Years went by after he died. He just left, without any warning. He died about three years ago. After that I was alone. All alone in the world. No friends, no family. Just me alone. He was all I had, and now I don’t even have that. I thought to myself. “What am I going to do now, I don’t even have anything to live for anymore.”

I just didn’t do anything after that. Just stayed in that lonely house. Everyday I would look out my window to the one lonesome dove outside the window. It was sign of protection and comfort everyday. It was my signal to keep going. One day the dove disappeared, maybe it was trying to tell me something. Maybe it was, and that was my sign that I was done. I said out loud “Thats it! I am done.”

I just drove all night into the darkness I didn’t even know where I was going. I didn’t care. All I knew was I had to get out of there. All I would do is stop for gas. That was it. I didn’t eat or sleep I just drove. Thinking all about my life, yelling and crying, to the point where I couldn’t breathe. Driving, Driving all night long. After I had my fit, I started realizing that this could get better. I knew that I had to do something with the rest of my life. So i said out loud as if chanting at the universe “Whatever it is going to have to take I am going to make the rest of my life worth living.”

The sun was rising. There was a small town up ahead that I saw. I decide to stop at the town. I had been driving all night long. My face was swelled from crying all night, streaked with the realization of my newly failed life. I guess I was somewhere outside of New York.

I knew people were going to be looking at me. I didn’t care. I couldn’t of cared less. I just thought they were like the rest of the cruel world I had learned to hate. I was actually surprised.

I walked down the street to find a restaurant.  About five people came up to me that day to ask if I was okay. One of them even said “Can I buy you dinner, do you need to talk about it”?  Was I finally being excepted? Did the world find kindness somehow? I think it was. So I ran with that idea. I started a new life. I actually put my self out there and for the first time it gave me back something that. First I got a job, then I got a place to live. I made friends with people at my work, and all of a sudden I had a life again. It took awhile but at least I have something to work for now.  

Six months later I was happy. I looked out the window and there was that dove, it was just like it had seen me make every change to my life and had assisted me the whole way through. I said to myself in a low whisper, “Thank you little dove.”

Recently there has been a very large decline in the species of starfish. From Mexico to Alaska the sea stars are dying off. What is the cause of this? A virus. This virus has not been investigated for a very long time, and even then it was overlooked. We can see the virus on starfish in museums from 1942. So this virus has been around for a long time. The virus  is called “Wasting Syndrome”. The symptoms of the virus are white lessons on the top of the skin, then the stars get slow and their arms break off. Scientists think that this has something to do with human activity, and pollution. There may be a natural comeback however. Even then we have to protect these gentle creatures of the sea, that produce equality in tide pools. The author was unbiased. “We should do whatever we can to save the stars!”-Janel Sytho

During the 1960’s African American and Women’s rights were starting to make headlines. One of these activists was Dorothy Height. She was the President of the National Council of Negro Women. She was their president for 40 years. She was a well known activist and had a good reputation.

Dorothy was born in Richmond Virginia, March 24, 1912. One of her accomplishments was she went to New York University and earned a Masters degree in educational psychology. She started working as a caseworker at the New York City Welfare Department. When she was 25, she began a career as a Civil Rights activist.

Dorothy fought for rights of African Americans and women’s rights. In 1963 she was one of the organizers of “The Famed March”, the March on Washington. She stood very close to Martin Luther king Jr. when he was giving his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. I addition one of her major accomplishments at the YWCA was she directed the integration of all its centers. She was also a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority. She was also their president from 1946 to 1957. Also she organized “Wednesdays in Mississippi”. “Wednesdays in Mississippi” were when white and black women got together to talk about their rights. She was also part founder of The Council for United Civil Rights Leadership. She had a long and successful career and tried to make the world a better place.

Dorothy died April 20th, 2010. She died at the age of 98, in Washington D.C. She will always be remembered for her involvement in the Civil Rights Movement. She influenced many people, and spread the unheard word of rights for African American people and women’s rights.

Scientists are starting to study anti-againg drugs for dogs. Rapamycin is something that might work. It increased the life span of worms, mice, and fruit flies. But will it do the same for dogs? That is what we are trying to figure out. Hopefully it will increase their life span by 10  to 15 percent! The drug helps with offsetting diseases, and slowing down the process of them. It is said to help elderly animals in particular, and restore and help their body’s functions. Hopefully this drug works and we can keep our pets a little longer. My opinion on this is that I really hope the drug will work, it isn’t guaranteed but we can only hope for the best. The author was unbiased.

