Interpretation - State of the Planet

State of the planet is an eight page poem about the condition of nature on the planet earth. The Author, Robert Haas, is speaking to himself, to humanity, and to the ghost of the Roman poet and philosopher Lucretius. This is puzzling stuff, and some readers will surely shake their heads. Hass will never give you the whole story, To read him is to use your imagination.

In my interpretation of the poem, I will attempt to go back into some history of how the earth came into such a bad condition. Robert Haas is an extremely knowledgeable literary writer. This big language will inform you and keep your interest.

The season is October and the narrator is driving in a rain storm. He observes a school girl walking and carrying a back pack. Inside of the back pack is probably a book titled, 'Getting to Know Your Planet.' The author descries the as "dog eared, full of illustrations." A dog's ear is designed for instinct surrounding his environment.

The book will tell her that the air has trapped smoke and gas from millions of cars and polluted the air. In fact, this is an accident, and man has nothing to do with it. It would seem, the production of cars in our society is more important than keeping our air clean.

It is evident, the author's comprehension of nature is the central theme of the poem. He says, "Poetry should be able to comprehend the earth." The meaning which lies here is that earth should remain loyal to nature, to set aside its natural principal and zeal. Haas agrees with Lucretius's observation of nature from two-thousand years ago, in Rome. With all respect, it is the shifting power, of the Creator, that nature is conceived with life beyond our human doing.

Lucretius, the philosopher wrote a poem about the earth around 99 B.C., about the condition of the nature. The poem describes that man was destroying the fertile land, and dams were interrupting the fish community with turbo power. Also, in China, sacred trees were gone, which is an upset to the Creator. These were the things the girl was likely to read in the book, 'Getting to Know Your Planet.'

3. The author is responding back to the poem written by Lucretius. Lucretius is dead, it is now in the 21st century, Haas is reporting that the condition of the earth is yet headed in a destructed way. In 1961, technology has found a way to extract two proteins inside of a jelly fish, and insert them into another organism that will light up. How this must be a cruelty to an animal, it does not understand the need for transplant surgery, and an artist in Chicago has asked Rome to teach him the method so he can sell dogs that glow in the dark.

4. The narrator flashed back to the scene of the girl walking in the rain with her backpack. The book will tell the story of how life on earth came to be.

The earth was formed by large amounts of dark hot liquid rock material, that fell off the sun. The clouds rained for a hundred million years and let off a strong gas onto the earth. It took a long time for the earth to cool off. The surface of the earth formed rock. the earth was quiet, and looked somewhat like the Mexico desert.

A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings

This story is a fiction about a man who had wings. The only man that I could think of with wings is a immortal being. That tells me right away that this man is a fiction character.
The rain, crabs, and the sea, all help with the setting of an angel out in the courtyard. I can see a connection here with the bible. I believe that this man was a fallen angel, maybe even a satanic being!

The description of the angel is terrible. His clothes were rags. He was muddy, teethless, a few hairs on his head, and looked pitiful. The author used vivid images of the role or characterization this angel would play.

In the passage, "he must have been coming for the child," gives me mention of the birth of christ.
Lucifer was the fallen angel who seek to kill the newborn child , Jesus.

A very old man with enormous wings is a piece of literary called "magic realism," drawing on stories and legends , as well as techniques of modernist writing. Garcia Marquez creates a fictional lanscape that challenges traditional thought and focus the reader's attention on making sense of the world.

The story truly kept my interest. To keep an angel in your home, and finally put him out in the chicken coop, that sounds like what one would do with a household pet. When the neighborhood found out about this angel they came over to feed and look on this angel in the coop. I can see how this story became a children's story. It is because this is what fascinates children, finding something different and special, for everyone to look at!

Garcia plays good characterization for Father Gonzaga. When Father Gonzaga takes one look at him, he sees him as a imposter of the angelic world. Angels are not dirty. This angel did not know the language of God or know how to greet his ministers. The angel smells like outdoors, bugs were on his feathers. Again, these kinds of things are important to children, wouldn't you say? The minister really thought that the angel was a trick of the devil.

Now, in the story the family thinks of a way to make money by showing off this angel.
People from all around came to see this angel, and this family acquired a lot of money.
The angel was treated poorly by the people that came to see him and by the chickens in the coop that were pecking for the bugs on him. To my mind that is how children do when they have a locked pet to show off.

This angel was treated like an animal. He was branded with an iron, the way that we do livestock in production. The angel became passive, and the people would therefore not annoy him any longer. This is also a picture of human life. As a christian sometimes people can treat you in a way that you can become passive toward them. I now see the picture of Christ!

I admire the author for being able to write fiction mixed with real life and also appeal to children in the writing. Children in the United States are not taught at an early age about the raw facts of life. They grow up for a long time thinking that everything is so good. The fact of the matter is that there is a real devil, who is evil, and they have to watch out for him!

The Boys Next Door Act II

As I read the many scene of these handicapped men, I am reminded of the simple things that I take for granted in everyday life. It is a blessing, and I thank God that I have a strong mind that can think out common situations. There are times when I am not reacting with a grateful heart about how gifted I am! People compare themselves with other people on so many things in life.
But, can I compare myself with myself. Then I would know how fornuately I have to have a good mind. I pause now to say thank you lord, for the mind that you have given me. I will strive daily to keep the mind of Christ within me.

Lucien is trying to vaccum and does not have the cord plugged into the electricity. He does not even know it. His roommate has to tell him to plug it up. Lucien does not like loud sounds, which he has to tolerate while he is vaccuming. The next thing, Lucien does not understands how the dust gets into the house, when there are no trees around the home. For the mental disable this is a great chore to vaccum the floor and without the understanding of why the floor needs to be vaccummed.

Norman has a desire to have a baby boy and a baby girl with Sheila. In reality, this probably will never happen. Having children for the mental disabled is discouraged, and they are given procedures to not be fertile, as it would cause more problems in their lives. For females I know that this must be hard, because it is the desire of most women to have children within a lifetime.

You know, a mind is a terrible thing to waste. These guys take literally everthing that you say to them, "Hold your horses," "You got horses." It is normal to make everyday expressions to pass the time away, without being serious. But, for the handicap every word you say to them is serious. Yet, the handicap can manage to use humor to make a day. What a great God that we have.

In this play when the men are talking they all mingle each conversation together. How is it a wonder to get some understanding out of a straight question or answer.

I complain about having to do the dishes at time. Here with the handicap it is a struggle to complete a simple chore like washing dishes. What are suds? What do suds do? Can you image not understanding suds in the dish water!

Mr. Klemper is a character that I don't care much for. Because he is a mental handicap man with one arm, my sensitivity goes out there for him. Because he talks awful. I wonder what his childhood might have been like. As an adult I'm sure that he does not understand his personality either. As a part of society, I accept him just the way that he is. Because I don't know why he is the way that he is.

