500 word Essay

The following is a 500 word answer to the college application essay question: "What would your home say, if it could talk?"

   The manufactured house sits on the main road leading out of the small Oregonian town. Not many people ask it what it has to say, but it sits in the rain which seems to last forever, and thinks of its life and the people who have inhabited its framework.

   It knows it is a young house, especially in comparison to some of the ones on the east coast, but it wants to be the subject of public interest too. Unfortunately, it knows that unless a member of its family becomes nationally renown, no-one will try to understand it or the stories it can tell. But if someone would listen, the house would talk...

   It would speak of the six people who have inhabited its halls for the last thirteen years, especially the oldest child, the curious writer boy. It would tell of how the writer boy had always wanted to figure things out. He never played with big trucks as a youngster, but had instead attempted to figure out how they worked and why the wheels turned. Growing up, the writer boy never wanted things easy -- he liked a challenge -- whether it be in sports or in school.

   The writer boy's high school was the most interesting, the house would insist. He swam and played water polo for three years, not giving up even when it was difficult. The house remembers often finding the boy sitting in his room reading long novels others would find boring, or staying up late writing a story which had latched relentlessly onto his mind. At other times, the writer boy participated in the local theater, with his church, or in school-related activities. His family had always encouraged teamwork and the bringing together of every individual's skills to make the final product better than ever. Regardless of where he was, the boy did his best and encouraged the others to do the same. “Nothing comes of laziness, except a guilty feeling when you think of what could have been accomplished,” the boy would say as he attempted to live his life with enthusiasm and integrity.

   Of course the house knows better than anyone else how everything was not as wonderful as the family said. Life was not always easy, such as the summer before the boy's junior year, when his mother tore almost every ligament in her knee and couldn't walk for weeks. Then the following month, the boy and his father were in a car accident where a bicyclist was killed. Even in the hardest of times, the boy did not falter. He adopted holocaust-survivor and psychologist Viktor Frankl's belief that “the meaning of life is found in every moment of living”, regardless of the circumstances.

   As the house recalls its history and wishes to tell someone about it, it watches the writer boy: how he readies for college, takes extra tests, and studies harder than ever, because he knows his strenuous labor will pay off someday. The house believes so too.

Nano Wrimo Ends

Today is the final day of Nano, and I spent several hours trying to finish the 50,000 word goal. I won! Hooray for me. And though my story isn't quite finished yet, I'll hopefully finish over the next couple months. But, I have decided how it will end -- with this last statement, which practically sums up the entire story:

And they would live happily-ever-after. Of course, the chance of that happening was actually infinitesimally small, but that was okay with Conner. After all, he lived for chances like that.

The whole story is wrapped around the concept that with the right machine, we could predict life, and in a sense create the future that we want. However, as my characters realize, life in unpredictable, and the things that should happen don't, and the things that shouldn't happen do. We must simply make the best of what we're given and live life for what it is important and true. Besides, how fun would life be, if everyone knew what was going to happen next?

Nano Wrimo

  I have reached approximately reached 38,500 words, and still going. That leaves me I have about 8 days left to write 11,500 words, if I am to succeed in writing 50k in 30 days. I'm confident at this point that I will make it. *Fist pump*
 Here's another passage:

  “So are you simply running?” Gwen could see he hadn't told her everything.

   “Not exactly. I'm trying to figure out exactly who the general's working with. I have a feeling that he may work with the drug dealers himself, but I can't prove that.”

   “You don't think those guys that attacked us were...”

   “...thugs? I don't know. They were the best dressed thugs I've ever seen, but maybe that was the point. I don't know, but I do know the general is not to be trusted. Either that, or else I've made a major mistake. But I'm not supposed to be able to do that, so...” Conner's voice trailed off as they were served their food.

   “So what's your plan now?”

   “Um... at the moment its to stay alive. They blocked Data earlier too.”

   “What does that mean?” she asked between bites.

   “It means I'm a completely normal human until I figure out how to get it back.”

   “Ah, so how crucial is that, and how soon can you get it back?”

   “I'm not sure about either of those yet.”

   “Wonderful,” she rolled her eyes and took another bite. As she chewed she continued to watch him. Everything he had said seemed possible, and he acted like he believed it, but there was a chance that he was lying... She thrust the thoughts back, having already gone through that logic. He cut his steak and began to bite into it, not really paying attention to her or his food.

   They said nothing more until they were nearly finished eating, and Conner locked eyes with her, as if realizing for the first time that he was going to be stuck with her for a while. “What made you decide to come?”

   She smirked and finished the bite in her mouth before answering, “I've been wondering the same thing, actually. I haven't decided why yet. But, I didn't have a whole lot of connections in the town per-say, and honestly, I wanted out. Not to mention that you obviously needed help.” The last statement was sarcasm, but Conner stared at her, confused.

   “If I remember correctly, you were pointing a gun at me up until the very last moment.”

   “I was joking. You didn't really need my help, but you gave me an excuse to run away. Besides, how often does a girl get asked if she wants to be a hostage?”

   “I don't know, though I'm sure Data would...”

   Gwen laughed at this. “You don't take sarcasm very well, do you?”

   “I guess not.” He glanced out the window again and surveyed the area. “So, you didn't have any family? Friends?”

