I miss you all          November 29, 2009

Together by chance and friends by choice.

Very best friends, closer than close can be.

A year can fly by with the people you love.

 

We watched hilarious movies.

We quoted them and laughed so hard,

We couldn’t remember why.

 

We argued who would win,

Superman or Batman.

The battle never seemed to end.

 

We played games

Where certain people would always cheat,

Yet somehow never win.

 

We dated each other.

It’s actually pretty funny.

Our friendships were so strong.

 

We went to Taco Bell, watched football,

And covered his room with sticky notes.

He never took them down.

 

There’s no way to mention all of the great times,

When we thought it would never end.

I wish we could go back and re-live them all again.

 

 

 Devil in the Mall          November 23, 2009

Through a busy mall, there were people trying to get through.

I sat on a chair across from an abandoned bench.

A young man came along and collapsed on the surface.

He looked worn out and tired.

He uncomfortably pulled at his tight pink striped polo.

I thought to myself, he must have a girlfriend who dressed him up.

No later than a minute, she came in with a rush of cold wind

And met that man on the bench.

Her icy stare cut right through me and locked on to him.

She snapped her skinny fingers and I noticed her shiny red nails.

He heeled like a puppy and she had the leash.

Her pink dress matched his polo.

They swiftly made their way out of sight.

Guess he’d never heard of the devil.

 

 

African Violet          November 18, 2009

My life is an African Violet, easygoing.

I don't need all of the sun,

Too much would scorch all of my fun.

I am slow to harm with my fuzzy, soft leaves.

Through the long dark months, I'll bloom continuously.

I'm faithful through the ups and downs.

My beautiful petals will never let you frown.

Anywhere you move me, know

That in my place, new roots will grow.

If you care for me and my small requests,

Of all your flowers, I'm sure to be the best.

 

Park of Amusement          November 16, 2009

Six Flags was heaven after a long week of school.

I ran and played;

My skin was dark from hours in the hot summer sun.

Every weekend we'd hop in the car.

Whether it was early Saturday morning

Or Sunday after church.

My dad would drive.

My mom packed us lunch.

My sister and I bouncing in our seats,

Waiting to arrive.

When we pulled in the lot

I held up my arms like I was already on a ride.

The first step through the gate was like entering another world.

Colorful, noisy, and wonderfully alive.

My heart beat faster like the beat of the music.

My eyes got wider when I smelled the familiar smell of popcorn and funnel cakes.

That beautiful day full of play.

I hoped it would never end.

I knew the meaning of amusement park.

 

Sea          November 12, 2009

I am the sea.

On the shore, an aquamarine.

I am calm and clear.

Crashing waves on the sand,

I am near.

But in the distance, there is a navy blue.

Unknown in my deepest hue.

A combination of the two-

Aquamarine and deep navy blue.

And as the sun sets on these colors,

You'll see another side of me.

Reflective of the sun,

A bright coral descent

Until a new day has begun.

---

wiki 5 -  20/20 - interesting speech experience and a good write up!

Dr. Cawlfield - Monday, November 2     Missouri S&T Freshman Experience Presentation

Dr. Cawlfield was a very personable speaker.  When he came in, he kind of took the audience by storm.  It seemed as though they had just run into him and asked him to speak for us.  Although it seemed impromptu, Dr. Cawlfield was very informative in an enteraining manner.  He is a professor for Freshman Engineering so it was obvious that he had first-hand experience with freshman.  He knew what he wanted to tell us.  He had a very professional powerpoint but only used it as a guide line.  He didn't read the powerpoint straight to us, he elaborated on his points, providing several examples along the way.  Verbal pauses were my main concern.  Every other word had to have been an "uh" or "um."  After learning more about verbal pauses, I notice them all the time and it drives me crazy! At some points, Dr. Cawlfield talked fairly softly and I missed a couple of points he made.  I enjoyed his presence, though.  He felt like a friend rather than a professor.

 

wiki 4 - 20/20 - god post. Thanks for your note about last week... I appreciate your honesty and your conscientiousness.

Pastor Clausing - Wednesday, October 28     Chapel

Pastor Clausing's speaking style always cracks me up.  It is very predictable.  I know that when he is about to make an important point, he steps back and makes an OK sign with his hand.  Also, when he is elaborating on a point, he holds his arms behind his back.  As predictable as he is, he is one of the most organized speakers I have ever heard.  He speaks, point by point and says exactly what he needs too say.  He didn't go over his time.  Sometimes, when we have a guest speaker for chapel, it seems like they are not aware that we have to go to class after chapel.  Pastor Clausing's message was very informative, I never knew much of anything about Saint...actually I don't remember their names :( (I was kind of distracted by that bird..) If there was not a bird in there today, I definitely would have learned something.  Pastor Clausing isn't a very forceful speaker, he doesn't really pull his audience back in after there has been a distraction (such as a flying creature..) Overall, Pastor Clausing is a consistently good speaker.

