Roethke’s Poetry Exercise

To kiss hot moons red as ruined cats

A swing is cool, a rock is soft

To say leather mud, to bite a cloud

To bruise wavering slag, a dog as important.

To kiss hard frogs blue as surprise

A curve is hot, a puddle is dry

To say sharp circle, to cut a belief

To bite hot ice, a tree is metal.

To kiss big rice as adorable farts

A bruise is hard, a hand is dead

To say skinny elephant, to burn rain drops

To blink people eaters, to stop a trunk.

English 1102 Review

I believe the entire semester went well. Everything that we have covered so far was well organized and easily accessible at all times.

Readings - The readings we covered in English 1102 were excellent choices.

Assignments - The first big assignment was our Research paper. Like I mentioned before, I was aggravated at all the small things that went along with the paper. I thought it was unnecessary and would be to no help. Little did I know at the end of the research paper I was glad that we had to do so many things before we could turn it in. The small assignments that went along with the paper helped me prepare along the way. I hope you continue to do this and I am sure students will have the same reaction. All the other assignments we had to complete in this course were challenging but not to the extent that it was a pain.

Discussions - The discussions we had to turn in throughout the semester were fun. I enjoyed reading other discussions and creating my own.

Peers - This class was by far one of the best. The participation between everyone was great and everyone was easy to get along with and work with. Thanks!

Participation - I tried everyday to participate the best way possible and liked the fact of being graded on it.

Everything that was involved in the class worked well. I do not know of anything that did not work well.

The Tom That Got Away!

As I walked through the woods
I heard the air begin to shake
Right over the ridge from where I stood
The thundering sound I could not mistake.

The tom sounded off one more time
And when the sun began to rise
I took the road that lead through the pine
The tom suddenly appeared to my surprise.

He was roosted right above me
Drumming, Cutting and in full Strut
In a big ol' oak tree
Laughing as he gobbled at my luck.

I watched as he flew down
Further away, but never back around
And kicked myself for the next few days
Because that was the Tom that got away!

Hypocrisy

When I first thought about this GDR I wanted to figure out exactly which route to go. I looked up examples of hypocrisy and found the one I thought was most appropriate. The example of hypocrisy I chose is when people say one thing but do another.

Everyone has or will be an example of hypocrisy in their life time. We all do things in life that we say we won't, don't and do not approve of. In high school I lived a totally different life than I do today. I did a lot of things back then that I would never do today. One of the big things in high school was FCA or Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Although I am a Christian man I did not attend these events in high school. One of the main reasons I did not participate is because of the individuals in it. More than half of the participants and leaders all lived differently than they preached. They would commit to not drinking alcohol and then the very next weekend they would go to a party and drink. There are other examples but I’m sure you get the point by now. I also did not participate in FCA because I did not see it right to participate in this organization and live the life I did. I am not perfect nor will I ever be and I know I have been a hypocrite at some point in my life. These individuals all meant well I feel, but to preach a certain way of life and then live another way is not right in my eyes.

Managing a company

Managing a company has its ups and downs throughout the day, week, month and year. When managing a company you have the freedom to do a lot of things. You also have the headache of dealing with everything from employees, customers and money. I began with the company I am with now in August of 2007. I decided that college wasn’t for me (AT THE TIME) and walked away. Working my way up through the company I was eventually offered the Operations Manager position in June of 2010. At first I was unsure of what the entire position held. There was a sense of excitement and nervousness all at once. I began working immediately and was handed the reins to the entire company. Where do I start? What exactly am I to do? What goes here? What goes there? All these questions were going through my head. I did not receive a complete orientation into the position, I was just told to“sink or swim.” I’m not sure if the owner of the company had full faith in my abilities to do the job or was just going to really see if I would sink. Fortunately I swam and have continued on this journey. While this is great in all aspects, learning how to swim was not easy. I was twenty one at the time and was forced to manage employees who were double my age. Can you imagine the response the first day I told them to do something? This took time and effort on both sides. Another learning curve that was presented was dealing with customers. I had to learn to walk the walk and talk the talk in a position that I was trying to learn all at once. On top of that, I was put in charge of all accounts and transactions dealing with the company’s money. I had to make up for money that was not spent as it should and also try to save money for the future. These tasks were not easy and left me with my mind going ninety to nothing all the time. I still to this day have things running through my mind about the company well after I leave my job, but  the ups have slowly leveled out the with downs.

Is Troy Maxson racist?

Troy Maxson is the main character in the play “Fences” by August Wilson. Troy is born and lives in a time where African Americans are not accepted well in America. When asked if Troy Maxson is a racist, I automatically come to the conclusion of No. I believe Troy is actually a victim of racism throughout his life and that he is concerned with racism as any other American would be. One example of Troy being a victim is that he was an outstanding baseball player who played in the Negro Leagues. Troy was victimized by rules in Major League Baseball that prohibited African Americans from playing. Troy struggles to cope with the fact that those rules were in place back then and his life was affected by them. I think this shows when he does not allow is son Cory to play football. He knows Cory is good and he has the potential to make something of himself on the field. Troy possibly does not want Cory to outdo him in life. Another example of Troy being victimized by racism throughout his life is with his job. Troy works as a sanitation worker. African Americans are not allowed to drive the garbage trucks. Troy complains about this to his boss and his boss tells him to take it to the Union. Troy eventually wins the case and is promoted to a driver, but for years he was victimized for being an African American. Troy may refer to his son with a racist word or do other small things that one could consider racist. But in the end Troy Maxson is not a racist person, he is only a victim to the ways of life in his era.

What Does Charley Really Mean?

In the play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, Willy and Charley are carrying on a somewhat heated conversation. Charley tells Willy, while they are talking, "the only thing you got in this world is what you can sell" (1256). I believe Charley means that Willy can only sell what he posses in this world. He is not talking about physically selling a product. I feel this way because of the statement before that when Charley says, "you named him Howard, but you can't sell that" (1256). One of the various definitions of sell is to win acceptance or approval. Willy is talking about how Howard treats him. Willy wishes he could make Howard see what an asset he would be if he stayed closer to home and did not travel. Willy only wants to win over Howard's acceptance and approval. Charley is telling Willy that he does not poses the ability to do this.

This reflects America in the late 1940's the same way as it does in the America of 2012. Everyone is always searching for someones approval. This could be shown through a employee trying to prove to his employer how valuable he or she can be, the same way Willy is trying to show Howard. It could also be a child searching for his Mom or Dad to approve of their actions, just as Biff tries to sell Willy every second he gets. Or it could be shown in everyday people trying to get anyone to approve or accept their ways. Charley is trying to teach Willy that he should not worry so much about how Howard feels about him. He is trying to offer Willy a job out of the kindness of his heart, because he knows Willy does not poses the skills to survive business he is in anymore.