The critical monster in my life; Wow that is a hurting statement for me, because
I will never forget the pain it brought to me. It has been hard to get past the words or the way this person would punish me for what I felt was good for me. Well, let me start from the beginning I attended a catholic school and I never had friends in my age. The kids in my classes were not nice at all . I guess you could say they were cruel all the way around. Nevertheless the teacher was the lead monster for me! These were two things I recall taking a toll on me, you ask how:
Let me explain how the students and my teacher punished me day in and out.
First, I would like to share with you the terror they put me through during
my preschool year. I truly felt that they were taunting me with their words or objects, like sticks, or by pulling my hair on a regular basis. I began to play the sick roll on school days, because of all the terrible things that my classmates would put me through; Like taunting me by hitting, throwing small objects, pulling my hair or just making up things I did not do. They would always tell Sister Katherine, and I felt she was the meanest person I have ever met. No matter what it was in learning and on my work I would receive a good mark. She
would find something wrong with it. Her main thing in a day was to make me feel belittled, whether if I did a good deed by making sure they was a attended to as quickly as possible. Sister Katherine would blame me for anyone who got hurt like I just walked up to them and pushed The little monsters. The children would fall and hurt themselves and make it seem as if I did it, and that’s when I would find myself in time out and also thwack with her ruler several
times before naptime.
This brings me back to the coveys’ in the beginning when I thought my teacher
(Sister Katherine) was the ring leader of all my time in preschool. Even if my class mates caused me misery and my teacher never made it any easier for me either. Whatever went wrong during the day when I was at school I was the corporate of the whole incident. I ofte asked her;” Why do treat me like you do not like me?” Her response was always; “I do not like your presences’ here at the school of your parents choice, also the kids here are jealous of you in a lot of ways.” I always told her I was sorry, but now that I ponder on it why did I feel so bad for
what other people were going through? Thinking back on those days makes me feel real weak, but I guess it is all in growing up and learning about life. Now that I look back on my younger days, it is actually a little funny but it is a part of my early life that I will never forget.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
"Dollar A Thought" by Melissa Mestas
The soft beat of Floetry rang in my ears as I watched my breath exit my body into the air. The below zero oxygen entering my lungs was slightly painful as I waited for my bus ride back home. I watched the few pedestrians who are struggling to stay warm. A young girl in a fluffy white jacket was jumping around, I assume in hopes to warm up. All her face and hair was covered with her jacket hood and scarf only leaving her bright blue eyes open to view. An elderly woman walking with a cane on the icy sidewalk in a rush nearly fell.
I continued listening to the music coming from my headphones when I noticed a homeless man just minutes away from me. He looked older, but the closer he approached me the more I realized he was a lot younger than he looked. The thought of him not having a home to go to in the cold weather broke my heart. I pulled my headphones off my ears as he walked closer to me, as to appear not to be rude. He asked if I may have a couple dollars to spare for him to ride the bus. As I dug into my small white purse looking for anything I could help him with, I noticed how thin he was. His hands, ungloved were wrinkly and dirty. I saw the grime underneath his nails as he tried to keep them warm. I finally found a couple dollars and handed it to him. He continued to thank me, even well after we bordered the bus.
I sat there, just kept catching myself glancing at him and wondering. What kind of life did he have? What brought him to the point that he has the life he has now? Every aspect ran through my mind. Could his life have gotten here due to drugs or alcohol? Could he have been an unfortunate person who was affected by the recession? I tried to picture his life before. What he looked like, if he had family, or what growing up was like for him. I imagined him as a little boy going to school or playing football in the yard with an older brother, and having dinner with his family around the dining room table. Maybe he didn’t have a family, or one that cared so much. He could have had a rough childhood, where he had to fend for his siblings. Maybe he got caught up in the party life and just didn’t know how to pull himself together.
As we all know looks are just that, looks. We cannot tell just by looking at someone what their life is like; like the saying goes, “We cannot judge a book by its cover.” So no matter how much I sat there and wondered, I will never know what his life was like. I will not even know if he survived another below zero night. I took a deep breath and pulled my backpack over my shoulders as my bus pulled up to my stop, again I took my headphones off. I looked him in the eyes one last time and told him “God Bless you.” He thanked me again as I got off and the doors shut behind me.
I continued listening to the music coming from my headphones when I noticed a homeless man just minutes away from me. He looked older, but the closer he approached me the more I realized he was a lot younger than he looked. The thought of him not having a home to go to in the cold weather broke my heart. I pulled my headphones off my ears as he walked closer to me, as to appear not to be rude. He asked if I may have a couple dollars to spare for him to ride the bus. As I dug into my small white purse looking for anything I could help him with, I noticed how thin he was. His hands, ungloved were wrinkly and dirty. I saw the grime underneath his nails as he tried to keep them warm. I finally found a couple dollars and handed it to him. He continued to thank me, even well after we bordered the bus.
I sat there, just kept catching myself glancing at him and wondering. What kind of life did he have? What brought him to the point that he has the life he has now? Every aspect ran through my mind. Could his life have gotten here due to drugs or alcohol? Could he have been an unfortunate person who was affected by the recession? I tried to picture his life before. What he looked like, if he had family, or what growing up was like for him. I imagined him as a little boy going to school or playing football in the yard with an older brother, and having dinner with his family around the dining room table. Maybe he didn’t have a family, or one that cared so much. He could have had a rough childhood, where he had to fend for his siblings. Maybe he got caught up in the party life and just didn’t know how to pull himself together.
