The Truck That Got Stuck

 

     Last summer I was sitting at my house and I realized that I was halfway through the summer and I was already bored to death. Well that’s no way to live your summer out. So I called my dad and asked him when our jet is heading out to Rapid City, South Dakota. He said “Its leaving tomorrow around 4 o‘clock.”  So I called my cousin and said, “So want to go to Rapid tomorrow?”

He replied, “Thought you would never ask.” So by 3:30 the next day we was heading to St. Paul to pick up Austin; then off to Rapid.

      When we got to Rapid, my grandma was at the airport and she was excited to see us. For the most part we cruised around doing all kinds of stuff. But one day we decided to go work with the guys on the cable crew, which was the day we never forgot.

     So we went out to the building to pick up my dad‘s extra work truck. Then we started our way out to the work site which was up towards Keystone. But on the way we got a call from Larry who said, “Hey fellow’s, can you run by this lady’s house and fix her telephone and maybe run a new telephone line?”

Austin quickly replied, “Yeah we can do that.” So after Larry warned us her driveway was a little messy we were on our way. We stopped by the office to get more telephone wire so we could string in a new line. We pulled up to her driveway and we could already see that this would be nasty. So I was said “Umm, this is going to be tricky” and with a big gulp Austin said, “We can make it. Just punch it and don’t let off the gas.”So we were going along and doing well and we felt comfortable and then Austin let off the gas and we started sinking and the wheels started spinning.

“Oh snap” I said. So we got out and shoved some gravel under the tires, which didn’t work. Then I am like “Wait I have an idea.” So we grabbed some boards that are in the back of the truck and put them under the tires. Austin hopped in and punched it and slowly came out and down the driveway he went on towards the house. Well, I was all muddy and left to get the boards. So I grabbed the boards, walked down the driveway and Austin was standing there laughing at me.

     What we learned that day was do not slow down when going down a wet, sloppy, muddy drive way. Also, do not stand behind the trick when trying to get it out of the mud.

My 16th Birthday

            Well I had no idea what to write about. We get to write about anything; well, almost anything we want. So why not write about my 16^th birthday?

So far it has been great last night we had a burn service at Epik, which is worship the whole time, which was like the best one ever. Then I couldn’t sleep because, wel,l I was turning 16, which means you get your license.

So my mom and I left for the driving test to get my licenses, which was at 8 o’clock. And just my luck I got the mean guy, but I ended up passing. I also got a twin coat, which is awesome. My Nana gave me some clothes and money and my grandma gave me iTunes gift cards and 30 on 30 videos and candy.

Also for my birthday we got bacon cheeseburger pizza from Jake’s, which I love. Then my dad went to get me an ice cream cake from DQ. My parents gave me a card and some money and an iPhone 4. So it ended up taking me forever to load all my music, movie, contacts, and other stuff on there.

So, all in all, it was a great birthday. I had a great day and it keeps coming because tonight I get to go to “Fast Five” with some of my friends from Willmar. But also tonight I get to see Macy and Ryan go threw Grand March.

So that’s what happened on my 16th birthday. I didn’t do anything awesome or have this big huge sweet 16 party. But it was a fun birthday anyway.

Ice Hockey vs. Field Hockey

     I have looked into the differences between hockey and field hockey. This essay will help you better understand the differences and also similarities between hockey and field hockey.

     There are only a couple of similarities between field hockey and hockey. They are both Olympic sports. I didn’t think field hockey is since you never seen it on TV, but it is. They both have goalkeepers who both have lots of padding, a mask and hand protectors. They both have net for goals.

But, there are lots of differences between the two. Field hockey was first played in the 19^th centaury where hockey was first organized March 3, 1875. In field hockey there is barely any contact but in hockey there is fighting, checking, and pretty much decking people. What they play on is different too. Field hockey plays on turf where hockey plays on ice. Field hockey has 16 players playing 11 at a time where hockey has 20 playing 6 at a time.

