. 9 December 2007 http://www. answers. com/topic/unconformity? cat=technology. How to cite Earth Structures, Papers

The Political Reasons free essay sample

The political and economic reasons behind the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade Like most historical arguments, there is much controversy about the reasons for the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade and the subsequent progressive abolition of the slave system itself in the New World . Some have argued that in Britain, it was the power of the moral/Christian arguments presented by the abolitionist movement, led by the great parliamentarian, William Wildflower.Others have pointed to the international impact of the French Revolution, or emphasize the growing crescendo of slave rebellion in he New World colonies, or inter-imperialist competition between the European powers, or to changing economic conditions in the development of capitalism . In support to this background, this paper discusses the political and economic reasons behind the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade. We will write a custom essay sample on The Political Reasons or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In the first place, the paper discusses the political reasons behind the abolition of the slave trade and then lastly the economic reasons behind the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade.To begin with, it is worth noting to note that, politically, critical events such as he Haiti and the slave revolts inspired by the French and American Revolutions played a very substantial role in the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade . With regards to this, it is of absolute importance to note that the vital changes that brought the transatlantic trade to an end occurred not in Europe, but in the colonies where the slaves were put to work in the plantation system .Although the abolitionist movements in Britain, the ASSAI, France and elsewhere were important, they played a secondary or auxiliary role to the struggles of the black slaves themselves . Thus, Political and social hanged inspired by the American and French Revolutions, stimulated both slave revolts and abolition movements alike, wh ich often became inextricably linked with independence movements .The 1791 slave rising in Saint- Dominion (Haiti), which transformed into a struggle for self-determination and national independence, was two years after Revolution in France and the first successful slave revolution . In response, the French revolutionary government was inspired to abolish slavery in 1794, though this was restored under Napoleon in 1802 . The final victory of Waits Black Jacobin over British invasion and then Napoleons attempt to re-take the island in 1803 led in 1804 to recognition of Waits independence.In 1816 Simon Bolivar was inspired and materially aided by the revolutionaries in Haiti, in the invasion of mainland South America that eventually defeated the Spanish Empire . The army included many black troops. Very closely related to this, in British Jamaica, the continuing resistance of the Maroons (warrior communities of escaped slaves) was a constant thorn in the side of the colonial government and the planters, despite the compromise ready that resulted from the Maroon wars led by the woman liberation fighter, Nanny of the Maroons, fifty years earlier .Also it was the revolt of 20,000 slaves in Jamaica in 1831 , and its horrific repression, which influenced the passing of the 1833 bill abolishing slavery itself in all British colonies which only finally took effect in 1 838 after EYE million in compensation, was paid to the planters for their loss of property (EYE billion in todays money) . In the second place, it is of paramount importance to note that, the abolition of the Atlantic Slave trade was a political movement with a social base that as mainly plebeian who saw slavery as a threat to their own liberties . If the motives of the slaves themselves for resistance and revolution are clear, the motives for the abolition movement in Britain are less so . First, it was not just a moral crusade by a few upper class leaders but a political movement with a social base that was mainly plebeian who saw slavery as a threat to their own liberties . The movement was a broad alliance of artisans, small farmers and other petit-bourgeois layers, together with exploited workers, many of whom sympathized with the egalitarian and democratic ideals of the FrenchRevolution and in a few cases socialism, but whose leaderships were often drawn from the articulate professional classes and the gentry, like Wildflower one of the abolitionist himself, and his allies in parliament. It was this broad, multi-class mass movement, far more than a single issue campaign, which included many of the 10-15,000 black people living in London at the end of the eighteenth century which also led to the abolition of the Atlantic S lave trade .Having looked into the political reasons for the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade let us look into the economic reasons. In the first place it is of absolute importance to note that the economic shifts from dirty slavery business into imperialism and Industrial revolution also led to the abolition of Atlantic slave trade . That is, underlying both political and social movements, systemic developments in the growing world capitalist economy were taking place; in the vanguard was British imperialism and its industrial revolution . The New World plantation system was a highly developed form of the slave mode of production that, unlike ancient slavery, was integrated into and increasingly driven by a growing capitalist world market . The profits from New World leaver had significantly contributed to the primitive accumulation of capital that enabled the industrial revolution, especially in Britain . However, by the end of the 18th century, the profitability of plantation slavery was in decline and so was the slave system as a whole .However, it was certainly in decline relative to the overall development Of British capitalism . It had played a crucial role during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in