I have the greatest respect for the author who took the time to write a play like this one. So many times society looks over at the mental handicap and put them out of their mind. The mental handicap is yet God's creation. The mental handicap is not to be pitied but to be accepted, even though we can not explain why they are in that position.

I don't quite know what all to say about the mental handicap. But I will take to a better attitude when I see someone in that way. It is a blessing to have dear life, and I thank my God for life!

Poem, "The Survivor"

"The Survivor"

A picture paints a thousand words.

The lady, framed in a white background, portrait in black and white sketch.

Isn't she lovely, the color pure white shows up her life.

Age is no stranger with her, in fact, it's been her gift.

God's creation is so all around us, not to be pitied, but cherished and admired.

Her hat sits proudly upon the soft-silvery curls on her head.

A beam of sunlight shines on her matured face.

Her eyes, they tell me "survival," through many years behind.

Not a smile from her light smooth lips, but an eventful casual look.

She appreciates life, allowing the story to be told, in this portrait of black and white.

A ribbon in the sky, grace her radiant look. How great is our God. It is in him, we have our

very being.

She has season of age and worth. Clear eyes, that has seen rest upon the face of the earth.

Nature is the creation of such a being, yet alive to look upon.

Many are the folds of her face, reveals the day of life.

Polk Museum of Art

Upon entering the museum, I went into the Japanese Art Room. There were beautiful fabrics of clothing in red-gold tone, and other colors. There were paintings in this room. All of the paintings detail an era: tempo, bunsei, bunka, kyowa, kansei, kika and kaei era. Most of the paintings were of a female, and the faces basically looked the same.

Upon entering the next room, Functional Ceramics was the highlights. There was a bean pot, its color was a dark brown. There was a large Jaguar ceramic from Costa Rica. In the batch was a Martaban jar, it was very beautiful. The ceramics were from Japan and Korea.

The next room I went into was of young artist paintings. Here are some of the names of the paintings: once upon a time fairytale, and Glenn. There was one painting in this room that struck me. The name of the painting is, "Woods near Juniper Springs.P Here are the details of the painting: pretty green trees, tan brown water flowing into the sunlight, large branches over the water, heading out to an open sky area.

I got on the elevator and went up to the second floor to view more art. There was a picture there which struck me. The name of this picture was "Survivor." The drawing was drawn on graphite paper. The drawing was of an old woman wearing a light straw hat. It was amazing how the artist used techniques to make her look really old.

Along the walls of the second floor there were pictures of families from different countries. There were brief descriptions of the valuables and the amount of income earned. I saw poverty, wealth, sadness, and joy in the portraits.

Last of all, I went outside to the "sculpture gardens." Among the artifacts were: chain hound VII, iron dinosaur, emergence, dark black thing, three of the others, and still life with pears.

I had a great time at the museum. I actually was there for 1 hour and 30 minutes. I really was relaxed and enjoying myself.

Thank you teacher for this experience!

"Good Reading Material"

From Francis X. McAloon SJ, a lady who practice lectio divina, she claims helps her to focus.
First, prayer began with silence. That's a different approach, most prayer began with words.
Second, followed by lectio, a slow reading of poetic text. Next came meditatio, reading and pausing at words or images that draw attention. Next to oratio, addressing God in personal prayer. Lastly, contemplatio, an invitation to silence, and remaining open to God's presence.
And this is a method for "Reading for Transformation" through poetry.

"The Spirit of God Hovered"

Steven M. Fettke, is speaking of having a disability in relations to creation. Instead of being loved and accepted for who they are they are often condemned for their lack of faith or apparent demonization simply by virtue of their having a disability or chronic illness. In creation God provides our animation or "life force" that identifies us as who we are. A disabled person should be valued in the way that God has made them. Lastly, nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. There is successful ministry in working with the handicap and disabled, and it is the church responsibility.

"Generative Tension Between " GOD" and "EARTH"
Through nearly fifty years of poetry, Mary Oliver has undertaken the task of loving nature as a deeply spiritual work. Nature is where the poet can discover the joy and terror, the truths and feelings that religion seem unable to provide. He or she, who loves God, will look most deeply into His works. She bows down at the presence of of God on Earth.

Beauty and the Creative Impulse
Luci Shaw says, Beauty is still visible in the fingerprints of the Creator on the natural world, in the wilderness, and in human beings who reflect the Creator's beauty. Beauty can neither be controlled nor programmed. The vocation of the artist is to awaken our sensitivity of beauty.
Too often beauty is taken for granted because we are moving too fast to take it in and allow it to deliver its message in us. We need to pay attention!

"Bonny Park"

I went to Bonny Park. I stayed there for the entire 40 minutes. I arrived at the park about 10:30 in the morning. I did not go along because I am afraid of the wild life, which I am not accustomed to it.

Upon entrance of the park, I took the nature walk into the 1.3 mile walking path. There were lots of brown leaves on the ground, and new buds on the trees. The sun was a nice lit glow. Such a picture of life in the park. Bicycle riders passing by, a lady walking her two dogs, and three young guys practicing sports in the field nearby.

The park had lots of dead leaves around, but there were lots of new buds around. The pine trees had shed for the winter, the oak tree had shed, and new leaves were on the tree. Around the corner of the park was a field of tall palm trees, they were very healthy and lovely.

Further on in my nature walk, I could hear the mockingbird making sounds in the tree not far from me. I wonder if they were reacting to my presence around them. They were mighty busy in sounds.

I began to observe the movement of the wind. It was a small movement, which in turn causes the tree leaves to move back and forth. Spring has not fully arrived, but surely it is in the progress.

I walked on the bridge that takes you over to the woods of the park. Once you are in the middle of the bridge you can hear the stillness around you, and the shifting of the bridge that extends into the water. The wildlife underneath me was still!

The further I walked into the woods, the grass was much more greener. The rabbits were not out in the open this time of morning. I suppose it was because the sun was full. Although, I did see a turtle easing into the green cloudy water in a stream.

I really got an ideal of what a habitat looks like for the snake, alligator, rabbit and the squirrel. You could see no movement, but they are out there in the bush. I respect the place to be their homeland.

Fungus and pollen is in the water, a canal is running through the park, carrying water to the lake. Isn't it something how everything reacts in nature? As I am leaving out of the woods of the park, I can hear birds singing in the trees again. I can hear the sound of an emergency vehicle from the highway.

My lasting thoughts of my visit to the Bonny Park is pleasant ones. There was an inner peace that one could not find outside of the nature park. I could sense the presence of the spirit of God there. I think I should visit the park more often in order to get rid of the fear of the animals in the park. God created nature for man to enjoy!

"Nature Notes"

I have read the notes on Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. This is a place where scientist study the earth, even the ocean floor. The observatory, which is in New York, also keeps up with the formation of earth quakes. The observatory made the first successful prediction of the weather associated with an El Nino event. The observatory is dedicated to the application of tree ring research to improve understanding of earth's past climate and environmental history.
Using samples of air, water and remains, provided answers to the collapse of the World Trade Center.