Field hockey can raise the stick up high and juggle the ball where hockey if you bring your stick to high they will count it as high sticking and you get sent to the “sin bin” (penalty box) for 2 minutes. In field hockey they just have mudguards and shinguards, where hockey has helmets, chest pads, shorts that are all padded, pads around the shins, and pad on your hands. The last thing is you can’t choose when there is a timeout on the field so you keep going and going where in hockey there are timeouts all the time.

     So I showed you some similarities and lots of differences between hockey and field hockey. I like hockey better cause there is more contact, but everyone has his or her own opinion between the two.

No New Vikings Stadium

     For a quite a while now the Minnesota Vikings have been pushing to get a new stadium. But time after time they have gotten knocked down. I agree that the Viking shouldn’t have a new stadium.

     I know how impressive it would look with a all new pro sports facility in Minnesota. With the new Twins stadium and a newer Excel Center and possibly renovations coming to Target Center. But the Viking want a brand new stadium that will cost $750-$954 million dollars. Sure with a retractable roof and a glass exterior it will look so nice and we can brag about what we have would be exciting.

      But upward of $954 million exactly where will this come from. One way they are talking about is passing a half-cent tax that could generate $300 million toward a new Vikings stadium. The other way they propose is the Vikings organization will raise a third which they would cover about $315 million of the $954 million leaving the rest up to Ramsey County and possibly the state. They said about 75% of Minnesotans don’t support using taxpayer money for a new Vikings Stadium. When our state deficit is $5 billion, we can’t afford such an expensive stadium. The other option is renovating the Metrodome that will cost about $250 million, which is about 26% of what the new stadium will cost. I looked at some of the drawing of the renovation and I think it looks very nice. I also looked up what the Cowboys stadium was suppose to cost and they projected it to cost $932 million dollars, but the stadium actually ended up costing $1.3 billion after all the constructions delays and the extra construction fees. What if that happens to us and our stadium ends up costing in the upwards of billions of dollars

     So sure, the stadium will make the addition to the good looking pro sports facilities we have already. But with a $5 billion dollar deficit we can’t afford a $954 million dollar stadium. So from what I have read it’s just putting too much pressure on taxpayers. So I say just renovate the Metrodome instead of a brand new ones.

The Outsiders

           The Outsiders is written by S.E. Hinton and is based on a gang in Tulsa, Oklahoma as a fiction story. The book is published by Viking Press, Dell Publishing on April 24, 1967 and comes in hardcover, paperback and audiobook. The book is followed up by That Was Then, This Is Now, which the main character of this book shows up in a couple times.

            The plot of this book is based on two gangs. The Greasers and the Socs. The Socs go around looking for Greasers and when they do find them they jump out and mug them. Then they hop back in the blue mustangs and leave. Throughout the story they progress it more and more and by keeping the pace the same, build the setting to make it exciting, progress the plot and progressing the character and add more and more difficulties and aspects to the characters. The Socs are the rich people in Tulsa and the Greasers are the poor people.

            The setting of this book is based in 1965 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The story starts off with the main character Ponyboy walking out of the theater downtown. After he comes out he walks down the street to his house. On the way four Socs jumped out and beat him, but his brothers Soda, and Darry Curtis and his Greaser friends Dally, Two-Bit, and Steve came to help and scared away the Socs. Also down the street is Johnny’s house, which is Ponyboy’s best friend and he is part of the Greaser gang. But he is never at his own house he is always at Ponyboy’s house cause his dad abuses him.

            Throughout the story they add more settings to bring the stories along.  They add a park around the corner where they hang out late at night and play tackle football; the fountain where Johnny, which is Ponyboy’s best friend, kills a Soc because they are drowning Ponyboy in the fountain; the gas station where pony boy’s brother Soda works and how all the girls always come around the gas station because they think Soda is so handsome. They also show Ponyboy and Johnny going to the drive-in-theater and meeting some Socs girls and the girls starting to like them and that’s when the socs boy get mad and try to drown Ponyboy. They tell how the Socs live in the rich nice part of the town and how the Greasers’ life in the crappy run down and ragged part of town.

