Why Leaves Turn Color in the Fall

" Why Leaves Turn Color in the Fall" by Diane Ackerman(1990), informs us of the reasons behind the brightly colored process of change that occurs in leaves during the season best known as Fall. It was important to note that the author created a colorful setting earlier on in the narrative by employing every descriptive words she could conjure up, like ' red-winged blackbird ', or a ' goldfinch perching 'producing a great scene. This sets the story up nicely. Several reasons were given for this slow and colorful dying of the leaves. The starving of the leaves by the tree and the redistributing of nutrients to other parts of the tree as the main reason. She also points out the unique change in the leaves because of not producing chlorophyll and the presence of a pigment that is responsible for the bright colors of the leaves.

I got a strong sense of purpose from the author's view point that every thing in life has its own reason for happening. Researching the reasoning behind the causes and effect of what goes on around us will definately give us a better understanding of the beauty of dying, as in this case the dying of the leaves. This point of view was evident in the first four paragarphs of the narative. I felt like a new world of information was now opened to me or any reader because of Ackerman's story. I also felt that it was her intention for the reader to connect other notable stories in the bible when she made reference to Adam and Eve in the garden dressed with leaves. " Leaves have always hidden our awkward secrets", the author stated profoundly to provoke the reader I thought, to want to read more of this narrative.

I was impressed with her careful mixture of poetry and science in presenting a story that had color and contrast which probably was intended for the wider audience and not any specific group. She wrote of children liking to play in falling leaves and pilots doing a maneuver called a "falling leaf" to give us a picture of how wide her topic was and points of interest that covers just about everyone. Anyone who has experienced this happening, the dying leaves,the fading green, slowly drying and finally falling off will see Ackerman's analogy of the leaves to life itself and the unchanging cycle of those things that fall away and cease to exist.

"That's How I Roll"

              

               That’s How I Roll (2009), by Ginny Donaldson, is a short story that explores the origin of the phrase “that’s how I roll”, slang, and why some slang sticks and some doesn’t. Donaldson begins by giving the results of her searching for the phrase “that’s how I roll” on Google and goes on to as what slang is and why some slang sticks and some doesn’t. The author most likely wrote this in order to bring attention to slang and how some phrases stand the test of time. Donaldson probably wrote this for an audience of people who may be curious about the phrase “that’s how I roll” and slang.

                Reading this made me realize how frequently people use slang and I find it very interesting. I, as well as a number of people I know, use slang without even pausing to think about how it may have even come about. It also makes me wonder how many words that we use every day actually began as slang and eventually just became a part of the language. Maybe English in general just started out as slang and over time just became a language. The text makes me want to research some of the things I say every day and find out just where they came from.

                The text went a little deeper into the phrase “that’s how I roll”, mentioning how the author looked up the phrase on Google and Urban Dictionary Online to get more information. After reporting her findings Donaldson moves on to ask what slang even is. Donaldson sates that “According to Buzzle.com, whose slogan is “Intelligent Life on the Web,” “Slang seems to be ubiquitous. Its use crosses time, culture, and language. Just as with ‘normal’ English words, the meanings of the words used in the other English language can be found in online dictionaries.”” Donaldson goes from here to explain how some people explain why some slang sticks while some doesn’t. She ends the text by telling how she came up at a “dead end” when she attempted to continue researching the phrase ”that’s how I roll”, somewhat questioning the English language, and coming to the conclusion that the words with hard to find origins are just as important as those with easily found origins.

"Spanglish"

Spanglish by Janice Castro, Dan Cook and Cristina Garcia from TIME (1988) states that Spanglish is a common linguistic currency wherever concentrations of Hispanic Americans are found in U.S.  Spanglish consists of one part Hispanicize English, one part Americanized Spanish and more than a little fractured syntax.  Spanglish sentences are mostly Spanish with a quick interruption of an English word or two.  There are a variety of forms of Spanglish spoken by different cultures from Southern California Anglos to Cuban Americans.

In this article, it is explained how Spanglish has become a popular language spoken in America.   In the English language some words simply don’t exist in Spanish or it’s just easier to say in English. Since more American students have signed up for Spanish speaking classes in the last ten years, Spanglish has begun to turn into a national slang.  English has collided more often with Spanish everywhere. With this advertisers have began to promote their product with attempts to use a little Spanish within their ads.  Miller Lite slogan told readers the beer was “Filling and less delicious.” Also a Braniff airline ad tried to tell Spanish speaking audiences they could settle back en (in) luxuriant cuero (leather) seats, but instead said they could fly without clothes (encuero). 