As we all know looks are just that, looks. We cannot tell just by looking at someone what their life is like; like the saying goes, “We cannot judge a book by its cover.” So no matter how much I sat there and wondered, I will never know what his life was like. I will not even know if he survived another below zero night. I took a deep breath and pulled my backpack over my shoulders as my bus pulled up to my stop, again I took my headphones off. I looked him in the eyes one last time and told him “God Bless you.” He thanked me again as I got off and the doors shut behind me.
"Buying Swords Online" by Spencer Adams
Anyone interested in owning swords of their very own knows that it is extremely difficult to find a shop that sells quality swords. This only leaves one place to buy…the online marketplace. So, if you’re not interested in history, or have never seen any action or fantasy movie, you’re probably asking, “what is a sword?” Well, a sword utilizes a blade that can be made of various types of sharp metals. Swords were commonly used weapons before firearms became popularized. Different cultures, regions, and timelines have popularized different types of swords, such as the katana, wakizashi, and tanto in Japan, the tai chi sword in China, the gladius in Rome, and the claymore in Scotland.
In this day and age, you may be wondering, “ Why would anyone in their right mind want to own a sword?” First, and foremost, one doesn’t need a license to own a sword, nor is there any application process or background check. One major group of sword owners are actors of plays and those in the theater business, which will give their shows a more realistic look than duct tapped cardboard cutouts. Another group is those who just want to have them, whether for collecting or decorative reasons. Surprisingly enough, it is not unheard of people wanting to hunt using swords, whether they want to emulate being an ancient warrior or being just for fun. This paper will explain the dos and don’ts to buying quality swords online.
Before one decides to buy a sword, they need to consider the responsibilities that are required to own a quality sword. Owning a sword is, in many ways, like owning a car; without proper upkeep, our sword will begin to slowly deteriorate to the point of becoming unusable and a useless hunk of metal. That being said, if one should choose to own a sword, they also would need to invest in wax and a very soft cloth, in order to polish and wax their blade to the fullest. Without doing this, your blade will tarnish and even rust beyond repair. Along with wax and a cloth, one also needs to invest in a blade sharpener. Without a sharpener or a regular sharpening, the blade of your sword will become dull, eventually to the point that your blade will no longer sharpen. There are many different types of handles and blade guards, depending on what type of sword you have. Some sword’s handles are actually apart of the actual blade, which makes upkeep easy, as all one really has to do is keep a cord wrapped tightly around the handle. Other swords have handles that are separate. These are usually made out wood that is screwed into the blade. What you need to do is make sure that the blade is always screwed to the handle, or your blade will fall out of the handle, or on occasion, even snap.
Only buy a sword that will fulfill what you need it to. For example don’t buy a theater quality sword, if you’re going to go out and try to cut a tree down, because the chance that the blade will shatter upon impact is great. The same goes for vice versa; don’t buy a battle ready blade in place of a theater blade, for the risk of someone getting hurt is incredibly high.
Once you’re prepared to take care of your sword, now you need to find a quality website. Don’t just buy from the first website you see; actually try to find three to four different sites, just so that you have a variety to choose from. Don’t buy from the most expensive site that you see, thinking that the quality will be better. In all actuality, some of the cheapest sites have the best quality blades. Also, you want to buy from a site that has what you’re looking for. For example, you don’t want to go to a site like coldsteel.com for a sword that will be used in a play, for Cold Steel produces some of the strongest, sharpest weapons around, that would easily decimate any theater weapon.
Before picking a site, look at the reviews for the site. If there are poor reviews, or even no reviews, then this is probably not the best site to shop at. If you want to go a step further, check the Better Business Bureau. If a site is there, and has a grade of anything less than a “C”, then it’s more than likely not worth your trouble. While checking the BBB, keep in mind, not all sites can be found, but this does not necessarily mean that a site isn’t worth checking out; there are plenty of reasonable sites that can’t be found at the BBB that will more than likely have exactly what you are looking for.
Once you have the site that you want to use, and you have everything you want in your shopping cart, go back and check everything, one by one. As stated before, you should make sure that everything that you are buying will accomplish its purpose. Check the materials that go into making each sword. A quality site will show you the type of metal used for the blade, and the materials that are used in the handle. You don’t want to wait until your package comes to you to find out that your sword intended for “heavy play” is actually made out of a weak steel, and has a handle made of wood that is surrounded by plaster, and tied with a cord that is the same quality as a shoelace. If you are unsure of what a material is, always look it up.
Before you make your final purchase, always compare prices with other websites, because you can almost always find the same sword that you want for a lot cheaper, if you just take the time to go through a few sites. As stated before, you want to buy wax and a soft cloth for the upkeep of your sword; most reputable sites will either sell these as a package deal, or will give them away for free after a certain amount is reached. You also want to make sure to always look for sales. Many sites have a refurbished or clearance section, which has blades up to ninety percent off. Usually these swords just need to be waxed and polished to bring them to a point in which they are almost new.
When you actually have your sword in your shopping cart, you want to look at the details of it to make sure that you can handle it. You don’t want a sword that is overly huge, or too heavy to accomplish what you want it to. You also need to make sure that you have the experience needed to handle the blade, so that you don’t harm yourself or others. If you’re not quite ready for an actual sword, you may want to invest in a bokken, which is a wooden practice sword, or a shinai, which is a bamboo practice sword.
