Thursday, November 7, 2013

Unfinished Story

The grizzled old man sat hunched over his ancient computer. He typed in a few characters, stared and the screen, paused, and then finally crackled. "Today is the day Dennis. Today is the day we bring down Jeremiah Rivera, which will commence the rise of D.U.C.K."

Jeremiah jolted up and shook his head, he must have fallen asleep on the job. He started to go about his desk to gather his bearing as he thought, good thing Mr. Rose didn't. . ., the thought never finished as he turned to see Mr. Rose staring down at him. Jeremiah quickly stood up, as it looked like Mr. Rose was about to address him.

"Sleeping on the job, Mr. Rivera? I expected more of you, considering that this is the fourth time this week you have been caught off task. I can't believe that I have to do this, but I must agree with the board. You're being laid off," Mr. Rose explained. Jeremiah couldn't believe it, he had been working at the office for eight years, providing help for  Mr. Rose. As he walked home dejectedly, Jeremiah noticed a house being renovated. Jeremiah thought he saw his good friend Jim working. As he approached the house, Jim saw him, and walked up to him.

"Hey Jeremiah, what are you looking so down about? I volunteered to help renovate homes in the area, and this is the first one I got. How come you're out of work so early?"

Monday, June 3, 2013

Choose Your Own Adventure Story

You’ve been saving up for this trip to Florida for what seems like forever, and finally the day has arrived. The Milwaukee winters were fun when you were really little, but now it just will be great to spend Christmas with friends in the sunshine of Miami Beach. With your leather carry on bag slung over your shoulder, and a hot cup of Starbucks in your hand, you head to Gate 13 from where your flight is set to depart.  

When you arrive, you find only a few other people seated at the gate already. There are people generally mulling around, trying to kill time, but the area near the door marked with a large “13” is pretty empty. You look for a seat where you can listen to your music alone, and start planning what you will do with your friends in Florida.  You sit two chairs away from an older man who wears a somber look on his face. He looks to be about fifty years old, and is fashionably dressed -- obviously one of those people who still dresses up to fly on an airplane.  His laptop is propped open and he types away, not noticing anything going on around him. Periodically he stops typing, and lets out an exhaustive sigh. You ignore him, and turn up the volume on your earbuds.

In the next row you notice a tall young man in his late teens. He is dressed in a military uniform, his shoes freshly polished, and his carry on luggage neatly at his side. His posture is alert, and erect as he reads a magazine he just bought at the newsstand.  

Two seats over, sits a middle aged woman.  Her clothing and mannerisms give off the air of education. She is reading a medical journal, and talking into a handheld device, dictating her notes. Periodically she stops and speaks a command such as, “Send three copies by Tuesday,” which must be meant for her secretary. She seems quite serious, and entirely preoccupied with her work.

The only other person nearby is a lean, strong looking man of indiscriminate age. You can’t clearly tell exactly what he is doing, as he appears to be staring off into the distance, his eyes scanning the horizon across the runway.  The entire time you have been seated, his gaze and posture hasn’t moved a bit.  You place your own things on the seat next to you, and trying not to stare, continue to watch the interesting man.  He rises to his feet, and with the stealth and grace of a panther, he walks slowly to the window, and peers even deeper across the open spaces.

You exhale, remembering that the people around you are simply other passengers; it isn’t like you will have to get along with them, or even talk to them for that matter. After all, this is your vacation, and there is no use in worrying about the others on the plane.  

The rest of the airport at General Mitchell Field is buzzing with travelers: young families, elderly folks, and laughing teenagers.  The smell of pizza mixed with coffee and cinnamon rolls wafts over from the food court, but you recently ate, and don’t really want to have anything more before the flight. Focusing on your iPhone, you access Facebook to brag about the trip, and maybe even send a picture of yourself waving goodbye to Milwaukee’s winter weather, when your iPhone goes dead. That’s weird, you think to yourself. Looking up, you notice all the message boards reporting the incoming flights have gone black, as well as all the electric signs and advertisements. The ubiquitous electrical humming stops, as every machine in sight ceases to work. Everyone in the airport has a similar reaction; they all stop in their tracks and look about in wonder, and mild shock. Even the lights in the ceiling have gone dark. The sudden, unnatural silence casts an eerie feeling throughout the airport. One particular mother lets out with a shriek, dropping her soft drink, sending ice and soda all over the floor. At that moment, the crowd takes on a general mood of panic, and starts to scramble towards the door. One man yells at the top of his voice, “It must be terrorists!” and what was a rumble of movement turns into a full blown stampede.  Chaos takes over the causeway, as newsstands and food carts are knocked to the ground, sending their contents across the linoleum floor.