   “No,” her face darkened. “My father left us when I was about fifteen. He and I had had a pretty good relationship until then. He swore he'd come back, but simply disappeared. I never forgave him.” She paused, her whole face had turned cold, and her eyes were like ice. “My mom became nearly bedridden when she realized he wasn't coming back, and stayed that way for five years before she finally died. I have no other family. And friends? I have a few girls my age that hung out with sometimes, but most of them moved off at some point to a bigger town for bigger dreams. I was left, working at the bar... it had been my mom's job.” Her voice trailed off.

   Conner could hear her bitterness, and almost feel her pain. “I'm sorry.”

   “Yeah, well that was a while ago,” she blew it off, and her face resumed the calmer but tough expression that was her normal.

   “So, how far are you willing to go?”

   She shrugged, “I don't know. When I've had enough excitement, am tired of being shot at, and have been freaked out enough by an experimental-mercenary-turned-renegade, I'll probably drop out.” She was smirking again, and he understood this time that she was joking. He even allowed a smile to bend the corner of his mouth.

Nano Wrimo

   I have been writing for the last 16 days for Nano. Having started with absolutely nothing on November 1st, I have since written more than 26,000 words. Here is a short snip-it:

    Mack opened his eyes. Something was wrong, he could sense it. He listened for several long minutes. He couldn't hear anything. Then he realized, that's what was strange. He often could hear Conner in the next room over breathing deeply, but there was nothing. Maybe he was simply breathing shallower than normal.

     He relaxed and closed his eyes again, but he couldn't get comfortable again. He glanced at his bedside table, where beside the picture of his wife sat the tablet that tracked the questions Conner was asking Data. He couldn't read the most recent questions, but he could see that it was active. That's weird, he thought, but then again, Conner has worked late before. Then he glanced at the clock: 2:00am. But he's never worked that late before. Mack grabbed the tablet and read the most recent questions. What are these?

     He glanced back through the list, not understanding. Then it hit him. His eyes grew wide and he jumped out of bed, swearing loudly. He grabbed a jacket and shoes from the corner of the room and raced down the stairs, not caring that he was still in his boxers. He was half-way down the stairs before he realized his keys were still on the bedside table. He ran back up and grabbed them, along with his cell phone, and charged back down the stairs, out the door, and into his car, tripping and nearly face-planting in the process.

     Once in the car, he threw it into gear and peeled out of the drive-way. He had to get to the lab, fast. He dialed Dale's number. It rang once, twice, three times. "Come on, Dale. Pick up." He swore as he ran a stop sign and nearly hit another car, which honked loudly. He didn't care.

     "Hello?" greeted a very sleepy voice.

     "Dale! We have a problem..."

National Novel Writing Month

Today was the second day of November, which is National Novel Writing Month. This means, as of yesterday, I have began the long, stressful process of writing a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. That's 1667 words a day. I did it last year, and am quite hopeful that I will do it again this year. The website, http://www.nanowrimo.org, keeps everyone signed up accountable to their goals, sends them encouraging talks from popular authors, along with helpful tips on writing.

This year, I am writing about a government organization who has taken humans and attached a super-computer to their brains, which they can access from anywhere in the world. The super-computer, called Data, takes information from every possible place, including an advanced simulation processor and can give the answers to any situation with precise results and instructions on how to get the wanted results. Here is the last part of the opening scene:

“Mack,” Connie pointed to the tablet. “He's ready.”

Mack nodded and turned to the general, “Sir, I introduce to you: CC7.”

He pulled the trigger. The bullet sped through the air, through the glass, and through the head of the first guard. Barely adjusting the rifle, he fired the second shot, which likewise dropped the second guard. Before either corpse had time to hit the ground, he pushed himself to his knees, engaged the grenade launcher, and with precise measurements, fired. The window shattered with the impact and the grenade landed beside the dead bodies. There was an infinitesimally small chance that the grenade would not actually explode. Boom! But that was no longer a concern.

He waited to let the dust clear. There was movement on the perimeter of the half-mile, according to his wrist device. New heat signatures were appearing and moving toward the cabin. This was exactly what he had expected and planned.

He turned his attention to the cabin again. The guards were all dead. The bald drug lord seemed to have a piece of shrapnel in his leg, but was otherwise alive. The fat one had a number of pieces of shrapnel in his body, including one in his head, but was attempting to stand. CC7 put his eye to the scope again, but before he could shoot the drug lord himself, something unpredicted happened. A bullet hit the drug lord between the eyes, and he ceased to move.

CC7 pulled back and glanced at his rifle barrel. He had not fired. He saw the bald one re-holster a pistol and limp toward the door. “Guess the alliance wasn't meant to be,” muttered CC7 under his breath. He picked the two ejected shells off the white snow and tromped toward the extraction point.

“And there you have it,” stated Jim proudly. “A beautiful success, as we promised you.”

“The one drug dealer survived,” pointed out the general.

“Yes, but you wanted us to stop the alliance, and we've done even better than that, by throwing the drug groups back into a civil war. They'll be too busy killing each other now to care about an alliance.”

The general nodded and stood up. “What is to become of CC7 now?”

“He's to be used for whatever you need him for.”

“You do realize that we have the ability to hire mercenaries with equal success for much less than 10 million, right?”

“Yes,” agreed Mack, “but this one will be worth far more, as he cannot fail.”