In this day and age, you may be wondering, “ Why would anyone in their right mind want to own a sword?” First, and foremost, one doesn’t need a license to own a sword, nor is there any application process or background check. One major group of sword owners are actors of plays and those in the theater business, which will give their shows a more realistic look than duct tapped cardboard cutouts. Another group is those who just want to have them, whether for collecting or decorative reasons. Surprisingly enough, it is not unheard of people wanting to hunt using swords, whether they want to emulate being an ancient warrior or being just for fun. This paper will explain the dos and don’ts to buying quality swords online.
Before one decides to buy a sword, they need to consider the responsibilities that are required to own a quality sword. Owning a sword is, in many ways, like owning a car; without proper upkeep, our sword will begin to slowly deteriorate to the point of becoming unusable and a useless hunk of metal. That being said, if one should choose to own a sword, they also would need to invest in wax and a very soft cloth, in order to polish and wax their blade to the fullest. Without doing this, your blade will tarnish and even rust beyond repair. Along with wax and a cloth, one also needs to invest in a blade sharpener. Without a sharpener or a regular sharpening, the blade of your sword will become dull, eventually to the point that your blade will no longer sharpen. There are many different types of handles and blade guards, depending on what type of sword you have. Some sword’s handles are actually apart of the actual blade, which makes upkeep easy, as all one really has to do is keep a cord wrapped tightly around the handle. Other swords have handles that are separate. These are usually made out wood that is screwed into the blade. What you need to do is make sure that the blade is always screwed to the handle, or your blade will fall out of the handle, or on occasion, even snap.
Only buy a sword that will fulfill what you need it to. For example don’t buy a theater quality sword, if you’re going to go out and try to cut a tree down, because the chance that the blade will shatter upon impact is great. The same goes for vice versa; don’t buy a battle ready blade in place of a theater blade, for the risk of someone getting hurt is incredibly high.
Once you’re prepared to take care of your sword, now you need to find a quality website. Don’t just buy from the first website you see; actually try to find three to four different sites, just so that you have a variety to choose from. Don’t buy from the most expensive site that you see, thinking that the quality will be better. In all actuality, some of the cheapest sites have the best quality blades. Also, you want to buy from a site that has what you’re looking for. For example, you don’t want to go to a site like coldsteel.com for a sword that will be used in a play, for Cold Steel produces some of the strongest, sharpest weapons around, that would easily decimate any theater weapon.
Before picking a site, look at the reviews for the site. If there are poor reviews, or even no reviews, then this is probably not the best site to shop at. If you want to go a step further, check the Better Business Bureau. If a site is there, and has a grade of anything less than a “C”, then it’s more than likely not worth your trouble. While checking the BBB, keep in mind, not all sites can be found, but this does not necessarily mean that a site isn’t worth checking out; there are plenty of reasonable sites that can’t be found at the BBB that will more than likely have exactly what you are looking for.
Once you have the site that you want to use, and you have everything you want in your shopping cart, go back and check everything, one by one. As stated before, you should make sure that everything that you are buying will accomplish its purpose. Check the materials that go into making each sword. A quality site will show you the type of metal used for the blade, and the materials that are used in the handle. You don’t want to wait until your package comes to you to find out that your sword intended for “heavy play” is actually made out of a weak steel, and has a handle made of wood that is surrounded by plaster, and tied with a cord that is the same quality as a shoelace. If you are unsure of what a material is, always look it up.
Before you make your final purchase, always compare prices with other websites, because you can almost always find the same sword that you want for a lot cheaper, if you just take the time to go through a few sites. As stated before, you want to buy wax and a soft cloth for the upkeep of your sword; most reputable sites will either sell these as a package deal, or will give them away for free after a certain amount is reached. You also want to make sure to always look for sales. Many sites have a refurbished or clearance section, which has blades up to ninety percent off. Usually these swords just need to be waxed and polished to bring them to a point in which they are almost new.
When you actually have your sword in your shopping cart, you want to look at the details of it to make sure that you can handle it. You don’t want a sword that is overly huge, or too heavy to accomplish what you want it to. You also need to make sure that you have the experience needed to handle the blade, so that you don’t harm yourself or others. If you’re not quite ready for an actual sword, you may want to invest in a bokken, which is a wooden practice sword, or a shinai, which is a bamboo practice sword.
"The Trade" by Bryant Jackson
Wow! Carmelo is now gone. I’m still a Nuggets fan, but we just became the Cleveland
Cavaliers. I’ll have to root for Oklahoma City Thunder for the rest of the year. I’m done with
the Nuggets! Chauncey Billups good luck I hated they had to send you with a selfish player such
as Carmelo Anthony.
Oh “fart”! I’m still a Nuggets fan. I can’t see myself rooting for another team. Bummed out
that Chauncey had to go. Robertta, I’m still a Nuggets fan also, they will probably be way down
for the rest of the year. I hope they can get some good picks like Ty. Keke, I agree. I do like Ty
and Afolao.
Oh my God what is happening to Colorado professional sports teams! Broncos, Avs,
Rockies and now the Nuggets! We have some serious rebuilding to do, to even get to the
Playoffs! I love my Colorado teams and I will never jump ship, I feel some disappointment
coming. We just became the Cleveland Cavaliers preach brother preach!
