Slice

     I am an invisible man.  When I walk on the streets, no one seems to notice me.  I have become used to this idea and started to embrace it but everything took a turn for the worst on July 15. I was walking on Elm street when a rag was grasped over my face, covering my nose and mouth.  I had no clue what was happening but I knew that I had to make it stop before anything bad came from it.  I tried to yell and kick but that's when the scent from the rag kicked in and my body went limp from it.
     I do not know what happened but I woke up and found myself in a van with blacked out windows.  Panic started to fill my body again and I tried to climb over and start the van but nothing happened, there was not even a sound of the engine trying to work.  I slammed my body against the door with my hand working on the handle, trying to get it to open but it failed.  The thought of the back door came to my mind and I raced back to where I rest before to find that I could open the door.  The light from outside blinded me and right before I was about to jump out of the car, I noticed that the tail end of the van was at the edge of a cliff.  Quickly, I backed back up into the shelter of the van.  Confusion, panic and the pang of thirst all filled my head.
     I started to scratch at the walls of the van and pounding my fist on the floor board along with the seats. My last punch was on the drivers side seat, I had given up and began to hit my head repeatedly on the seat behind me.  The sound of metal rubbing against metal occurred every time I hit my head.  I slammed my head against the seat once more to make sure I was not imagining things when the metal sound happened again.  I looked under the seat to find an open pocket knife jammed in between the seat and the floor.  I quickly reached under the seat and tried to free the knife but just ended up cutting myself.  I retracted my hand seeing blood pool at the tip of my pointer finger.  I switched hands and put my left arm underneath the seat and successfully freed the weapon.
     With my confidence upgraded because of my new knife, I opened the back of the van for the light to fill the inside of my prison.  I stuck my head out the back with my knife safe in my pocket.  There was a ledge to the right of the van and if I could hang on to the van and find my footing on the other side I would be free. I tried just that and succeeded, with ease.  I began to run, trying to hear for a near highway but there was no sound, just the crunching of leaves that I stepped on.  I paused, trying to find my way when the crunching sound continued but I was not walking.  I turned around to find a man with a wide grin on his face.  He was wearing a police hat and a purple shirt.  I made eye contact with him and registered that he was not here to help me but to hurt me.  I started to back up as I took our my knife in my pocket.  I opened it up so the blade was pointing at him.  I was ready to strike when he gave me a questionable look.  I did not want to get anywhere close to this man so I threw the knife at his heart. The knife came down, missing him by inches, and he took off.

Famous First and Last Lines

"I am an invisible man"

The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (1952)

Wrote by Ralph Ellison (March 1, 1914-April 16, 1994) his book The Invisible Man won the National Book Award in 1953.

This book takes place in the South and says that black men were reduced to fighting against animals, and are seen as trophies at a Communist rally.

This book seems interesting but the summary that I read did not tell me much of the plot.  This would not be at the top of my to read list but it might make it onto the list.

"The knife came down, missing him by inches, and he took off."

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (1961)

Joseph Heller (March 1, 1923-December 12, 1999) was the son of a poor Jewish family from Russia and grew up loving writing. At the age of 19 he joined the United States Army Air Corps.

This book is about a Colonel who keeps raising the amount of flights the men must complete to end their service.  The main character decides to fly in a dangerous situation and is considered insane.

I have seen this book on many "Classic Books You Must Read" list.  I have considered reading it and the plot sounds interesting.  I might not get to reading this book because there are so many other classic books that have been on my list for awhile now.

Magazine and the Future

• Some interesting things that I found all connected to my previous work with Kickapoo Theater Tech class making the program.  I found it interesting that I was not the only one that struggled to get the advertisements that people bought and also that I didn't over complicate it because of my nonexistent knowledge of what I was doing.  It was also informative that they have school teachers write some of there articles.
• How many drafts do they go through for each magazine?
• I would love to work for playbill.com.  It is more of a virtual magazine but it has all to do with Broadway, which everyone knows I love. The job that I actually see myself doing though is being a High School English teacher,  I feel like Mrs. Fraser and Mrs. Butcher gave me a clear understanding of what I want to be as a teacher and these people have gave me more confidence that I can accomplish my teaching goal.
• In one year I see myself still living at home to save money and going to school at OTC and hopefully I will still have a close relationship with my friend who is going to Truman.
• In 5 years I know I will be out of my parents house, and hopefully I will have a job in the career I want to peruse. I honestly do not care about having a husband or boyfriend as long as I am happy and have a pet.  
• In 10 years, I want to have my own house and have my dept payed off.  I do not want to have any kids of my own (I don't like the process of child birth, it freaks me out, don't ask) but I want to adopt kids.
• In 50 years I will be 68,  I will probably be retired or close to retiring.  I want to have something to do in my retirement and have some passion that will keep me "okay" in the head.  I honestly do no care about how my future goes, just as long as I am happy.