the process of accumulation of capital, but became increasingly secondary and eventually marginal to later development . There were now more profitable outlets in industry and commerce for investments than in the dirty slave business . At its high point towards the end of the eighteenth century the Atlantic tr iangular trade supplied about one third of all European imports and could make up to 200 percent profit on investments . In Britain a copper and brass industry was created along the Avon valley to supply Bristol with quality metal goods to be traded for slaves in Africa . Similarly the iron industries of the Severe valley did the same. Wealth poured into ports such as Bristol, London, Liverpool and Glasgow, which provided more capital for investments and reedit to kick-start the industrial revolution . By 1770 Britains colonial markets absorbed 38% of her exports.But it was during the last quarter of the eighteenth century that industrial take-off occurred leading to a gradual relative decline in the importance of the slave colonies . It was the existing dynamism of emergent British capitalism based on wage labor that enabled Britain to become the dominant slaving nation . By the end of the eighteenth century there Were fifty factories in Manchester alone employing hundreds even thousands of workers. Rapid industrialization required new larger arrest and drew in more and more capital investment, pushing the Atlantic trade system into relative decline.British capitalism had outgrown the triangular trade . Another economic reason behind the abolishment of the Atlantic slave trade was Imperial competition . Although Britain had been the premier slaving nation, slavery now appeared to benefit Britains competitors more than Britain itself. Prior to revolution in Haiti, this one large island colony had provided France with two thirds of its foreign earnings. In particular, Napoleonic France needed the profits from slavery more than industrialism Britain did .The abolitionists, whose ideology corresponded to the interests of egalitarian and democratic artisan and proletarian classes in alliance with Christian fundamentalists, had started with the support of only nine MSP . But, political instability in the colonies, changing economic priorities and now war with France, led a once marginal anti-slavery lobby to gradually gain ground within sections of the ruling class and their representatives in parliament, which now turned to support measures against the slave trade .In May 1 806 parliament passed an act, supported by the abolition movement, Nanning British subjects from participating in the slave trade with France and its allies . The pro-slavery lobby was outnumbered because the bill was presented as a patriotic war measure directed against French interests . It was a major blow to the slave trade and laid the ground for the 1 807 act of abolition . The Royal Navys subsequent campaigns against the international slave trade were presented as a moral crusade by Britain, but was much more a form of economic war against its less economically developed competitors .Lastly, the decline and fall of the colonial slave mode of production was also he other e conomic reason behind the abolition of the Anatolia Slave trade . That is, although in 1820 the plantations were still profitable, by then the policing of the seaways by the British navy was taking its toll . Profits and investment were in relative decline . Historically all large-scale slave systems require a constant replenishment of cheap stolen labor power for an adequate realization of surplus value.However, if these conditions fail, at a certain point the costly reproduction of labor -slave breeding that had previously been discouraged, except in North America, becomes a rational economic choice. Thus, growing shortages of labor, which could not be adds tautly solved by smuggling slaves, forced the plantation owners to institute a labor regime of hutted slaves, who were now encouraged to raise a family, often maintained by small plots of land, and who could work together as a family on the masters plantation.It was only in North America where the internal reproduction of slave labor proved viable in the long term. This was the system that came to predominate during the nineteenth century. It was different in important respects to the far more profitable and ritual all male slave g ang system (who lived in guarded barracks), which had predominated during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in the Caribbean . In eighteenth century Barbados four out of ten slaves died in three years due to brutality and overwork.This inhuman system, with parallels in the Roman registrars at the time of Asparagus, is marked by great gender inequality, with mostly segregated female slaves representing less than a quarter of the slave population, who were employed in the great house as servants, or in market gardening, processing, etc . Although inhuman, cruel and highly exploitative, the hutted slave is only a Step away from a dependent tenant, or a system of peonage. The successful encouragement of family life required better conditions creating greater self- respect, social solidarity, and a better relationship of forces in relation to the master class .Slave resistance could no longer be contained. Slavery perished because it became politically untenable, perishing in stormy class struggles in the colonies and the metropolis In conclusion, the Atlantic slave trade perished because it became politically N D also economically untenable as the paper has explained because of the slave revolts inspired by the French and American Revolutions which stimulated abolitionists movements in Britain, France, USA and elsewhere.Apart from this, the Atlantic slave trade also perished because it was a political movement with a social base that was mainly plebeian who saw slavery as a threat to their own liberties. Further to this, the Atlantic slave trade also perished because of economic shifts from dirty slavery business to imperialism and industrial revolution and also because of imperial intention and the fall of colonial slave mode of production.