Venus(meaning "love" or "sexual desire") was a major Roman goddess principally associated with love, beauty and fertility, who played a key role in many Roman religious festivals and myths. The term Venus is associated with gods and temples, cults, prostitutes, motherhood,the myrtle tree, sloth and laziness, adultery, war, friend, celestial, classical art, non-classical art, religion, dawn, moon, and to the planet.

Lucretius was a Roman poet and philosopher. His only know work is "On the Nature of Things or "On the Nature of the Universe". The purpose of Lucretius's work was to free mankind of superstition and fear of death. The poet relates fear being explained by natural phenomena, instead of in terms of the will of the gods. According to Lucretius, fear of death is a projection of terrors experienced in life. His poem "On the Nature of Things", transmits the ideas of physics, atoms and psychology.

Fresco is painting types, done on plaster on walls or ceiling. Fresco derives for the word "fresh", which has Germanic origins. Frescoes were often made during the Renaissance and other early time periods. Buon fresco, painting in pigment mixed with heat on a thin layer of wet, fresh, lime mortar or plaster. A secco painting, in contrast, is done on dry plaster. the pigment require egg, glue or oil to attach the pigment to the wall. Fresco had some to do with color, "sky blue".
Mexxo-fresco, is painted on nearly-dry intonaco-firm enough not to take a thumb-print. Buton frescoes are difficult to create because of the deadline associated with the drying plaster.
Fresco paintings told a story about a particular time peroid. Classical antiquity frescoes were also painted in ancient Greece. These frescoes depict scenes of the life and society of ancient Greece, and constitute valuable historical testimonials. Late Roman Empire (Christian) 1st-2nd century frescoes were found in Cyprus, Crete, Ephesus, Cappadocia and Antioch. Also a historical collection of Ancient Christian frescoes can be found in the Churches of Goreme Turkey. Indian Frescos on the ceilings and walls of Ajanta Caves depict tales of the Buddha's life existence. The late Medieval period and Renaissance saw the most prominent use of fresco, particulaly in Italy, where most churches and many government buildings still feature fresco decoration. In Denmark to church wall paintings. Early modern Europe. Mexican Muralism. In Venice conservation of frescoes.

Mary Oliver

"The Messenger"

This is a very short poem. Nonetheless, it is a very important poem. In the first paragraph, Mary Oliver addresses her audience to what her work is. Her work is to love nature, flowers, birds, plant life, and the clam deep in the sand.

In paragraph two, she makes it clear about the kinds of things that people worry about the most. Is it that our clothes that we wear are more important than nature? Maybe my youthful looks are leaving me from day to day. The narrator is clearly stating, "let me keep my mind on what matters, which is my work." And, what is her work? In life, our work is to love nature!

Again, relating to nature, she reminds us that plants stand still and be admired, animals in pastures rejoice at being supplied with all the food that they need.
Finally, as humans, "are we grateful to have a mind, soul, body, and to live forever?"

"Walking Home from Oake-Head"

The narrator walks home and observes the sky, which is full of snow clouds. It is late afternoon.

She is in no hurry to get home, because it is important to absorb the beauty of the scene in the sky. I believe that she sense the presense of of God, "somebody loves me there,"acknowledging the same peace as a pine tree .

She is careful to walk slowly in order to enjoy the unhurried wind. How is it, that the wind could be a gift?

The narrator now describes how the snow begins. The snow starts out casually. It is wonderful to visualize living in a mental and physical mind of white snow falling all around you. She accounts the snow as to be faithful. It does not appear to be a punishment to her to have red cheeks from the snow.

At last, she is at home. The narrator is full of joy from her walk home in the snow. She refers to the snow as stars!

"Six Recognitions of the Lord"

In this poem, the narrator attempts to teach the reader, how to recognize God through nature.

Nature through God is lying out in a grass field. Nature is looking up at the clouds, and imagining that the cloud look like a fish. I begin to fall in a peaceful state of mind, a blue jay cries , and I return to a natural state. Is it that I've been asleep?

She is returning home. Back to the real world in which we all live in. The narrator has successfully revealed that God is in the cloud. God is in the black oak. God is in the wings of birds. God is in the body of man and woman.

"It is mystery, It is love of God, and it is obedience."

"State Of The Planet"

The author is introducing a young walking in the rain with a backpack that has a book in it titled " getting to know the planet." He characterize her as a poor girl.
The narrator describes how her looks when it is wet by the rain, "splotch by smoky crimson splotech as the rain pelts it." That's a good view of the earth!

"Topsoil," rivers," cod," "haddock," "pacific salmon," these are the things that the narrator whats the reading auience to know that are being destroyed. Here in america we take advantage of the unique things that we enjoy at the expense of the nature of the earth. It is these kinds of things that the author is writing about.

The character that he speaks of "Lucretius," is a very good way of going way back in time to show how long we have been mistreating the planet. The narrator also speaks of mistreating animals in order to create new inventions. "In our art of natural philosophy can take the property of liminescence from a jellyfish and put it in mice." "An artist in Chicago-think of a great trading city in Dacia or Thracis-has asked to learn the method so he can sell people dogs that glow in the dark."

The poem characterize the book in terms of a teacher. As teachers, or educators we go to our books and teach children how the earth was formed. At the same time we do not teach them how we destroy their earth by killing animals for fancy jewelry. One detail is that we destroyed the mexican desert. We took the life of birds uncessarily. We destroyed trees.

The girl is the main character in this poem. The author is looking into her future of what is happening to the earth right now. Later she will see the beaches washed up, she will not be able to enjoy it. How awesome that he would compare Michigan waters to the Ukraine waters.

The narrator is speaking to scienctist. "Cells, bacterium, carbon dioxide, oxygen, dna." I don't think that we realize how we destroy the planet on a day to day personal level. He wants sciencetist to be more mindful of the discoveries that they make, and how the discoveries are being used. The girl walking in the rain is definitely the main character, it is her future that the narrator is looking at.

The author is looking at this situation in a worldwide view. From country to country these things are being done to the earth.

If we are to survive for the future of children, we really must think of nature more than what we have.

The narrator speaks a lot of Rome. There is much to understand there. The Roman Empire was destroyed. Maybe that is the big connection to this poem.

This Blessed House

The story starts out with the homeowners finding christ-like artifacts in the house.
Among the artifacts is : a white procelain effigy of christ, a poster of christ crying, plaster of the virgin mary on the lawn, 3-d postcard of saint francis in four colors in the back of the medicine cabinet, a wodden cross key chain in twinkle's study, a frame paint-by-number of the three wise men in the linen closet, a tile trivet of a blonde, unbeard jesus delivering a sermon on a mountaintop in one of the drawers of the built in china cabinet in the dining room, a small plastic snow-filled dome containing a miniture nativity scene found behind the pipes of the kitchen sink, switch plates in the bedrooms decorated with scenes from the bible, salt and pepper shaker designed to resemble mary and joseph, and a solid silver bust of christ .