Lost in The Sky

The Capital was depressing.  The sky knew it, that is why it constantly rained.  The people with their umbrellas, that I passed by on the streets, did not look up from the wet pavement to say a simple hello.  They kept their gaze on the ground to watch out for puddles or sidewalk trash.  They never noticed the shivering dogs under the awnings or the store windows that were filled with color and light.  I was the only one on the streets that did not carry an umbrella.  I enjoyed the rain, it seemed to bring freedom from the standards of society and it cleansed me when I felt the steady patting on my skin.  It seemed like I was the only one to find happiness in something that was a pain in everyone else days.  

The people were always gloomy.  Like they did not know how to enjoy the simple things in life.  They did not know how to live life to the fullest and laugh at the bad things in life.  

Maybe that is why I like rain.  It was something that most people found irritating but when I had a bad day rain was the best thing.  Anytime I found myself upset, I wanted to go outside on the roof of my apartment and lay on the pavement while watching the water fall from the sky.  It was a claiming method,  I knew that the rain would not do anything for me physically but mentally it washed away all of my worries and regrets,  it was a way of me letting go of the past and become a better person.  I found love in something that most people hated, and it always made me feel renewed.

Note: This is my Newspaper-inspired piece from an article that was named "Lost in the Sky Above Tokyo"

Six Word Poems

Hold your breath, and blindly leap.

Blackout

Bloodshot eyes work at killing his childish throne

bestowed from truth and order. 

Destroy, slaughter, lesser creatures.

Favorite Quotations

Hamilton the Musical

Victor Hugo

Johnny Depp

Captain Jack Sparrow

Unknown

Memorable Passage

“But there is nothing more profound than creating something out of nothing.”

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

I like this quote because I feel like when you start with nothing and make it to the top or finish a project it just makes that accomplishment even more amazing.  The accomplishment feels even better when no one helps you and you complete something on your own.  I love Rainbow Rowell because all of her characters are different and this character is a shy freshman in college who is used to having her twin sister by her side.  When they enter college, her sister wants to get away from her and get some of her own friends.   So Cath, is stuck in this awkward spot that she had never been in before.  She is forced to meet new people without her sister by her side.  Cath struggles but then meets people and shares her interest with them.  This is when this quote comes into play.  She is talking about writing and how one of her new friends does not understand the power of writing so she explains it by saying this quote.

Writers As Readers

When I read, I like to be comfy in my bed with all my pillows behind my back so the metal bar does not dig into my back.  I love to light a candle and have my radio on really quietly so there is not any awkward silence. I like to have something to munch on, like popcorn, and if I have food then I have to have water.  In my bedroom there is a florescent light which hurts my head so I have to have the lamp on that is by the head of my bed.  When it is not cold or dark outside then I like to go outside and sit on our bench and read in the shade.

I love horror, and fantasy books. I like these books because they are not something that people think about on daily.  Some of the stories like The Madman’s Daughter by Megan Shepherd are really out there but the way that she writes makes the stories believable.  I often have an easier time getting lost in these worlds, I think it is because they are completely different from normal life and it is just something more interesting than my boring life.  I am wanting to start reading Stephen King sometime, first I have to read the 20 books at home I have been avoiding.  But I will probably start out with Carrie, mostly because I have seen the movie and listened to the soundtrack, did you know there is a Broadway version of Carrie, it is not that bad. One genre that I do not like reading is romance.  Most of the time I find the story predictable and I think of other things when I am trying to read the book.  I will admit that some of the stories are cute but I never feel like there is good character development or a good plot.  That is not the case with all romance books.  I find that this happens with John Green.  I feel like his stories are over hyped and honestly not that good.  The way he writes is amazing but I never feel a connection with the characters and I usually predict the ending halfway through the book, so the book feels like a waste of time.  There is one romance writer that I do like and her name is April Lindner.  She has three books out right now and I like them because each book flows into the next even though they are not a series.  For example, in one book where there is a rock star named Nico and he is brought up in her other books when the characters listen to the radio.  This makes me feel like there is more of a plot and more character development.

The Black Room

I convince myself that if I dream long and hard enough, it would come true. I often find comfort in this until the occasional nightmare happens.  Last night was one of the nights that a nightmare occurred. 

