Thursday, December 26, 2019

Inventions That Have Changed the Way We Live Today Free Essay Example, 1500 words

The field of communication has made revolutionary strides powered by electricity, which operates our computers, telephones, and mobile networks. Keeping in touch with relatives, friends, and associates was never this easy. Faster communication has led to a burgeoning of trade and commerce between nations, so that maximum number of people is able to reap the maximum benefits of modernization. The era of 24X7 entertainment has been made possible due to John Baird s invention of the television, which again is powered by electricity. Accessing news, watching movies, taking part in game shows, listening to songs have all been made possible due to the miracle of electric power. What was once the preserve of luxury of the rich and affluent, or city dwellers has now become a necessity that is both affordable and available to greater numbers of the population. The same applies to the field of education also, for anyone who wishes to study has only to navigate the World Wide Web, and info rmation on everything under the sun, is there at the click of a mouse, which works on the invention of Nikola Tesla, the man who pioneered the generation and transmission of alternating current. Its impact on rural life has been so dramatic, that most farm owners could actually relax after finishing work in their fields much faster, than before the advent of electricity. It powered labor-saving appliances in the farmhouse and machines in the barns powered water pumps for irrigation and cisterns for running water at kitchen sinks and indoor bathrooms. (Reinhardt, Ganzel, 2003). Even the humble home lawn is being mowed and kept tidy with the help of the electric mower. Apart from the utility that it provides, electricity has made safe daily life. In the absence of electricity, people depended on candles and gas lamps to illuminate the evenings, which did result in accidental fires. The light bulb has dispelled the darkness without any threat to life and property. The humble Chr istmas light has replaced the candles put up on trees and its safety aspects cannot be doubted. We will write a custom essay sample on Inventions That Have Changed the Way We Live Today or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Salvation Essay - 617 Words

Salvation Living in a country where we are entitled to freedom of religion, many of us have grown to have our own beliefs and ways of viewing religion on a whole. There are others who have been pressured by family or friends to believe in God and him alone. Sometimes with the pressure of others, we can begin to believe in something that we truly do not feel is right. In the essay â€Å"Salvation† by Langston Hughes, the main character faces a struggle of wanting to be saved by God. Does he want to be saved for his sake? Or has his salvation been influenced and forced upon by family members? Our main character and narrator in â€Å"Salvation† goes by the name of Langston. Langston attends church with his aunt and desires salvation from Jesus†¦show more content†¦Another idea that came about after reading this essay was peer pressure. How strong is peer pressure? In this essay we see that Langston may have not gotten up and went to the altar if it wasn’t f or his fellow peer Westley. Westley, who he knows did not see the light nor feel something happen to him inside, marched up to the altar after realizing him and Langston were the only two children left awaiting salvation. The pressure Langston felt of being the only child on the bench, also made him get up and pretend to be saved and see Jesus. Langston’s act in church backfired when he got home and realized what he had done. He lied to his aunt and the people of the church, he cried and regretted what he had done earlier. In a way this could be the beginning of his salvation where he has acknowledged his wrong doings and wants to be someone better. Peer pressure runs throughout all different fields in life. We see here in this essay that even your religion can be forced on by another person. Its makes us question if we really have this so-called freedom of religion because you are sometimes looked down upon if you don’t believe in Christ. Langston had his whole life a head of him to choose what direction he wanted to go in, we must learn to live for ourselves and not otherShow MoreRelatedThe Friday Sermon On Salvation1473 Words   |  6 PagesMontreal Wednesday sermon on salvation was delivered by pastor Jefferson taken from the scripture John 3:14-16. Salvation is a fundamental subject in Christian belief. It is in fact the truth that founded Christianity. However, many Christians do not know or correctly understand the true significance of salvation. As a result, most Christians like the ones in Quebec refuse to know the word of God and openly show hatred towards God and Christian religion. Why do they hate Christianity? Because theyRead MoreThe Doctrine Of Salvation : Analysis2089 Words   |  9 PagesThe Doctrine of Salvation INTRODUCTION Is it possible to understand the gospel message, serve as an officer in a church, be sure of your salvation, and yet still not get into heaven when you die? Matthew, one of the original twelve disciples, answered this question clearly. Yes, on â€Å"that day†, many will stand before God and hear Him say, â€Å"I know you not; depart from me.