 

wiki 3 - 0/20 - no entry this week.  Mrs. Staude - I know you don't accept late work, but I feel really bad about forgetting to wiki - so I'm going to write one anyway. I'm sorry.

Mr. Marty - Thursday, October 22     Future Freshmen Day

Mr. Marty obviously plans ahead so that he knows what he needs to say and accomplish.  But, when Mr. Marty comes out with his manuscript, I know I am about to be read at.  To be honest, when I listen to a speaker reading at me, it forces me to tune out.  I don't enjoy being read at.  I like when a speaker can talk to me, not give me a spoken version of an essay.  However, I think Mr. Marty's speech was somewhat of an introduction.  I think he was introducing himself, the school, and then Pastor Clausing.  Mr. Marty's speeches are always very infomative.  He covers what he needs to cover, and usually doesn't leave people going "... Huh?" He looked pretty comfortable up there.  Of course, he probably has to be, since he speaks in front of students at least once a week.  I was standing in the choir off to the side, and from my point of view, the freshmen looked a little stiff.  I was hoping for more of a lively speech.  All in all, Mr. Marty is a good representation at our school, though.  He is very professional.

 

wiki 2 - 20/20 - Did you think it mattered whether we could SEE what was on the tiles... or didn't it?

I agree with you, it was a good chapel talk.

Mr. Kuhlmann - Thursday, October 15     Chapel

Mr. Kuhlmann is a very good public speaker.  He used good eye contact, even in the gym where there is an audience on all sides.  Whenever he told Rachel to go to the next slide, it never effected the train of his speech.  I almost didn't even notice it.  Practice was also evident.  He had the manuscript or outline maybe, I wasn't sure.  He set it on the podeum, walked to the center and fearlessly began his message.  It looked and sounded like he knew what he wanted to say and he definitely accomplished it.  I also enjoyed the way he pulled the students into his speech.  He asked questions which brought us more into his message.  I wasn't zoned out the entire time like some of the speakers that have done chapel.  The activity he had the football players do, when they drew on the tiles and smashed them in the bucket, it effectively represented his message.  It wasn't just a random thing to make the message longer, it added to the meaning.

 

 

wiki 1 15/20 - try to elaborate on your points in some sentence form... I am expecting about 200 words.

Pastor Kurt Klaus - Sunday, October 4     Child of God

- funny and personable speaker

- kept the room alive and attentive

- the microphone went out at one point, still projected so everyone in the gym could hear

- he moved around, but wasn't all over the place, wasn't distracting

- seemed passionate about the subject

- practice was evident but the message wasn't stiff

- good use of hand gestures, added to effect but didn't look silly

- overall, great sermon by a great public speaker

---

Miles Away

Grace wiped a tear from her eye as she gently set down the picture frame on the coffee table.  Her son flew down the stairs and around the corner.  He was like a bull in a china shop, but twice as destructive.  He was rather stout for a twelve year old and his eyes constantly sparkled with anticipation. “Just like his father,” she said.  A slight smile appeared on the woman’s face.

“Hey Mom, could you come upstairs? I,” he stopped short.  He eyed the picture frame and looked up at his mother, “He’ll be back, Mom. I know he will be.”

“I know Peter, I just miss him so much,” Grace said and she pulled her long, blonde hair back into a neat bun.

He nodded and sat by his mother on the plain, white sofa.  He picked up the picture and gazed at it, trying to remember.  It was a photo of the day his father left for his mission, June 5^th, 2007.  He blessed the camera with the most captivating smile.  Peter could still feel the last warm bear hug his father gave him.  His father’s hugs were always strong, but never lacking in love.  The man adored his family and would sacrifice anything for their safety.  Peter did not know much about what his father did or where he was, except that it was highly confidential information.  Grace looked at Peter and felt the same heartache.  The man they both loved was “gone on business” with no date of return.

Peter set the picture back down on the table and turned to his mother.  “He’s coming back.  He is.  I know he is,” he said with an eternal certainty.

Grace reached for Peter’s hand and held it in hers.  Looking at Peter was like looking at her husband.  His spiky brown hair that never lay quite as neat as she would like and those dark brown eyes that always sparked with hope.  He had a tendency to make a mess of everything in his path.  But most like his father, Peter had a wonderful way of making everything all right.  He left his mother in awe much of the time.  She loved him more than anyone could imagine; that was certain.  She was thankful for every second she had with her son.  She hoped with all her heart that she would never lose Peter. “You’re right, Petey.  Never give up hope,” she said, holding back the tears.