These items are the center of the theme for this story. Twinkle is fascinated by these items.
You would not find these items in a hindus family household. The narrator has introduced these items to an audience of the Hindus culture.

Sanjeev is characterized percisely for a modern day Hindus. He does not like the christian artifacts. He is married to a woman which he does not know very much about, in otherwise a chosen bride, which is common for a Hindus people.

Twinkle is characterized as a person that wants to explore and see what else there is in life for her. That is why she is so fascinated by the christian artifacts. Cause she certainly does not act like the typical christian woman.

Now I come to the plot of the story. After the both of them have found these items in the home, which he hates. The build up is when the two gives a housewarming party for friends and associates to come over. Twinkle tells the guests about all the items she has found in the home, and they want to be involved in finding more items.

This story has excitement and keeps the interests, because who thought that they would exactly find another item in the house.

And the ending of the story, everyone has a good time. The treasure hunt was the highlight of the house warming, and everyone goes home.

In the story Sanjeev is the protagonist, and Twinkle is the antagonist. Twinkle is a round character, and Sanjee is a flat character. Douglas and Nora are used as foils in the story.

"The Race Is Not Given To The Swift"

Here and there, I'd run across a few glossy pictures of Esther lying in the photo album, always yet with admiration and grace. Definition of Age, for her, calls to remember what it was like when she was young.

Most days, Esther would sit in her recliner, watch for the noon hour and her television programs. Maybe the phone will ring, and a friendly voice will be on the other end. Often, I thought, "what can I do in order to bring a little excitement into her life?"

How fitting, a celebration for the lady of grace.

I've not spoken to Blonca in maybe three or four months. Hello, "how are you doing?"
I've not heard from you in a little while."
Blonca is this sensuous female who lives a very private life. At times, " I wonder if she's actually my sibling or a distant cousin."

Oh, "how are you doing Eve?" "What's up?" Been busy here at work, these folks just double the load for us clerks."

It's about time to gather the family. I thought we'd have a party for our mother. Oh sure, she replied. I could sense the lowly tone of her voice. Blonca will not be out done, "what do you want me to contribute to mother's celebration?

Esther is a strong-willed eighty years old, with a love for soap operas, chocolate ice cream, antique odd effects, the word of God, and all of her nine children. Her difficulties might include some leg pains, coughing, but yet a strong desire to live. The appearance of gray hair covers her head and her eye brows.

Has any of your children called you lately? Esther answers me slowly, "when my children are doing well, I don't hear from them." Definitely, what the old feeble woman is saying, "I have not heard from any of my children lately."

She often feels as though life is passing her by and the family is spreading apart. Don't speak that way, "all families go through relating less," does not mean that there isn't any love left there.

Indeed, it's a blessing. Esther does not have to live alone. Isaiah, her very judge-mental son, resides in a bedroom next to hers.

Mother, "how are you today." "I'll be on the lake fishing." After all, he does not like people much, and people don't like him much.

Blonca and I are preparing a birthday celebration for mother. After all, it would be good to get the family together. A celebration is a great way to keep Esther well functioning.

Isaiah fights back, "there's nothing wrong with Esther, she's as stubborn as a chariot of horses."

Can I count on your support financially for a perfect celebration for mother?

"Sure, let me know what you need, the old girl could stand some excitement."

It would seem that the oldest sibling would at all times receive the up most respect from the rest of the siblings. "Wisdom from on high constantly embrace me with an enduring grace," keeping all things in respective when it comes to a responsibility toward Esther, my aging mother. It's almost like torture at times, pulling each one together for such an important cause.

At times, Esther pushes out with an authority spirit of unnecessary rebellion. "Dear God, should I pack up and call it a day?" Then I'm reminded of the savior's grace, it is he who gives me the strength to press forward.

Everything is just perfect. With all due compliments to Blonca, the building is beautifully decorated. How proud Esther must be to see how thoughtful her children must be.

Family relations have entered the party, "Esther, so good to see you, How have you been?"

"My children have gone with their own lives, but I'm making it by the grace of God."

I'm careful to help see this evening to be the most best for mother. Family is the best, but they can also feel like the worst at times for the oldest sibling.

Putting on the grace appears to be no strand for Blonca, her big smile, following and undying love for the family can cause me to come unglued at times. Not to mention, Esther with her everything has been great attitude.

Its now time for recognition, Isaiah takes the microphone, "I'm so happy and blessed to have mother with us, she is the best.."

There is an uneasiness of most of the younger family relations that can be seen in their eyes and in their conversation. They are very careful to keep Isaiah as the head of the family and the party. After all, who wants to be judged on how they live their lives.

I've pulled it off, my self-esteem is yet in tact. "Cousin, everything was so nice, we must do this again.."

The elder family members appear to be happy to gather once again.

"It is God who ordained family." He sure has a sense of humor, because by the time family gets through with me, I surely know how to call on the lord.

The older I get, I tend to despise family gatherings. It is like, "what's the use in coming together." The joy and the satisfaction come when I can see that Esther can continue to run the race of life.

"The race is not given to the swift, but to the one who endures to the end."

Esther and I are in a race. We will continue to fight the good fight of faith. At the end of this life, I want to hear the words, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."

Go figure, this is a race that we all can afford to stay in. Would you agree?

Swift, Esther may not run swift, but she continues to endure to the end.

I forget the days of rebellion with her," and I too run the race with the endurance."

"Again, the race is not given to the swift, but to the one who endures to the end."

Madame Descartes

The narrator does a greeat job of describing the beauty of Madame Descartes. He says, "Regal checkbones". He goes on to say, "The nearly opague sea blue eyes". The least of statements, "The silver of her hair, with astonishing gold. The words that he uses give me the ideal that he sees her as a "used to be. You know, in her day she was the look of a beauty queen. But now, she is gray-headed, old, but yet the beauty remains.

The narrator spends a a lot of time with how she looks. He talks about how much makeup she use, which is a lot. But yet, he finds admiration in how delicately she applys it.
In quote, "I's never seen a beauty like hers", what an interesting thing to say. The words that he use is , her beauty is singular, volcanic, viscous, lava, and close to vengeance. I have seen the type of beauty that the narrator is speaking of. A lady all in a class of her own. There is a danger in that kind of beauty. What I mean is that kind of beauty demands attention in a not natural way.

The historical background and the scence play very well in this piece of literature. Two people meeting in a cafe in Paris during was times. The narrator is a newspaper man. This particular woman has caused chaos between several continents. This could be very dangereous for the newspaper man. The newspaper man has carefully reviewed this woman's files, he is amazed at her pictures.