The people you only moments ago decided you didn’t need to know, stand along with you and try to assess the situation. Instinctively, you all step towards one another, almost feeling like fate has placed you together for a reason.

“Looks like we’re in the soup now!” the grumpy, older gentleman says.

“Yes, indeed,” the professional woman replies.  “I would add that if we don’t do something fast, it may be worse than soup in a matter of moments.”

The serviceman interjects, “My training leads me to believe looking for an auxiliary power source is the best option. We should see if we can reconnect with the grid somehow. There must be a main power source nearby.”

“No way! It’s not my problem if this place goes down. We should get the heck out of here as fast as possible. Before you know it, all the cars, including the rentals, will be gone. We should high-tail it to the parking structure and get as far from here as fast as possible!”

“Very touching. Your concern for others is moving,” the professional lady says, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “I would say that leaving is a good move, but we should consider an alternate exit so that we don’t get trapped or trampled by the crowd. Perhaps once we get outside we can take better action.”

“Perhaps,” speaks the quiet gentleman, “perhaps we should, as the wisdom of the ages tells us: wait until a clear path reveals itself.”

“Good lord! This guy will get us all killed for sure!” the older man says, his voice growing angrier and angrier.

So, what is the best course of action?



If you decide to search for the power source, click here.

If you would like to head to the garage as fast as possible, click here.

If you wish to search for an alternate exit, click here.

If you decide to wait for help, click here.

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Gym Essay


Author's Note: This is an essay I wrote for gym. I was asked to write about the benefit of physical activity for me outside of gym class.

35.7% percent of Americans adults are obese, as are 17% of American children, which is a big result of Americans not only eating wrong, but not getting enough physical activity. Physical is a great way to lose weight and you can play something you like to do. In addition, you can have fun while you work hard. It can also help you get more socially interacted; if that’s something you need to do. Physical activity can provide many good things that can help you stay healthy.

For me, physical activity is a great way for me to get off my bum and move around, while I still have fun. Staying healthy is important for me, so I try to get physical activity as much as I can. It provides activity, enjoyment, and social interaction. I sometimes also can be challenged by physical activity, which makes it less fun, put I still enjoy it.

Enjoyment in physical activity is key in getting more activity. You need to like something to be able to do it and do it often. Most people get lots of physical activity because when they enjoy it, they don’t notice as much how hard they are working. Another way to work hard without noticing is to have good competition. You compete hard enough that you don’t notice it. Physical activity can be done in many different ways, and it can provide many benefits.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Band Essay


On March 6, 2013, in the Pewaukee High School Auditorium, the Asa Clark Middle School, 7th and 8th grade bands, along with the Jazz Band, performed their spring concert. The 7th and 8th grade bands each performed five pieces, while the Jazz Band performed two.  Many varieties of music were played, including upbeat, up tempo style music, to relaxing, calming music. I think overall that these bands had a good concert, maybe an eight out of ten.

The seventh grade band played well, they had good intonation and pretty good articulation. On some pieces the dynamics were there, but on a few others, the dynamics were OK at best.  For almost all of the songs, blend and balance could have been improved. Although, I think that the performers really engaged the audience and make the concert enjoyable. The highlight of the performance was probably the piece “Zoom”, as the band displayed great dynamic range, and the ability to play many different time signatures. The worst part though, was that the band did not look very professional, especially the percussion. One guy had a Mohawk and another guy looked like he was wearing a jumpsuit. Overall the seventh grade band probably deserves and 8.5 out of ten.

The eighth grade band did not perform as expected as they lacked in sound quality and articulations. They did do a good job blending and balancing their sound, as well as doing a pretty good job with dynamics. The performers engaged the audience very well, almost in a mesmerizing way. Unlike the seventh grade band though, the eighth grade band looked very professional. Overall the eighth grade band deserves a 7.5 or eight out of ten.

In conclusion, the seventh grade band did a pretty good job, they could just work on being more professional and varying dynamics better, along with blend and balance. The eighth grade band could definitely work on articulations and sound quality. Overall I think the Asa Clark Middle School Bands did a good job in their concert.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Space Race Essay

Author's Note: I am doing a project on space with two other people, and I researched the Space Race.   This is my essay. 

The Russians and Americans were in the middle of the cold war, constantly trying to make themselves look better than the other, but also trying to prove that they were going to be the first one to launch a ballistic missile. Then, in 1957 Russia took the battle to space by launching the first successful satellite into space. From then on Russians and Americans kept battling it out in space, and for a while, the Russians kept winning. They sent out the first satellite, the second satellite and the first man on the moon. Americans were worried that the Russians were going to launch a ballistic missile, and that the war was lost. But then, as JFK promised seven years earlier, the Americans sent the first man to the moon, on July 21 1969. Americans suddenly had hope. From there the Cold War started to unwind, finally ending in 1975 when Russia and the U.S. did a joint mission in space, making the International Space Station, which is still in space today. The Space Race was a very important time in history.