That is exactly what my daughter said, when I gave her the news yesterday. She was
looking At me sideways asking why does Billups have to go too? We’ll have to get to the cash
versus Loyalty conversation sooner than I expected, the only reason I was rooting for the
Nuggets, because I love the home town kid Chauncey Billups.
I like Ty, K,Martin and Afolao. I like team players and not selfish players and Carmelo
Anthony is that type of player. Anything the Nuggets get, they ask for it that is the front office!
The players are not at fault, it’s a business and that is the part that hurts. If they can play like
They play last night, they will be ok. I’m still a Nuggets fan.
Cavaliers. I’ll have to root for Oklahoma City Thunder for the rest of the year. I’m done with
the Nuggets! Chauncey Billups good luck I hated they had to send you with a selfish player such
as Carmelo Anthony.
Oh “fart”! I’m still a Nuggets fan. I can’t see myself rooting for another team. Bummed out
that Chauncey had to go. Robertta, I’m still a Nuggets fan also, they will probably be way down
for the rest of the year. I hope they can get some good picks like Ty. Keke, I agree. I do like Ty
and Afolao.
Oh my God what is happening to Colorado professional sports teams! Broncos, Avs,
Rockies and now the Nuggets! We have some serious rebuilding to do, to even get to the
Playoffs! I love my Colorado teams and I will never jump ship, I feel some disappointment
coming. We just became the Cleveland Cavaliers preach brother preach!
That is exactly what my daughter said, when I gave her the news yesterday. She was
looking At me sideways asking why does Billups have to go too? We’ll have to get to the cash
versus Loyalty conversation sooner than I expected, the only reason I was rooting for the
Nuggets, because I love the home town kid Chauncey Billups.
I like Ty, K,Martin and Afolao. I like team players and not selfish players and Carmelo
Anthony is that type of player. Anything the Nuggets get, they ask for it that is the front office!
The players are not at fault, it’s a business and that is the part that hurts. If they can play like
They play last night, they will be ok. I’m still a Nuggets fan.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
"Tour de Alaska" by Christa Ford
If you are like a lot of people I talk to, then you would love to travel to Alaska. You hear the many stories of how beautiful it is, and see all the amazing pictures. These stories and pictures don’t do the 49th state of the US justice at all. I was born and raised in Alaska, if you get the opportunity to tour Alaska I suggest doing some research. Find out what you want to see, what’s important to you to view and then create your own tour.
There are a lot of “premade” tours available, and they may seem very convienant and perhaps even inexpensive. These “premade” tours may be for some people, but definitely not for everyone. A “premade” tour will take you through the sites of Alaska and give you some time to see the popular sights of Alaska. However, some of the best sights are seen on your own. If you’re looking to see the panhandle there are cruises you can take and they will take you to several stops along the Inside Passage of Alaska and you can see the capitol of Alaska. If you like any of these places more than just seeing it for two or three hours, you won’t be able to if you go on one of these cruises. The cruises pull into port and you get a short amount of time to tour these areas, and buses will be happy to take you to popular sights along the way. You can do all these mini sort of tours even without having a “premade” tour. You can work it into the things you want to see, when you want to see them, and for how long you would like to see them for. Seeing as though I have seen and done most things in Alaska, these are some of my recommendations when touring Alaska.
For the fisherman, what would be cooler than to catch a 300 pound halibut off the coast of Seward? You can charter a boat and have someone else do the dirty work, such as reeling in the big catch, as well as clean it for you. However, you still get the benefit of keeping all that fresh halibut meat! It’s so delicious. Fresh salmon pulled straight from the Kenai River is also amazing. The trout fisherman would not be disappointed either. Fisherman rejoice in all the options in Alaska to feed your fish cravings! If you don’t catch anything the first day, stay as long as you like, you won’t be in any hurry to catch a bus or a train, you scheduled it!
While that man in your life is out catching the “big one” and you don’t prefer to eat fish, or catch it, there is something else you can do on the water that doesn’t involve a fishing pole. You could go whale watching. There isn’t a day that goes by that you don’t see a pod of killer whales in the Homer Spit. You can hop aboard a sightseeing boat, and the captain will take you right out to them. Bring your poncho, you’re like to get blow hole water on you! You can film them or just take pictures. I don’t recommend swimming with them, even though it’s the summer season, the water is still quite cold.
You can take the train from Anchorage all the way up to Fairbanks. The trip is amazing and you’re guaranteed to see at least one bear, one moose and perhaps some other wildlife. The train can stop at the Denali State Park, you can even overnight there, go for a hike up North Americas highest mountain peak -- Mount McKinley, also known as Mount Denali. The view from this park is breathtaking, even if you don’t have the ambition to climb the mountain. This is also an amazing drive if you were to rent a car and drive it. With your own car you would definitely be on your own schedule. Staying for as long or as little time as you would like, with a tour you would be on a schedule with other people who make the time slots for you, who choose how long you get to see what.
In Fairbanks at the right time in the summer, the sun won’t actually set. You can stay up all night and just watch the horizon. All you will see is the sun hovering, only threatening to fall behind the mountains. Then it will rise again. It’s absolutely amazing to see!
At any point in your stay in Alaska, so long as it gets dark, you may be blessed to see the Aurora borealis, also known more commonly as the Northern Lights. Never a sight will you see such as the northern lights in Alaska, the way the greens and purples and reds move through the sky. Waving and flying through the dark night, streaking it with color. Residents of the state pull over to witness and capture on film this spectacular sight.
