The Parable of Thin Ice

The Parable of Thin Ice

1.       And one day in the little town of Richeyville, Jim Tom decided to go ice fishing on the river.

2.      And Jim Tom didn’t realize it was 38 degrees out and the ice was thin.

3.       And he walked out to the middle of the river and drilled a hole.

4.      And when he drilled into the ice, it was only 3 inches thick, and it began to crack all around him.

5.       Jim Tom began running for the shore, but didn’t make it.

6.       And he fell into the hypothermic water, and his clothes saturated with water.

7.       And Jim Tom began to run out of air.

8.       And right as Jim Tom thought it was all over and he was going to drown, a hand reached in and pulled him up.

9.       And that hand was an EMT who had watched him fall in.

10.   And that EMT loaded Jim Tom into her ambulance and took him to the Richeyville hospital.

11.   When they got there Jim Tom had regained consciousness.

12.  And he realized how lucky he was to still be alive.

13.   And Jim Tom’s toes got so cold when he was in the water that when they thawed, seven of them fell off.

14.  And Jim Tom became very saturnine when he saw he had three toes left.

15.   When his mom and dad came to the hospital, they were very disappointed in him.

16.   And they told Jim Tom he should’ve thought about his actions before he went fishing.

17.   And Jim Tom felt very stupid for going ice fishing when it was 38 degrees outside. 

18.   Jim Tom then made a promise to his parents that he would think before he acts.

19.   And next time Jim Tom wanted to go ice fishing, he checked how warm it was outside.

20.  And he also checked how thick the ice was.

21.  And from this day forward, he talked to his friends about thinking first.

22.  And all of his friends looked up to Jim Tom.

23.  And Jim Tom lived a long happy life with only a few of his toes left,

24.  Ice fishing and being careful.

25.  And he lived until he was 112.

Hunting Season Sonnet

Hunting season, you're the best time of the year.
When the big deer come out, and the air turns cold,
I can't wait for you to draw near.
When you are here, my rifle I hold.
When I go to the store, where my bullets are sold,
I'm so happy to see all of the hunting supplies for sale.
When I buy my tag I am told,
"No poaching or you will be thrown in jail!"
My favorite deer to hunt is white-tail.
Sometimes they are very hard to hit--
Especially when there is a strong gale.
It makes me want to throw a fit.
Hunting season, oh how I love you.
There is no one that loves you as much as I do.

The Canterbury Tales: Plowman

I am the plowman, and I have been traveling for 1 week with my fellow pilgrims.  It has been a good week, telling stories and getting to know each other very well.  There are some good people on this journey, as well as some very corrupt ones.  Some of the people care more about money and themselves more than they do poor, starving people on the side of the road.  It hurts my heart to see this people suffer.  One of the most greedy people on our journey is the Summoner.  All he cares about is money and the way he looks.  You can tell he is corrupt because of the sores on his face.  I do not get along with him at all.  He also is not a very religious man like myself.  Whenever I try to talk about God or tithing, he interrupts me and changes the subject.

The other day when we were coming into a little village, there were a group of about 6 children playing in the ditch.  They were obviously homeless, and you could see their ribs they were so starved.  It hurt my heart to see this.  I recommended we stop and help them find some food.  The knight agreed with me, but the Summoner refused to stop.  He said we couldn't waste time stopping and helping stupid children.  We argued for about 10 minutes, and finally came to the conclusion that we would stop and help.  It felt so good to stop and help poor little children. Although there are some corrupt people in our group, there are still some very good people among them.  

The Venerable Bede

The Venerable Bede was born in 673 and died in 735.  He was one of the most intelligent scholars in that time period.  A lot of people looked up to him.  One interesting fact about him is that at the age of 19 he became a deacon, and at age 30 he became a priest.  Another interesting fact is that he didn't become known as the Venerable Bede until his death.  The Venerable Bede wrote about 40 books in his life time.  Another cool thing about him is he spoke Latin, Greek, and Hebrew.  His topics that he knew a lot about are nature, astronomy, and poetry. He died as one of the most intelligent people in the world.


"The Venerable Bede." www.religionfacts.com. Religion Facts, n.d. Web. 23 Sep 2013. <http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/people/bede.htm>.














