The Fourth of July we almost drowned

   It is strange to think about the summer days on the lake when we are in the middle of this chilly November weather, but when it comes to family holidays, there is one Fourth of July weekend that my family will never forget.
   It was back when all of my aunts, uncles and cousins on my dad's side would actually come up to our cabin to celebrate the Fourth. (These days, everyone is too busy to make the effort, and we end up spening the holiday with friends)
   My mom had bought everyone matching Faded Glory brand t-shirts from the St. Croix falls Walmart and everyone, even my grandma, was wearing the same white t-shirt with the big American flag on the front. These were the days before we had our big ski boat. We owned a tiny red pontoon boat that didn't have build in seats; we had to bring plastic chairs on the boat with us for people to sit on. My dad decided that he would ignore the weight restrictions on the boat's fading warning label, just so we could get the entire family on the boat for the annual boat parade. At around 1:00, we all climbed aboard the recently patriotically decorated pontoon boat and joined in the train of boats circling around the lake. Due to the lack of seating, it occured to my parents that we would have all of the kids sit in the front with their legs hanging over the ledge. There I was, waving my American flag and laughing with my cousins, when all of a sudden I felt my feet go deeper into the water. I looked over at my cousin Campbell, and I saw him also start to slowly sink down. The entire front of the pontoon was sinking. The boat started to slant like the frickin Titanic. (That's an exxageration, but that was what my seven-year old mind was imagining). My mom shrieked to my dad, "Stop the boat!" and rushed to tell all of the kids to get their feet out of the water and get to the other side of the boat NOW. Needless to say, we survived the almost Titanic boat sinking that afternoon, but thanks to all the water, the red from the flags on our shirts had bled to a bright fuschia. To this day, I sometimes find that pink Faded Glory T-shirt in my laundry and I am reminded of that eventful boat parade. The glory on those t-shirts almost did fade away that day, into the depths of Half Moon Lake.

Rhetorical Modes

1.       There are two aspects of Pride. It is the feeling of being proud, the satisfaction one receives when one accomplishes a feat. It is also the feeling of one’s own dignity or superiority, the feeling of self-worth, of pleasure in one’s current way of being. Pride can be happy and joyful, but it can also be snobbish and conceited. Without pride, one holds no emotional connection to successes, resulting in a less meaningful and satisfying life. With excessive pride, one becomes vain and arrogant.

2. The difference between pride and conceit is in the way in which each emotion is expressed. Pride is something that is felt, and conceit is the extreme expression of pride.  One can feel pride without showing it to others. If an employee gets a raise at work, he can celebrate this success with his family without boasting about it to others. Pride is an internal sense of satisfaction, conceit is an overwhelming sense of vanity and self-righteousness conveyed to others.

3. Have you ever met a person who only talks about their own successes, and always brags about their possessions? Too much pride makes one act as if they are above others. When we act conceited, it can cause others to look down on us and even isolate them us as friends. It is important to find pleasure in our lives and be thankful for our possessions, but humility is the key to good relationships with others. Feeling pride but acting with humility will draw others to us and will create for much more enjoyable conversation. 

4. I was a nail-biting and chatty fifth grader sitting on the gym floor at Stagecoach theatre camp. The director was slowly and alphabetically announcing the names of each camper and what role they would play in that year’s production of AnnieJr. My heart was racing. “Allie Rose: Miss Hannigan, Samantha Schmidt: Annie…” My jaw dropped. I felt like dancing and screaming and hugging my mom. I felt like I was on top of the world, floating on a cloud. The rest of that day I walked with my head held high and a little more bounce in my step. I was the lead, the main orphan, and the spotlights would be on me this year. I spent the whole afternoon singing “Tomorrow” into a hairbrush in my bedroom.

5. Pride is a satisfaction or connection one feels with one’s successes or one’s one life. It can be seen in a person who thinks highly of his of her own ability, such as an athlete who is confident in his team’s athletic skill after winning a big game. It can also be seen in someone who feels a strong connection to his or her family, such as the Capulets and Montagues in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

6. The referee blows the whistle and the crowd cheers as the soccer cleats brush against the grass. One cheer is louder than the others. It is coming from a thirty-five year old, mini-van driving woman. Her blonde hair is in a ponytail, she has sneakers on her feet and her two year old daughter is tugging the bottom of her khaki shorts. She has her eyes locked on player number 12, her star striker. She can see the sweat building on his forehead as he races down the field. He has the ball now. She gasps and yells,“Go, Johnny, go!  As the ball flies into the net, the woman jumps two feet into the air, her eyes watering and her heart filled with pride.