Madame Descartes begins her conversation with " I suppose I think the War years Were the worst". The narrator presents her personality well. There is not doubt about how she is looked at. She does not like her husband. Her life with him was not desireable to her. During war times a beautiful woman could survive on her looks. Madame is protrayed as a loose woman in the lime light of pictures.

The Rolliflex camera which her friend gave her plays a great part in the literature text. She would take pictures of the people that she met. In doing so, she was invisioning her life as well.
Madame kept a journal of her life. We can also see ourselves through journals like she did. Her life was not so pretty at times.

The last part of this text does leave me to wonder if something bad happened to this newpaperman because she spoke of pictures of death.

Sonny's Blues Two

The narrator uses a lot of short sentences. The short sentences help to set up the story in dialog between the narrator and another person. The setting is a man is arrested for drugs and his brother is reading about it. The brother has not seen his younger brother for some time. He meets a guy on the subway who talks with him about the life of the arrested brother.

The narrator is looking at this incident from an unknown view of the life that his brother has been involved in. The guy that he meets on the subway shares this life with him, he lives there also. This is painful, but necessary in order to understand the story of "Sonny's Blues".

The scene of this story changes. Time passses. The narrator's daughter dies, and he decides to write his brother in jail. The brother returns his letter, then they began to communicate on a regular basis. Sonny gets out of jail. Sonny was not very talkative. The narrator is puzzled, he observes, "Sonny just moves back, inside himself, where he can't be reached".

There is more silence. The narrator goes back to when their mother was alive. He is quiet. Rememberance of the past will cause us to look for answers in the future. It is evident that the problem with Sonny was in the making from a long time back. The story that the narrator's mother told about his uncle being killed, pointed to the life so similar to Sonny's,

The family was not in favor of Sonny being a musician. The story suggest that this is the place inside of him where he was to find himself. It is also in this place of Sonny's blues, in which the narrator understood his brother and he began to nurtur acceptance. It is amazing how er must learn to accept the choices that other people make in their life, in order to live our own life.

After the mother of these two men died, Sonny went to live with relatives. They did not understand what the music did for Sonny. It was his place of release. Well, after he moved out, he sinks deeper into his blues. Sonny gets into a life of drugs to escape reality. He lose connection with his older brother.

It is sometimes in death that people find life. When the little girl named Grace died, Sonny and his brother began to talk with each other. It wa their point of connection again. The two brothers were able to say the good, bad, and the ugly to each other. This was good for them. They grow up feeling, but not knowing what to do with those feelings.

The scene changes. The two brothers meet on different turf. They went to a neighborhood bar. I think that the older brother was able to see the world in which Sonny was acustomed to. Sonny was admired by the other muscians in the bar. The head of the band was the one who pushed Sonny to reach down within himself. As Sonny begain to play the piano it was not easy to him. Those down inner blues had to surface in order for him to deal with them. As Sonny began to play more, he reached the pit of his blues. His fingers were able to play all the pain he had experienced from childhood. The audience could fell and relate to that sound. Even better, Sonny's brother was able to understand that pain, and not judge it.

I can see Sonny entering another phase of his life. Bad feelings inside of you will cause the good feelings to not surface. We must make decisions in life. Those decisions will be made when we are happy or sad. To silence those feelings is not healthy. But to be honest and talk out those feelings with the people you are connected with is the best. When we have been taught about God, we can know that he will help us to covercome those bad things in our lives. Because, we want to have life, and have that life more abundantly!

sonny's blues

"Sonny's Blues"

This story starts out with the narrator reading in a paper about his brother.

The narrator uses a lot of short sentences. The short sentences help to set up the story in dialog between the narraor and another person. The setting is a man is arrested for drugs and his brother is reading about it. The brother has not seen his younger brother for some time. He meets a guy on the subway who talks with him about the life of the arrested brother.

The narrator is looking at this incident from an unknown view of the life that his brother has been involved in. The guy that he meets on the subway shares this life with him, he lives there also. This is painful, but necessary in order to understand the story of "Sonny's Blues".

I attended the play on "Imaginary Invalid" on Sunday at 2:30 pm.

Review of a guide to Blogging"

Since Jan. 16, when the entire class begin blogging, I have made good progress. I have reviewed my guide to blogging, only to find there are areas where I'm missing the mark. I have picked out some major areas of information in which my instructor has given me. The areas I will point out is sure to improve my blogging posts. I will be thoroughly in my review of good blogging information.

To engage literary text twice a week. I will not read the text passively: meaning without having a good understanding of the text. A good understanding of the text will require reading it twice, and asking questions about the text.

All post must be at least 300 words in length. Our group agrees that we can satisfy the word count by saving the post in Word, then check for the word count. Grammar is also an important area, which can be checked in Word. All post must engage the texts we have read for this course.

At mid term, each student will need to submit a portfolio, all of the blogs posted since the beginning of the course is required. The three best post will be submitted in the portfolio.
The instructor will assess the drafts on a quantitative criteria and a qualitative criteria.

The quantitative evaluation will include: were all of the posts on time, full length, and on topic. The qualitative evaluation is to assess the quality of the work. The post should suggest serious engagement with the texts and concepts of the course. The instructor is looking for creativity and intellectual risk taking. With each post, the work should suggest growth of the student. The post should suggest that the student is participating with the instructor and class members. The way to incorporate our findings in class is to take notes daily on what is being said in the classroom.

Our instructor had given us notes on how to write a blog post. A post should include at least one quotation from a course text. The post should demonstrate a variety of ways of engaging texts. They ought to incorporate discussion of the course concepts often. They ought to include quotations or paraphrases of things said by the instructor or other members of the class.

The instructor have given some suggestions of writing the blogs. Summarize the work by putting in your own words. Discuss a particular line or passage. Give a description of material historical context. Use Wikipedia for quoted material, you will also need to write something in your own words to connect the material to the text. Translate the work to another medium: paint a short story, write a short story, write a short story to a poem, write a song, make a video clip. Make sure that overall your blog displays variety, creativity, and intellectual risk taking!

"Re-Read Blogging"

The activities in which we have done in class have been tools to help the students to write better blog post. Reading the text once and then going back to reread the text. This approach helps to understand the literature more. Painting with color helps to see the dynamics of the words that are being used in the text. Knowing the historical period of the writing helps to understand where the writer is coming from. When I don't take the writing so serious, but learning to relax and just enjoy the writing. The writer's job is to inform me from a different perspective!

Blogging allows me to put my thoughts in my head onto a piece of paper and see. Blogging pulls the thoughts out of me and forces me to pull out even more thoughts. Blogging allows me to be honest to myself whether I can see the writer's thoughts. Blogging forces me to think critically about what I am thinking about the literature. When I blog, I look outside of myself. In this process I began to see some of my weakness and my strengths. Blogging causes to read more actively and attentive to the text, that I may be better in writing about what I read.