In short, if you are limited on time and funds, a cruise or a packaged tour may be the way to go. However, if you want to truly see Alaska through the locals eyes, do you it your way. Tailor your trip to your lifestyle. If you’re an outdoorsman get the fishing and the hiking. If you’re a bird watcher, take the train or a car up the State Highway 1. No matter how you see Alaska, make sure to see it, and don’t forget your camera.
There are a lot of “premade” tours available, and they may seem very convienant and perhaps even inexpensive. These “premade” tours may be for some people, but definitely not for everyone. A “premade” tour will take you through the sites of Alaska and give you some time to see the popular sights of Alaska. However, some of the best sights are seen on your own. If you’re looking to see the panhandle there are cruises you can take and they will take you to several stops along the Inside Passage of Alaska and you can see the capitol of Alaska. If you like any of these places more than just seeing it for two or three hours, you won’t be able to if you go on one of these cruises. The cruises pull into port and you get a short amount of time to tour these areas, and buses will be happy to take you to popular sights along the way. You can do all these mini sort of tours even without having a “premade” tour. You can work it into the things you want to see, when you want to see them, and for how long you would like to see them for. Seeing as though I have seen and done most things in Alaska, these are some of my recommendations when touring Alaska.
For the fisherman, what would be cooler than to catch a 300 pound halibut off the coast of Seward? You can charter a boat and have someone else do the dirty work, such as reeling in the big catch, as well as clean it for you. However, you still get the benefit of keeping all that fresh halibut meat! It’s so delicious. Fresh salmon pulled straight from the Kenai River is also amazing. The trout fisherman would not be disappointed either. Fisherman rejoice in all the options in Alaska to feed your fish cravings! If you don’t catch anything the first day, stay as long as you like, you won’t be in any hurry to catch a bus or a train, you scheduled it!
While that man in your life is out catching the “big one” and you don’t prefer to eat fish, or catch it, there is something else you can do on the water that doesn’t involve a fishing pole. You could go whale watching. There isn’t a day that goes by that you don’t see a pod of killer whales in the Homer Spit. You can hop aboard a sightseeing boat, and the captain will take you right out to them. Bring your poncho, you’re like to get blow hole water on you! You can film them or just take pictures. I don’t recommend swimming with them, even though it’s the summer season, the water is still quite cold.
You can take the train from Anchorage all the way up to Fairbanks. The trip is amazing and you’re guaranteed to see at least one bear, one moose and perhaps some other wildlife. The train can stop at the Denali State Park, you can even overnight there, go for a hike up North Americas highest mountain peak -- Mount McKinley, also known as Mount Denali. The view from this park is breathtaking, even if you don’t have the ambition to climb the mountain. This is also an amazing drive if you were to rent a car and drive it. With your own car you would definitely be on your own schedule. Staying for as long or as little time as you would like, with a tour you would be on a schedule with other people who make the time slots for you, who choose how long you get to see what.
In Fairbanks at the right time in the summer, the sun won’t actually set. You can stay up all night and just watch the horizon. All you will see is the sun hovering, only threatening to fall behind the mountains. Then it will rise again. It’s absolutely amazing to see!
At any point in your stay in Alaska, so long as it gets dark, you may be blessed to see the Aurora borealis, also known more commonly as the Northern Lights. Never a sight will you see such as the northern lights in Alaska, the way the greens and purples and reds move through the sky. Waving and flying through the dark night, streaking it with color. Residents of the state pull over to witness and capture on film this spectacular sight.
In short, if you are limited on time and funds, a cruise or a packaged tour may be the way to go. However, if you want to truly see Alaska through the locals eyes, do you it your way. Tailor your trip to your lifestyle. If you’re an outdoorsman get the fishing and the hiking. If you’re a bird watcher, take the train or a car up the State Highway 1. No matter how you see Alaska, make sure to see it, and don’t forget your camera.
"From the Math Lab" by Teng Wang
A black woman who was wearing a turquoise T-shirt was sitting beside me in the math lab. She raised her hand, and that meant she did need some help on her math.
A tutor went to her table and asked, “Can I help you?”
“Yeah, I am working on how to find the slope of the equation, and that makes me confused,” she said.
“Well, do you have some questions that I can focus on?”
“Yes, I do,” she answered, “here is the exercise from my homework.”
“OK. I need to show you a formula to solve these serious problems,” the tutor said. And then, he wrote down one formula on a piece of paper and explained to her, “Y equals mX plus b. The coefficient of X is called ‘slope’, and b is ‘y-intercept’.”
“Wow! I never saw that before,” she said.
“Let’s do one example together. So, we need to plug in numbers for X and Y, and then, we will find the slope and y-intercept.”
She nodded and said, “That makes sense! I feel better right now! Thanks for your help!”
“You are welcome.”
A tutor went to her table and asked, “Can I help you?”
“Yeah, I am working on how to find the slope of the equation, and that makes me confused,” she said.
“Well, do you have some questions that I can focus on?”
“Yes, I do,” she answered, “here is the exercise from my homework.”
“OK. I need to show you a formula to solve these serious problems,” the tutor said. And then, he wrote down one formula on a piece of paper and explained to her, “Y equals mX plus b. The coefficient of X is called ‘slope’, and b is ‘y-intercept’.”
“Wow! I never saw that before,” she said.