National Geographic's most recognizable photo: Afghan Girl

Agent: This photo was taken by Steve McCurry, a National Geographic photojournalist, in 1984.
Act: The photograph shows the plight of Afghans during the Soviet Invasion. It conveys the fear and anguish that this 12 year old girl feels, and reveals the human side of war and destruction. It also shows the strength of an Afghan woman, a strength and identity that is rarely revealed as a photographed face, because their faces are so often covered. It argues that these women do have an identity and that it should be captured and appreciated.
Agency: The photograph was published on the cover of National Geographic in June 1985, complementing a story on the Afghan refugees. The photo was edited and printed large enough to cover the front page, allowing the features of the photo subject to be accentuated and provocative. The woman's piercing green eyes show the trauma she has had to face, and her tattered garment shows the struggle of her two-week flee. The way she is hunched over and peeking out of her shawl give the audience a feeling that we have caught her in a moment; that it is a raw and candid glance and that she is almost telling us a secret. The warm color of her skin and garment also reveal her culture and gives the photo an exotic feel.
Scene: The photograph was taken at a refugee camp in Pakistan in 1984. After the Soviet invasion of Afganistan, during which this young girl's village and family were destroyed, she was forced to make the two week trip to the camp on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Her name is Sharbat Gula. The audience of this photograph is any reader of National Geographic, someone who is interested in the story behind the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan or even just any consumer who sees the photo on the cover of the magazine.
Purpose: The photojournalist aims to reveal the struggles that these Afghan refugees have had to face. He wants to tell their story. He says that when he saw the girl's face, he jumped on the chance to capture her emotion, since he rarely gets to photograph Afghan womens' faces. McCurry says,“This portrait summed up for me the trauma and plight, and the whole situation of suddenly having to flee your home and end up in refugee camp, hundreds of miles away." The photograph also had a monetary motive behind it, both for the photographer and the magazine. They hope to sell copies and win recognition and awards for their work.

I have always been obessesed with this photo. I think it is one of the most stunning faces I have ever seen. Breathtaking.

The media of the masses

As an aspiring journalist, I obviously hold some respect for the media. It is essential to democracy and civilizations in general for the public to be aware of what is occurring in their surroundings. As the article "Extended Language" described, voters need to be educated in current topics and candidates, and society members must know what is happening around them in order to develop their own opinions or relate occurrences to their own lives. The innate idea of the media, especially of news, is a necessity to society and can often become a very helpful source of information or an entertaining or enlightening experience for its audience.  The medium in which this information is given to the audience, and the way in which media outlets choose what information and images to present, is where the negatives aspects of the media come into play.  I will speak specifically about television broadcast news. For the most part, the events and topics described in a typical evening news segment all actually occurred or are of timely significance. On the surface, it appears as though the news are a reflection of society; the newsworthy stories came before the news show itself. But how did the show choose which stories to run? It always seems as if only the news shown these days are negative, death-related stories. By deciding to run an overwhelming amount of stories such as kidnappings, robberies, and scandals, the evening news show is telling the people at home that they are surrounded by violence and corrupt actions. At the same time, they are deciding to show segments that they believe will attract the most viewers, not necessarily showing the most important or valuable stories. For example, Kare 11 might decide to run a story about a man who collects millions of Pez dispensers instead of running a story on how tax levies are impacting school budgets, just because it is more entertaining or interesting to their idea of a typical consumer of news. This selective nature of the media gives society a blurred perception of what is happening around them. Therefore, the media does create values and tastes. In addition, the flawless smiling face of the anchor giving the news conveys the idea that all young women look like the anchor. The entire appearance of the news show is fake, from the smiles and perfect hair of the anchors to the obnoxious casual conversation they make with each other.

Here is an example about how the U.S. is particularly guilty of altering news coverage to what they think society wants. This is the same issue of Newsweek, in which Latin America, Europe, and Asia all had the same front page about the war in Afganistan. Instead of making the front page about the important issues with the war, U.S. Newsweek made it about a new book by a famous photographer...

Is it even possible to fix these problems with broadcast journalism, or journalism in general? Maybe not. But we can be responsible consumer of news by attempting to decipher the true from the false. And in my opinion, radio news are way cooler. There's just nothing like the raw voice of British reporter on MPR. 

Oh the joys of my dogs

I tend to complain about the funny/ridiculous/annoying aspects of my life on this blog, so I might as well bring up another. I am a dog-lover. I don't know what I would do without Candy, my bichon/maltese mix or Lucy, my yellow lab. But sometimes I just want to strangle them or throw them  a bone so far that they never come back. Anyone who has been to my house would know that it is a jungle. If you are visiting my house, I know when you have arrived before you have even walked up the drive way because my dogs both begin barking uncontrollably (but then again, they could just be barking at an invisible squirrel running across the street). Then as soon as you come inside, you will continue to hear a chorus of low-pitched lucy barks and high-pitched candy yips, a hideous harmony of never-ending barks that will give you a headache. Candy will be jumping all over you and Lucy will be running around in circles with your shoe in her mouth (she will then come up to you with the shoe still in her mouth, giving it to you like a present).
My mom gives the "they're actually very well-behaved, they just act up when guests arrive" schpeel to the guest, whether it is the Schwann man or my sister's newest sophomore crush. It is all a lie. Yeah, we tried to train them. But let's face it, we failed. Candy is only about 8 years old, but she acts like a menopausal woman. She often seems to be blind (when she claims there is a squirrel outside when there really isn't), demential (she seems to forget that you were JUST in the house, you simply went outside to get the mail), and bipolar (one second she is cuddling in bed with you, the next she is growling at you like a rabid beast). Not to mention her addiction to ripping up any underwear that I leave on my bedroom floor...

Lucy is a different story. I really do love her. She's adorable, and when she rests her head on my knee with her sad eyes while I'm eating a slice of pizza, I can't help but rip her off a piece of crust. But she just drives me  INSANE sometimes. Instead of going all "Marley and Me crazy labrador stories" on you, I'll just let you enjoy the photo on the right to capture the frustration I was feeling toward Lucy on Friday morning.

P.S. My TOMS were my favorite pair of shoes ever. I bought them last spring in a California Whole Foods and they have become a part of me. This is a memorial for them, and all that they helped me through. Rest in peace, olive green Whole Foods store TOMS. You lived a great life.