I have been able to make blogging work well for me. When I'm at the computer typing my thoughts I feel free. My mind opens and I let the things out that I believe to be true. I can see my creativity forming in the words that I write back in response to the literature. Blogging has made me to be careful of what I write down. My fellow classmates are reading my information, I want to send on words of intelligence to them. Blogging is really serious business, not like a regular chat line, but a group of intellects, sharing thoughts and conversation. Its Amazing!

Having to write 300 words is a lot of thinking and writing. The more that I come to blog, I find myself able to pour out more and more words. Every sentence is saying what more can I get out of your subconscious, where you have all this information stored up. I mostly blog late in the afternoon or night. I will write a blog in the morning hours to see if I can pour out more thoughts than I do in the mid evenings. It is said that the mind is more relaxed in the morning after a full night of rest. I believe that there is more there for me. I will honestly check it out!

The key to really having a good blog is to read your text well. The more information you have about the text, the better you can write on. It is good to put oneself into the text, in order to write from more than one point of view. In the beginning, I may not be able to understand the text, but after I read it over a time of two, the understanding begins to come to me. Yes, some of the schemes take me into territory in which I have never even heard about. That is what makes life more abundantly, when you can learn about something that you have never known!

It is my goal to come out this introduction to Literature class with a skill of knowing how to read and enjoy good literature. I will apply myself to engage more in the writings and order to be skillful in writing out what the text is saying to the audience. I will pay more attention to the quotes, because the writer is saying something very important. I will also need to pull out my dictionary to look up words that I do not know the meaning to. Writers are very smooth people to be able to write something in what may seem to be a foreign language and make some one's day!

Better Understanding of "Walt Whitman"

The Class discussed the poem of Walt Whitman on Monday , February 15,. I got a better understanding of the play after we went into small groups. I learn that the historical background of the time and of the author is very important in understanding the writing. Walt Whitman is writing about Abraham Lincoln 's death. I did not not whether the poem was about a lady and her man until those facts were revealed to me.

Walt Whitman is a man who used very formal words to this writing. The image that he writes into your mind is very different to me. The poem kept my interest from beginning to end. The writing forced me to figure out what all those facts in the poem was about. I would suppose then that is what good poetry is suppose to do. Walt Whitman has a strong vocabulary of words to present to his reading audience. The writing was not at all boring.

Walt Whitman talks with words to death. I must be able to be pulled into literature in order to understand and engage into it. I must be able to forget about the norm, and enter into the abnorm of reading poems and literature. He spoke all through the poem "O Death", he was personally connected with death in order to write the things around him to relate to death.

Writing about Abraham Lincoln had to have been a careful selection of words for Walt Whitman.
Here this man is a President of the United States. One of the most important men of the entire world. The selection of words had to be selective. I saw honor throughout the entire peom.
Honor for the gray-brown bird that would sing. Honor for the hermit in the swamp. Honor for the Lilac and the perfumed aroma.

I saw death all around the poem. The military gives the look forward of death. Walt Whitman helped us to see other men who have and would in the future face death. Face death and know death with honor. There was a great responsibility for this poem. There was a great responsibility for the Civil War. I admire a man like Walt Whitman whom could write about it with dignity.

I am sure that after visiting the cemetary this week that I will see more signs of honor there. I will read the history of men whom lie in those grave sites. My father also was a military man and he is buried in Bushnell cemetary here in Florida. I remember the day my family went to his burial. The army men all dressed in uniform. The men carrying the body of a former military man. We kids were all walking with them with dignity and honor at the passing of our father. Yes I can admire a writer like Walt Whitman!

"When Lylacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd"

I see the writing about Death. Death in an honorable light. We have no power over death. We can be left with any lasting thoughts of the death. This story is about a military person who has died. The surrounding are a farm, a wooded area, a body of water . The farm is surrounded by lilac plant, with heart-shaped leaves of rich green, and a perfume smell. Death is dark, which brings us to the memory of clouds.

In the wooded swamp area, a bird sings, a frog sings. There is a spring in the woods, and violets. There is a field of wheat grain, and an apple orchard. Someone is carrying a coffin. It does seem strange to be carrying a coffin in the woods. It appears to be a person who was a military person. A flower of Lilac is placed over the coffin. This significes the freshness and sacredness of this person's death.

I believe the story is giving information about the feelings of the alive person before the actual burying of the dead person. The nights are lonely and dark as to speak of a warning of a death coming. We are more aware of the nearby swamp. The singing of a bird nearby. The quietness of the atmosphere and the loved one who is now dead. How do we go on without them? What should we leave on the burial wall of our love one? What type of nature scenery?

We admire the land. There is a prarie of grass and corn. There is a large body of water nearby with ship. I think that the author is going back and forth from the homeland and the military life of the dead person. Sing grey-brown bird. This is a memory of the one love that holds us. You can still smell the lilac in the fields.

They sat in the day, and watch other farms nearby. They watch other farms nearby. The clouds remind them of the sacred love. I believe that the burial is over here. They are back to everyday life. They are back to taking walks in the woods and listening to the bird singing. The death of this person was a delicate death. Not all sure what that means, except that the person did not suffer a long and painful death.

Military life brings the possibility of death to all the soldiers who go out to war. The death of a military person is one that most all people look at as a honorable event. To give your life for your country is no better honor. Death in any form or fashion is hard on the people we leave behind to mourn. We all must except the fact that death is a part of living. We can look at it as something bad or something that all of us have to do in life. Death is a part of all of our lives!

"Joel"

Locusts destroy the crops. The prophet Joel speaks to the older leaders. Tell your children about the cutting and swarming locuts. There will no longer be wine for the drinkers of the land. Awake, and cry. On top of that, soldiers have come to take over the land.

It seems that the Priests in the temple have been charged with drinking wine. Men of the land are being kill by the soldiers. The coming day of Judgement. This day is described as a dark gloomy day. Not to forget a powerful army spread over the mountains. There is fire in the city.
Chariots of war horses rumbling over the tops of the mountains. The soldiers charge and climb over the wall. No opposition can stop them. They enter houses through windows.

The Lord's day of judging is overwhelming. No one can stand up against it. The Lord is saying change your hearts, because he is kind and shows mercy. "Blow the Trumpet in Jerusalem".
Gather the people together along with the priest. The priest shall cry out to God for mercy. Don't let people in other nations ask, "Where Is their God?

Then the lord became concerned about his land and felt sorry for his people. The Lord will force the army to leave the land. The Lord restores the land. The grass will grow again for the beast of the land. The problem with the swarming locust lasted for years. The Lord's army. The promise of the Spirit. The Lord will pour out his spirit on all men.

The day of the Lord. To call on the Name of the lord and be delivered. The nations will be judged for the selling of children. The Gold and the silver has been taken from Jerusalem. The Lord will arouse the place where the people were sold and return recompense on their head.
Judah will be blessed.