“Why not? Didn't CC6?” The general had a point.

“CC6 was not quite ready to enter the real world, as I tried to tell Jim, but he...”

“Believed that we would not know if he was ready without giving him a true test,” finished Jim, giving Mack a 'be-careful-or-I'll-fire-you' look.

“And what has become of CC6?”

There was silence around the room. “We're tracking his whereabouts,” stated Connie.

“You mean you don't know where he is?”

“No,” clarified Jim, “we know where he is... but we don't know what to do about it yet. He is still a well trained killer and investigator. He was trained to replace the police. We didn't want to simply kill him, and we can't capture him without putting other people in danger.”

“We were planning on having CC7 deal with him,” Mack sat down again.

The general was silent for several long minutes that seemed to last forever, “Keep me posted.” And he exited the room.

CC7 could here the sounds of a gunfight as he trudged toward the extraction point. He knew that if anyone traced the trajectory of the bullets, they would be led to the packed snow and his footprints, but what was the possibility of that happening? He had Data run the numbers. Yep, he was right of course: the chance was infinitesimal.

Library Fiesta

I wrote this for the Sentinel Newspaper at the end of June, 2012.
     Mariachi music. Mexican food. Face painting. Multi-cultural community gathering. These all describe the atmosphere of the 5^th annual Community Fiesta. The Friends of the Cottage Grove Library, a non-profit organization, has put on this event once again.
 

     The Friends of the Library’s goal is to “encourage people to attend the library”, says James Burke, one of the organizers of this year’s party. This party is one of many events The Friends put on every year. They help put on Book Sales multiple times a year. They recently worked with the Habitat for Humanity to build a storage shack, and constructed 25 bat houses last month.

     In 2008, the Friends of the Library organized this fiesta. They wanted to reach out to the Hispanic community, and held bilingual tours and story-time at the library. This coincided with a large donation of Spanish books. The party was a celebration for diversity and for the library.

     The Fiesta is a free event for families to draw attention to the library and The Friends of the Library. There were activities for kids, which included face painting, and piñata making. There was Mexican food, donated by the local restaurants, “El Paraiso”, “Torero’s”, and “El Tapatio”. A Mariachi band, named Mariachi Herradura de Oro, played live music, which gave the whole place a festive flavor. The band, an eleven member ensemble, has existed for about three and a half years, and played a number of instruments: a Mexican Guitarron, along with trumpets and violins. They traveled from table to table, consistently asking for requests from the attentive audience. This is the second year they have attended the fiesta.

     The Friends of the Library decided to conduct the Fiesta during the Art Walk this week. They believed the Mariachi music would attract those walking from business to business. “People really enjoy parties,” said Samantha Duncan, another organizer of this year’s event. It seemed to work, as there was a constant supply of attendees. The kids seemed to be enjoying themselves as there was always a long line for face painting. A number of them claimed the party was “pretty cool”, and their parents agreed that it was a “great community event”.

     This Community Fiesta was “a great way to get the community out,” says Burke.  It brought together the cultures in a free family fun way. The Library parking lot will continue to be the location for this celebration in future years, and all families are invited to participate

Bike Fest

I wrote this article for The Sentinel in June:

     The 8^th annual Bike Fest transpired on Saturday, June 24th. John Logan, also known as “J-lo” by his compatriots, of “Star Touring and Riding” organized this event. He rides with the local “Star Chapter 339” motorcyclists, who put on this event for the benefit of the city and the promotion of their charity: Youth On Their Own (YOTO).

      Parent Partnership (YOTO) helps homeless teens make it through school, encourages them, and buys clothes and school supplies for them. All the profits made by “Star Touring and Riding” at the Bike Fest were given to this organization, to support their mission.

     This exploit seemed to be quite a success, as it has been in years past. Cottage Grove’s Main Street was closed and more than a hundred motorcycles of all shapes and sizes lined one side of the street. Vendors lined the other side and displayed their goods. The merchandise included motorcycle gear, hot dogs, popcorn, jewelry, and other vendors, such as Western States Insurance and Oregon Concealed. Participants came from all over Oregon.

      Star Chapter 339 raffled off many items, including t-shirts, motorcycle gear, etc, that sponsors donated. A large number of sponsors helped this event, with Big Stuff Barbecue, Budweiser, and Cottage Grove Yamaha Motorsports being a few of them.

     A bike show occurred in the morning, with a number of cycles set out for sale. They had Choppers, bikes with saddle bags, loud Harleys, and other nearly silent bikes. A live band, “No Way Out” played most of the day, giving the event a loud and macho atmosphere, which seemed to fit the motorcycles perfectly.

      They held motorcycle games in the afternoon at the western end of Main Street. These games were quite entertaining, if slightly unusual. Motorcycles raced, but only the last one across the finish line was the winner. Two-seater bikes took turns going through a course, with a passenger on the back, who tried to pick up stuffed animals off the road with a fishing-net. Again, the drivers who maintained the slowest steadiest speed appeared to do best. Another group of two-seater bikes contested in a clothes-pin drop, with seven buckets of different shapes and sizes. Many more games also took place.

      John Logan seemed happy with the turnout, and how the “Star Chapter 339” was benefitting the community. “We just want to help,” he stated. This event was much more difficult to plan than it appeared, and “it took nearly 6 months to organize”. Though it’s the eighth annual meet, it’s only the third to actually take place on Main Street, where it will most likely be continued in later years, hopefully with equal or better success.