Grace stood up slowly, brushed off her skirt, and pulled herself together.  She remembered her husband saying, “I’ll always be here with you, even when I’m miles away.”  Their love for each other was like an unbreakable bond.  She saved his words fresh in her mind for days such as this.  As she walked to the shelf to put the frame away, Peter jumped up and bolted to up the stairs.

“Where’s the fire?” Grace yelled as he flew by.

“I’m going to get my other pictures of Dad,” he bellowed back.

After placing the picture back in its place, she retreated to the sofa.

“Hey Mom, what’s this black box doing under my bed?” Peter shouted, his voice echoing through the house.

“Petey, you know that we never leave things under the bed,” Grace said as she started toward the stairs.  Before she even made it to stairwell, Peter was back at her side in the hallway.  He handed her the small, black box.  It was covered in tough leather and held closed with a silver latch.

“This was under your bed?” she held the box in confusion.

“I never left anything under my bed, I promise.  I don’t know how it got there,” he explained.

“Well someone had to have put it under there,” she said, trying to recall any memory of a small, black box.  Grace was a woman of grace; the name suited her well.  She never left anything behind.  Her house was the definition of order.  So, she knew that she would have remembered putting a black box under Peter’s bed.

Peter stared at the mysterious package, waiting for his mother to open it.  Grace carefully opened the top and peeked inside.  Her eyes widened.  She carefully pulled out a wad of one hundred dollar bills.  After several minutes of silence, Grace stammered, “Where… i-in… the w-world did th-this… come from?”

Peter stood by his mother in disbelief.  Suddenly, they heard a loud slam of the front door.  Peter jumped back in shock.  They both stood still in the hallway.  They heard footsteps slowly walking up the stairs.  That familiar creak in the wood floor was not so comforting at this moment.  Another slam resounded from what sounded like the Peter’s bedroom door, then Grace’s door, the bathroom, then silence.

Grace grabbed her son and held him close.  Peter could feel his heart pounding in his chest.  They listened to silence for what felt like hours.  The quiet was almost deafening.  Out of the stillness, they heard the clear sound of footsteps coming back down the stairs.  Grace looked around frantically.

Peter could not control himself any longer, he screamed.  The footsteps stopped.  Grace held on to her son.  It seemed as though the world stood still.  Grace looked to her left and there, two feet away, stood a man.  She took Peter and dashed down the hallway into the kitchen.  She reached for a knife but the man spoke, “I’ve got a gun, so there’s no use getting a knife, lady.” 

“Please! Don’t hurt us,” Grace begged hysterically.

The stranger stepped closer to Grace and Peter.

 “Get out of this house right now,” Grace pleaded.

The man took Peter by the neck.  “Give me all of your money or I’m taking the boy.”  Grace didn’t know what to do; she had no money in the house.  Then she realized- the box, the money.  With a shaking hand, she pointed to the black box that was left in the hallway.  Taking Peter with him, the man shuffled to the black box, reached inside, and grabbed the roll of money with his dirty, greasy hands.  He laughed a terrifying laugh and smiled.  He let go of his grip on Peter and as quickly as the man had appeared, he was gone.  They heard a slam of the front door, an engine rev, and tires squeal.

Grace rushed over to her son, pulled him into her arms, and hugged him with all of the strength she had left.  She cried until Peter’s shirt was soaked with her tears.  As she turned her head, she peered into the black leather box sitting innocently against the wall.  She noticed a white note lying in the bottom.  She pulled it out warily and read the words that were neatly printed on the other side, “I’ll always be here with you, even when I’m miles away.”  

---

1. "The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky" by Stephen Crane    8/17/09

I liked this story mainly because of the cinematic style of writing.  I did not enjoy Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage because it was very monotonous. However, “The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky” was fairly intriguing.  I thought it was clever the way Crane introduced Jack Potter and his wife in Part I, and in Part II and III he introduced Scratchy Wilson.  Finally, in Part IV, Crane adds the conflict and solution between Potter and Wilson.  It was short and too the point, but still entertaining.  Part I was slightly confusing because it is mostly the thoughts of Jack Potter and then in Part II, the narration switches to a more general point of view. 

 

2. "Enemy Territory" by William Melvin Kelley    8/18/09

The title "Enemy Territory" initially made me think the story would be about war or a massive conflict.  The first few sentences definitely hooked me, only to find out that the story was about some young boys.  Still, I never lost interest.  I liked the inner story because I got so absorbed that I forgot all about the outer story.  By the time I got back to the outer story, I had totally forgotten about Tommy and his grandmother.  The end was especially surprising to me because I was expecting a fight between Tommy and Valentine's Gang, but it turned out, the gang had all retreated to their homes and Tommy was left with free path.

