Post B. Part 5. (The Slow Moon).

In the beginning of the section, Crow is acquitted and the family seems relieved although Helen (Crows mother) seems as though that was not enough. Bobby comes to the Davenports to talk to Crow, try to cheer him up, while informing him that everyone is going to the river. When Crow arrives after everyone had been waiting, they begin to discuss and exchange information on the Battle of the Bands. An argument breaks out, when Lester suggests that they all go jump off the cliff into the river like the old days. Crow gets edgy but participates anyways, for a while it all seems like everything is well again. In the view of Sophie, the trial my have been over for Crow but Sophie still had troubles of her own. “The trail was over, but nothing seemed over for Sophie. She still had sleepless nights and was afraid to close her eyes for fear that something terrible might happen in her dreams, or in her life” (Page 175). Crow and she finally talk when he runs into her as she is walking out of the local hardware store where her mother works. He offers her a ride home and she accepts. He asks her if she was angry at him for stating everything that happen between them in court, she said no that he had to say what he must. Before Crow leaves, Sophie informs him that she cannot take the pressure of everything that is happening in town right now and that she wants to go back to Montana. She asks her mother if she could go, and her mother asks her how long. She begs to stay the whole summer by herself but they compromise on only a month or two. The section ends with Crow driving past Sophie’s house, awaiting her return even though she had only been gone for a week.

Post A. Part 5. (The Slow Moon).

Vocabulary

1. Arbitrary: Adjective (page 190)
-Decided by a judge or arbiter rather than by a law or statute.
-Subject to individual will or judgment without restriction; contingent solely upon one's discretion
2. Malicious: Adjective (page 200)
-Full of, characterized by, or showing malice; malevolent; spiteful
-Vicious, wanton, or mischievous in motivation or purpose.

Emerging Theme.

Trust is one emerging theme in the book. Sophie talks to Crow and tells him that although she does not remember what happened that night at the Fairchild house that she trusts that he did not commit such a horrendous crime.

Post B. Part 4. (The Slow Moon).

Summary.

In these chapters, the book really begins to connect with the outside world. The actions that Crow and his friends take always seem to have real life outcomes. And example of this would be in chapter twenty the boys go out and build a fire near the quarry. They go there because Casey and Bobby want to share some news that has happened in their lives. While they are there, Bobby brings out a gun that he has owned for a few months. He takes it out because he just wants to show them that he has it, he had no bad intentions. While he has the gun out though, it is fired two times. Unlike most fictions books you read, the boys get concerned about their action of shooting the gun, and the police come (page 143). In the first chapter, it tells the story of Lester taking Sophie to the school’s spring dance and how she dances with Bobby, but truly only wants to dance with Crow. In the next chapter, Crow goes to Sophie’s house to apologize to her that Bobby was being such a jerk, “That was cold. I mean, it’s not like you did anything wrong.” (page 135). Crow says these words to Sophie to make her feel less guilty about dancing with him and Bobby at the dance, Sophie does not like Bobby and that makes Bobby very angry. He is angry because the one girl that he finally wants is the one girl who does not like him. In the next few chapters they talk about Crows court case. Crow is acquitted but they all still mourn for what happened to Sophie. Bobby’s mother is still very concerned about what happened and is very worried about the fact that there are still dangerous people out there.

Post b

Post A. Part 4. (The Slow Moon).

Vocabulary
1. Acquitted (page 161)-
A. (V.)-To relieve from a charge of fault or crime; declare not guilty.
B. To release or discharge from an obligation.
2. Gable (page 144)-
A. (N.)- Generally a triangular section of wall at the end of a pitched roof, occupying the space between the two slopes of the roof.
B. A triangular, usually ornamental architectural section, as one above an arched door or window.


Figurative Language.

1. (Page 143) “Darkness came down like a wing…” this is a simile; I know this because it compares two objects using the word like.

2. (Page 142) “For a moment, a cord of affection ran between them…” this is figurative language because it uses imagery. This is imagery because a cord did not actually run between the boys. It just helps put a picture in the readers mind that the boys were closely connected.

3. (Page 149) “That night, as Tom lay in bed, stars, cold as knives…” this is a simile; I know this because it compares stars to be cold as knives. In the comparison, the author used the word as, meaning that it is a simile.

