Saving Money

Previously, I had no desire to spend money. I saw money as something that I earned from my many lawns that I mowed. I kept almost a thousand dollars in a shoe box in my cupboard, the dust collecting on the money until I had a rare chance to use it.

            Now, everything has, unfortunately, changed. With my new job at Cherry Hill combined with the lawns that I mow, I am making a substantial amount of money (in my terms, at least.). This money sits in the same old shoebox, but I find myself more prone to wanting to purchase things that I probably don’t need.

            One of the things that I know this challenge is good for is the way it teaches me to save for my mission and my college education. My Mom has taught me the principle of paying my 10% tithing to the church first, then save all but the last 10 percent to save.  As much as I want to give in and buy something, I know that the saving will bring me even greater joy in the future.

            Mostly, the things I want are what most boys my age like. I would like to buy all sorts of cool basketball shoes, soccer cleats, shirts, and other sports related material off of the internet. I could spend the whole day customizing shoes on NikeID(http://nikeid.nike.com/nikeid/?sitesrc=uslp). Or I could spend all my money on itunes gift cards and buy music until I could listen to different songs continually for a thousand years.

            Although my habits and wants have changed with me becoming more independent. I hope I can concentrate on making the right decision of saving my money

Vietnam War Questions For my Grandpa

            My Grandpa Oldham flew F-4s over Vietnam during the war. I asked him the following questions on May 15, 2011. The answers are in bold.

1. What is your opinion of the My Lai Massacre?

            It was a violation of USA standards on noncombatant civilians. It is comparable to the mountain meadows massacre.

2. How did you feel about the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution of Aug. 7, 1964?

            I believe it was a phony, trumped up charge. It allowed American intervention based on non-real things.

3. How were you involved in the Tet offensive?

             I wasn’t involved in the Tet Offensive.

4. What was your opinion on the American war protests?

            They undermined the position of agreement from USA. They lost sight of the fact that injustice had been done. I have no respect for these protestors.

5. What was your most dangerous mission in Vietnam?

            My first mission when I was flying my F-4 in Laos over the Ho-Chi- Minh Trail. A 37 millimeter bullet when over my canopy, it was so close I could have touched it.

Learning about the Vietnam War in my Geography class has opened my eyes to a conflict that I usually don't think much about. I think it is sad that I can forget about such a sad thing happening. I am grateful to come to knowledge about the many brave men that fought and sometimes died to help another nation. I am also very blessed to have my grandpa survive such a war unscathed and come home to raise my father.

Loud Music Versus Soft Music

Loud Music

By Stephen Dobyns

My stepdaughter and I circle round and round.
You see, I like the music loud, the speakers
throbbing, jam-packing the room with sound whether
Bach or rock and roll, the volume cranked up so
each bass notes is like a hand smacking the gut.
But my stepdaughter disagrees. She is four
and likes the music decorous, pitched below
her own voice-that tenuous projection of self.
With music blasting, she feels she disappears,
is lost within the blare, which in fact I like.
But at four what she wants is self-location
and uses her voice as a porpoise uses
its sonar: to find herself in all this space.
If she had a sort of box with a peephole
and looked inside, what she'd like to see would be
herself standing there in her red pants, jacket,
yellow plastic lunch box: a proper subject
for serious study. But me, if I raised
the same box to my eye, I would wish to find
the ocean on one of those days when wind
and thick cloud make the water gray and restless
as if some creature brooded underneath,
a rocky coast with a road along the shore
where someone like me was walking and has gone.
Loud music does this, it wipes out the ego,
leaving turbulent water and winding road,
a landscape stripped of people and language-
how clear the air becomes, how sharp the colors.

When I first read over this poem for my English class, it really confused me. But as I read it more slowly again to try to understand the imagery, I started to see what the poem was about. It made me think about peoples’ different tastes in music and how I like my music. I know a lot of people who like to have the music all around them. They want to get carried away by the rhythms. These are the people blasting their music in the house next door at 3:00 in the morning. On the other hand, my grandma is a big advocate of the classical music makes you smarter theory. She listens to quiet Bach and Vivaldi all the time. To me she seems like a person with much more control over her life rather than someone who loves to blast their music so loud it can be heard over a Boeing 747 flyover.

But with me, I’m indecisive. I like to chill out and listen to my favorite classical guitar music, but I also like to jam out in a car to some rock and roll, windows down, seats vibrating from the sound waves. Teenagers in general seem to like loud music, but I think that it detracts from what we can hear all around us. One example is teenagers who listen to their ipods in a public place like a party. They should be talking with others, but instead they look just like a selfish noob. For now, I will have to try to keep my loud music level on a low, because in the end, I know that classical music is the best for me.

The Hill Aerospace Museum

The Hill Aerospace Museum was first established in 1982, since then it has amazed and inspired many a child and adult alike. When I went to this museum located at Hill Air Force Base in Ogden, Utah, I especially liked several things that I learned about. I learned about the history of Hill Air Force Base, I learned about the way they keep their aviation artifacts alive, and I learned about the many interesting exhibits found at this fascinating and interesting Hill Air Force Base Aerospace Museum.