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The Importance of Music and Entertainment

Music and entertainment was very important during the Great Depression. These things gave people a sense of hope and got their mind off of their lives for awhile. A lot of people listened to music some way or another during the Great Depression. A good song that describes the Great Depression is "Brother, Can you Spare a Dime". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eih67rlGNhU In the Grapes of Wrath, Ma and Rose of Sharon decide their going to just go to the dance and watch and listen to the music. " Know what you and me are gonna do? We're going to that dance and we're gonna set there and watch." Some people just like to go and listen to the music. Music wasn't easy to get however. Not everybody had a radio or some way to listen to it. Music was a very important part of the Great Depression and helped people get through the times.


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People also had to find other ways to entertain themselves. Movies became very popular during the Depression. There were comedies, gangster movies, musicals, dances and othere types of entertainment as well. "From the tents the people streamed toward the platform, men in their clean blue denim and women in their ginghams. They came near to the platform and then stood quietly waiting, their faces bright and intent under the light."(page335) This quote shows that the people were waiting anxiously for the dance to begin. They were looking forward to  being able to dance and get their minds off of some of their worries.  Going to big bands became popular as well. Movies were a great way to help people forget their troubles. Going to a simple movie could boost peoples hopes and help them move on. Even though the Depression was a very hard time to get through, people did find ways to get through it.

The Fall of the House of Usher

Poe was a very heavy contributer to Romanticism, and was one of the best Romanticism writers of all time.  Poe used a lot of supernatural things in his writing.  He also put forth a lot of emotion when writing his stories.  One example of Romanticism in the story is when Roderick's sister breaks out of the coffin. This is a supernatural event because she has been in there for several days and would be very weak.  When Roderick is talking about hearing things he says," Not hear it?-yes, I hear, it, and have heard it. Long- long-long- many minutes, many hours, many days, have I heard it- yet i dared not- oh pity me, miserable wretch that I am!- I dared not- I dared not speak! We have put her living in the tomb"! Poe is really making this emotional. It is obvious to the reader that Roderick is very upset. Poe also uses nature and symbolism in this story. An example of this is when he is talking about the house of Usher falling to the ground, and the last of the Ushers dying off.  Another example of Romanticism in the story is when Roderick is talking about his sister dying. "Her decease," he said, with a bitterness which I can never forget, " would leave him the last of the ancient race of Ushers". He is clearly troubled by this fact.  He loves his sister dearly and has lived with her for a very long time. He doesn't want to be the last Usher on this earth. 

Overall I think Edgar Allan Poe was one of the greatest Romanticism writers of all time. He wasn't afraid to put forth a lot of emotion and write about supernatural things. Romanticism is a fun type of literature to read and Poe is one of my favortie authors of the time period.





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Washington Irving

Washington Irving was born in New York City, New York on April 3, 1783.  He was a well know writer. He had 11 siblings and was named after George Washington. He was educated privately and he studied law. One of his early careers was writing essays for periodicals. He then went to Europe for a short while and then returned to New York and practiced law. He was a horrible student and barely passed.

In 1815 Irving went to England to work for his brother. That didn't work out so he made a bunch of stories and essays. This became known as "The Sketch Book" and included "Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle". These are two of his most famous works. He was a U.S ambasodor. He continued to write some biographies and other works. One of his famous quotes is,"Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune; but great minds rise above them." He meas that great minds don't care about misfortune and bad things, they are mentally strong and learn from them. Little minds get down on themselves and don;t learn from it. Overall Washington Irving was a very good writer and is remembered today.

 

http://www.biography.com/people/washington-irving-9350087

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743 in Virginia. His family lived on a farm in Virginia. He had lots of accomplishments throughtout his life. One of the most famous ones that most everybody knows is he wrote the Declaration of Independence. Another common one is he was the third president of the United States of America. He also was the president that bought the Louisiana Purchase, and initiated the Lewis and Clark expidition.

He had many occupations throughout his life. Obviously one of these was being the president. Other than that he was an inventer, writer, architect, and lawyer. He was also the secretary of state under Washington, and the vice president  under Adams. He was a quiet person. He was also a terrible public speaker. He only gave two speaches in his presidential career. His face is also on 2 dollar bills. He was also a very smart man and took his job very seriously.

Thomas Jefferson was a very interesting man. He had 9 siblings, and he was the third one born. He was part of the Democratic-Republican party. Another interseting fact about him is that he loved to fox hunt. One of his quotes is," Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will dilineate and define you". When he says this he means that actions make a person who they are, not the words they speak. Overall I think Thomas Jefferson was a great leader of our country and a very good person overall.

















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http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/t/thomas_jefferson.html
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0768854.html

http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com/facts-on-thomas-jefferson.html


http://www.psea.org/uploadedFiles/TeachingandLearning/Special_and_Gifted_Ed/ThomasJefferson.pdf