Post B. Section 3. (The Slow Moon)

In chapter thirteen, there is conversation between Bobby, his friends, and Crow. It begins with the boys saying, “They can’t pin this on Crow.” (Page 89). This quote relates because it informs the reader how all Crows friends are on his side. Later on in the chapter Bobby receives a letter from his father, of whom he had always believed to be dead, informing him that he wants to have Bobby be part of his life again. They talk about how Crow and Bobby came to be best friends, with Crow sticking up for Bobby in a difficult situation in the first grade. The book then breaks into a section called “Old Ground”. The first chapter of this section is about Sophie Chabot moving to Mulberry Street in Tennessee. They inform the reader that her father, Ben Chabot, was a forest park ranger in Montana (where they used to live). They speak of his tragic death in a forest fire and their difficult struggle to overcome the tragic loss. The next chapter talks about Sophie meeting Bobby and all his friends at their band practice. Sophie immediately thinks that Bobby is attractive when they go to his house for a dinner-which his mother invited Sophie and her mother, Rita, to. While at the band practice, Sophie meets Crow for the first time; although they never spoke, Sophie caught Crow staring at her numerous times. “Crow stared at Sophie but never approached her.” (Page 116). Over the next few chapters, they inform you of how Bobby tries to become closer to Sophie because he finds her attractive. He takes her out to ice cream, and asks to kiss her. Sophie does not feel the same way back, so the kiss was not very dramatic.

Post A. Section 3. (The Slow Moon)

1. Vocabulary

-Musculature (page 125)
1. Noun. The muscular system of the body or of its parts
2. Noun. The system or arrangement of muscles in a body or a body part.

-Assuaging (page 107)
1. Verb. To make milder or less severe; relieve; ease; mitigate
2. To appease; satisfy; allay; relieve
3. To soothe, calm, or mollify

2. An emerging theme in this book, noted through these chapters, would be trust. You notice trust when Sophie first moves to town and goes to Bobby and his friends’ band practice. She trusts him with getting her there safely, and treating her politely while they are at the practice.

Part 2. Section 2. (The Slow Moon.)

In the beginning of this section, the first chapter talks about what happen to Sophie from her view point even though Sophie is not the one telling it. It describes how closely Crow cares about Sophie. “When someone teased him about her, he made a noise through his nose. ‘You wish!’ he said”. This quote ties in because it describes that Crow cared for Sophie even though others thought that he might not deserve her, or that they should not be together. The chapter continues by talking about what happened while Crow was away. It gets descriptive and talks about how numerous men were at the scene while he was away, they inform the reader how Sophie insisted on her attacker to stop but all they did was abuse her more. In the next chapter, there is a conversation between one of Crow’s teachers and his old little league coach. The conversation is based on all of the good times they had with Crow, and how they think he could have never committed such a horrific crime. In the chapter that follows, Louise Burden comes to the Davenport (Crow’s) household. She talks with Helen (Crow’s mother). They exchange details on the situation and they learn each other’s side of the story. Helen informs Louise that Crow cannot stop talking/thinking about Sophie, and Louise tells Helen that Sophie will not even speak of that night, not even to her parents. In the Tenth chapter of the book there is a lot of drama. Ava, Helen’s sister, comes to town. She comes only because Carl (Crow’s father) asked her to come. Earlier in the lives of these characters, Carl and Ava had a minor affair. Helen secretly knew about it, but considering everything that she put Carl through, she let it slide. Now with Ava in town, the stress level increases. Carl decided that he needs to be there for Helen and that Ava should really only be in town to help keep Helen from having a break down.

Post A. Section 2. ( The Slow Moon.)

1. 2 vocabulary words.
Gingerly (page 49) -
1. ( Adverb) with great care or caution.

2. (Adjective) cautious, careful, or wary.

Bland (page 64) –
1. ( Adjective) pleasantly smooth or agreeable.
2. soothing or balmy
3. nonirritant

2. Emerging theme in the book.
One emerging theme of the book would be loyalty. The people who were friends with Crow before the incident, stayed friends with Crow, they have not even began to doubt him. They believe strongly that he did not commit the crime.

Debate Blog.