            In July of 1939 the United States Congress approved the founding of an air force base at a site located on a hill in North Ogden, Utah. Several sites were considered, but this site was favored. The project would take 8 million dollars to complete. Next, during the second world war Hill Air Force base was a big help to the United States Air force with repairs on all kinds of airplanes including the A-26, B-17, B-24, B-29, P-40, P-47, and P-61. Later, the base became the center for F-16 fighting falcons. Nowadays, previously little Hill Air Force Base is the biggest employer in Utah, with a 960 million dollar payroll.

            The repairing of old but sometimes still flyable airplanes located at the Hill Aerospace Museum is very time consuming. The crew of repairmen works hard everyday to preserve these great artifacts of past wars. Recently, the crew is repairing a Boeing B-47E Stratojet, Republic P-47D Thunderbolt, North American OV-10 Bronco, and Consolidated B-24D Liberator. Sometimes the planes can barely be called that when they come in to the repair shop, but after the crew is done, these planes are definitely ready for display.

            The Hill Aerospace Museum has exhibits ranging from 1903 to the present. One of the exhibits that stuck out to me was that of the Wright Flyer. The exhibit shows a model of the first plane ever flown. This plane was first given flight by the Wright brothers in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Another plane that caught my eye was that of the massive Boeing KC-135E “Stratotanker”. This huge plane was dedicated to the Museum in 2009 and sits in front of the museum. As you walk into the Museum, you are awed by the sheer power of this immense machine. The wings seem to stretch for miles, and the nose is as big as a house.  The plane was made to be so huge because it is supposed to carry tanks and other military machines of that kind. And as my trip to the museum sadly came to an end, so must this essay.

            When I went to this museum located at Hill Air Force Base in Ogden, Utah, I especially liked several things that I learned about. I learned about the interesting history of the air force base, I was taught how they preserve their old airplanes, and I learned new and exiting things at each individual exhibit. I would definitely encourage anyone to take advantage of this amazing opportunity to be inspired and taught by the amazing exhibits of these fascinating airplanes.

Singapore: A Model Society?

Recently in my geography class we learned about the pros and cons of Singapore's laws and way of life. We were given a paper that had not only the good things about the government in Singapore, but the things that are not as great also. We were then assigned to decide what we thought about Singapore's system and then write a persuasive essay to convince others on our point of view. After thinking about it, I decided that even though the clean city and crime free society ideals sound great, the laws in Singapore were not exactly perfect. I am not exactly sure if all the information I got was correct, or if I did not get the whole picture, so feel free to think differently.

Imagine going to the drug store near you to buy a pack of your favorite chewing gum, unfortunately, when you start to chew the delicious gum, you are arrested by police and given a one year prison sentence and a 5500 dollar fine. People who live in Singapore face this problem everyday. Singapore is not a model society for several reasons.  Singapore’s government has restricted free speech and placed criminal law restrictions that are too strict. Also, some of the laws are downright silly.

            Singapore is not a model society because some laws have restricted free speech. The government has imposed rules that 5 or more people meeting together for political reasons need a permit. Also, the government controls all newspapers, TV stations, magazines, and radio stations. People who host political demonstrations against the government are subject to a prison sentence. These restrictions go against the people’s basic rights to be able to say what they think without punishment.

            Singapore is not a model society because some aspects of the criminal law are unjust. For instance any individuals caught trafficking drugs are sentenced to immediate execution. Also, when imprisoned for misdoings, some criminals are subject to caning, being beat with a cane. Many laws like these seem to be too much of a punishment. Even though justice will have its way, mercy and ethics are not practiced enough in Singapore criminal law.

            Singapore is not a model society because some of its laws are downright ridiculous. In this city-state, the sale of gum is prohibited. If someone is caught littering, they must clean the streets on Sunday wearing a bib that says “I am a litterer”. People who bring cigarettes into Singapore are considered criminals. And last but not least, it is illegal to bungee jump. These and other odd laws point to the fact that Singapore is a wrongly-based society that needs to change.

            The country of Singapore is not a model city for three reasons. Singapore’s government has restricted free speech and placed criminal law restrictions that are too strict. On top of that, some of the laws are ridiculous. Singapore’s system of law may seem like a safe way to handle the people, but at the roots of the system is censorship, oppression, and unjustness.

 

Walk Two Moons

            Walk Two Moons, written by Sharon Creech, is a heartfelt novel that tells about finding peace in life despite its trials. Young people are the intended audience for this Newberry Award winning book. This book provides a touching read while weaving together two interesting stories. Walk Two Moons can teach us all about how to live life, through its hardships, and its happiness.

            Salamanca Tree Hiddle, the 13 year old protagonist in the story, misses her mother. Her mother that left one day for Lewiston, Idaho and did not come back. In the book, Salamanca travels with her grandparents to Lewiston for her mother’s birthday. During the long car ride there, Salamanca tells the story of her interactions with her friend, Phoebe. While the trio travels cross country, they learn important lessons about life and death that apply to all of us.