† (Matthew 7:23 KJV) The assumption is all professing Christians want salvation. Salvation is obtained when you confessRead MoreSalvation Can Not Be Forced876 Words   |  4 PagesSalvation Cannot Be Forced â€Å"Salvation† is a short story found in the Norton Reader, and was written by Langston Hughes. It is a story about a twelve year old boy who is being pressured to receive Jesus, and salvation, by his aunt and the pastor of the church. In the beginning of the story his aunt describes salvation to him as being able to see and feel Jesus with you. Unfortunately Langston takes this description literally and has trouble with being saved. I think that this essay shows a good exampleRead MoreThe Doctrine of Salvation Essay2005 Words   |  9 Pagespossible to understand the gospel message, serve as an officer in a church, be sure of your salvation, and yet still not get into heaven when you die? Matthew, one of the original twelve disciples, answered this question clearly. Yes, on â€Å"that day†, many will stand before God and hear Him say, â€Å"I know you not; depart from me.† (Matthew 7:23 KJV) The assumption is all professing Christians want salvation. Salvation is obtained when you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that God sentRead MoreFull View of Salvation Essay834 Words   |  4 Pagespossible to understand the gospel message, serve as an officer in a church, be sure of your salvation, and yet still not get into heaven when you die? Matthew, one of the original twelve disciples, answered this question clearly. Yes, on â€Å"that day†, many will stand before God and hear Him say, â€Å"I know you not; depart from me.† (Matthew 7:23 KJV) The assumption is all professing Christians want salvation. One cannot be saved unless one confesses with their mouth and believes in their heart thatRead MoreSalvation : God s Children1391 Words   |  6 PagesSalvation Article As God’s children, we tend to ask ourselves the following questions throughout our whole lives: â€Å"What is salvation and why is salvation important?† Our answers usually tend to lean toward the notion that salvation is eternal happiness that we all want to achieve at the end of our lives in order to live happily ever after. The basic definition of salvation is the act or state of being saved or protected from harm or evil. In Christianity, the basic definition of salvation is statedRead MoreSoteriology - the Doctrine of Salvation and Discipleship2759 Words   |  12 PagesSoteriology - The Doctrine of Salvation and Discipleship Sirs, what must I do to be saved? No question is more important or more debated than this one presented by the Philippian jailer in Acts 16:30. The answer to this important question is found in the basic aspects of the faith. This is why the doctrine of salvation is so important. No doctrine of the faith is more fundamental than this doctrine. The essence of the gospel message is that God has achieved eternal salvation for all who will receiveRead MoreProphecy And Salvation From Book Essay2651 Words   |  11 PagesPROPHECY AND SALVATION FROM BOOK Salvation does not depend on being right about every doctrine. The Webster dictionary defines doctrine as a belief or set of beliefs held and taught by a church, political party, or other group. It is absolutely true that the bible is not for individual interpretation, but the word of God. Yet it is also true, that with so many denominations, unfortunately, some pick and choose what they want to believe, and also create their own rules for the denomination, mostRead MoreSalvation Army2139 Words   |  9 Pages1. Background and mission of The Salvation Army: The Singapore’s Salvation Army, a Christian non-profit organization, was established during 1935. It was first founded by William Booth; a London minister in 1865 and later spread itself around the world. Salvation Army main motive is to help the mankind without racism. Its mission is â€Å"to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination† with a slogan of â€Å"Heart to god, hand to men†. Red ShieldRead MoreUnderstanding Of Sin And Grace On The Basis Of Salvation1394 Words   |  6 Pagesof sin and grace on the basis of salvation; it will be talking about Genesis 3, where everything began. It will build the understanding of sin inside the garden which impacted the creatures and set it apart from the creator by comparing the doctrines of human nature, sin and grace by Augustine and Pelagius. It will then attempt to clarify how the Gospel addresses the understanding of sin inside this relationship and the demonstration of God as an act of salvation. As I expressed everything began