The Hunger Games series

     I recently read the popular book trilogy written by Suzanne Collins, known as "The Hunger Games". I enjoyed them all, more than I thought I would, especially the second two.
     I had a friend approach me the other day, and he had the audacity to accuse Collins of being a feminist. I had to take some time to think about this, but I decided that I did not agree with him. A feminist is someone who believes that women should be treated as completely equal to men. Some feminists would take it farther and out-rightly say that women are superior and should therefore be in charge. I will say that I do not have a serious problem will women being in charge at times and even agree that they are better than men in SOME areas. My friend gave me a number of reasons why he believed the book was written by a feminist and I am going to be so bold as to disagree.
[Spoiler Alert]

      Friend: Throughout The Hunger Games Trilogy, it becomes apparent that Suzanne believes men should not be leaders, and that women in general do not need the men, except to have kids... This is shone as it becomes clear that ALL of the District Leaders in the rebellion are women, along with most of the leaders in the book. President Snow is the only exception, and he obviously is not to be looked upon as a good leader. He's twisted and evil, and the major Antagonist for the entirety of the series.
      I would say that simply having female leaders in the book doesn't make her a feminist. I personally know a number of women and men who are equally able to be good leaders, and if I was writing a book, I would also put female leaders in, though probably not as many. I also think that for characters to be important, they don't necessarily have to be the leaders. Collins shows a number of men and women, most of whom have equally serious problems.

     My friend then recounted to me how each of the male characters were deliberately shown to be failures and not true men, or true heroes:
     Friend: Gale was simply an angry young man, who though fully willing to take control and lead the rebels to victory like a hero, was not compassionate at all. He was more than willing to kill a few hundred innocent people in order to stop Snow. This cruelty somewhat ruined his character, especially for Katniss. He was a symbol of aggression and rebellion, an extremist.
     I agree that Gale was an extremist, and that he made several major mistakes, however, sometimes it takes an extremist to get a job done. If he had spared the hundred innocent people, would the Capital simply have killed them the next day? But then again, I'm using his justification process to decide would gets to live and who gets to die. That is a major difference between "good guys" and "bad guys". The bad don't care who they step on as they rise to power, which makes them evil. But the good are compassionate and do care, which makes them pure, if slightly unrealistic.

     Friend: Peeta could have been a leader, but was not given the chance. It was continually stated throughout the story that he should be the leader, because everyone liked him more than Katniss, and he always knew what to say. But he didn't really want to be the leader. All he wanted was to keep Katniss safe, which put him at her mercy. Though this could be considered "heroic" and honorable, he was not the strong specimen of a man that Gale was. He didn't do much in any of the games, physically or mentally, and was consistently getting in Katniss' way. In this way, Collins portrays him as weak.
     I agree that Peeta never really wanted to be the leader. That was because he already was. Everyone listened when he talked. He already controlled more than most of the rest of the characters. And yet, he didn't want to be like Coin, or Gale, and especially not Snow, who got the power and wanted more. Power corrupts and I believe Peeta was somehow aware of that. It is true he would have died for Katniss, but what girl doesn't want a man who would be willing to die for her? What more of a man do you need?

     Friend: Haymitch could also be considered a leader, but he hid from his past by getting drunk and staying unconscious. Again, though he did attempt to help Katniss and the Districts, he was not really one to look up to.
      All true, but don't we all know someone like this? His position may not be excusable, but it is understandable. The Games were pretty horrible.

     Friend: Finnick was one of the manliest figures from the series, but still not enough. He acts like a pervert in the beginning, but Collins explains the reasons for that later, since he was used by the Capital as "sex symbol".  Finnick was also in love with a crazy girl. Would a strong guy like him really fall for an infirm?
     Finnick's love for Annie shows that he had a very tender side, and it gave us more compassion for his predicament. He also dies a hero, which increases our love for him as a character. I don't see anything unmanly about him.

     My friend, of course, skipped my favorite character in the book, Cinna, who I believe is the greatest symbol of a man. He openly showed his rebellion against the Capital, but in a way that 1) caused him to be the only one physically hurt, 2) helped the Districts immensely, and 3) he thought ahead to what would be needed at later times (such as the Mocking Jay suit) before his time came. He was not a creep to Katniss, and truly cared about her and the Districts. He wasn't greedy for power. He wanted to make a statement with his life, before it ended. I would say he definitely succeeded. Unlike Gale, he kept himself even-headed at all times, and thought about how his actions would affect everyone. Unlike Haymitch, he was willing to face the facts, and take the consequences, knowing full well that he would die. Unlike Finnick and Peeta, he had no family or friends to miss. He was one man making a stand. If Collins was a feminist, she would have made Cinna female, because if any of the characters in the books are to be considered real heroes/heroines, it would be him.

     Friend: Coin, leader of District 13, was obviously the head of the show. She called all the shots and took credit for organizing the rebellion in the first place, or at least to kept it going. No-one questioned her, and she made everything run smoothly.
     True, however, Coin was not perfect. She was not everyone's favorite and did not have the power to run the "show" by herself. She made this pretty clear when she explained that she needed Katniss to be the face of the rebellion. Also, Coin was greedy for power. Like I said earlier, power corrupts. When she thought she had enough, she no longer cared about the safety of Katniss, or Peeta, or the children in the Capital. Katniss/Collins obviously agreed or else she would not have taken her life prematurely.