Wang Lung was a farmer
Hardworking and strong
He didn’t waste but a single morsel of his farm

O-Lan he bought
She helped a lot
She bore him children
And sons

But his children starved
So he went to the south
Mobs broke down the doors
Of the rich mans house
And money they got

They went back to their land
Their beloved land
And their wealth returned

Later he bought Lotus
For his lust
And he bought The House Of Hwang
For his greed

Before his death
He warned his sons not to sell his land
But his sons were ignorant
And so went his land

The book I read was The Good Earth, by Pearl S. Buck. In the beginning of the story Wang Lung starts out as a poor farmer. He buys a wife named O-Lan, who helps him through heartache and starvation. Later they go to the south, because their family is starving. They suffer in the south, but they are fed. There is a mob of people who bust down the down the doors of a rich mans house, Wang and O-Lan get money. They can finally return to their life and their land. They became rich and eventually move into The House of Hwang. In the end of the story, we leave of Wang Lung dying. His sons mischievously plan about selling the land against his fathers will. My opinion on the book was OK. It wasn’t a great book, it got really boring at parts. I wouldn’t recommend this book to people, because again it was dry at parts. I rate this book about a three.

My life had flashed before me. Still she existed. Still she pursued the thoughts of my mind. She overwhelmed everything that was mine. Forced me in a hole. And yet once again, it happened.

Years ago, something like this has happened before. Yes, yes it has. Over the years I had lost what little confidence I had, again, and again. I was brittle. Over the years of people beating me down. She was always there to destroy me.

Still in that white, sterile room, I sat… And had been for hours. Maybe even days. I thought about who she was… Still she remained a blur. My percents had been in the waiting room, waiting for me to give the que for me to go home. But that wasn’t what I wanted. How many people I would have to explain why I went temporally insane. Thats at least what the doctors say. At this point it might be true…

Still and clam I sat. On the Outside I was fine. On the insane I was screaming. To go Home. No, no I can’t. I can’t. I won’t.

President Eisenhower was the 34th president of the Untied States. He was a great president and caused many changes in America for the better. Eisenhower was in the military, and while he was in service, he had to cross the country. It took about five months to cross the entire U.S. But when the highway was built it took about four days. M.A.D. influenced Eisenhower to think about escape from bombing, and faster transportation for troops; this created the Interstate Highway, which then created ghost towns.

M.A.D. (Mutual Assured Destruction), is where two opposing forces can cause complete destruction of each other. M.A.D. was brought up in the Cold War, with the U.S. and the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union was Communist, and we were Capitalist; this caused a rift between the two countries. We did not want America to became Communist, yet at the same time Stalin didn’t want his country to turn Capitalist. So since America was superior to the Soviet Union in terms of Nuclear Weapons, the Soviets got smart and decided to build their own nuclear army. This started the Nuclear Arms Race between the two Countries. Since this race with the Soviets had been going on, Eisenhower know had to think about bombings in America. The solution; The Interstate Highway System. That way if there was a bombing in America, there could be faster transpiration to get out.

The Highway System not only helped the general population, but it helped big and small companies as well (“Interstate Highway System”). Manufacturers were very pleased with this. The costs dropped for shipping products. Since the roads helped them get to many cities in a much faster way. The highway made many companies happy, especially car companies. After the highway system was created car companies prospered, since everyone needed a car and that was an efficient way of transportation. The car companies blossomed and there was a car in almost every household.

Since the highways passed the streets of the small towns, the small towns that were was full of tourists were now gone. America was changing into big cities, instead of small scattered towns. Cities created America. Now business people only lived in the cities, and farmers lived in the country. Small towns were dying off because of people leaving. Peoples businesses would die because all the tourist traffic would go directly to the highway (“History of The Interstate Highway”). If you had a product to be shipped out among the U.S., you would gravitate to big cities, and every little town would get lost, and eventually disappeared.

The Highway System was a success and helped many people. Although many towns died off, it shaped the city-centered America we know today. Transportation became much faster and much easier. M.A.D. prepared us for the possibility of being bombed, and because of the Interstate Highway, we could now escape efficiently. Eisenhower did make many changes in his presidency but, in my opinion this was his best idea.

 “Work Sited Page” 

“Interstate Highway System”. History.com. Web

“History of The Interstate Highway”. Thetruckersreport.com. Web

I will never know, even understand, why she did what she did. She was girl at my old school. The worst, unimaginable cruelty, I can’t even begin to understand. I trusted her. She was my best friend, my sister. But something happened along the way. Something inside her broke.

I guess she seemed normal at first. But there was always a hint, just a wisp of strangeness… I told her the definition of who I was, to the last detail. But she planned. She plotted for three miserable years. Then, one day, it happened. She tore away every relationship I ever had.

My life fell apart slowly. She tore away my life bit, by bit. Piece by piece. And so it went. Then I started to see here every where. She was demonic. I have to say. Why? The question still remains. Why would she? How could she? I’ll never really know I guess. I just have to start over, and repair my life. I’ll never see her again, I hope to God I won’t. But someday I’ll come back and confront her.