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Changing Organizational Culture Cultural Information Systems

Question: Discuss about the Changing Organizational Culture for Cultural Information Systems. Answer: Introduction Urban cities are todays vogue. Every village and town around the world dream to become an urban center with all the amenities that a human would want, since urbanization is a symbol of growth and development. One of the major contributors to the urbanization of the current cities all around the world is the continuous evolvement of technology. The advancement in science and technology lead to a place where almost everything can be done for the humans, from transport using Segway to communication through the various mobile devices. Hence, it is no exaggeration to say that without the various inventions and discoveries man would have been in the early-man age itself. How Technology Influenced Industrial City A city would have to grow in three major directions to reach a significant development state namely the economic dimension, socio-political dimension and the physical dimension which would engage four important factors that are needed to develop a city, namely proximity, production, capitalization and Management. All the above mentioned factors are heavily influenced by various technologies. Note that the modern cities today are no more stand-alone centers working by their own. Every city is connected to every other city in the state, country and globe making the concept of globalization a reality. It is only through the various forms of technology and the industrial revolution this has been possible (Narula, 2014). Below are the specific technologies that played a key in development of industrial cities. Transportation technology It all started with the invention of wheel that man has developed to carry load around. The simple concept of wheel today has come far from its initial development phase. With the ability to move agricultural produce from one place to another through roadways, it had become easier to establish an industry in one place. The produce from here was exported to several countries especially that in Europe through remodeling the classic steam engine and hence coming up with abundant opportunities of imports and exports. Later on the same had rapidly developed through the growth in roadways, railways, canal systems, waterways and the airways reducing the time needed to transport significantly. Power Technology Sourcing energy was a major challenge before industrial revolution. The technology to mold earth materials to form energy was one of the major achievements. Initially with the help of the wheel itself, water and wind sources where vaguely used to produce energy. However, the actual increase in power generation was seen after coal could be used to generate energy (Fernihough, 2014). This helped in researching further to find several other materials found in the ground such as the current day petroleum which is a major contributor to several energy sources such as fuel and LPG. Understanding and developing energy from natural resources at a large scale had further quenched the need for energy. Generation of Hydroelectric power from dams, power from wind energy and solar energy have all made the sourcing of energy look infinite. Communication Technology Imagine a world without a mobile phone. Today millions of bytes of data travels around the world in split seconds. This has come a long distance from the Morse code that was initially developed for military use. The introduction of telegraph helped in long distance communication which was later replaced by the telephone, where technology allowed voice over distances. Then came the era of radio communication and televisions where information in both audio and video format could be transported in long distance, restricting it to a one way communication (Castells, 2013). These enhanced the concepts of broadcasting allowing cities to communicate to other parts of the world informing what is what. The advent of internet is by far the biggest network through which one can communicate from anywhere to anywhere and the adoption of wireless technology has made communication look seamless. Conclusion The concept of urbanization started with the industrial revolution which was majorly dependent on the development of three technologies namely the transportation technology through which moving goods have