One type of debate that you can have is with your parents. An example of this would be the debate of extending your curfew. This debate normally occurs at home, or over the dinner table somewhere. The purpose that it serves to the daughter/son’s case would be that it would give them more time outside of the home on Friday and Saturday nights. The purpose that it serves to the parents would be to inform the child of why they have the curfew they have, or to inform them how to earn a later one. This debate might end with a better decision or it could have a very bad outcome, such as an even worse curfew. This debate would most likely be unstructured.

Another type of debate that you can have would be with your teacher. An example of this would be the debate over a better grade. This would normally occur in the classroom or some place at school. The purpose that it serves to the student would be to see if they can earn a better grade and to find out the reasons why they earned the score they did. The purpose that it serves for the teacher would be to re-check the students work and see if they did indeed make a minor mistake, or to teach the student how to do better next time. This debate could help arrive at a better decision by helping the student learn how to produce better work. This debate could also arrive at a bad decision by the student of which he/she decides to give up on the class. This would once again be an unstructured debate.

A third and final in my thoughts would be the debate between an employer and his/her employee. The debate would normally occur in the office place, perhaps at a meeting, or at a company dinner. The debate could be about anything from a raise to how to make more profits as a company. The purpose it would serve to the employee would be that they could earn more money or help the company benefit. The purpose that it would serve for the boss would be that they could learn the opposing view of his employee on how the company should be ran. This debate might end with a better outcome for both of the candidates. This debate would most likely be structured, considering they would be facing their employer.

Post B. The Slow Moon.

In this section of my book, I began to notice many trends. One trend is that the teenagers in the book barely have a say in the society. I say this because; when Sophie was abused and raped, they blamed her boyfriend Crow right away. When there was no possible way that he could have done it. They do not let him speak his opinion, or state his alibi. The mother of Sophie was not even considering letting Crow get away, even though she never heard the truth from Sophie herself. The mother was just going off the evidence she had heard, not even witnessed. Another trend in the book is the claim from everyone in town that Crow would never commit such a crime. But yet everyone keeps those thoughts to themselves. They would not testify or tell anyone their view on how good of a person Crow is. There is also connections from the book to the real world. One of these connections would be that Sophie is assaulted and raped. Now that is a real life issue. You seen news headlines all the time of topics such as these. The book really takes an example of these stories and puts it into play. The author shows the family and small town’s side of one of these truly horrific incidents. This book is also connected to another book that I read, I can’t quite remember the name, but a boyfriend was accused of a girls death. When in the end they found that he had done nothing but try to save her.

Post A The Slow Moon

1. Vocabulary-
persimmon(3)- N
1. Any of various chiefly tropical trees of the genus Diospyros, having hard wood and orange-red fruit that is edible only when completely ripe.
2. The fruit of any of these trees.
acquinesce(3)- V.
1. to assent tacitly, submit or comply silently or without protest, agree, consent.

2. " 'can you do anything about it?' he said" (page 18). This quote is significant because there is a very large conflict with Crow and the rest of the town. All he hopes is that someone can do something about it. He asked this because he cannot do anything to help himself in the situation he was in because nobody, not even his father will listen to him.

Outside Reading- 2nd Quarter.

1. The Slow Moon by Elizabeth Cox

2. Copyright 2006

3. The book is Fiction.

4. There are exactly 300 pages. Not including Acknowledgements or Reading Guide.

5. Well the main example for why it would be challenging for a sophmore would be the fact that the kind gentleman at Barnes and Noble told me so. Another reason would be that it was in the Adult fiction section at the bookstore, going along with the fact that there is an adult topic being discussed in the book.

6. I am not going to lie, I chose a book by its cover. There was also the influence of the man who worked at the bookstore, when he explained the book it interested me.

The Sea Inside-Post 3.

Film Techniques.

-When Ramon was in his wheelchair contraption and in the back of the van, they did a Truck. They had the camera sort of outside of the car and going forward with the camera facing the side. This added effect to the movie because it was going pretty slow, so it brought the effect that Ramon was taking all of the scenary in while being very calm and slow.
-Whenever they showed Ramon in bed they did a medium shot. This shot didn't make the details of his sad and aged face stick out but rather showed the emotions of which he was feeling.
-The high angle that was used when they showed Ramon's attorney walking down the beach brought a lot of emotion to scene because it showed how small she was compared to the big world.

The Sea Inside-Post 2

The Sea Inside Vs. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.

Similarities.