I realize that I also incorporate Spanish into my everyday language. Part of it being that I’m currently trying to learn to speak it fluently and the other part being that my friends speak to me in Spanish sometimes. I think that Spanglish is great thing to know here in America.  Spanish tends to mix with the native language in every country that it is spoken in.  There is a variety of the language.  The way people speak Spanish in Spain is different from the way they speak Spanish in Mexico and Cuba. Some speak Spanish from their throat and some speak it through their nose.  Spanglish is just one of the different ways a very interesting language is spoken so that Americans can comprehend and communicate along with Latinos.   Espero que hayen disfrutado mi blog.

A lasting impression

Author Debra Anderton composed her short story entitled “a lasting impression” (2010) very similarly to a personal diary entry. She goes through a timeline of events all centered around her mother Dorothy. Adereton adored her mother and appreciated the hardships she overcame in order to provide for her and her siblings. As the timeline progresses we find that the struggles and trials her mother endured over the years eventually caught up with her. The author seems to try and evoke feelings of love, pain, hope, and sadness all in one simple yet effective story.

The mother in this story struggled through life ever since she was a young child. By the age of 27 she was a widow with four children to take care of. Even in the hardest of times she is described as having strong faith in God and an undying love for her family. Aderton dreamt of being able to one day help her mother with the financial troubles she faced; however her mother got married before she could offer any help. The marriage only added to the list of troubles her mother faced. The abuse she faced eventually leads her to abuse alcohol. Adertons love for her mother made it difficult for her to confront her mother about her alcoholism, but eventually she did. Although her mother died before receiving any treatment, aderton never forgot the day that she tried to help her beloved mother.

The author shows throughout this story that regardless of the mistakes her mother made, the lasting impression she left was a great one.  I have dealt with alcoholics in my family and I know the devastating effects this disease has on everyone close to that person.  Aderton was able to make a distinction between the great person her mother was, and the horrible addiction she faced. Her mother’s strength and courage is what she remembers, not the negative effects of her alcoholism. I believe anyone who has a loved one affected by alcoholism should try and get them help. Even if they never get help, don’t forget the person they were before this disease affected them.

This Battle Will Not Be Lost

 
 "This Battle Will Not Be Lost" by Sandi Millwood (2008) is a short story explained by Millwood that informs the audience of a significant event that occurred in Millwood's life. Millwood tells how she came to find out about her young daughter's illness beginning from the day her sickness became apparent to the time her daughter was able to overcome it. Millwood's intent when writing this was to tell of something she experienced in order to inform people of how important life is.
   Millwood had entered her daughter's room one morning to find her daughter with blue lips and struggling to just take in air. Millwood immediately phoned the hospital then followed the ambulance to said hospital. After many tests were run Millwood was informed that her daughter had a tumor. After the removal of the tumor the doctor tells Millwood that her daughter has cancer, to be more specific, pluera pulmonary blastoma. Millwood and her daughter fought with this illness for four years and won. Her daughter had survived.
   Through this experience Millwood came to realize that life is truly a gift and a very precious thing. People tend to go through life wasting time and worrying about things we can't control. Usually people don't realize how fleeting life is until something life changing happens or it's too late. Millwood came to this realization through her daughter's cancer. I came to this conclusion in a similar way when my cousin died of cancer a couple of years ago. Reading this story only reinforced my belief that life should be cherished because it won't last forever.

A Man in the Woods

" A Man in the Woods" by Andrew White ( A freshman majoring in psychology and human services. Spring 2010), portrays a vivid and descriptive picture of a poor town, northwest of Atlanta's city called Bankhead. In the narrative, the author focused on a man in the Bankhead Village, as it was called by the men who lived there, its proximity to a gravesite and the poor social conditions he saw during the latest of his visits with Becca his sister. They were on a humanitarian visit, carrying food and water to the eight men who braved the grueling cold of winter while living in substandard houses.

One man of the eight stood out in the author's view. His friendly and unselfish demeanor spoke volumes of the fact that sharing and being respectful to others ensured his survival during the hardest of time. James, as the author called him, was a man who did not allow his circumstances to define him. He gave without expecting anything in return, Andrew noted. It was evident of how Andrew depicted the guided tour of the village by James, that he wanted the reader to capture the settings, the piles of uncollected trash, the ash from burnt rubbish, and the rats its pungent scent drew as well as James's unwavering commitment to the community in sharing what was brought by Andrew and Becca.

This is a moving story that dispays caring for those that are less fortunate, or those who fell behind in a fast- paced society with a down turn in the economy.It is clear from the narrative that he had visited this community before and was committed to helping the man he admired, in the woods. The story's message highlights a greater effort from members of the greater society to reach out to others that are struggling in dilapidated conditions not fit for human habitation. The essay ends anticlimactically with a hand shake, an appreciative thank you, and the dawn of a new season, spring, and the prospects to come of another visit to the man in the woods.