     Friend: Of course, when Coin's life was suddenly and unexpectedly ended, Paylor, leader of District 8, took command. She was also a strong, able-bodied woman, who took no flack, and organized things to run smoothly. Why didn't Plutarch take command?
     Paylor was much like Coin, except not quite as power hungry. She had proved herself earlier in taking care of District 8 that she was competent, and I don't believe the rebellion leaders would have elected her had she been power hungry. Plutarch, the Head Gamemaker, had enough problems. The newly conquered Capital and Districts would not have been trusted by the community at large, since he had been chiefly involved with Snow earlier on.

     Friend: Last, but not least, there was Katniss, who told the story through her eyes. She was an arrogant feminist, who believed that she could do it all herself. She didn't want Peeta or Gale, except when it was convenient, and she constantly complained of how Peeta constantly got into her way. She disobeyed orders, because like most teenagers, she thought she knew best. As was repeatedly pointed out in the book, she wasn't even well liked, except by what Peeta said about her, and how the cameras helped her.
     Here, I pointed out that my friend had dug his one grave, so-to-speak. If Collins had been a feminist, she would have showed how Katniss succeeded by herself too, or with only the help of other women. That obviously wasn't the case. Peeta and Gale helped her throughout most of the book. Finnick saves her life by giving his own. Cinna helped her as much as anyone. Also, even before the end, she realizes that she does need Peeta. She wants him to hold her and tell her she was safe. She wants him to protect her. And though she does carry herself for most of the book as though she was better and superior to most of the people around her, she knew she wasn't.

     There are other instances throughout the series which show that Suzanne Collins was no feminist. Since she took on the view of an arrogant teenage girl, the "invincible, I-can-do-it-myself" traits are to be expected. Also Katniss, like many girls her age and adults, had been deeply hurt as a child. In response, she closed the world out, and decided that she couldn't trust anyone else, without fear of getting hurt. Thus her "superiority" came more from her fear of being hurt again than from anything else. In truth, this is probably where feminism came from in the first place: a group of women who had been hurt and whose husbands/father's/etc would not help them or protect. If the men would rise up and take care of their wives and daughters, I doubt feminists would even exist. In that case, we need more people like Peeta and Cinna.

YWA's Writing Contest

Where Nightmare’s Reign

 

What if you couldn't tell what was real?

And tangible things had no feel,

But use reality's blinds to conceal...

 

Your sister suddenly disappears –

No-one saw a single thing –

But you find her dress and bloodied shears.

 

You walk through a garden of flowers,

And slip into sinking sand –

An unseen hole where you fall for hours.

 

Your family dog, a lifelong friend,

Transforms into a rabid wolf.

You're forced to kill it; not pretend.

 

Then you awake, and all is back,

but you have an awkward feeling,

since you're tied to a railroad track.

 

As the engine closes in,

You flee at full speed, and look behind

To see the devil with a morbid grin.

 

You trip over a corpse and scream

and struggle away from the evil

to find yourself in bed, a dream.

 

Daring yourself to awake,

You step into the familiar hall,

and everything begins to shake.

 

The house splits into two

And a trench opens beneath, falling,

the heat increases to burn you.

 

Fire licks and teeth bite both your feet

You cannot escape no-matter

how you shake and tear the bed sheet.

 

Back out on the lamp-lit street,

Where jack-o-lanterns smile in the dark,

You go door-to-door to trick-or-treat.

 

Not knowing what they put inside

the candy bits, you bite one open,

and poison seeps in like a tide.

 

It crashes over you: drowned.

Pulling you under: suffocation.

Until you cannot hear a sound.

 

Screams erupt with a sounding boom,

And you throw yourself to dry ground,

Discovering a zombie-filled tomb.

 

Undead attack of all size and shape.

You run along car-infested streets

And realize it's all real: No escape.

 

If no chills have run from your brain,

Know that you're probably insane,

And can't see the place where nightmares reign.

 

 

 

I wrote this poem for the “Young Writers Association’s Scary Writing Contest”. I had to write something scary, but not gory in 300 words or less. I started by writing a couple short stories, but soon found that my writing was strange and weird, not scary. So, I decided to try another approach. I wrote this poem, aiming more for creepy, rather than scary, but hoped it would give chills. Reading the poem now, it still doesn’t quite accomplish that unless you think about what the underlying idea is…

 

When I began writing this, I decided to make as many three line stanzas as would amount to 300 words, with the last words of the 1^st and 3^rd lines in each stanza rhyming. (I later changed the format for the first and final stanzas so that all three lines rhyme. I thought it added an extra flourish and sounded cool too.) I ended up with 16 stanzas, but my simple structure didn't quite fit what I wanted.

 

After about 5 stanzas, I saw that I had only succeeded in writing somewhat random creepy thoughts, but the stanzas had no links to each other. Re-reading the few that I had, I realized that I could link each stanza to the next, simply by putting an idea at the end of one, which I continued into the next.

 

For example: the “shears” at the end of the 2^nd would be used in the “garden” of the 3^rd. The “hole” in the 3^rd could have been made by the “dog” in the 4^th. “Pretend” in the 4^th contrasts sharply with the “awake”-ning from a dream in the 5^th, etc.