become extremely easy, power technology through which power was sourced from coal, petroleum and other natural resources producing sufficient energy for the city to rapidly progress and communication technology that has brought down the barriers in global communication. Introduction Over the years of technological advancement, the changes that the world has seen through the industrial revolution and information revolution, influence nature of work significantly. The structure of working, organizational structures that adopted various work environments using models such as the Holarctic model and the flat structure model and importance being placed on human resources are the most common examples to understand that the world has moved far beyond the traditional work structure, where certain people did certain things under certain commands (Alvesson, 2015). The options available to a person has increased significantly and so the major change that has happened in the nature of work is the change in employment. Employment Changes The first change that was seen in nature of work was the division of work into three major sectors. The primary sector who worked with the resources, the secondary who were involved in industrialization and the tertiary or the well-known service sector. It is obvious that these changes were however bound to happen. But the actual changes that revolutionized the way one worked is the changes in employment. Change is the concept of doing things in a new or a different way. Change is the only constant is one of the most heard terms and it is obvious given the very curious nature of man to develop and grow. During the industrial revolution, labor unions were formed through which communication was made to the top management in a company. At the same time, the number of people unemployed were significantly high given that job opportunities were restricted to hard labor rather than skilled labor and innovative ideas have hardly seen light. It was during this time literacy was encouraged to have more educated people working in various budding companies which resulted in overeducated people who were either underpaid or unemployed. This increasing capacity of workforce has brought on several changes to the traditional work system. Instead of working full-time, part time jobs starting popping up given that more number of people could be employed through one organization and work could be done 24x7. Though this helped in a decrease of underemployment that change was insignificant. As technological advanced products where easily available and information technology was seeing a rapid growth and of course the frustration of not being able to earn enough has brought in self-employment where an advocate rather than joining a firm opened their own consultancy (Gindling, 2014). The above mentioned progress is the most important change in the nature of work as the increase in responsibilities of an individual gradually saw growth at the same time curbed the concept of unemployment. Though structural changes drew a picture of who could work were actual work was achieved through employment changes. People were given a chance to harness their capabilities to achieve far and beyond and this was lacking in the traditional work modes. In todays world, people are not restricted to one job. One can do multiple jobs and own several businesses expanding their exposure to the world. Digitization has further changed employment where one could work from the comfort of their home and need not actually go to work (Baptista, 2013). Today, people are employed through Instagram where posting pictures can fetch you considerable amount of money. Change in employment is hence, the most important change as it has directly influenced the lifestyle and living conditions of people Conclusion Nature of work has seen several changes over the years. The two major changes that could be easily spotted where dividing work into sectors and changing the way people worked. Though segmentation of work provided a platform to divide human resources and their occupation, it is the continuous and rapid change in employment that have affected the way humans live their life. The declination of labor union, increase in the need for educated resources, increasing literacy rate, increasing unemployment that lead to the concepts of part time employment and self-employment are all major phases of employment changes. Employment has by far seen significant changes that eased the lives of people and made humans the center of work rather than machines, products or services. References Alvesson, M., Sveningsson, S. (2015). Changing organizational culture: Cultural change work in progress. Routledge. Baptista, J., Huang, J. (2013). Where Work Happens: Digitization of Work and the Fusion Between Physical and Digital Workspaces. In International Conference on Information Systems. Gindling, T. H., Newhouse, D. (2014). Self-employment in the developing world. World Development, 56, 313-331. Castells, M. (2013). Communication power. OUP Oxford. Fernihough, A., O'Rourke, K. H. (2014). Coal and the European industrial revolution (No. w19802). National Bureau of Economic Research. Narula, R. (2014). Globalization and technology: Interdependence, innovation systems and industrial policy. John Wiley Sons.