This is a passage of great judgement on the people of this nation. The way that I would relate this passage to this century, is to be mindful of sin. Our God is a God of judgement. I also see a message about alcohol drinking. I'm sure that drinking brought some of the problems in this land. It is good to know that God does warn a nation before he sends destruction to it. My
prayer is that I know my spiritual eyes open to when I am going down the wrong road. I don't want to feel the judgement of God's fire!

"Summary of the Literature I read"

I liked the story of Frankie and Johnny. It sound like it could have been western. I like western movies. It would have been nice if Frankie could have went on with her life , never mind a cheating man. They happen all the time. This story kept my interest cause it was about love and war. I liked it. This story is a real life story even though it seems to be some fiction in it. We all love some untruth I think because it makes life interesting. As Christians we must leave the drama and go on to truthful things. Thank God for renewing of the mind!

What do I talk about when I talk about Love. The story was very good. It had lots of conversation. I had a little trouble keeping up with all the information. Nevertheless it did keep my interest. As I become a better reader I will be able to absorb more information in a piece of Literature. I don't talk about love very much. The bible is reteaching me about love. I know that Godly Love is the Agape Love. I have begun to believe that Agape Love can only be achieved by two people when the two have given their lives to the Lord!

"A Grief Observed". The literature is a very serious one. Definitely not a boring story. The story kept my attention. The writer was able to get into my mind. Death is not an easy thing to hear or talk about. The words that the writer wrote captured my mind. I read and I listened. I have experience death when my daddy died. I did not ask myself any questions about my relationship. My dad was not a very close and personal person with me. I was somewhat passive about how I loved him. About once or twice a year I think about him and it sometime brings me to tears because I miss him!

"The Things They Carried". This story is a very serious one. I myself was like a soldier. I was attentive to ever word written. This story had much detail to it. The thing that the story left me with is a visual of what it could be like for a man in the military. My brother, James, was an infantry man in the US Army for ten years. I now know what it was like for him on any given day out in the field. The writer of this story really was detailed. Since James have been home from the military he is a Baptist Preacher. I can still hear the soldier in him in his sermons!

The chapter in which we read on "Theme", was very good. With our next reading , I will have notes on how to absorb and pull out more from the literature. Reading literature can be hard to comprehend if you don't know how to understand it. I also find that true about a movie. At home I often watch a single movie over and over again for the understanding of it. When I complete this class I will have the tools to be able to comprehend much more out of what I read and see.

Now getting to the Book of Joel. This piece of literature will be much more serious. But a good challenge to read and comprehend. I know we will be looking into the very mind of God. You know I must be able to understand and comprehend scripture. I know to be mindful and careful to read each line with clarity. What an awesome direction that we are headed to in reading the book of Joel. I don't think that I have read this book in the past. I will open up my spiritual ears and eyes. I will hear what the spirit of God is revealing to me!

"THE THINGS THEY CARRY"

First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carried letters from a girl named Martha. She was not in love with him, although he was in love with her. I have saw this happen a lot with guys in the military. They need something to hold on to and low and behold a female fits that need. I do believe that a man's family is about the best thing to hold on to because you already know where they all stand with you and you can trust those relationships more than a hopeful woman.

Each man in this group carried items of necessity. To carry something was referred to as "hump it". Lieutenant Jimmy Cross humped his love for Martha up the hills and through the swamps.
He would day dream about her along the march in Vietnam. As dangerous as it was in war, that was hardly the place to fantasize about a relationship with the opposite sex, but people are human beings. Humans have the natural desire to be loved!

Ted Lavender was shot and killed. Lieutenant Cross felt the pain. He blamed himself. He was grieving for Ted Lavender but mostly it was for Martha and for himself. War is a hard thing. The feeling are loneliness, fear, and cold. I believe that Cross wanted to know that this woman loved him, but he did not have this assurance. He felt also that it was his duty to protect Ted Lavender and he was killed. These factors all together can be confusing for anyone.

The Lieutenant's in some deep hurt. They were waiting for the chopper to pick up the body of Ted Lavender. The rest of the troupe carried all the emotional baggage of men who would die. They carried these things in side. The things that the men carried inside were items needed to stay alive, fear of being the next one dead, and was being in Vietnam fighting a war was the place to be at this time. The things they carried!

On the morning after Ted Lavender died. First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross burned Martha's letters and her photographs. Lavender was dead he could not burn the blame. He took out his maps and began to plan the day's march. From that point on when he thought about Martha, it would be only to think that she belonged elsewhere. She was not in a war in Vietnam, Cross was.
Cross needed his whole mind to be there at all times, his men depended on it.

On the march Johnny Cross would impose strict field disciple on the men. He would accept the blame for what happened to Ted Lavender. Cross would not tolerate laxity from the men. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross reminded himself that his obligation was not to be loved, but to lead.

In this piece of literature I really saw what being in war in another country is like for soldiers. I will carry the right type of respect in the future of our men!

"A GRIEF OBSERVED"

Helen is the name of the person C.S. Lewis calls H. I believe that it feels better to him to call her H., unless that is what he call his wife before her death. Some of my friends whom call others by an initial name do it because they can not bear to say the full name, or they do not want others around them to know who they are talking about. But for Lewis the name of H. gives him a secret place inside to vent over the passing on of her life.

Lewis feels like he is always thinking about his deceased wife. It feels like something is terribly wrong. He reminds himself afterall it is the midnight hour of the night. Feelings on top of feeliings . He even feel nausea. I felt nausea when my father died. It was the night after my father' funeral that day. My Aunt woke up with me and she prayed for me. It was the way that I was able to fall asleep that night. Thank God that she knew what to do for me!

He feels that he should not be in sorrow when he knows that before he became married to his wife that she was very ill. Facts about a relationship does not always make you feel better about the person when there is a departure. Lonliness is part of the healing process cause there is a void there. I know believe the void of a death of a love one is harder to deal with than just a parting of a girl friend of boyfriend relationship.

C.S. Lewis relates what has happened in his marriage to a card game of bridge players. Your bid will not be taken serious if the stakes are not high. I would guess that he feels this way because his wife afterall was challenging an illness. It feels like torture to him. "torture will bring out the truth", "only under torture does he discover it himself. It is when our house is knocked down the better. And only suffering can do it.

There is a period when all the negative thoughts about griefing attacks the mind. Lewis thinks that soon disease will come upon him, or some other fate. He begins to think negative thoughts about God,questioning if he is a good or bad God. Lewis even questions the state of H. christianity. Is Helen yet in anquish, even in death? Lewis asks himself if her soul was good enough with God. But as christians we need to believe that when we give our hearts to good the job is taken care of by God.