 

At the point when I was working on the 14th stanza, I decided I needed to re-evaluate what the point of my poem was. Could it be more than a collection of creepy incidents? So starting around stanza 14, the lines became more complicated.

 

Stanza 14 continues from 13 as if the flood carried you under water and threw you up into a deserted cavern, which reveals itself as a “tomb”. The tomb comes to life in 15, since they are almost always filled with “undead” anyway. 15 then reveals that it really was all to real-life, everyone in the world is dead (or undead), and there is “no escape” from that life… a true nightmare.

 

My poem was finished. If anyone read the poem for what it was truelly saying, they would see past the semi-random incidents and see the deeper point. I knew that the poem wasn’t necessarily scary by itself, so maybe it wouldn’t cause “chills”, but I told my readers that if they could “see” what our world for what it really is (with all its horrible problems as exagerated in the body of the poem), they would come to realize that we live in a place “where nightmares reign”.

 

Once that was discovered, we must ask ourselves, is this all life is? "Reality's blinds" might decieve us for a little while so that we cannot see what our lives are, but unless we're insane we can't go through life without asking, "is there nothing more?" This poem is meant to inspire that question, the answer to which should make us embrace our broken world all the more.

Habitat for Humanity

I wrote this article for Sentinel about a week ago:

Students as Board Members

     What is a high school student doing as an adult board member? The local Habitat for Humanity was asked this exact question after they put a high school junior on their board last December in hope of encouraging the youth to become more involved in their community.
 

     Habitat for Humanity (HfH) is “an ecumenically based, non-profit organization whose Mission Vision is a world where everyone has a decent place to live.” The South Lane County’s affiliate, here in Cottage Grove, has sponsored a number of events to make this community a better place to live. Part of that mission is to give the youth a “connection to the community” so that each generation works together, learns from each other, and becomes more united. There have been a number of events in the past, such as “Youth Build”, where teens gathered to construct houses for the needy.
 

     However, the Executive Director and Office Manager of HfH Linda Oxley expressed that the board has felt that a better connection with the high school students was needed. They believed that putting a student on their board might benefit both the student body and Habitat for Humanity by bringing them closer together. Thus in the fall of 2011, HfH sent an announcement to the high school, searching for a student who wished to become involved with them and whose “enthusiasm” would carry over to both their peers and the adult board members. They next sent an interviewer to the interested students, and finally found the perfect fit: Jessica Powell.
 

     When asked why she was interested in helping HfH, Jessica said it was because “Habitat for Humanity helps the youth feel inspired. They realize they can make a difference too.” Since she joined, Jessica has been given more and more responsibility. Most recently in July, she organized a can drive called “You CAN Help Habitat!” They gathered and sorted thousands of cans and bottles, which amounted to more than $1000. “That’s a lot of five cent cans,” observed one person. All the proceeds from this recycle drive went to HfH. For this next school year, she will concentrate on beginning a “Campus Student Club” at the high school to support Habitat for Humanity, as well as finding a suitable replacement for herself, since she will be graduating in the spring.
 

     Having a student on their board apparently could not have worked out better. The other board members love Jessica and her contagious energy. “She’s our energy drink,” said Linda Oxley. James Burke, the chairman of HfH, is now even encouraging other businesses and organizations to put students on their boards.
 

     Though they have no guarantee that every student will work our as well as Jessica, Habitat for Humanity seems to believe that the inclusion of more students onto such boards could only be a plus. It would encourage student support and unite the younger generation with the older. The students will be able to learn from the wisdom of the adults as they discuss events and their mission, and the adults will be able to benefit from the younger perspectives and zeal.

Meat Cutting School Demolished

I wrote this article for the Sentinel also, and it was published June 27th:

     The once world-renown Oregon Meat Cutting School was demolished on Saturday. The Community Development Corporation supervised the destruction of the building, which had been built in downtown Cottage Grove in the early-to-mid 1900s. Frank and Joann Shirk started the school in 1965, and it became an international success.

 

      Frank and Joann moved to Oregon from California and bought the building in 1962. They were already experienced meat cutters, and their establishment thrived. Soon after, the parents of a young one-eyed boy asked the Shirks to train their son. They agreed and six months later, the young man was ready to be professionally hired, and immediately received a job. This success fueled the business, which officially became a Meat Cutting School in 1965.

      In the following years, the establishment took off, training 25-30 students every six months. The school grew so quickly, that it could not contain the amount of participants. Not only did the school give its students incredible skills, but it also rehabilitated hundreds of smokers, veterans, alcoholics, druggies, and more. These apprentices had a 99 percent employment ratio, and many started their own schools. The Oregon Meat Cutting School became internationally known, and students were sent from all over to come to the school.

      Joann once asked a German pupil why he had come to America to be trained when meat cutters in Germany were more successful. He answered that the meat cutters in Germany were trained for years starting at age 13, and he could be trained in America for six months and know far more than his countrymen.

      The country of Korea asked in 1977 if the Shirks would open a school in Korea, since they were sending so many students to America to be trained. Though this did not happen, the possibility alone demonstrated the success of the Oregon Meat Cutting School.

