The Long Goodbye Blog

This profile was one of the saddest things I've ever read. I am honestly speechless. I can't even imagine being a mother and only seeing your child for 5 hours on one day through out many months. They don't get to be there It was sweet how the mothers got dressed up for their families to come visit them and how excited they were to recieve the small gifts. But it was almost too hard to read why Stephanie and Jennifer were in there. They barely did anything except for wait in the car or make a few phone calls and now they were paying for it with years of their lives in jail waiting and thinking why am I here? They did not sell the drugs, they honestly didn't even know that drugs were involved in their situations yet they were punished with time in jail away from their young children. Stephanie's story was the most heartbreaking because her son was being made fun of in school for her being in jail. He was angry at her and didn't even act like he was happy to see her. That was really sad and when he punched her in the face my heart was hurting for her. I can't even believe how hard that must of been for her to only see her son for a little bit and for him to treat her that way. My heart is breaking for her. This was a really sad reading but the author, Amanda Coyne did a good job to lighten up the depressing situation with bits of humor. The pockets of change and vending machine gathering made it lighter and also how Jennifer was running around with her son and they were laughing together was touching. Another humorous part of the profile was when Jennnifer's 5 year old son was saying he wanted to be a bad guy like his Mommy and do something really bad so he could go to jail with her. Anyway if the story was all sad and depressed jail talk about how the mothers could not be with their children the profile would feel dark and too sad. That's why the author put the bits of humor in and it makes the story feel better and its easier to take in and read. Well thats what I think and I really enjoyed this profile and I thought it was a great example of a profile.

"I'm Not Leaving Until I Eat This Thing"

This story about pig lips was vulgar. First of all I love animals so I hate hearing that they are being killed. I know that pork and bacon is good but just hearing about their testicles, lips, and feet being cooked and eaten really grosses me out. Pig lips may be unique and delicious with beer and chips but you won't see me eating one anytime soon. This story was very detailed and a little nasty but kind of cool to hear about their family buisness of cooking pig parts and selling them. One son in the family was even taking over the buisness when it was time. They die the pig lips different colors and sell them according to season which was supposed to make them more appealing and delicious which sounds interesting. Anyway, even though it was disgusting, it was kind of interesting to hear about people and their lives in Mississippi as pig producers and killing them and selling them as a living. I don't think I have ever thought about people doing that as a living and a family buisness of that type but it was an interesting profile. Anyway the man who is eating the pig lips at the end of the bar wanted to eat one just to dry the pink juices in the foil before he left that evening. So all these thoughts were going through his head in this story, I don't blame him for feeling nausceous before he ate it. But he crumpled it in chips and then took a bite and he actually wasn't that disgusted. Then he stared at the pigs feet and you had to assume that he was thinking about eating it. I guess the moral is to be open to new things and a great example of a profile.

The Last Stop Blog

This profile about a mortuary was suprisingly interesting. Normally when you think of dead people and where they are sent and how they are dealt with it is enough to make someone cringe. However, the curiosity about them and the people the work there was certainly enhanced as a started to read this profile. I have only every been to one funeral home, when my great uncle died. I didn't know him personally but when I saw my family crying and him laying in a casket that looked actually comfortable, I felt a sense of peace. I felt that the man who was lying there looked as if he were in a deep sleep and he was finally at rest. His suffering and life was over, and his soul had moved on to another place. It did feel comforting that death wasn't gory, or violent but a body's rest while the soul moves on. Personally when I die, I would want to donate my organs to help someone else live longer and then probably just be cremated. I honeslty feel that a body in a box underground is a gross thought. I can just see it decaying and the bugs getting to it... ew yes I would definetly want to be cremated. Anyway, the profile about the mortuary really did fit the part. It is exactly what I would picture if I was thinking about where dead bodies would be before burial. Even the funeral director would be exactly as I pictured. I loved how the director would grin and say things without expression, that is just so typical to me. The writer, Brian Cable, did an excellent job in describing and making you feel like you were standing next to him talking with the man and touring the mortuary. The details were vivid and he had great sensory details. I also agreed with Brian, when he said that is takes a certain person to work a mortuary. Boy is that true, I know I could never do it. I think this is a great example of a profile and I know exactly where I am going to write mine about now.