“Let’s do one example together. So, we need to plug in numbers for X and Y, and then, we will find the slope and y-intercept.”
She nodded and said, “That makes sense! I feel better right now! Thanks for your help!”
“You are welcome.”
"I Want a Sister" by LaQueta McCauley
For about for years now my seven year old daughter has been informing me that she desperately wants a little sister. Actually she needs a baby sister, and quick! I also have two sons, both of which are typical boys. The oldest is JaVaughn. He is two years older than my daughter Jananya. Then there is the youngest boy Jaylen whom is three years younger than Janaya. And although he is the baby make no mistake he is still a boy. She is the middle child AND the only girl. She is not handling that as well as I hoped.
One day I decided to ask why she wants a sister so bad. At first I thought it was because her little brother refused to the regular client in her home beauty shop any longer, but she told me that wasn’t it. Then, I assumed she wanted someone whom had the same interests as her and would play tea party the proper way. I asked if that was why and she said nope, that’s not it. So I simply asked her why, and she replied “the boys are always messing with me so if I had a sister she could beat up Jaylen while I get JaVaughn.
I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or preach so I did a little of both. “So what happens when the little sister sticks around after the brawl and wants to play with ALL of your toys”, I asked. She looked confused. I guess she never thought of that. So she responded, “Never mind, I want a dog instead”. Now I’ve already learned why she feels she needs backup. So I informed her she didn’t need a dog OR a babysitter. That although I’m big, I am still a girl. Therefore, she has a level playing field if she would just train me in the techniques of torturing boys; it had been awhile for me. So with a huge excited smile she prepared me for our mission “Operation Kick Butt”.
We tethered sheets together and grabbed flashlights. We gathered ammo and launchers for the battle. We cut and taped all while the boys ignored us and continued to wrestle, argue, eat and play. We had all day to figure out how to revenge beach Barbie and her poor puppy both of which, due to the boys, are no longer with us. We hid in my closet for seemed like forever until finally the boys started to wonder. JaVaughn came in my room and me and Janaya has taken our positions. Next Jaylen came in behind him and looked around. “Where are they?” I heard JaVaughn ask. Before Jaylen could respond to him we hammered them with spit balls, water-balloons, & dirty socks. I threw on the sheet with holes cut out for the eyes and leaped from the closet screaming in a ghostly voice “leave your sister alone”!
All I heard were footsteps leaving the vicinity and I removed the sheet looking for Janaya so we could celebrate the success of the mission. I looked for her but she was nowhere to be found. I called downstairs for the kids and found them all hiding in the laundry room absolutely petrified. Including Janaya. After about 15min of consoling the completely terrorized children I decided she needed a sister. But for now a life size doll that talks and poops is a close as it gets. I apologized with ice cream and we are all friends again.
One day I decided to ask why she wants a sister so bad. At first I thought it was because her little brother refused to the regular client in her home beauty shop any longer, but she told me that wasn’t it. Then, I assumed she wanted someone whom had the same interests as her and would play tea party the proper way. I asked if that was why and she said nope, that’s not it. So I simply asked her why, and she replied “the boys are always messing with me so if I had a sister she could beat up Jaylen while I get JaVaughn.
I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or preach so I did a little of both. “So what happens when the little sister sticks around after the brawl and wants to play with ALL of your toys”, I asked. She looked confused. I guess she never thought of that. So she responded, “Never mind, I want a dog instead”. Now I’ve already learned why she feels she needs backup. So I informed her she didn’t need a dog OR a babysitter. That although I’m big, I am still a girl. Therefore, she has a level playing field if she would just train me in the techniques of torturing boys; it had been awhile for me. So with a huge excited smile she prepared me for our mission “Operation Kick Butt”.
We tethered sheets together and grabbed flashlights. We gathered ammo and launchers for the battle. We cut and taped all while the boys ignored us and continued to wrestle, argue, eat and play. We had all day to figure out how to revenge beach Barbie and her poor puppy both of which, due to the boys, are no longer with us. We hid in my closet for seemed like forever until finally the boys started to wonder. JaVaughn came in my room and me and Janaya has taken our positions. Next Jaylen came in behind him and looked around. “Where are they?” I heard JaVaughn ask. Before Jaylen could respond to him we hammered them with spit balls, water-balloons, & dirty socks. I threw on the sheet with holes cut out for the eyes and leaped from the closet screaming in a ghostly voice “leave your sister alone”!
All I heard were footsteps leaving the vicinity and I removed the sheet looking for Janaya so we could celebrate the success of the mission. I looked for her but she was nowhere to be found. I called downstairs for the kids and found them all hiding in the laundry room absolutely petrified. Including Janaya. After about 15min of consoling the completely terrorized children I decided she needed a sister. But for now a life size doll that talks and poops is a close as it gets. I apologized with ice cream and we are all friends again.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
"The First Time" by Alyssa Gallegos-Orozco
January 5, 2008. I was fifteen and in the arms of my prince charming, every moment we had together led us up to this day. We sat in the dark for quite some time, exercising our tongues together. What felt like hours was only about thirty minutes. We touched each other in inappropriate ways like the adults did in romantic movies. Thoughts raced through my head like cars on a Sunday night illegal street race. I was so caught in the moment I was unable to grasp the reality of what was really going on. I was taking my own “womanhood” to a whole new level.
