The Elephants are a new family joining an illustrious body of residents of Avonlea. They are from Cape Town,, South Africa, where English is the official language, which makes them easily acculturated to the new environment. The Elephants are shown here they landed at Montgomery Airport named after the founder of Avonlea, “Lucy Maud Montgomery,” located 3 miles away from Avonlea.
This is Mr. John Elephant, the patriarch of the family. Born in September 26th, 1959 to a wealthy family of Old Money (his father was the 5th Earl of Greensleeves Castle in Yorkshire who moved to South Africa upon marrying a beautiful but impecunious American journalist named Judy Shue), John was educated as best as his wealthy father could afford him ) in England by graduating from Oxford University with a B.A. in English in aspiration of becoming a journalist as his American mother used to. However, his innate filial duty that appeared only too well incumbent upon him after his father told him to take care of their assets in the family’s trust fund that had been kept intact for three centuries since their ancestor Earl Richard Elephant set it up following a windfall of great successes in The East India Company in the 17th Century. With such enterprising blood running in the veins, John has become a successful real estate developer since the 90s and wants to expand his business territory by coming to Avonlea under the privilege of dual citizenship permitted by the South African government.
This is Mrs. Rachel Elephant, the efficient secretary of the home office of the family. She is also an excellent homemaker who manages all the affairs concerning the logistics of the household and attends to the care of each family member with Charity, Faith, and Hope, the capital Christian Values ornamented by her high intelligence fabulously brilliant all the more by her unassuming witty character. Rachel worked her way through college by working at Delano’s Italian Bakery, where she learned how to make the best cannolis and Amaretto cookies, which she sometimes seels at local charity events. She is also an avid reader of nonfiction books, such as essays by the 19th Century writers, history books on the Ancient Near East, the Classical Greece and Greek, and books on supernatural phenomena.
Eli Elephant is the first-born child of John and Rachel, so naturally, she basks in their all attentions and expectations. Any child in that environment will often express his stress from such parental yearnings and revolts against the parents even at the early stage of life. But Not Elie, whose filiality is inherited from her father and whose intelligence mixed with a good heart passed down from her mother. She is also something of a social worker, for anyone she sees so pitiful that the sight of the person is registered in her mind, is in her good care. Elie goes out of her way by asking her father to help the person in distress or in a dire need, such as not raising a monthly rent fee for senior citizens subsisting solely and only on their Social Security Benefits and Supplemental Income Aid.
So our Joe Elephant is the youngest but the most adventurous of Elephant Clan. Like his grandfather who used to appear on the east of the Sun one one day, and the west thereof on the other day, Joe likes to venture all things worthy of winning his recognition as well as interest by himself. So it is a family norm to accept Joe’s spirit of adventure as a brilliant legacy of the Elephant Family as aforesaid in the case of Earl Richard Elephant and his Great East Indian Expedition in the 17th Century. In addition thereto, Joe is adroita at making friends with anyone anywhere without a shade of prejudice based upon a creed, status, or appearance because that is how his parents have taught so far. As the say, “A tree is known by its fruits,” a child is a mirror of what his parents are and what they want to be. It’s not his peers, or teachers at schools, or actors/actresses on screen that influence a child’s learning and modus operandi of dealing with the everyday life. In this respect, both John and Rachel have been doing great in inculcating the moral and ethical values in their son as well as daughter.
Now that the Elephants have made Avonlea their new home sweet home. they will continue to live according to their moral principles based upon Christian Values and the family legacy spanning over 400 years. John does not forget to remind himself of the family mottos of “Quand Je Puis,” meaning in French “As much as I can. and “Have patience with all things, but first with yourself,” which is actually a famous quotation from St. Francis de Sales. And with these in mind, John looks to the future with Hope and Faith and is ready to hit a new road again -with his dear family, as a;ways – as ever.
“You look fine,” Seraphina continues in the mixed feeling of both sympathy for Mathilda’s effort to fish out compliments from her peer and irritability to responding to such calculated intention when time is of essence in catching the tram that runs every one hour, “the color of the dress happens to be one of my favorite colors – “Azure” – the Italians are said to love the color because it reminds them of the Mediterranean Sea. In fact, the Italians have developed to perfect the color in likeness of the color of the sea throughout their history. So during the Renaissance period, the painters in Europe preferred the color made in Italy to other similar blue hues made in elsewhere.” It is always like this to add any further information on what is generally required of; Seraphina has a tendency to elaborate her statement with additional information acquired from her a wide range of books she has read and illuminates it like shining stars in the Milky Way across the nightly sky that bright the minds of others who are intellectually benighted.
this one of the same style, and I don’t like the color red – it’s two fiery and passionate for me-. I rather like the cool blue because it gives me a sense of serenity,” Mathilda says as she picks up her handbag she got from a thrift store a year ago. “How’s this bag? I got…” “Alright, Mathilda!” Seraphina finally snaps her eager friend. ” We’d better get going. Now we have only 5 minutes or so to catch the tram. Otherwise, we have to wait another one hour, and that will mess up our Saturday outing plan. I am supposed to come back by 5:00 PM to finish my assignment that is to be submitted to the editor of Echo at 8:30 AM tomorrow. We can’t waste time thinking and mumbling about your dress and handbag.” Upon hearing from another request for opinion on her one year-old bag, Seraphina’s gracefully subdued patience bursts out, although her demeanor still maintains a perfect elegance that belongs to a woman of noble birth and education, which corresponds to the exaltation of such woman exampled by John Milton In Paradise :
“Sorry. I forgot about your schedule. I was too thrilled to be reminded of the tram schedule. And the weather seems to behave like Spring should. And I hardly go out on weekends because I usually rather stay home to compensate for a week’s wrestling with little kids at the nursery.. Let’s hurry!” Listening to Mathilda’s heartfelt apology and looking at her cute face half-drawn with sadness of loneliness, Seraphina’s heart feels inundated with rivers of pathos for her new friend. After all, Mathilda was only seeking for assurance of her timid self that has hardly been affirmed due to a deprivation of parental love and understanding for her being orphaned at the age of five. “Yes, let’s hurry down to the tram stop, Mathilda, for we will have a lovely Saturday today! How about going to the new French restaurant that has recently opened? I forgot the name, but we can check it out later!” So off they are to the tram stop chatting away about what to possibly buy at the department store like happy larks.