Monday, December 2, 2019

Playscript of the Gift of the Magi free essay sample

Jim: Oh, no problem, my dear. I’ll set it up right now (Smile). (Sets the tree up, steps away from it) Jim: You see, you have a wonderful husband who can put anything to rights. (The tree falls over again. Della laughs) Jim: You’re laughing at me. Della: At both of us. Jim: And why is that? Della: Because we work so hard for our happiness. And sometimes even against the laws of gravity. Jim: But we are happy, laws or no laws. (Both of them smile. Suddenly, Jim kisses on Della’s hair) Jim: Della, you look so lovely! I love your hair. It was the first thing I noticed about you when I met you. I loved it then, and now it’s even longer and more beautiful than it was. Della: But my hair is less valuable than your grandfather’s watch! The dearest thing you have. We will write a custom essay sample on Playscript of the Gift of the Magi or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Jim: However I have no chance to wear it. Della: Oh, Jim, your watch should have a beautiful long chain and fob, so you wouldn’t have to be embarrassed about showing it off Jim: But you are more valuable to me†¦than any thing†¦that I†¦own. (Della looks at the watch. It’s 7g30 o’clock) Della: Oh, it’s too late. You have to go to work right now. Jim: Oh, I forget. See you later. (kissing on Della’s cheek) Della: (coming to the house and looking out the window) Scene 2: Jim: (on the way to work and seeing the Christmas atmosphere on the street) Della: Tomorrow will be Christmas! I will buy a special gift for my husband and make Jim surprise at it. (She begins to count the money) Della: Five cents, nine cents, fourteen, twenty-four, twenty-seven†¦one dollar seventy, seventy-five, six, seven, eight, nine, dollar eighty, eighty-five, six seven. One dollar and eighty-seven cents. Surely that can’t be all. But I have counted it three times, it doesn’t change a thing. It’s still one dollar and eighty-seven cents. I’ve been saving all my pennies, nickels and dimes for months so that I could buy Jim something really special this Christmas. I saved these coins by bargaining with the grocer, the vegetable man, the butcher, the baker or even the candlestick maker. Della: One dollar and eighty-seven cents? That’s it? I knew that I hadn’t saved nearly as much as I wanted to, but†¦a dollar eighty-seven? I couldn’t possibly buy Jim anything with that! (Della sits at the table recounting the money yet again. Jim, elsewhere on the stage counts from his pocket into his hand) Jim: One dollar. A dollar ten, twenty, thirty, thirty-five,†¦ (Look in another pocket) Jim: Thirty-six, seven, eight. Wait, wait!!! (Tries a third pocket) Jim: A nickel and a penny. One dollar and forty-six cents. Della: one dollar, eighty-seven cents (Della look so sad and cry) Jim: Poor Della. She deserves a nice Christmas gift! However, what of her Christmas with one dollar and forty-six cents? What have I done? What a miserable, thoughtless, self-serving, heartless creature I am. What on earth can be done? Jim: I will miss it so much, but†¦but it will all be worth it to give Della the kind of Christmas†¦that she really deserves. And after all, it was just a pocket watch†¦ a valuable, family heirloom pocket watch. Well, it doesn’t matter! No pocket watch could ever be more important to me than my Della. Della (look at the mirror and comb her hair): Oh, why don’t I exchange my hair for a meaningful gift for my husband? Oh, no†¦I can’t I can’t†¦ It’s so terrible if I cut my hair! I can’t imagine anyone cutting off their hair and selling it. No, no; that would be a silly thing to do†¦I could never sell my hair. However, I love Jim more than myself. It’s time to do something for him. (Della runs out of the house) Scene 3: Hairdresser: May I help you? You want to cut your hair, don’t you? Please come in Della: Please excuse me. I†¦I would like to sell my hair to you. I fear my nerves have the gotten the best of me. Hairdresser: It’s your hair not your nerves I’m interested in. Step over here and sit down. (Della does) Well, hair worth seeing for once. Good color. Good texture. Sit down, I’ll chop it off. Della: Well, you see†¦ Hairdresser: I do see. Della: How much money could you give me for my hair? Hairdresser: Twelve dollars. Are you Ok? Della: twenty-five Hairdresser: fifteen Della: twenty-one Hairdresser: eighteen Della: done Hairdresser: Fool, I would have paid twenty! (She picks up her scissors) Hairdresser: Step into the other room. You will regret this all your life. (Della runs out of the hair store) Scene 4: Storekeeper: Ah. Welcome back. The girl with the boy with the gold pocket watch. Good heavens, what have you done to yourself? Della: Oh, please don’t Storekeeper (Staring at her): Well, hair grows. Della: The platinum watch fob you showed me? Storekeeper: Still in the case. Twenty-three dollars I believe I said. Della: You had said†¦twenty-one. Storekeeper: Had I? Twenty-one then. Della: but you see, I haven’t twenty-one Storekeeper: You haven’t twenty-one? Della: Nineteen ninety-seven actually. Storekeeper: Really? Afraid I couldn’t do that. Della: Oh please. I’ve set all my hopes on it. Please help me. Storekeeper: Now don’t cry. I can’t stand tears, I always cry myself. Della: (Hopefully) So you’ll sell it for what I have? Storekeeper: No. Mouths to feed, you see. Della: Well, of course you must see to your family. It’s final then, the price? (She nods) Della: A merry Christmas madam, to you and yours. (Starts to go) Storekeeper: Wait. (She turns) Storekeeper: Take off your scarf girl. (She does) Storekeeper: Poor thing. You look like a plucked chicken, You may have the fob for twenty dollars. Della: I’ve only nineteen ninety-seven Storekeeper: (He stares at her) Take it for heaven’s sake! (Gives her the fob, she gives him her money) Della: Thank you. Thank you, thank you. You are the very spirit of the season! (She exits) Storekeeper: Lord help you when he sees you. I hope the lad’s worth it. (The set is changed back to Della’s flat. She takes off her coat, puts the fob in a drawer and picks up a hand mirror). Scene 5: Della: Oh, thank goodness Jim isnt home yet! Im so excited! I cant wait until he sees what Ive bought for him. I know hell love it. I only hope he still loves me! Oh, nooo! What have I done? When Jim sees this, hell say I look like a like a nun! But what could I have done, oh, what could I have done with a dollar and eighty-seven cents? No! No, Im not sorry I did this, and I wont be, no matter what. This gift is just what Jim needed. Thats worth any price to me, any price at all. (LOOKS IN MIRROR AGAIN) Oh, please, make him think Im still pretty! (AFTER A BEAT) No no, I should give Jim more credit than that. He doesnt love me for my hair! That would be silly. No, he loves me for me; he loves me for who I am, not for what I look like! (ANOTHER GLANCE INTO MIRROR) (The door opened and Jim stepped n and closed it) Jim: Della are you home Della: Yes, Jim, Im here. Jim: Good, Im glad youre home. Why do you have that shawl on your head? Della: I um um shawl? What shawl? Jim: Oh, it doesnt matter anyway. Merry Christmas, Della! (PICKS HER UP AND SPINS HER AROUND. SHAWL FALLS OFF HER HEAD) Merry, merry, merry, merry (DAZED WHEN HE SEES HER HAIR, HE FALLS BACKWARD STRAIGHT BACKED ALL THE WAY TO THE GROUND) Della oooooooh, Della. (GETTING UP AND RUSHING TO HER) Now, I want you to stay calm but I think your hair is falling out. Della: Jim, my hair is not falling out. Jim: (HES REALLY LOST IT NOW) Wait, maybe its here. (PICKS UP SHAWL, SHAKES IT, LOOKING FOR HAIR, FINDS NONE) Della: Jim, my hair is not falling out! Jim: Then one of us is crazy, and I hope its me! Della: Jim, dont look at me that way. I had my hair cut off and I sold it, because I just couldnt have lived through Christmas without giving you a gift! Jim: No you cant do that I wont let you do that! Della: Ive already done it, Jim. Jim: Umh? Della: Im me without my hair, arent I? You do still love me dont you? Jim: Uhm Uh oh, of course I do. But Della, you dont understand. Your our hair is gone! Della: (BEGINNING TO CRY) Itll grow back. Jim: Yes, I know, but Della your hair is gone! Della: Jim, are you all right? Jim: Ive got to find it. (STARTS LOOKING IN STRANGE PLACES, MESSING UP THE APARTMENT, AS DELLA FOLLOWS HIM, STRAIGHTENING UP BEHIND HIM) Della: You neednt look for it, Jim, I told you I cut it off and sold it so I could buy you a Christmas gift. You dont really mind, do you? Maybe the hairs of my head were numbered, but nobody could ever count my love for you. So, should I put the chops on the stove, Jim? Jim: (SLOWLY RETURNING TO REALITY) Your hair is Della: Gone! Yes, Jim, now snap out of it. Please. Just say Merry Christmas and lets be happy! Jim: (DAZED) Did you sell your hair? (DELLA HANDS HIM THE CARD. HE READS IT, STILL DAZED) Oh, I guess thats how they make wigs. Della: Oh, Jim, open your gift tonight, all right, on Christmas Eve? Jim: But Della Della: Oh, Jim, Ill just die if I have to wait until tomorrow! Jim: But, Della everything is I dont know; everything is all wrong. Della: What do you mean? Jim: Your hair, Della. Its