Gazing into his eyes pulled me back to the summer before freshman year. I got dropped off at church; it was a beautiful, sunny day with a cool breeze to make the temperature perfect. A new kid. Someone I had never seen before, for some reason I felt myself being drawn to him. Knowing nothing about him only made him that more mesmerizing. He was like nothing I had seen before; he wore a bright yellow shirt with the collar “popped.” He had pitch black hair with eyelashes that looked like butterflies trying to escape every time he blinked. I carefully watched him make his way to a crowd of teens that were all Mexican, “Cheds” is what I called them. I found myself walking towards him ready to get my mack on.
I gently said to him in my high pitched voice, “Hi, I’m Alyssa. What’s your name?”
He answered back with an accent that was of Mexican descent, “Heriberto Tena.”
I wittingly answered, “Hairy Burrito what?”
We both immediately bursted into laughter and he corrected with a polite, “You can call me Beto.”
He thrusted his body against me breaking me out of the memory I was stuck in. The way he felt against me made it easy for me to let him enter me. The pain was unbearable, but he was so excited he pushed himself in just a little more each time. I loved him so I decided to let him. Life for me as a young lady was changing; I always told the people I taught at church “If you’re not ready to have babies you’re not ready for sex.” Well that night I ate my words.
I was ready to be done so I whispered “I want you to finish.”
When he got off me I sat up, got myself together and said, “Let’s go see what everyone’s doing.”
He replied with an, “Okay my love.”
I opened the door and looked around for my siblings to my surprise no one was home. Now, being a part of a family of eight and no one being home was an unusual situation. We treaded up the stairs and I was vulnerable I felt regret in my heart and it happen just like my mom said, “After you have sex for the first time, your body will never be the same.” My body instantly felt different, like a little part of me really was missing.
He looks at me and instantly hounded me with questions like, “What’s wrong? Did I do something to upset you?”
I answered back with a simple “No, it’s nothing I’m fine.”
He didn’t believe me but in all honesty everything was wrong with me. I committed adultery; I sinned against God and my future husband. This boy was my center focus for so long I wanted to do anything in my power to make him happy, he now had me soul and body.
Gazing into his eyes pulled me back to the summer before freshman year. I got dropped off at church; it was a beautiful, sunny day with a cool breeze to make the temperature perfect. A new kid. Someone I had never seen before, for some reason I felt myself being drawn to him. Knowing nothing about him only made him that more mesmerizing. He was like nothing I had seen before; he wore a bright yellow shirt with the collar “popped.” He had pitch black hair with eyelashes that looked like butterflies trying to escape every time he blinked. I carefully watched him make his way to a crowd of teens that were all Mexican, “Cheds” is what I called them. I found myself walking towards him ready to get my mack on.
I gently said to him in my high pitched voice, “Hi, I’m Alyssa. What’s your name?”
He answered back with an accent that was of Mexican descent, “Heriberto Tena.”
I wittingly answered, “Hairy Burrito what?”
We both immediately bursted into laughter and he corrected with a polite, “You can call me Beto.”
He thrusted his body against me breaking me out of the memory I was stuck in. The way he felt against me made it easy for me to let him enter me. The pain was unbearable, but he was so excited he pushed himself in just a little more each time. I loved him so I decided to let him. Life for me as a young lady was changing; I always told the people I taught at church “If you’re not ready to have babies you’re not ready for sex.” Well that night I ate my words.
I was ready to be done so I whispered “I want you to finish.”
When he got off me I sat up, got myself together and said, “Let’s go see what everyone’s doing.”
He replied with an, “Okay my love.”
I opened the door and looked around for my siblings to my surprise no one was home. Now, being a part of a family of eight and no one being home was an unusual situation. We treaded up the stairs and I was vulnerable I felt regret in my heart and it happen just like my mom said, “After you have sex for the first time, your body will never be the same.” My body instantly felt different, like a little part of me really was missing.
He looks at me and instantly hounded me with questions like, “What’s wrong? Did I do something to upset you?”
I answered back with a simple “No, it’s nothing I’m fine.”
He didn’t believe me but in all honesty everything was wrong with me. I committed adultery; I sinned against God and my future husband. This boy was my center focus for so long I wanted to do anything in my power to make him happy, he now had me soul and body.
Monday, April 11, 2011
"Red Blood Cells, Aisle Three" by Kris Hines
I just started a new job at Standard Heating and Cooling on Monday. It had been a great week of learning about furnaces, air conditioners, sheet metal, fittings and all the duct work parts that a contractor would need to outfit a house with a new heating or cooling system. I was the person who pulled the orders that the contractors called in. I had made it through the week without a cut. Brian, my boss said all week. “Sheet metal is sharp and it will cut you bad!” He told me stories of people he knew that had cut their hands in half. I was afraid to cut myself.
Today is Friday, August 30, 2001. I wake up as usual, showered, got dressed and ate a little breakfast. Brian was also my roommate at the time. We went to the warehouse and opened up for business as usual. I wish I would have known, this was not going to be a good day. Our delivery driver and I were given a pick-list for a contractor and began pulling items needed. We pulled the sheet metal, the fittings and the elbows for the duct work. The next thing to pull was the transition pieces. Transition duct takes a heat duct from eighteen inches to twenty-four inches. I climbed the ladder and grabbed a piece and found two were stuck together.
I turned to our driver and said. “These are stuck together.”
He replied, “Hand them down and I will pull them apart. You don’t want to do it up on the ladder.”