-Ramon and Bauby both lose the loves of their lives when they obtain locked-in syndrome.
-They both have loving families that are helping them through their difficult situation.
-They are both from places in Europe.

Differences.

-Ramon was injured doing something physical.
-Bauby became a quadriplegic after he had a stroke.
-Bauby finds the positive things in his situation-trys to make the best of it.
-Ramon just wishes it would all end, or go back to the way it was.

Personally, I think that The Sea Inside was a much more compelling story. I did enjoy seeing both view points of being a quadriplegic. I thought that Ramon had a very powerful story because he was in that situation for such an extended period of time. While Bauby was only a quadriplegic for a few years before his death.

The Sea Inside-Post. 1

( I chose to do the alternative assignment for my outside reading memoir.)

My reaction and response to the film is that it was a very sad story. A story of someone who was completely locked into their body but all they wanted to be is free. He wouldn't settle for anything less. My opinion on Ramon's request for assisted suicide was mainly neutral. Right now, with the capability of walking and moving around I disagree with Ramon's request. But if I were to be put into Ramon's place my train of thought might completely be switch around, I know the same things would be going through my mind. The court's response to him was very much expected in my eyes. They thought that it was outragous for him to have that thought, or even having considered bringing that request to court. My response to Ramon's final action was a sense of relief. By the end of the film I realized all the emotional pain that he goes through every day. When he was able to finally get what he had wanted for 26 years, I felt like he was finally somewhere comfortable, somewhere that he could finally move freely and be with the people he loved. I definetly do not think negatively about his friends who helped him. They were just trying to do the best thing for him, the best thing being what he wanted. The people who helped assist him in that actual suicide didn't even really know that they were helping him such as when his sister-in-law gave him the extra pills, "come on, two more won't kill me".

The Class Castle-The Ending

Summary:
A summary of the end of the book: In the end Lori saves up her money and buys a train ticket to head up to New York City to start a new life. Jeannett dosn't want to stay traped living with her parents in a life life that she knows is going to take her nowhere. So jeannette follows in the footsteps of Lori and saves up her money to head to the big city aswell so she can come successful in her life. Over time the whole family moves up there but Rex and Rose-Mary choose the not so glamorous life. They would rather live on the streets and eat out of the dumpsters. Jeannett evens offers them them help to get going on there life. Now or never right? But no, they turn her down. Jeannett goes from leaving a life with nothing to something that she never thought possible. Being so determined and having a strong goal in mind, takes her to the top.

The Glass Castle Pt. 5

Summary.

In the beginning, Jeannette learns about humidity, her father explains why it did not feel as hot in the desert as it does in Welch. Brian and Jeannette head down to the public pool where a boy named Ernie Goad teases them out by calling them dirty and that they were a “health epidemic”. The next day Jeannette was walking down the street and she ran into Dinitia- an African American friend from school. Dinitia had just gotten out of the pool from the morning hours. She invited Jeannette to come swim with the other “colored folks”. Jeannette joined her and her friends and family at the pool the next morning. Although they both had the time of their lives, they never went back together nor even spoke about that swim. When she got home a man rang the bell and asked to talk to her parents. She stated that they were not home so he began asking questions about them. when her mother came home Jeannette informed her all about what happened. Her mother got so worked up over Jeannette’s concern that she got a job at the local school. Even with that income money was still really tight. Towards the end of this section Jeannette started to work on the school newspaper, she enjoyed this job because she felt like she was the one receiving the information first.

Personal Reaction.

My personal reaction to part five of my memoir would be I feel very concerned about Jeannette and her siblings. They are all growing accustomed to their drunken father and their moody mother. Some neighbors even called in and said that their home was not a good place for the children to live. When a man came to the door, I realized that these children truly were not being treated with care and politeness. I had many reactions in this section, like when Jeannette decided to make her own braces and her father found out. Instead of my expectation of him being angry that she would want to change something with herself, he was very proud of her quick idea and invention. Another example of a reaction I had was when the man came to the door, Jeannette remained very calm and adult like, and the man totally believed her. My reaction was that if she can remain so calm while coving up that they were broke and her father was a drunk she must actually not mind the situation she is in. This surprised me because I would be terrified to see my father as an angry drunk, but then again, she must have grown accustomed to it.