 

Good job on wk.1  

 

1. "The Moustache" by Robert Cormier    8/24/09 

"The Moustache" was really interesting.  It was an easy read; it flowed very well.  I liked how Mike's moustache was a running theme in the story.  He started with his moustache, completely happy, even though many other people didn't like it.  Once his grandmother mistook him for her husband, I think it scared him a little.  Before, he was confident with his moustache.  After, he felt out of place, like the moustache belonged to his grandfather, not him.  Also, I liked how Mike started to realize that his grandmother was really a person, not just an old body without any worth.  He learned a lot by visiting the nursing home, but mainly that he wanted to shave his moustache.  (I don't like moustaches anyway. :P)

 

2. “Sixteen” by Maureen Daly    8/25/09

This was probably my favorite story so far.  It was so out of the ordinary for English class.  It felt more like someone talking to me rather than reading words on a book like I do everyday.  There was a lot of slang used, which made it feel natural to read.  I liked to character too.  She was very easy to relate too.  Her thought processes were very typical, yet still entertaining.  I thought it was kind of interesting the way the boy and the girl were together for that one night and then it was over.  It shows how common that sort of thing was in the story’s timeframe.  Today, people don’t normally just date around.Good job on Wiki 2! I appreciated your frank opinions! They were super! How's project #4 coming?

 

1. About the First Theme Essay and class discussion about banning books    9/1/09

I chose to do the fourth essay promt.  I really appreciated having a creative writing option.  I've never been a fan of comparitive writing, so this prompt really helped me open up an essay writing mood.  I chose to write a sequel to "Sixteen" by Maureen Daly.  It was my favorite story, like I said in last week's wiki log, and it was also fun to write it from a girls point of view that is easy to relate to.

Our class discussion was really interesting today.  I never really thought about how many of the stories we read are being challenged by groups of people.  I think Mrs. Staude was right when she said that we all have a power to CHOOSE not to read something. We shouldn't be TOLD not to read something.  I think we all have a mind for ourselves.  America is all about freedom right?  We should be able to decide for ourselves what we want to read and what we don't want to read.  It's wrong for anyone to tell us what isn't "right." 

2. "The Sniper"    9/4/09

I really liked this story.  I was shocked to find out that he actually killed his brother.  I knew it would be someone he knew but not his brother.  The story was pretty intense too, I never stopped to think, "Wow, I wish I wasn't reading this."  I'm not usually a big fan of war or gory stories.  However, "The Sniper" kept me reading to the end.  I was surprised to find out that the soldier felt defeated after he killed the other man.  In most war-like stories I've read, the soldiers feel a sense of duty and justification in their killing the enemy.

 

 

1.  Pre-judgment... Prejudice    9/9/09

When I hear prejudice, I think of fear. There is a fear that stands behind prejudice.  I know that I have felt judged upon due to my age and my gender.  I would not call myself a feminist but I do believe that women are capable of achieving success, as are men.  As for being young, I think of 1 Timothy 4: 12, it says, “Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.”  I think that many adults think that we are careless teenagers, when in fact; we are fully capable of making our own decisions and learning from our own mistakes.  I also believe that the same adults might fear the young because of our power.  We are highly influential in today’s society.  Now that almost every aspect of life is based on technology, we are the generation who knows how to work with it.  We are the generation that will keep it going.  I think that some adults may view this as a threat to the things their own generation has established.  The young must set an example for them, to show them that we are strong.

2. D.P.    9/10/09

This was a really interesting story.  I liked that it was from a German point of view, how they view Americans.  The little boy breaks my heart because he doesn't know his family or his history, all he knows is what people tell him.  He is so innocent and so easy to be taken advantage of.  I'm really glad the soldier were nice to him because they could have done anything with him.  The two men that watched the orphanage children walk in the woods were derogatory toward the little boy.  I hope that the soldier really does come back for him, but odds are, he won't be able to. :-(

 

1.  The New Kid   9/16/09

 I hated this story.  Not that I did not like the way it was written, but the plot was so sad!  You would think that any kid who had gotten bullied before would NEVER do the same thing to another new kid.  He was desperate to fit in, but he could've been friends with the new kid.  He could have left that baseball game and stop hanging out with those horrible kids.  But instead, he hit the poor boy over and over again.  It was awful and I hated reading it.  I just wanted to save that new kid from that group of boys and give him a big hug.

 

2.  Would YOU want to live in a family that kept "secrets" from one another the way the Hawley family did?    9/17/09

I don't think the Hawley family came off as "secretive."  The only secret that was present was that the mother was going to die soon.  I  can't tell if it was a good or bad decision.  The mother didn't seem like the type that would sulk for the rest of her life.  If it were me, I would definitely want to know if I  was going to die.  I would want to do the things I've always wanted to do.  In the same way, the mother in the story might have decided not to sit at home or do some of the things she wanted to do.  It sounded like she did things for other people more than herself.  Maybe she would have gotten the chance to focus on herself.

wiki 5 - great job... very thoughtful postings. I liked what you had to say about the New Kid! :-)