gone! Della: Im sorry, Jim. Im sorry I never realized you love me for my hair, and not for me. Jim: Della. Della: But dont worry! See, I can wear this shawl over my head for the next three years, and you wont ever have to look at me! (SHAWL IS OVER HEAD NOW) My hair will be grown out by then, and you can love me again. (SHE IS CRYING HERE. ) Jim: Della Della, I love you! Id love you if you were bald, and toothless, with six legs, and three eyes, and a big wart on the end of your nose! (THINKING OUT LOUD) I probably wouldnt take you out very much, but I would love you. Della, I dont think theres anything in the way of a haircut or a shampoo or or a shave that could make me like my girl any less. But if youll open this package (GIVES IT TO HER), I think youll understand why you had me going there for a while at first. (DURING DELLAS NEXT ACTION JIM HANGS UP HIS COAT AND HAT. DURING DELLAS NEXT LINE JIM IS CONTINUALLY TRYING TO REMIND DELLA THAT HER HAIR IS GONE BUT CANT GET A WORD IN EDGE-WISE. ) Della: (OPENS PACKAGE AND GASPS) The combs! Oh, Jim, the combs from the store window on Broadway! Those beautiful pure tortoise shell combs with jeweled rims! Side and backthe whole set! Oh, Jim, thank you so much!! Ive admired these combs through the window for months. But theyre so expensive, I never thought theyd be mine! Oh, theyre beautiful, and theyre just the right shade for me! Oh, theyll look so pretty in my ha Jim, Jim, my hair is Both: Gone! Jim: Yeah, I know. Della: (HALF LAUGHING, HALF CRYING) Youre right, Jim, I do understand what you meant. But its not really that bad. My hair grows so fast, Jim! Ill just wrap these beautiful, wonderful combs up again, and keep them safe until my hair grows back out. Jim: Three years? Della: By then, the combs will be three hundred times more special, and three thousand times more beautiful. Jim: And youll be three million times more beautiful. Della: So you DO hate my short hair! Jim: No, Della, I didnt mean that, I was just. Oh, how do I get myself into these things? Della I know, you said there was a gift for me. You already opened yours; could I open mine? Della: Oh, yes! I cant wait for you to see it. You dont know what a nicewhat a beautiful, nice gift I got for you! I know youre going to love it. Its the perfect thing! Jim: (UNWRAPS GIFT, FINDING BOX) Oooh Its a box. Della: Open it, silly! You dont think Im going to tell you what it is. Jim: (OPENS BOX, [LONG REACTION] THEN HE HOLDS UP THE CHAIN, STARING) Oh, Della. Della: Isnt it a dandy, Jim? Its platinum! Jim: (CALMLY) Platinum (THEN) Platinum!! (HE IS NOW REALIZING HOW MUCH HER HAIR WAS WORTH TO HIM, AND HOW MUCH HIS WATCH WS WORTH TO HER) Della: I ransacked the stores all over town to find it. Its the perfect chain for your watch! Now you never have to worry about that old leather strap again, and you can show off your watch a hundred times a day. Lets see how it looks, Jim. Take out your watch; Ill put it on for you. Jim: (STILL IN SHOCK) Uh I dont know, Del. Its such a beautiful gift. Maybe it should wait until tomorrow. Or better still, lets keep it with the combs, until your hair grows out. Della: Jim, dont you like it? Jim: Aw, Della, its the best its the most beautiful thoughtful gift anyones ever given me. (TURNS AWAY) Della: Then whats wrong? Jim: Della I sold my watch to get the money to buy those combs. Now suppose you put those chops on the stove? Della: You WHAT Jim: (STARTING TO EXIT SL) I know, Ill put the chops on the stove! Della: No, what did you just say? Jim: I sold my watch to buy you those combs. Della: Thats what I thought you said. Jim: Dont be angry. Della: Im not angry. DELLA GRABS JIMS WATCH POCKET AND LOOKS IN) Jim: What are you doing? Della: I suppose its not going to grow back, is it? Jim: Not likely, no. Della: Oh, Jim, weve both been so foolish- (BEAT) -especially you! Jim: (LONG MUG) No, Della, I dont think weve been foolish at all. Now think about this. If we had had money to buy these things with, it would have been well, really nice. Wed be able to use them, and every thing would be hunky-dory. But just think, Dell, think how special these beautiful, wonderful (NOTICES HOW DELLA HAS TRIED TO PUT THE COMBS IN HER SHORT HAIR TO LUDICROUS EFFECT) seless gifts are to us now. We didnt just give of our wallets, Della, we gave of our hearts, too. Isnt that what giving is supposed to be all about? Aw, Della, I think these were the the wisest gifts we could have possibly given each other. Della: You know, Jim, I think youre right. Lets keep both of our gifts together in here (GETS PLAIN WOODEN BOX FROM DESK; PUTS GIFTS INTO IT) Itll be our secret buried treasure. Jim: Merry Christmas, Della! Della: Merry Christmas, Jim! (HUG. DELLA CLEARS UP WRAPPING PAPER AND RIBBONS, AND EXITS BRIEFLY SL, AS THE FOURTH WALL COMES DOWN FOR THE LAST TIME)