The Glass Castle Pt. 4 Post 2

In the beginning of this section, Jeannette is having troubles with bullies at her school. She did not want to confront her mother or father about them, knowing that would only make it worse. One of the bullies then asks Jeannette for her help on the English homework and Jeannette said yes. When her grandmother finds out that Jeannette helped an African American she gets furious. Mom and Dad Walls went back to Phoenix to get what was left of their things. But Mom’s “laundry on the clothesline” stunt didn’t work well, the whole house had been looted. When they came back to Welch Erma told them that she could not handle the kids anymore and told them it would be best for them to leave. But the adults made piece and they found that Welch was their new home. They moved to a home on Little Hobart Street, where they experienced their first winter in Welch. At the end of this section Jeannette tries to inform her mother that the family cannot go on living poor with no food or clothing. She tries to urge her to leave Dad but she would never do such a thing. They talked about how she would be able to go on welfare if that happened but her mother would not even consider it, she said that welfare would teach them bad morals and that they truly would not be learning anything.

The Glass Castle Pt. 4 Post 1

Quote 1. “‘Everyone has something good about them,” she said. “You have to find the redeeming quality and love the person for that”(144). This is told to the author when she is talking about her grandmother Erma. Jeannette says that he “hates” her but when her mother tells her this, she begins to think about everything that Erma has been through. This quote is important to the book because the Walls family never judged someone for what they look like, they always found a deeper meaning for who they were and loved them for that. This struck me as important because I also try to follow the words of this quote. I think that it is important to find that there is good in everyone and that you should not judge people before you know those good qualities.

Quote 2. “‘This is home now’“ this is was said by Rex Walls, Jeannette’s father, when they moved back to Phoenix. This quote is important to the book because it gives you a certain uneasy feeling while reading it. In the book and especially in the beginning the Walls family moves around a ton. They can never seem to find a home and stay there. So when this quote added the now at the end it made me feel as though this is just another adventure along the Wall’s life journey.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly Homework

The memoir The Diving Bell and The Butterfly has left me still determining how I feel about the situation of which the author was in. I have thought about the book’s meaning and still have not been able to find a true meaning to why it was written. I have some ideas such as he wanted to show people how life was for him, or maybe to show others that he could accomplish something while being “locked in”. I feel three main things about this book. One of these things would be great sadness. I feel sadness because the author could not move besides the blinking of his eye. When I read a book, I always put myself in the shoes of the main character, with the main character in this book being a paraplegic it was difficult for me to relate. Another emotion that I feel towards this book is confusion. It was difficult for me to figure out how everything really pieced together. The part that mainly confused me would be when he began talking about the matron of the hospital and how they were dancing together. It was difficult for me to visually picture those chapters. A final emotion that I feel would be achievement for the author. I thought it was really great that he achieved so much for a person in that situation. He wrote a book-I would definitely not think of writing a book with my body so confined. I would rather have people mope and feel sorry for me, which I know is not the right way to go about that. So, in my opinion this book was not one that I would chose to reread or commonly suggest to people. The genre of memoirs does not really attract me to start out so I may already have a bias.

The Glass Castle Pt. 3 sec. 2

One of the strengths of the book is that it is very non-biased. I think that it is important the Jeannette doesn't look back and write her memoir with hatred towards her father. I really like that each memory is written with the emphasis on the connection between her and her father at that moment. One of the weaknesses of the book is that she leaves some topics very broad. She starts out the chapter with a story that goes very in depth, but then ends the chapter with only a brief view of the conclusion of that story. That really bothers me. I have had pretty strong feelings towards the topics and issues brought up in this memoir. When she mentions the nights that he father came home in a drunken rage i have a very negative feel towards her father and i feel sorry that she was raised with that. This memoir doesn't really relate to my life, but it does relate to real life. I have a prediction that her father does not keep his "present" to Jeannie and stays an alcoholic.