            If I had to rate this book it would get an 8 out of 10. I like how they show his struggles after Johnny dies and Dally is in the jail. His grades start dropping and he starts not caring about school and just starts hating school where in the beginning he loved school. I don’t like how in the end the pace slows down and how they make it boring with Ponyboy practically not caring about life and not even doing anything anymore and the whole plot gets boring and kind of dumb.   I like the plot of this book and how the setting ties perfectly with it. I like the pace of the story until it gets to the end then it slows down and it loses interest. I like how the characters develop throughout the story and I would suggest this book to anyone who likes action. It was a good book.

Brooklyn Gang

         It was 1942 in south Brooklyn. This was the side of town that was neglected and looked rundown. All the apartments were tattered and messy, the liquor store had cage type bars around the windows because it had been broken into so many times and same with the convenience store across the street. There was a beat up and neglected school and next to it a ragged ugly looking basketball court with chains for a net and a fence all around. Now some would say that this is no place to raise a kid, but that didn’t stop my dad. We would be what you called a messed up family; my dad, the “boss man” because no one could know his real name, was pretty much in charge of all the gangs in Brooklyn, My mom left when I was eight and my sister Mercedes was five, and, well, I am Joe the crazy kid who everybody loves. I have grown up like any other kid in Brooklyn. I go to school everyday, get a coke from the convenience store, and go play basketball for hours. But unlike most kids I live in a nice apartment, I have a driver to drive me around and protect me. I get anything I need and I never get to see my dad except on rare occasions.

            Then one day everything changed my driver came rushing in and told my sister and I we must pack our things and go. Our first reaction is what’s wrong?  And what’s happening? But nevertheless we packed our things and left Brooklyn heading out of the state. Then after driving forever, we rolled into an old town and the driver said “Welcome to Hillbilly country” In a sarcastic voice.

We stepped out of the car and there stood dad arms wide open. If you knew my dad at all you would know he wouldn’t be caught dead hugging his fifteen and twelve year-old kids. He then took us inside and told us all about how this gang is attacking and we need to get out and four or five days we will be back home.

            After a week at this abandon mansion we packed up our stuff and went on home. When we got closer to home it seemed a bit different like something really wrong happened. Then as we passed by the convenience store and the liquor store all the windows were busted in and it was pretty much cleared out. When we got home my dad looked at us and said, “You can’t go to school you need to stay home with me for a while so I can protect you.”

So four months passed which felt like forever and summer was finally here and that mean we got to go to our summer home in California. I met new friend and caught up with old friends. But then summer came fast and we were right back at school again and then before I knew it, it was time for me to pick a college. I decided to go to Oregon State to get a degree in business.

            The day I graduated I remember my dad coming to me and he was so proud but he said one thing that I will always remember, “Don’t follow in your dads foot steps cause nothing good will ever happen.” So I searched and I found a job as a manager in a small store called Nike. Well now I am 80 my dad has passed away when I was 56 and I am a owner of a big sports clothing line called Nike and I have 4 kids and am happily married to the same girl since I was 24.

The Wonders of Childhood

Child hood is wrestling on the floor with dad.

Childhood is waking up early Saturday just to watch cartoons.

Childhood is going to Grandpa and Grandma's and getting spoiled with sweets and toys.

Childhood is throwing mud at your brother but not getting in trouble cause you didn't know any better.

Childhood is long bike rides on beautiful days with dad.

Childhood is enjoying it all and never ever wanting to grow up.

Land of Maroon and Gold

 The very long car ride to East Minneapolis.

Where their blood runs deep with Maroon and Gold.

The roars of fans getting louder and louder as you get closer.

Entering in that gigantic old stadium.

Sitting in your seat waiting in anticipation for the game to start.

The crowd roars and the players come on the court.

Then you realize this is the home of Gophers Basketball.