Aura Magoo whose husband owns and operates a seven-eleven type of convenient store nearby stops by at the cafe with her new friend Bonnie Poodle, who is opening a new French bistro at the end of the month with the trust fund bequeathed to her by her deceased paternal grandmother in France.So Bonnie wants to share her excitement for her impending new entrepreneurship for the first time. Aura, the prettiest lady in the town, is in fact secretly jealousy of Bonnie’s financial and social independence as a single woman because she has to rely on her husband’s (named Zeus) monthly allowances to her for tending household and other expenses. Of course, she would not manifest her true feelings on the outside because she accepts it as a fact of life which she has to bear with smile, now that she has married with three children named “Apollo, Artemis “Mina”, and Hercules “Herk.” All this complex of emotions and feelings while having a bowl of veggie salad and listening to Bonni’s rhapsodizing about her imminent business enterprise is on the brink of manifestation on Aura’s pretty face, but she manages to quell it by forcing herself to turn to the delicacy of the salad with a cup of red tea, her favorite cup of tea.
Mary is taking a repose from her popcorn operation, opting for a Lunchtime Pick-Me-Up Sundae at the prices of $3.00 as a lunch special, instead of a meal set. Mary has a sweet teeth and loves to appreciate quality sweets regardless of calories, for calculation of calories at every eating time is thought ridiculously fastidious to her. After all, every edible element has calories, and just because you live on greens or proteins, it does not guarantee you optimal health, let alone svelte body. As one of the ancient epithets inscribed on the wall of the Oracle of Delphi, “Nothing in Excess” should be Rosetta Key to healthy body, beautiful body, and sound mind. In other words, if you do everything you do in moderation, you will never be led astray.
While having her afternoon pick-me-up, Mary is joined by Brenda Beaver, wife of Randy Beaver, who has just lost a job as a head mechanic at “Troika Auto Body Shop” in the city as the shop went bankrupt three months ago. Thanks to his long years with the shop over ten years, Randy has been receiving his unemployment benefits that go straight to this household which has also been supported by Brenda’s income earned from her cleaning service on request. Randy has been thinking about his and his family’s future seriously but doesn’t let it shown lest he should lose confidence and hope. But his wife Brenda knows it all and understands his pathos, so she acts like she does not know any trouble in the world to keep up with Randy’s confidence as well as hers, for they have Betty and Billy, their apples of the eyes. Since Mary knows Brenda’s present family circumstances, she treats her with a swell luch of homemade-style spaghetti, one of many Mrs. Cook’s signature dishes.
One Saturday morning, Mathilda Bear, who currently works at Bauer Daycare run by Hannah Bauer, stops by at Bonjour Cake Shop to reward herself with a cup of freshly brewed hot French Vanilla coffee with cream and two cubes of sugar and a piece of Ispahan cake that captivates her dormant testing bud and elevates her withered spirit with wonderful rose cream. It’s her weekly treat as a sweet reward for her hard work as a daycare teacher.
Bonnie thinks Mathilda a bit loquacious but pleasant and affable. Besides, the fact that Mathilda works at a daycare school provides her with a sense of relief that she can take her two baby twins in the care of Matilda when she’s at work without having to take Nena and Neno to her Laura, whom Bonnie wants to alleviate from loads of responsibilities, so that she can enjoy her own private time with her own friends. So she writes down the address of Bauer Daycare School to check it out on Monday morning when she’s off from work. If all goes well, Bonnie wants to learn a new trade that can help her start a new business of her own in future. What trade it will be, Bonnie will do it just fine.
The “Bonjour Cake Shop”is also a new enterprise in Avonlea; Operated by Paul and Laura Collie originally from Scotland, the cake shop has also been busy with newly acquainted customers in the town who come back to taste the homemade cakes for all occasions. The cakes are all made by Laura, who is no only a fine seamstress but also a lovely patissier who learned the art of cakes by working at the famed Patisserie Valerie in London in her maidenhood. In fact, making cakes and cookies has been Laura’s true passion because that’s what she really likes; however, she first had to deprecate her love of making cakes to support her family along with her husband Paul in a new land by working as a highly skilled seamstress. So when she and Paul (who was employed as an assistant manager at a supermarket) saved enough funds to start their own private business, they chose to open a cake shop without hesitation. Surely, Laura’s spirit was elevated when she and Paul signed the contract for the shop at a real estate agent’s office a month ago.
Laura’s cakes are of supreme quality, second to none in comparison with the cakes of Patisserie Valerie or Laduree or Pierre Herme because first of all, the cakes are all made fresh by Laura herself whose culinary skills are divine. Besides, she makes all her cakes with utmost care for authentic pleasure that can make her customers truly happy when they taste her cakes. In fact, it’s not merely a kind of eatery but a creation of art that provides people with genuine pleasure of life. Viktor E. Frankl, the founder of Logotherapy attests to this principle by telling us that a moment of pleasure, such as from listening to our favorite piece of music, doing things we enjoy, or appreciating a pleasurable sensation therefrom, can equal to a meaning of happiness, which is not at all a grand abstract idea. In like manner, Laura’s homemade cakes can be a good source of happiness to her customers regardless of who they are.
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