The Glass Castle Pt. 3

1.) The Walls family moves into their North Third Street house. The children begin to attend Emerse, the local public school. Where all the children are placed in the "gifted" reading classes because they are already so excelled. Lori flunks her eye test hosted by the school nurse, but here mother says that glasses are just a sign that you need to work to make your eyes stronger. The school says that Lori cannot attend unless she gets glasses-so the school offers to pay for them. Their father suprises all the children with new bikes. Their mother starts her own art studio and gallery in the house and buys all new supplies with the inheritance. Rex Walls takes the family to the zoo to show them how the animals adapt to their environment. Rex begins to drink even more and causes a scene at the midnight christmas mass. On Jeannette's birthday he tells her that he would do anything for her if it is humanly possible and that if it wasn't he would die trying. So he asked her what she would like for her birthday, and she responds by asking for him to stop drinking. He tells the family that he would like them to leave him alone in the bedroom for awhile. He chains himself down to avoid from drinking for weeks. And it appears to have ended his alcoholic lifestyle. He comes out of the bedroom and informs the family that he thinks they should go on a road trip to the grand canyon.

2.) The author of my book is Jeannette Walls. Jeannette currently lives in the state of Virgina with her husband John Taylor-who is also a writer. She has worked at several publications such as The USA Today and New York Magazine. Her current job is being the Gossip Columnist at MSNBC.com. She appearently had many attempts to write a memoir about her childhood with her gambling addicted and alcoholic father. When she began to want a better life, she fled to live with her sister in New York. In New York she began to work numerous jobs to accumulate money until she was admitted to Bernards. She took journalism classes and began to work at New York Magazine.

http://www.simonsays.com/content/destination.cfm?tab=7&pid=367420&agid=13

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7139443/




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The Glass Castle-Pt. 2

1. Loaded Words
I. rich, pg. 51
- loaded because this could have a positive influence on people by them thinking that it would be great to have money, or it could be negative by them thinking that it is a snooty way to say wealthy.
-author used it to explain that they were going to strike it rich when they find gold.
II. scrawny, pg. 58
-loaded because there is a negative side to it in my view, i think think that it means someone very small and not built at all.
-author used it to say that some kids just were not very big or muscular.
III. Mexican, pg. 59
-loaded because it could have a negative or positive effect on the people who live in Mexico, or for enemies of Mexico.
-author used it to discribe a name.
IV. Kids, pg. 71
-could have a positive view for an adult wanting to be young or a negative view for a child wanting to be called a young adult.
-author used it because she was explaining that the children were not well behaved and that there was many of them.
V. freedom, pg. 73
-this is loaded because this word carries a lot of weight to some people who live in very strict and controled countries.
-the author used this to show that letting children have freedom lets them experience their full potential.
VI. crazy, pg. 91
-loaded because some use it negatively refering to a mental state and some discribe others actions.
-author used this because she wanted to show that mom didn't drive very safely it was "crazy"
VII. ugly, pg. 70
-loaded because it could really insult someone if they were to ever be called it. some could take it positively others could take it negatively.
-author used it to discribe mother's painting.
VIII. bellyaching, pg. 71
-loaded because its an extreme, its not a good thing. you feel really pestered.
-author used it to show how much complaining mother was doing to father.
IX. grave, pg. 88.
-loaded because it could refer to a face or an action or it could refer to a cemetary grave.
-author used it to discribe the childrens face so that you could understand that they were not happy faces.
X. grown-up, pg. 71
-loaded because it means they are more mature, they are older, elderly...
-im really sick of doing this...the author used this loaded word by showing the adults status and "grown" ups.

2. Short Summery
The family begins to move around again. They leave Blyth and move to Battle Mountain. They are going to strike it rich when they find gold in the mountains. but they do not. The family meets this boy named Billy and he kisses Jeannette and begins to unbutton his pants until someone comes in to inturrupt the whole attack. He begins to tell people that he kissed Jeannette but she claims that it wasn't a kiss because her eyes were open. He yells at her by saying that he raped her but response because she didn't know what rape was would be "so what!". he then shows up at the depot(where they were living) with a bb gun and begins to shoot the kids-parents where at the Owl Club. Lori gets dad's gun and beings to shoot real bullets at him. The parents come home later with a police officer who tells them to be in court the next day to discuss what went on. So once again they pack up and leave...

3. Personal Reaction
My personal reaction would be that all this fleeing has got to cause more trouble for these small towns. They must have hundreds of people coming after them!