      However in the mid 80s, the trade began to change. The business began to decline as customers bought their meats from grocery stores instead of meat shops, and meat cutters began to be replaced by machines. In 1988 with great grief, Frank and Joann closed the school and moved away. Since then, the building has sat on the corner off Main Street, and slowly deteriorated.

      Now, nearly a quarter of a century later, the location is finally being put back into use. The Community Development Corporation (CDC), whose goal is to “expedite improvement” in Cottage Grove, bankrolled the demolition of the old building. They believe dilapidated buildings destroy creativity, while an empty lot generates new ideas. Thus they leveled the old, to make way for the new. Though they don't have specific plans yet, they are pleased to be able to give a “helping hand” to Cottage Grove, and will continue to improve the community.

      Joann Shirk, and her son who grew up in the school, attended the destruction of their old home. She said she was glad they were taking down the old building, because it was more heart-breaking to watch it fall apart than to see it leveled in preparation for new venture.

      Though many people did not understand the significance of the old Oregon Meat Cutting School building, their attention is now drawn to it, as it becomes a place of development. The CDC mentioned that a “memory mural” may be placed on the inside of whatever building replaces the school, so that the school will never be completely forgotten. Thus, though the building died, its memory will continue to live.

The Academy for Character Education

I wrote this article for the Sentinel in May.

      The Academy for Character Education (ACE) is a public home-school-support-school right here in Cottage Grove. The students attend the school only once a week, receive their home-linked-assignments, and are kept accountable to complete the work by the following school day. ACE is celebrating the completion of its fifth year, and is excited that its numbers increase yearly.
      The ACE curriculum is based on classical literature and the studies cover history from the oldest archaeological finds to modern day. Excellence in all parts of the students’ schoolwork is encouraged. They are proud of their relatively small classes, which allow close relationships between kids & teachers with an average ratio of 1 teacher per 10 students. Laziness is not an option, and those who fall behind are sent to a homework-club, where kind teachers will eagerly help them wherever they need it.
      Community School Days are busy, as students from Pre-readers (Kindergarten) through high school attend a full day of classes. These classes include Character, where a charismatic teacher educates her pupils on how to be persons of integrity. The Academy works diligently to help the students realize the importance of character traits, such as punctuality, attentiveness, and obedience, and applauds those who show their growth in those areas.
     Science goes through a four year cycle before repeating topics. This year was the study of Biology, and the following years will include, Chemistry, Physics, and Earth Science respectively. This allows all the students (from every grade) to be studying the same subject age-appropriately, thus aiding – by simplification – the parents’ lives.
      At ACE, the Language Arts program sharpens the minds of its students with college preparatory focus. It instructs the importance of phonics and grammar at early ages. Students learn even in elementary school how to write paragraphs and essays, so by the time they are in high school, they can carry on logical debates and compose college-level papers. The Rhetoric (high school) students take AP classes for Language Arts, such as AP Literature and AP Composition.
     The Humanities, which include world history, geography, economics, etc, are a wonderful look into the incredible events and works of past ages. This thoroughly combines a number of classes into one, without losing the quality of its work. This class, like Science, is split into four years. The first concentrates on Ancient History, from early archeology through the rise and fall of the Greek and Roman empires. The following years include the Renaissance, the Reformation, and other major events around the world, with the fourth year dedicated to American History and Modern events. Here, ACE will be integrating more AP classes, such as AP Geography and AP Music Theory, in the future.
      In both the Language Arts and the Humanities, inspiring literature, focused on the mastery of the classics and the understanding of world history and other cultures, is provided. Famous books such as Homer's Odyssey, Virgil's Aeneid, and Ben-Hur have been read this year, along with a number of Shakespearean plays.
      The classical language of Latin is the only foreign language offered at ACE. Though a dead language, it has many advantages, since all the Romance languages (English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Romanian, etc) evolved directly from it. It has been proven to improve spelling and the understanding of the English language. It also makes learning other languages easier, since it was the basis for many of them. There is even an AP Latin class available for those who are ready to take it on.
      Personal tutors are fabulous and unique opportunities at ACE. They are sent weekly to the students' homes to aid them one-on-one with their math. Math classes are not available on school community days, due to the shortage of time. Tutors may also be available to help in other subjects, if the students need their aid.
      Another great advantage to this school is the incredible field trips. The most recent trip was a luncheon cruise on the Willamette River in Portland followed by an afternoon at the Portland Zoo. Other trips have included white water rafting on the McKenzie River, and visits to Newport for the Hatfield Marine Science Center and the Oregon Coast Aquarium.
      The Academy for Character Education is a fabulous opportunity for any family who wants to blend college-prep classes with a home-schooling flare.
      All this information and more is available at “aceclassicaled.org”.

Party in the Park

I wrote this story for the Sentinel, and it was published August 22nd:

     “We are here to serve the community,” said volunteer and event organizer, Mike Powell, “and to expose them to what Christians really are like. We can have fun too.”

     Ten churches gathered together on Saturday, August 18^th, and coordinated the Party in the Park. This was the second year that a whole group of churches joined to sponsor this program, with a vision to “love people”.

     Years ago, Cottage Grove Faith Center attempted to put on the event alone. Kim Lawless started it, because the youth in her church wanted to bless the community. Every year, they would raise $100 and send it to missionaries to aid with their work. One year, the kids decided they wanted to do something in their own community, and thus began the Party in the Park. It started with ice cream and music, and a speaker from Eugene. There was such a massive turnout, they decided to make it an annual event, and continued to add activities each year.