Romeo Must Die Critiscism essays

Romeo Must Die Critiscism essays Action-packed, witty, sophisticated, interesting, riveting- these are just a few of the words that can be used to describe Romeo Must Die, a gripping film directed by mastermind Andrzej Bartkowiak. This superb film features an all-star line of actors, including the beautiful Aaliyah Haughton, the talented Jet Li, DMX, Anthony Anderson, Delroy Lindo, Russell Wong, Isaiah Washington, Edoardo Ballerini and Henry O. Aaliyah plays the part of Trish, the daughter of Isaak ODay (Lindo). Jet Li is Han Sing, the eldest son of Chu Sing (Henry O). DMX is a club owner, named Silk. Anthony Anderson plays the part of one of Isaak ODays business partners, as well as Trishs bodyguard. Isaiah Washington plays Mac, another business partner of ODay. Russell Wong plays the role of Kai, a business partner of Chu Sing. Edoardo Ballerini plays Vincent Roth, a cunning businessman with no ties to either of the family, with the exception of a mutual interest in money. Set in the year 2000, the majority of this film occurs at the Oakland- San Francisco waterfront, an area that contains properties that are of extreme value. A small part takes place in Hong Kong. The setting of the waterfront is greatly important to the film, as the main conflict concerns its properties. The main characters in this movie are Trish ODay, Han Sing, Kai, Chu Sing, Mac, Vincent Roth and Isaak ODay. Isaak ODay and Chu Sing are the heads of two feuding families, and are also major players in a business deal concerning waterfront properties, which are to be turned into a major moneymaking stadium. The ODays are African- American, and the Sings are Chinese. Issak ODay, though he appears tough, seems to be soft at heart, especially when it concerns his daughter Trish. Delroy Lindo does an excellent job of showing both sides of Mr. ODays character. You can tell just by loo...

A Look at the Valley and Ridge

A Look at the Valley and Ridge Viewed from above, the Valley and Ridge physiographic province is one of the most defining features of the Appalachian Mountains; its alternating, narrow ridges and valleys almost resemble a corduroy pattern. The province is situated west of the Blue Ridge Mountain province and east of the Appalachian Plateau. Like the rest of the Appalachian Highlands Region, the Valley and Ridge moves from southwest to northeast (from Alabama to New York).   The Great Valley, which makes up the eastern portion of the Valley and Ridge, is known by more than 10 different regional names over its 1,200-mile path. It has hosted settlements on its fertile soils and served as a north-south travel route for a very long time.  The western half of the Valley and Ridge is comprised of the Cumberland Mountains to the south and Allegheny Mountains to the north; the boundary between the two is located in West Virginia. Many mountain ridges in the province rise upwards of 4,000 feet. Geologic Background Geologically, the Valley and Ridge is very different than the Blue Ridge Mountain province, even though the neighboring provinces were shaped during many of the same mountain building episodes and both rise to above-average elevations. The Valley and Ridge rocks are almost entirely sedimentary and were initially deposited during the Paleozoic era. During this time, an ocean covered much of eastern North America.  You can find many marine fossils in the province as evidence, including brachiopods, crinoids and trilobites. This ocean, along with the erosion of bordering landmasses, generated large amounts of sedimentary rock.   The ocean eventually came to a close in the Alleghanian orogeny, as the North American and African protocontinents came together to form Pangea. As the continents collided, the sediment and rock stuck between them had nowhere to go. It was put under stress from the approaching landmass and folded into great anticlines and synclines. These layers were then thrust up to 200 miles westward.   Since mountain building ceased around 200 million years ago, the rocks have eroded to form the present-day landscape. Harder, more erosion-resistant sedimentary rocks like sandstone and conglomerate cap the tops of ridges, while softer rocks like limestone, dolomite and shale have eroded into valleys.  The folds decrease in deformation moving west until they die out underneath the Appalachian Plateau.   Places to See Natural Chimney Park, Virginia - These towering rock structures, reaching heights of 120 feet, are the result of karst topography. Hard columns of limestone rock were deposited during the Cambrian and withstood the test of time as the surrounding rock eroded away.   Folds and faults of Georgia - Dramatic anticlines and synclines can be seen within roadcuts throughout the entire Valley and Ridge, and Georgia is no exception. Check out Taylor Ridge, Rockmart slate folds and the Rising Fawn thrust fault.   Spruce Knob, West Virginia - At 4,863 feet, Spruce Knob is the highest point in West Virginia, the Allegheny Mountains and the entire Valley and Ridge province.   Cumberland Gap, Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky - Often referenced in folk and blues music, the Cumberland Gap is a natural pass through the Cumberland Mountains. Daniel Boone first marked this trail in 1775, and it served as the gateway to the West into the 20th century.   Horseshoe Curve, Pennsylvania - Although more of a historical or cultural landmark, Horseshoe Curve is a great example of geologys influence on civilization and transportation. The imposing Allegheny Mountains long stood as a barrier to efficient travel across the state. This engineering marvel was completed in 1854 and reduced the Philadelphia-to-Pittsburgh travel time from 4 days to 15 hours.