The Glass Castle-pt. 1

1. In the beginning of the book, Jeannette Walls is riding in a taxi through the city thinking she is over dressed, when she looks out the taxi window and sees her mom happily going through a dumpster. She then tells the taxi driver to turn around and bring her back to her apartment. Where she then called her mother’s friend to inform her that she would like to eat lunch with her mother- the only way her and her mother kept in contact. They met on Friday at the local Chinese restaurant. She told her mother that she embarrasses her and that she should just loan money from her. Her mother said no and told her that is the way she and Jeannette’s dad want to live. The rest is really just a flash back.. she was on fire that was her earliest memory. She was making hot dogs at the age of three and her dress caught on fire from the burner. The neighbor rushed her to the hospital because her father was gone with the car. She had severe burns and was wrapped up in the hospital for weeks. Her father came and picked her up and they ran out of the hospital-the “Rex Walls check-out”. A few days after she was home, she made herself some hot dogs on the stove. He dad came home in the middle of the night a few months later and got them all out of bed. He told them they had fifteen minutes to pack up everything they needed and they were getting out of there. It took them an hour but they were on their way. The cat began to throw a fit so Mr. Walls just threw it out the window. That night they stopped in the middle of the desert and they slept under the stars. They were always doing the “skedaddle” her father told her it was because they were being chased by the FBI but her mother told her that was just her fathers cover up for not being able to pay the bills. Her father liked to invent things. His greatest invention (or thought) was called “The Prospector” it was a tool that would be used for finding gold-which was hit mission in life. His other great invention was “The Glass Castle” which was a house that was to have a glass roof, thick glass walls and solar panels that would collect all the energy needed for the whole house, including appliances. They talk about how she had a sister born between her and her sister Lori-her name was Mary Charlene-but her dad did not like to talk about her because he was the one who found her dead in the crib. Lori asked Jean what she thought of moving around so much, and Jean responded by saying she liked it and asking what would happen if they were to stay in one place, Lori responded by saying “we would get caught.” They then lived in Las Vegas for awhile, Mr. Walls earned well until the dealers caught on to what he was doing when the family once again packed up and moved on. They went to live on the Pacific Ocean for a while, at least till they got sick of the city folks. They moved on to Midland where her mother fell in love with a Joshua tree, a tree that she just fell in love with. The mother found out she was pregnant with a third child. The children never believed in Santa Claus, they did not have enough money for them to. They rather just told the children that the other parents were liars and that the children are being brainwashed. One Christmas when they had no money and they were living in Midland in the middle of the desert, her father took each child out individually to choose a star that they wanted. He did this because nobody truly had claim to a star so they could just claim one as their own. They moved to the city of Blyth so that the baby would be able to be born in a city with things they would need. Jean started first grade and was an active participant. Other students called her a teachers pet and they followed her home one day and jumped her in the alley behind her apartment. The next day when they were waiting to do it again her younger brother came out to protect her, but instead they both got beaten up. At the very end her mother gives birth to a healthy baby girl at the hospital in which they check out “Rex Walls Style”.

2. My reaction to these pages would be that this family is brought closer together by the fact that her parents are so disfucntional. The parents do not always get along but atleast they love eachother as a family. I think that the father's drinking problem produces issues in the family but it doesn't tear them apart.

This I Believe...

1. http://www.npr.org/templates/story.php?storyId=7293598

2. Ann Karasinski

3. There is No Blame; There is Only Love.

4. The mother of a Heroine addicted teen now believes that she cannot blame anyone, not even herself, for the addiction of her daughters...she can only love her.

5. -The only thing that connected her and her daughter while she left due to her addiction was believed to be love.
- They meet every Friday for coffee, she doesn't try to heal her or change her. She just loves her.

6. "Sometimes there is pain and sorrow, but there is no blame. I believe there is only love."

Blog #1

The thing that I am most anxious about at Edina High School is the sports seasons. I really enjoy going to varsity football games in the fall, varsity basketball in the winter, and participating in synchronized swimming in the spring. I'm also really anxious about being part of Edina High because I am now allowed on the "high school field trips" hosted by my church. These consist of being a chaperone to many events for the younger parishners. One last thing that I am anxious for is not having to ride the bus! I have some friends that also attend Edina that are seniors so I have a carpool...no more standing out in the snow to get on a large stinky bus that will only get stuck in the snow.

One goal for myself this year would be to get constant good grades. My grades normally do a nice rollar coaster ride, except its not that nice it's more like the Wild Thing on steroids...
I can never seem to get my grades to always be constant. If they ever are constant, they aren't great. I have never had super bad grades and I want my goal to be to keep that.