Without the Space Race, we wouldn't have satellites in space orbiting earth and we wouldn't have plans on exploring space further in the future. These things are very important because without satellites we couldn't have cell phone communication, television or radio, which are three main staples in America, which would practically keep us back in the Stone Age of technology.

Although, we are still in the Stone Age of space exploration. We've explored our solar system in minimal depth, so that we only know a few things about every part of it. As technology advances further, we could explore our own solar system in much more depth, as long as gaining more information about space outside our own solar system, and even galaxy.


Space is the great unknown, and with the current technology we have, we know more about space than what we've ever known. We've discovered nebulae and new galaxies. We know more about black holes and stars. Space has become less of a mystery to us. The Space Race was the platform for all of this to happen, which is why it is one of the important times in recent history.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Travel Essay

Author's Note: I wanted to write a persuasive essay, but make it interesting, so I gave myself a $25,000 budget to make the ultimate vacation for two people. I tried to center mine around football, because football is the ultimate American sport. First, you would go to the Texans-Bears game on Sunday night, then to the Steelers-Chiefs game on Monday night, then to the Toledo-Northern Illinois game on Wednesday night, then to the North Carolina-Virginia game on Thursday night, then the Kansas State-Baylor game on Saturday night. Then from there you would drive down to Galveston to go on a seven day cruise with two stops in the Bahamas and one stop in Florida, before returning to Galveston. With the remaining money one person would get a Hall of Fame signed football and the other person would get a Troy Aikman signed football. I would donate the last $4641 to charity.

A perfect beach, stretching out as far as the eye can see, with a vast ocean in front you, sun slowly sizzling into its vastness as night becomes day. This is the perfect vacation in the minds of many people, which is why vacations are important to most American families. It’s their time to get away from reality and drift into the world of nothing. Football is similar to vacations, yet so different. Although we are escaping reality, we are traveling to a world of everything, instead of nothing. Putting the two together is a match made in heaven.

Football Game

Football. Many Americans would go crazy after just hearing that one word. In fact, most of the world would go crazy, but for a very different reason. For America, football is the rough and tough sport where players crash in a frenzy of padded bodies, trying to move the ball across the field as fast as possible. To the rest of the world, football is the sport where only three people on the field touch the ball with their hands, the two goalkeepers and the referee. Using elusiveness instead of strength to move down the field and into the goal, which is soccer, as opposed to using strength to pound your way to the other end of the field across the goal line, which is football. Going to five games in six days would be any football, the American kind, fans dream come true.

Likewise, going on a seven day cruise would be almost any Americans dream come true. Cruises are where people go to relax and drift out of reality for a few days. Most cruises are family friendly because they offer activities for adults and children so that parents don't have to be dragged down with the stress of being parents. The worst thing about cruises is that they are so expensive, which makes it harder for less fortunate people to go.

Analogous to the fact that less fortunate people can't go on a cruise, with a good chunk of my travel budget, I would help those less fortunate by donating to charity. If you're wondering what charity I would donate it to, I would donate it to whatever charity the travelers choose. Charities can do many things, including helping people who are homeless, live in poverty, or recently lost homes or family members to natural disasters, such as tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes.

Vacations are a great way for people of all different types to get together and to relax, but also to have fun. Football is an American staple that everybody at least understands. Cruises are a great way to get away from the hassles and stress of everyday life. Football games and a luxurious cruise are the best way to spend a vacation hands down.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Ghana Essay

“Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice,” is something Nelson Mandela once said. If we are to overcome poverty, it won’t be by one good act, it will be a collection of actions all helping to rid the horrible thing that is poverty from this world. Even if it takes one country at a time I think we can do it.

Unfortunately, Ghana is one of those countries. In some places water is miles away, and kids old enough take several trips a day to get water. Some people only eat two meals a day, which consists mostly of rice, even though they sometimes add a green vegetable “mush” to add flavor.  Roads there have no signs and it’s practically a free for all on dirt roads. Ghana is a very poor country, there aren’t any big supermarkets, except in Accra, so you have to go to individual vendors to buy different things.

Poverty is a big problem in this world, and Ghana is one of the countries suffering from it. Helping out by donating money is a great way to chip away at the iceberg. People need to address poverty with as much concern as other things such as AIDS and cancer cures. Poverty is problem that needs more attention, and we are the people that can help start that.