My First Memory

My First Memory
What is it that causes us to remember some things and completely forget others? This is a question that remains unanswered. Most people have no recollection of anything that happened before the ages of three to four years old. The average age for a child’s first memory is three and a half years old. Even at this age the memories are usually vague and have no detail.
There are two memories that I can still remember to this day. These memories may not be completely precise, but I seem to remember them pretty well. My first memory is probably my fourth Christmas. I remember going to the den in my house with my mom and dad to open presents. My dad recorded me opening my presents. I was particuarly excited because when I saw my presents I realized I had gotten a four wheeler. I remember being excited because both of my cousins already had four wheelers. In addition to this I remember getting lots of toy trucks that made all kinds of sounds. The next day I remember riding my new four wheeler all around the front yard until my mom made me come in because it was too cold. This was one of the last Christmas’s that I spent with my mom and dad while they were together. Not long after this my parents split up. This is the earliest memory that I can remember any sort of details about.
My next memory occurred not long after this when my mom and dad took me to the Smokey Mountains. I remember riding through the mountains in my grandpa’s van that my parents had borrowed. The van was white and red. I can remember pulling over to the side of the road to watch a bear and her cubs. I can also remember riding a train through the mountains. This was fun for me because as a child I really liked trains and this was my first train ride. On the trip I can remember feeding ducks crackers as we stood in a parking lot. This was my first big trip and it remains in my memory to this day. Again this is one of the last memories I have of my parents being together.
I don’t know why these memories stand out to me, but they are some of the few memories that I have of my early childhood. It is weird to me that I can remember these things, but can forget things that happened the day before. These are memories that I will probably carry with me for the rest of my life.

Likes and Dislikes

List A

1. Religion
2. Friends
3. family
4. education
5. the lake
6. cancelled classes
7. weekends
8. days off
9. going riding
10. four wheelers
11. trucks

List B
1. murder
2.theft
3. lying
4. homework
5.terrorism
6. cold weather
7. working
8. gas prices
9. math

There is definetely a connection between between number eleven on list A and number eight on list B. My number eleven is trucks and my number eight is gas prices. The reason I dislike gas prices so much is because it costs a fortune to put gas in my truck. It is really expensive to drive my truck to school and work everyday.
Education and the lake are different in many ways. Education can be stressful and the lake is a place to relax. When you are trying to learn something or study something you feel like you have a lot of weight on your shoulders, but when you are at the lake you have no worries. At the lake you are just having fun with your buddies and when you are learning it is a time to be serious.
Terrorism and working are alike in a sense. Terrorists are out to destroy what Americans have worked hard for. Terrorists devote their lives to killing others and in most cases killing themselves. These terrorists have no sense of real work. They pride themselves in destroying what others have worked for. The "work" that terrorists do in their lifetime amounts to nothing.

Colbert as a Candidate

I think that if Colbert wants to run, then he should have every right to. If people want to vote for him they can, and if they don't they won't. I think it's comical that people are actually getting mad about it. To me the only reason it angers them is because he is taking votes away from other candidates. I think that by getting mad it is just encouragaging him to do what he is doing; which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
If Doritos wants to sponsor him then let them sponsor him. As long as they aren't advertising the fact that they are sponsoring him then why does it matter? I think if everyone just left it alone the whole thing would die down.
I just think it is funny that Colbert is actually going through with the whole thing and making fun of the political issues. I can see though that this might anger a lot of people. But they can't get that mad because everyone knows he's not going to win so it really isn't causing any harm.

Free Write: Halloween

My Halloween started off with Algebra. In my Algebra class I got my test back. I found out that I made a 42 on it. Needless to say I was extremely disappointed. I was relieved though that I would be getting bonus points.
After Algebra I went to Microeconomics and took a test in there. When I was through with the test I went home and took a nap. When I woke up I went to eat with my buddy and then went to work.
When I got off work I met up with a couple of my friends and we went to my girlfriend's uncle's for a Halloween bash. We left the bash and went to a haunted house, but the line was too long so we kept flickin.
This pretty much sums up my Halloween experience. Not much went on, but it wasn't a bad time.

Free Write: My response to Hashish in Marsailles

Hashish
Hashish in Marsailles had a weird effect on me. After reading the essay I was a bit confused. The fact that it was translated really threw me off. Some of the text was hard for me to grasp. The essay did a lot of contrasting. It compared things and showed you how opposites were related.
Throughout the whole essay the writer was observing things while experimenting with hash. He called his observations an experiment and reported on his experience. The writer spent most of his time walking through the city and describing to us what he saw. He described to us men’s faces in which he took a particular interest in. He compared the beauty of some of the men to the ugliness of others. This was one of the comparisons that he made early on in the story. It sort of stunned me that he would take such an interest in the appearance of these men’s faces.
The story also contrasted his experiences inside the hotel and the time he spent on the streets. Inside the hotel room he seemed to be lonely. He was awaiting the company of a friend. When his friend did not show up he felt it necessary to move to the streets where other people were. One other contrast that was made was between real and imaginary. I wondered if all of his accounts were accurate considering the circumstances. I questioned if he remembered everything just like it had happened. Some of the things he noticed and observed would not seem important if he were in a normal state of mind.
This story seemed to have no theme and was more like a documentary. The whole time I was waiting for something bad to happen or a problem to occur. The story makes you wonder what the author’s reason for writing this was. This is not something that I would normally read on my own, but if this is the kind of writing you like then this would be a good choice for you.

Green Bottles

The green bottles in the story act as an escape route for the father. They are evidence that his father is not in a normal state of mind. The bottles pop up under the workbench and between hay bales. They can also be seen bulging out from under his jacket. Sanders holds these bottles responsible for stealing his father. He hates the bottles and the names on them. He has thoughts of breaking the bottles and burning the store that they come from. The bottles are only an object, but what is inside turns their father into an animal. The green bottles are constant reminders of what the father has become.

The Rake

Brandon Pashby
English 1010
10/10/07
The Rake
My first response to the essay was Wow! This was some kind of childhood. Who could have lived under these circumstances? I can only imagine what kind of effect this upbringing will have on these children.
This essay had a sort of depressing effect on me. After all it is a story of kids being abused and mistreated. This was just a taste of what these children have to live through everyday. It is bad enough to have to grow up with out the presence of your father, but to be abused by your stepfather is a whole other story. Although the essay is depressing, it also angers me. It is very disturbing that someone would treat a child the way these children were treated. I would hope that anyone that acts in this manner will be prosecuted and serve the maximum sentence.
The scene where the boy throws the rake at his sister is critical to the story. It brings an end to the story and explains everything that has been talked about. When the boy’s sister says something that offends him he picks up the rake and throws it at her. The rake strikes her in the face and puts a bad gash on her lip. She immediately starts crying and runs inside. Neither of the kids will tell their mom what happened so they are forced to sit down at the table and eat. Once again they are back at the table eating in silence. This pulls all of the aspects of the story together. This also gives us the title of the story. The rake is used to represent the cleaning up of things, but it is also perceived as violent and harsh.