Blog on Being a Real Westener

This passage by Tobias Wolff was about a boy who wanted a gun to feel older and more powerful. His mother wouldn't let him have it at first because she knew that a boy his age probably couldn't handle the gun and something bad would happen and she was right. When she finally let him have it his interest and obsession with the gun grew more and more every day. He was obsessed with the power he felt with it and the image of himself with it. He even started pointing it at people to feel what it would feel like to have the power over them. Then one day he couldn't hold his self control any longer and he shot a squirrel. He felt so bad because he loved animals and he cried about it and pretended to pray. His mother was sad too and they buried it with a little popsicle cross. Even though he was sad he couldn't help but to still be obsessed with the gun and its power and knew he would pick it up again one day soon. I feel that a gun is way too much power for anyone to handle. You have the power to take someones life away when you are holding it. If your job is to protect someone or fight for your country that is an ok thing but when a young boy is home alone with a gun pointing it at people there is something wrong there. A gun is not a toy and any family who leaves one lying out not locked up or even hidden needs to re evaluate what kind of message they are sending a young, curious, and imaginitive child. I know the man in this story, Roy, had a gun when he was younger but honestly I believe that is wrong. There is no reason or excuse for a child to be playing with or have contact with a gun. A squirrel died from this child playing around with the gun and even though that seems trivial it could eventually be much worse and so the gun should be taken away immediatley.

Readings Due: 9/10 Dillard and Brandt

Both of these stories were very interesting. As I was reading them I couldn't take my eyes from them. I felt like the story about shop lifting by Jean Brandt was easier to read and I could definetly relate to it more. In highschool I used to get in trouble often. It was usually for dumb things like cursing or fighting with another girl but it was kind of exciting when I did get in trouble. I liked trying to get myself out of punishment and I like crying in front of the Disiplinarian of my school. I even liked having people talk about what I did to get there. However, I completely agree with her when she talks about how hard it is to call your mom. You can tell she is just dissapointed in you and is even embarrased to come get you from school or in her case at the police station. The car ride home is always imbearable and I would usually fight with my mom because she could never realize why I did it. For this reason and the reputation to get I straightened out and didn't get in trouble at all senior year. The rush you get from getting in trouble but it is so not worth it in the end.
The second story about the snow balls and cars by Annie Dillard was relatable but not as much. I remember when I was younger playing outside for hours on warm spring, summer, and fall nights with my neighbors. There was Rachel a year older than me, Cameron, Renee, and my brother Tyler. It was some of my best memories of being a kid. At the end of this story I didn't really understand why the man didn't do anything like yell at them or even get mad. I thought he was going to take them to their parents and tell them, but he didn't even really care. The ending was confusing but it was a good story. When I was younger people used to yell at us for being in their yards and shooting off cap guns but no one ever chased us like that. Anyway the readings were really interesting this week.

Herb's Chicken Blog

The introduction of this article was really interesting and made me excited to read it. Which according to the reading is what the introduction is supposed to do. In the passage they were making a chicken coop and I thought they were going to a chicken farm to pick up the chickens and bring them home to start to breed them. The last sentence of the introduction contained the word "process" which really did not come across as killing the chicken to me. Unfortunately the passage was really quite the opposite. They did go to the chicken farm but it consisted of a visit where an old 87 year old man, Herb, killed a chicken out of a cone. The essay was really grapic and kind of scarring but the details written actually made the story very readable. Last week in class we talked about how when there is details in an essay or a narrative it is much easier to picture the images being described and the essay is much more interesting and it keeps your attention. Even though this essay was disturbing, it some how managed to keep my attention and I am pretty sure it was because of the details and the images running through my head. I have been thinking about possible career paths lately and animals have always interested me so much. Since I have been in Wilmington my strong animal intrest has grown intensely. The other day I was on a run with a my swim team and as I ran over the bridge on the path to the beach I saw a bunch of stingrays sitting along the bank in the water. I was so attracted by it I had to stop and look at them. Anyway that is kind of irrevelant to this blog, I am just talking through it, but that being said I really am interested in all animals so I loved that it was about chickens. My attention was immediately drawn but then when the poor chicken was killed it was kind of hard to read. I know killing chickens is food and it is understandable but at the same time I really was uncomfortable reading about a chicken dying.