            Walk Two Moons was an intriguing book because it was written in an almost poetic form that provides more substance to the story. This poetic form also creates a more mysterious kind of read, which draws you to the final page. Another thing that made the book enjoyable was the occasional humor, which provides some laughter appeal to the book.

            The characters in this story undergo massive changes in their life. The character changes in the story are very real. The main characters seem like actual people that have real trials. Relating to the hardships in the story can be easy for anyone. For example, as Salamanca comes to except the truth about her mother, she must change her heart, mind, and life to fit her new knowledge.

            As Salamanca’s mother is a Native American, much of Salamanca’s life is rooted around that culture. She finds a lot of solace in the arms of nature. This theme of nature being almost like a person, is an interesting way the book displays originality. Things such as kissing trees, singing trees, and blackberries, all are symbols of things we need in our life to feel comforted and loved.

            My favorite thing about this book was the way it combined two completely different and separate stories into one. While Salamanca and her grandparents have their own adventures on the road, the story of Salamanca’s friend Phoebe, weaves a blanket of lessons that combine into one. One such lesson is about dying, something Salamanca learns in this quote from the book:

            “I went barreling on as if it was my poem and I was an expert. ‘The waves, with their 'soft, white hands' grab the traveler. They drown him. They kill him. He's gone.’ Ben said, ‘Maybe he didn't drown. Maybe he just died, like normal people die.’ I said, ‘It isn't normal to die. It isn't normal. It's terrible.’ Ben said, ‘Maybe dying could be normal and terrible.’”(Page 182-183)

            Walk Two Moons is a touching and inspiring story, that while we read, like Salamanca, we must decide if death is normal, terrible, or both. This novel stands out because it is a deep, but still easy to read novel. I would recommend this book for anyone looking for just that.

             

Fahreinheit 451Review

Fahrenheit 451, written by Ray Bradbury in 1953, is a fictional novel set in the future. The book addresses the problem of a futuristic generation changed by the outlawing of books. The intended audience for the book is teenagers to adults. This intense and exiting novel provides an interesting read, but asks deep questions that we must ask ourselves while reading.

            The main character of the story, Guy Montag, enjoys his job as a fireman whose job it is to burn books, and the houses that hold them. Then one day while performing a routine burn, he impulsively steals some books from a house. As he illegally reads these books in secret, he must decide for himself if ignorance less painful than knowledge. When he is caught, he must put his beliefs to the test as he is chased for his life by the government.

            The story is a very exciting one that has you guessing until the final page. Bradbury does a very good job of creating moments where you’re pulse quickens and you feel scared. While Montag is chased by a huge robotic mechanical hound, you can feel yourself breathing faster.

           

            “He turned and the mechanical hound was there. It was half across the lawn coming from the shadows, moving with such drifting ease that it was like a single solid cloud of black-gray smoke blown at him in silence. It made a single last leap into the air coming down at Montag from a good three feet over his head, its spidered legs reaching, the procaine needle snapping out its single angry tooth.”(Page 120)

            A theme that is developed in the novel is the differences of TV and books. In the world of Fahrenheit 451, TV’s cover parlor walls and are what people’s lives are centered on. Everything they know has been fed to them through this machine. While books on the other hand, make you think for yourself. In this book, people are against books because they create men that can think for themselves, and therefore create more problems. In the book, people believe all men should not be able to think for themselves. In this way they think they can create their version of happiness or “bliss” for all mankind.

           

            “We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal, as the constitution says, but everyone made equal . . . A book is a loaded gun in the house next door. Burn it. Take the shot from the weapon. Breach man’s mind.”(Page 58)

           
            Bradbury writes several things that seem very prophetic. When he wrote the book in the 1950’s, TVs were very small, and cars going 100 miles per hour, or being able to listen to music wherever you go seemed absurd. The book talks about all these things, which are now happening today. Another scary thing is that more and more people only know about what TV show is on, while being ignorant about a nuclear crisis in the world.

            Though the imagery in this book was interesting, it was sometimes hard to understand. While this was sometimes frustrating, imagery did help convey the feelings that were meant to be conveyed. Bradbury used many elements from our world today to help us visualize the futuristic world in the book. This is illustrated in a passage written about the firemen of the future.

            “It was a pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed. With the brass nozzle in his fists, with this great python spitting its venomous kerosene upon the world, the blood pounded in his head, and his hands were the hands of some amazing conductor playing all the symphonies of blazing and burning to bring down the tatters and charcoal ruins of history.” (Page 3)

            Fahrenheit 451 is an exciting and intense novel. While the book can sometimes be hard to understand, Ray Bradbury wrote a great book about the issue of true happiness. The question we must ask ourselves while reading this book is if we will think for ourselves, or let others think for us. Anyone interested in reading about the predicted problems nearing our society today should read this interesting novel that is in some ways frighteningly prophetic.