C.S. Lewis now realizes that no one can bear anyones else suffering. He is now ready to turn it all over the his higher power, The Lord God Almighty. Time is out for sorrow. He is ready for rest. At this stage of griefing we feel as though God has left us. Lewis says when we are in this desperate state God can not do for us what he would. He waits for us like a father to be there for his children. Death is a unknown thing to us. Who can know it. Jesus has conquered death!

On Monday, January 25, The entire class met at the restaurant to discuss a literary piece and to have breakfast. I felt very comfortable in the atmosphere, it was not hard for me to speak. My group members were very good and sharing their knowledge in reading literature on a regular bases. At first most of us was just kind of waking up our minds to talking, after that we really got into our assignment for the day: talking.

The literature that was shared among us was very good. I learned the name of other authors of good books. I think females enjoy most books written by women, cause that is what I most heard from the other girls. I think that women writers are very good writers cause they are very detailed, no offense to male writers okay! I assure that male writers are just as good as female writers, it depends on the time and knowledge that either one puts into the writing.

The literature that I brought in to share with my group as a fiction story named " A Rose for Emily", written by an author by the name of William Faulkner. I first read this story in an English class that I had about four years ago in Community College. As you can tell I really did enjoy the piece cause I felt like reading it again. My group members had not ever read this story, they were very atentive to my telling them about it.

Most of my group agreed that they start reading books, but most often they are not able to finish the book. I can understand that because when you are in college you are reading so many books that are priority one on the reading scale for a grade. I told them there will be times when they will have more time to complete a book. I admit that there books in my book shelf that I have not yet completed as well.

I can see that my reading capacity is improving. I know that it is because I am reading more. I can see that my writing capacity is improving. I know that it is because of this blogging process as far as my reading and writing becoming better. It is really true that practice does make perfection. I do not to began to look up more of the words that I do not know the meaning of when I am reading. Comprehension will help me to be able to write better.

So overall my experience at the breakfast on Monday was a good one. I even beleive that I could feel comfortable to talk about a literature piece at a meal with my family or friend. The ice has been broken, no more fear! The bible talks about eatting and sharing good fellowship with a person at the table. Thank the Lord for Literature and good fellowship!

What I think about Love

I think that Love is one of the greatest force between a woman and a man.

The text with Mel and Terri, and Nick and Laura is about two couples drinking and talking about what love is. They talk about the different kinds of Love. Neither of them talk about Agape Love. I don't beleive that they are strong christian, although they may know something about God.

Nick and Laura do not talk very much about the subject of Love. Mel and Terri does see their relationship as good and wholesome. It seems that Mel and Terri go back and compares their last marriages to now. They do not think that either had a good past marriage. Hopefully they can work on a much better love relationship now.

I beleive that people also judge true love by what they learned as a child in a family relationship.
A family relationship can determine what feels normal in a love relationship between a man and a woman. The best way to find out about love is to read biblical stories about jesus and the father. The principals there can still be affective for today's relationships. We live in a society now where you have to know what other partners define as healthy love relationship.

The number one problem with the couples as they are talking love is the fact that they are drinking to much. Drinking in a Love relationship can be misleading to each others. Mel and Terri are not displaying good interactions while they are speaking about love. The drinking is bringing out negative memories. Drinking really clouds thoughts in a relationship.

I hope that my forbiddeness about drinking in a relationship get over to everyone. God warns us about the power of strong drink. This writer is showing us the confusion of having too much to drink. Love requires open minds. Very good literary. Way to Go!

Happy Endings - Margret Atwood

A is a normal starting of the writing. A couple met and gets married, have kids, a good life and dies. This is the end of the story. I am not sure what the labeling of A B C and so on are for.
B shows a very different relationship between Mary and John. John is protrayed as a user and that he is not in love with Mary. This part of the story helps me to see many women. A lot of women think that a guy is in love with them, but in reality the guy is pleasing himself. Friends try to tell you better about the guy. In this kind of relationship women tend to believe that the guy is okay and the women can change then into what he can be. This is not true, people have to change themselves. Mary appears to be an insecure woman somewhat. Mary finds out he is seeing another woman. She takes her life for the love that she has for this man. John marries another woman named Madge. C Again, the relationship between John and Mary is being looked at in another angle. Mary is a younger woman having an affair with a married man, John. Mary is also in an affair with a guy who is in her age range,James. James is 22 years old and is not ready to settle down. I think I understand now, each Letter A B C and so on is a new ending!
John is married to Madge. They have two children and are very happy. Mary is experiencing excitement in the affair with John, the married man. John finds Mary and James in bed together. John later shots the two and himself. Madge marries Fred and continue to be happy.
Fred and Marge are at their home and a tidal wave almost drowns them. Fred dies from a bad heart. Madge devotes the rest of her life to charity work.

All of the endings had a somewhat happy ending considering. The final three paragraphs fit into the story by including all three characters and their endings.

Bedtime Stories are great source of literature. The bedtime story that I can remember as a small child is a song that my mother would sing to me : Hush little baby, don't say a word mommie is gonna buy you a mocking bird. The Hush little baby song would just relax me and I would fall alseep right in my mother's arm. Who would ever think that a song with words would have that much power over a person.

I learned a great many of nursery rhymes in my early childhood days. One song that I really enjoyed the most is the one about Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. In your mind you could just imagine an object on a high wall, that fell down from the wall really hard. I could just sing that song as a child over and over again. There were other nursery rhyme would I enjoyed like: Blue Bird, Little Sally Walker, and many more.

My most recent memories of literature is my reading books written by Spiritual Leaders. The most significant book that I think really kept my interest was a book I read titled "The Purpose Driven Life" written by Author Rick Warren. The book helped me to see my life and which direction I am headed in. I have also read books by T.D. Jakes, Joyce Meyers, Paula White, and others that I can not recall the name right at this moment.

Literature matters greatly in this society. Literature allows people to know how other people view the world in which we live in. I can only imagine and read about far away places which I am sure that I will never visit. Through the power of written literature the images can be like real life to me. I actually relax when I engage in reading literature. Some literature can be boring to a person depending on what engages the reader's interest. Always literature is informative. I thank god that writers all over the world is writing. Literature opens up the mind to much excitement about the world in which we live in. Literature always matter because it is telling us something that we need to know. If people would read more literature they would become more educated about all kinds of topics.

I can see how creative my God is through Literature. Reading the books of the bible can be a literature text. The stories really facinate me. Each character in the bible is telling life from their view. God's image is so revealed by the stories that the character is telling. I guess I never saw it that way that the bible could be a literature text. Truly it is a literature text because , the bible after you have read it gets into the mind and takes a special place inside of it.

My desire is to learn much from this class of literature and apply some of the skills to my overall life. I hope to become a better reader with greater comprehension. I will allow this skill to overflow into my grandchildren lives by reading to them and helping them to be good readers. My Degree is in Elementary Education. I hope to be a great teacher just like the great God that I have.