     Since then, the Party in the Park has become a uniting function for both the community and the churches. This year, each of the ten churches contributed in different areas. Hundreds of volunteers worked on site and behind the scenes to make this possible. Their efforts created a family-friendly atmosphere, where the kids and parents played, ate, and laughed. This unity has made the event “better than I could ever have imagined it,” said Kim.

      Face painting, manicures, pedicures, haircuts, and hair styling were available for all the children, along with two bounce houses and an inflatable slide. 1500 meals of hotdogs, chips, and juice were given out, along with cotton candy and snow cones. The most impressive component was the 400+ backpacks, which were given away to children that needed them. They were filled with the school supplies the School District had listed as necessary for each grade level.

      The Party in the Park took six months to plan this event, but the volunteers claimed it was well worth it. Most of them were dressed in red this year, a “small army of crimson clad Christians,” commented one volunteer. Another volunteer stated that their favorite part of the event was “watching the excitement on the kids’ faces”. They continued to repeat how they had been overwhelmed with thanks from the participants, and how everywhere they looked, there were smiles, both from red shirts and non-red shirts.

      One food-serving volunteer mentioned how she had been touched. Two small children had approached her, and asked with big, sad, entreating eyes, how much the hot dogs cost. The request, coming from such small innocent kids, touched her heart, and made her ever-so-thankful that she was able to tell them, “This is all free for you.”

      The churches had aimed to bless their community and promote unity. It would seem, by the responses of the pastors, volunteers, and participants, they succeeded. Regardless of how many people and hours were needed to put it on, it would seem all the churches would be willing to do it again, simply to see how they had blessed their society. Pastor Hovet of Cottage Grove Faith Center said, “I am proud that Cottage Grove is a community that helps each other and that the churches choose to help too.”

Stearman Fly-in

I wrote this article for the Cottage Grove Sentinel, and it was published on August 8th, 2012:

          What do aviation enthusiasts from Washington, California, and Cottage Grove have in common? A love for participating in the annual “Stearman Fly-In”, a family-friendly event held at Jim Wright Airfield. Pilots from all over the West coast fly in with their planes, mostly Stearman bi-planes, which were used to train WWII pilots. 25-40 planes gather in Cottage Grove the 1^st week of August every year to show off their planes and to “just have a good time”.

          Doug Kindred, President of the Oregon Aviation History Society, has helped organize and run the event in recent years. The Oregon Aviation History Society was founded in the early 80s “to collect, preserve, restore, and exhibit aviation artifacts”. This is actually the 34^th year of the Stearman Fly-In, and Doug says it is simply “a gathering of guys with like minds”. Most of the participants are retired airline pilots, many of which had military backgrounds, and all of whom adore flying.

          Two such retired men, Bob Edmunds and Joseph Iwanowski, were given special airplane trips through Ageless Aviation Dreams (AAD). AAD is a non-profit organization which was founded last summer by Darryl and Carol Fisher from Carson City. Their foundation is dedicated to helping seniors, and specifically US veterans, relive their youthful dreams of flying. Both Bob and Joseph are retired pilots living at Magnolia Gardens Campus of Care in Cottage Grove. They were taken into the air at 11:00 on Saturday, August 4^th, for the first time in years. “I could do this all day,” said Bob after they had landed again, “I would love to do it all day.”

          However, this event was not only for the old and retired. A family of four flew down from Crest Airpark in Washington with three planes. The father, Keith Littlefield, was a military pilot and flying simply became his hobby. He met his wife, Molly, at a fly-in in California a number of years ago. She had been flying since before she could see out of the cockpit, and they continued that tradition as they raised their two sons. They fly as a family “as much as other families watch TV” said sixteen-year-old Ben, the older of the two sons. Keith is retired now and drives a school-bus, while Molly still flies commercially for United Airlines.

          In addition, bi-plane rides were available for the common attendees. Nostalgic Rides pilot, Major Mike Carpentiero, has flown for over twenty years as a Navy, Air Force, and Commercial pilot. He gave rides in his four-passenger New Standard D-25, with a 235hp engine, all weekend (August 3-5). 65 dollars for fifteen minutes in the air sounds expensive, but two of the passengers expressed that it was an unforgettable ride, a rare treat, and a high like no other. No wonder the pilots love flying so much.

          Larry Tobin, another organizer of the Fly-In, explained why Cottage Grove was chosen as the meeting spot for this annual gathering. 1^st, it has become traditional, and it is where the Oregon Aviation History Center is situated. 2^nd, it is about half-way between Washington and California, which makes it a good meeting place. 3^rd, it is “beautiful countryside”. 4^th, it is a slightly “challenging airstrip with squirrely winds” which cause even the veteran flyers to be cautious. Thus, it makes a perfect place to gather. “It is a great event for Cottage Grove,” he stated, “easily accessible and it’s all good”.

The Beginning

I have begun this blog in order to create a digital portfolio. I will post once a week either an article I have written for the Cottage Grove Sentinel, where I am currently volunteering hours, a passage from another story I have written, or else simply some interesting thought I had. My hope is it will highlight my skills and abilities, and showcase them for college and beyond. So, happy beginnings. Let's get started...