I was stuck in a living room with black furniture all facing towards an old television that had only static playing across the screen.  There was one window behind the couch and when I went over to open the black curtain, I could only see a cement wall that was a foot away from the house.  There was no door for me to try and exit and even the window had bars over them.  The room was made to hold someone hostage and I did not want to be that someone.

I went over to the television to try and find some answers but when I tried to change the channel the static would still remain on the screen.  I turned away starting to get frustrated with the room when a whispering started to surround me.

“Get out while you can.” It warned, and it kept repeating those words.  I ran back to the window desperate now to find a way out of this prison.   With the whispering continuing I started to pound my fist on the window glass.  It did not budge.  I started pacing and saw the coffee table sitting next to the couch.   I picked it up and hurtled it across the room to the window.  The table broke but the glass did not.  The whispering was getting louder and I looked around the room to see where it came from but found no answers.  I turned back to the window, my only way of escape and the whispering stopped when a figure appeared outside.  It had a hood over its head and it reached a hand out towards the bars.

I watch stupefied as the hand of the creature rapped it figures around my neck, forcing me to wake up from my nightmare in cold sweats.  I looked around my room to assure myself that everything was okay but that did not happen because sitting at my desk was the hooded person.  It reached its pale hands up and took its hood off to reveal that I was looking at myself.  Every feature that the creature had reflected my own, even the way that it sat in the desk chair was the same.  It studied me as if to replace me and then closed its eyes.  When they opened again, there was something terribly wrong about their eyes. They were full of sorrow while the rest of the body was confident.  I walked around my room to try and get away but found myself trapped in the exact same room that my dream had.  I was stuck in the black prison and the creature was with me. Everything about it is lifeless except for the eyes-every few minutes they open or close, following me around the room when open.

If I Were in Charge of the World

If I were in charge of the world

I'd cancel allergy shots, 

Donald Trump, 

bananas,

and also global warming.

If I were in charge of the world

there'd be dimmer LED car lights,

cheaper books,

warm homes for the homeless, and

free education.

If I were in charge of the world

you wouldn't have broken hearts.

You wouldn't have schedules.

You wouldn't have dirty dishes.

Or "Where are you going for college?"

You wouldn't even have to grow up.

If I were in charge of the world

mozzarella sticks would be a vegetable.

All book to movie, films would be liked.

and a person who sometimes forgot to say sorry

and sometimes forgot to think of others first

would still be allowed to be

in charge of the world.

Cage Bird Inspired

I know why the leaf falls

I know that they leave the tree

Freedom, is the reason why the leaf leaves their homes

They long to be out in the world

Floating around with the wind to carry them through there new life

New obstacles will come their way

New problems will need to be solved

The wind will fail the leafs sometimes

And the leaf will sit on the ground, waiting,

And watching as the free leaves pass by

Writers Dreaming

Angelou says that she does not like talking about her bad dreams because it gives them too much power.  This is true, the more someone talks about something the more power it gives the bad thing.  If someone continues to talk about something bad, then the bad thing will stick with them longer, instead of being forgotten.  Talking about a bad thing just makes it more present in someone’s day,  if someone keeps talking about something it gives it more power.

Nathaniel West says, “Easy reading is damned hard writing.”  This is also true.  It takes awhile to make the sentences flow together, and put thought into it.  If a book is good then people will forget where they are and the troubles they have.  It is hard to pull someone into a different time period or a different perspective.  Each sentence has to have meaning.  It has to have a reason to be in the story, if there is not a meaning then their will just be rambling, gibberish that no one wants to read.  Every word is important.  Especially, when the words are dealing with emotions, the right words are key to this.  Which reminds me of a quote from Dead Poets Society, “Avoid using the word ‘very’ because it’s lazy. A man is not very tired, he is exhausted. Don’t use the word very sad, use morose. Language was invented for one reason, boys -to woo women- and, in that endeavor, laziness will not do.”  There has to be thought into each word and each character.  If not then the character will be flat and have no character development, which makes the story boring and no one will want to read it.  The plot has to have a lot of thought in it.   If the story builds up to a dramatic ending and then the ending is a failure then no one will be pleased with the book.  To have a good book the author must think about the characters, plot, words, and sentence flow.  This all makes an easy read. So writing an easy read is damned hard work.

“One can’t really learn after one is twenty-five.” This is not true.  It is just like saying you can’t teach a dog new tricks.  The person must be willing to learn.  My parents for an example are both sides of this. My mom is willing to learn new things, she is trying to learn how to use her phone and different types of social media.  While my dad, will slam his finger to the screen if it is not working and repeatedly calls his phone a piece of junk.  A old dog can learn new tricks if they are willing to do so.