Homeless for 68 Minutes by, Kalhan Rosenblatt

     This week's reading was very interesting and unlike the other stories we have read so far. I have never thought of what it would be like to be a panhandler, like the author I would have assumed it was pretty easy to just ask for money. People asking you extremely personal questions and most likely giving you judgmental looks would be pretty tough to deal with. Especially creepy people like the Creole man asking you if you had a girlfriend/boyfriend like he was thinking she could be his girlfriend or something weird. Before reading this story, I had never thought that the life of a panhandler could be potentially dangerous but it definitely is because you are out there all alone with no one to have your back and especially the police because they might try to run you off or even worse arrest you. 

     This story has definitely opened my eyes to the potential dangers of being homeless. I will definitely think twice when I debate whether giving money to the next homeless person I come across because they're life is definitely tougher and more dangerous than mine. The big stereotype about giving money to homeless people is that they will just buy alcohol or drugs with it, but who am I to judge them and decide what they will do with the money. Some people actually come across some really bad luck and can't afford a simple Big Mac so why not help them out by giving a few dollars when I have plenty to spare.   

Living Like Weasels by, Annie Dillard

     The story this week was very confusing through my first read of it. I had to re-read it two more times and I finally got a better understanding of what it was about. The overall meaning is revealed at the end of the story and everything leading up to it builds the overall theme of the story. The author introduces weasels at the beginning by telling us how they kill their victims including the story of the eagle shot out of the sky and how she comes in contact with a weasel herself. These short stories make more sense once you get a better understanding of the ending. The author even goes as far as comparing herself to a weasel by saying "I missed my chance. I should have gone for the throat." The author is reminiscing about things she regrets not doing in her life. I got the interpretation that the author is comparing us (humans) to weasels by the way we go after things in our own lives like how weasels go after certain prey.

     The use of this strange metaphor to try to compare weasels choosing their food to humans choosing what they want to accomplish in their lives stumped me the first two times I read this story. The author says at the very end that we should grasp our necessity and not let it go which I believe she means our dreams. Ms. Dillard is saying that we must go after our dreams and "seize it and let it seize you up aloft even, till your eyes burn out and drop;", we must not ever give up the sight of our dreams and that we should be as the weasel is with their prey- never letting go of it.

Superman and Me, by Sherman Alexie

     I really enjoyed the reading this week. It's cool how the title "Superman and Me" compared Mr. Alexie to Superman because he is inspiring Indian children to succeed in school, which was the complete opposite when he was in school. This is especially evident with the last line "I am trying to save our lives", I feel that Mr. Alexie is looked at as a hero on Indian reservations today because he is an accomplished writer. This story is another great story of how someone who was unhappy with their situation, worked hard and was able to persevere through it. I honestly got inspired by reading this story.

     I can't believe that Mr. Alexie said that Indian children accepted failure when he grew up, it's just hard to believe that they didn't want something more out of life. The other side of this makes me wonder how bad have we been to Native Americans? Have we been so prejudice to them that Native American children think they have no hope? It's amazing that the author even made it out considering all the negativity that was around him.

Shooting Dad by, Sarah Vowell

     Shooting Dad is my favorite story we have read yet. It was different from all the other stories because it had a positive ending and no body actually ended up dying, which is what I expected to happen. I kind of thought that Sarah Vowell was going to actually shoot her Dad in some way before when I just read the title and not the story. It was cool how the title and the last line of this story go with each other, because she will literally be shooting her Dad even though he will have already passed away.

     This is an extremely cool story of how opposite a daughter and dad could be and how an object brought their relationship closer together. When Sarah Vowell was a teenager growing up, she talked about how her home was like a Civil War battleground because her dad and her were just complete opposites. I think a lot of teenagers go through this type of thing by being the complete opposite of what their parents are like. It's a teenagers way of trying to find independence and their self for that matter. I went through something similar with my Mom, for a good three years we would butt heads about almost everything but then about a year ago I opened my eyes more and saw my mom's view on things and I didn't feel the need to argue back anymore. I guess this was a way of me just maturing in life and it sounds like this sort of happened to Sarah Vowell in some ways. She was able to find something that she kind of enjoyed doing with her father and she even noticed how her and her Dad were alike by her microphone and his cannon.  

The Price We Pay, by Adam Mayblum

     This was an amazing first hand experience of September 11, 2001. I couldn't believe the courage it took the author to write this only one day after the horrific attacks. I liked how the author went through a timeline of what happened when he was trying to get out of Tower 1; this gave the reader a sense of what he went through that day. This story was remarkably different from the other two stories we just read, though it is a tragic story, it became positive towards the end and made the reader feel proud to be an American.

     The story of Harry Ramos was one of the most inspiring stories that occurred that day. Harry Ramos was just an everyday person who became a hero in his time of need. I hope, if I'm ever put in a situation like the one Mr. Ramos was put in, that I would act the same way he did. Mr. Ramos is a true hero because he gave his life even though he didn't know he was going to not make it out of the North Tower alive; he refused to leave someone behind. He was among many people who gave their lives that day by trying to help others.

     Like in the second story, the author felt a sense of responsibility for what happened to his friend and the firemen who tried to go up and save him. He realized that the firemen would have gone up regardless, so this relieved him of any responsibility for their fates. I felt like the author nailed the spot in the last paragraph by saying that the attacks only made America stronger by uniting us all to help each other and that the terrorist failed in terrorizing us. The ending was extremely strong, especially the last sentence, "The very moment the first plane was hijacked, democracy won." because the author was saying as soon as the terrorist decided to go through with the attacks, Americans started helping Americans as seen with the passengers who fought back and took control of a hijacked plane that later crashed into the ground near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.