“Ok,” I said
I turned to climb down the ladder a few steps. When I turned, I lost my footing. I teetered left, then right thinking I would steady myself. Wrong! I came off the ladder, pieces of transition still in hand. I slammed to the floor with a jolt to my back. A pain shot through my right arm and everything faded to white. I could not see. My body went into shock, blinding me from seeing the bloody mess that was my arm. I had landed on my feet, which jolted my back and the pieces of transition in my left hand swung around and sliced through my skin in my right forearm.
“Are you ok?” asked our driver, seeing all the blood as I turned towards his voice. “That is a lot of blood! Brian! Bring me some towels! Kris fell from the ladder and sliced himself on these pieces of heat duct.”
“All this blood is from that?” Brian asked, “Wrap his arm and get him to my truck!”
They helped me walk to his truck and we were on the road in an instant. Well, that is what it felt like for me. I could hear the racing of the engine, which meant Brian, was speeding. I could feel the pull of gravity left and right. I found out later, it was because we were weaving between construction cones, in the construction zone he drove right through. It didn’t matter to him that the road was closed.
I asked Brian, “Where are we were going?”
He said, “To the hospital! Let me focus on the road and you relax.”
I told him, “I could not see. Everything was white.”
“You’ll be ok, just relax we’re almost there,” he reassured me.
We pulled up to the Emergency room entrance and my eye sight started coming back. He ran in and grabbed a nurse, who grabbed a wheel chair to get me into the hospital.
My memory in the emergency room is a little fuzzy. They gave me pain medicine and laid me in a bed. My arm was up on a table so they could examine it and clean out any pieces of metal that might be in the cut. I remember the doctor cleaning out the wound and talking to me but what was said I do not remember. After cleaning the wound they took me to the operating room, laid me out on the table, stuck me in the arm pit, and said, “Count backwards from ninety-nine.” I started. “99, 98, 97.” I woke up later in my hospital bed with my roommate sitting there. He told me the doctor would be in in a bit to tell me what damage I had done to my arm.
We talked a little while. He told me that I didn’t need to worry about work and to just get better. The job will be there when I am healed. He also told me that they had cleaned up the mess at the warehouse. “Isle three is now where we keep the red blood cells,” he said jokingly. I said, “Very funny!” I was in a lot of pain so I pushed the button in my hand that delivers pain medicine to me. I went to sleep.
Today is Friday, August 30, 2001. I wake up as usual, showered, got dressed and ate a little breakfast. Brian was also my roommate at the time. We went to the warehouse and opened up for business as usual. I wish I would have known, this was not going to be a good day. Our delivery driver and I were given a pick-list for a contractor and began pulling items needed. We pulled the sheet metal, the fittings and the elbows for the duct work. The next thing to pull was the transition pieces. Transition duct takes a heat duct from eighteen inches to twenty-four inches. I climbed the ladder and grabbed a piece and found two were stuck together.
I turned to our driver and said. “These are stuck together.”
He replied, “Hand them down and I will pull them apart. You don’t want to do it up on the ladder.”
“Ok,” I said
I turned to climb down the ladder a few steps. When I turned, I lost my footing. I teetered left, then right thinking I would steady myself. Wrong! I came off the ladder, pieces of transition still in hand. I slammed to the floor with a jolt to my back. A pain shot through my right arm and everything faded to white. I could not see. My body went into shock, blinding me from seeing the bloody mess that was my arm. I had landed on my feet, which jolted my back and the pieces of transition in my left hand swung around and sliced through my skin in my right forearm.
“Are you ok?” asked our driver, seeing all the blood as I turned towards his voice. “That is a lot of blood! Brian! Bring me some towels! Kris fell from the ladder and sliced himself on these pieces of heat duct.”
“All this blood is from that?” Brian asked, “Wrap his arm and get him to my truck!”
They helped me walk to his truck and we were on the road in an instant. Well, that is what it felt like for me. I could hear the racing of the engine, which meant Brian, was speeding. I could feel the pull of gravity left and right. I found out later, it was because we were weaving between construction cones, in the construction zone he drove right through. It didn’t matter to him that the road was closed.
I asked Brian, “Where are we were going?”
He said, “To the hospital! Let me focus on the road and you relax.”
I told him, “I could not see. Everything was white.”
“You’ll be ok, just relax we’re almost there,” he reassured me.
We pulled up to the Emergency room entrance and my eye sight started coming back. He ran in and grabbed a nurse, who grabbed a wheel chair to get me into the hospital.
My memory in the emergency room is a little fuzzy. They gave me pain medicine and laid me in a bed. My arm was up on a table so they could examine it and clean out any pieces of metal that might be in the cut. I remember the doctor cleaning out the wound and talking to me but what was said I do not remember. After cleaning the wound they took me to the operating room, laid me out on the table, stuck me in the arm pit, and said, “Count backwards from ninety-nine.” I started. “99, 98, 97.” I woke up later in my hospital bed with my roommate sitting there. He told me the doctor would be in in a bit to tell me what damage I had done to my arm.
We talked a little while. He told me that I didn’t need to worry about work and to just get better. The job will be there when I am healed. He also told me that they had cleaned up the mess at the warehouse. “Isle three is now where we keep the red blood cells,” he said jokingly. I said, “Very funny!” I was in a lot of pain so I pushed the button in my hand that delivers pain medicine to me. I went to sleep.
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