The Old Man and the Bench

In 1931, American people were suffering from the Great Depression. Thousands were laid off, and everyone was struggling to get by. My father was a butcher. He owned his own shop, but he had to let most of his employees go due to the Depression. I worked for free as his apprentice. Every night, at around 6:30, my friend Drew would come get me, and we would play baseball or football or something until the sun went down. Drew was much taller than me, red hair, and freckled. His father worked and owned a bakery around the block from the butcher shop. We had very similar days. He would sweep up and help clean the bakery and be a cashier, and I did the same. We were best friends.

One evening, we were running through the park deciding what we wanted to be when we grew up and we stumbled across a man. He was an old man, with a suit and hat on. He was stiff, but leaned towards us as if he had something to say. He asked us to sit down on the park bench with him. Although anxious, we sat beside him, waiting for what he had to say.

"Lately, I have been come to this bench each night to think. Every night I see you two running past, laughing and enjoying life. Why do you do that?"

"Mister... What do you mean?" I asked him, confused by his question.

"I have worked every day of my life since I was thirteen years old trying to make an honest living, and after working twenty five years for the same company, I was laid off. My wife can't even look at me. My children, a little older than you two, will go off into the world with nothing to show for. I have failed my family. And there is nothing I can do to help them." A tear, small and hidden between the aging in his face, began to slowly drip down the old man's face.

"Mister, everything will be okay. I am sure of it." Drew sounded so sure of himself. I have listened to my father's conversations with my mother and how we had to cut back at home, and how the shop was starting to feel the effects of the Depression. Why did Drew sound so positive?

"Son, you have a lot to learn." the man turned away, and began to weep.

"Mister, just hold on. Everything will work out for the better. Go home and enjoy life with your wife. Think about when you were our age. Things will turn around." Once more I didn't understand why Drew was so sure of himself. Why was he saying all of these things to a stranger?

The man stood up, straightened his coat, and adjusted his hat. He pulled out his handkerchief and wiped his eyes and then returned the handkerchief to its resting place. He looked down on us and gave a subtle nod. He walked away, much faster than I would have thought, down to the end of the park, and then ran to his house. Drew and I watched him until he disappeared down the city streets.

The sun was going down, which meant we both had to get going. We said our evening goodbyes and ran our separate ways. The whole run home I thought about what had happened. I never saw that man again, and Drew and I never spoke of it again. It was just an old man on a bench in the park, nothing more it seemed.

Drew Harris was and always will be My Hero.

-B

Fight for Your Right

http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/the-fighter-20101209

I love this writer. He is wrong though.

Peter Travers has been all over the ins and outs of movies in the last decade, and he is (most of the time) spot on. His analysis of The Fighter is just the same. Markie Mark Wahlberg, after training for four years and working hard to get the movie production off the ground, is a stunning “Irish” Micky Ward (not Micky with an ‘e’). And then there’s the Funk Bunch…

Wahlberg is surrounded by actors and actresses with breathtaking performances. Amy Adams. Christian Bale. Melissa Leo. Directed by David O. Russell. After seeing the movie, I instantly envisioned Christian Bale receiving the nomination for an Oscar for best supporting actor, and then winning the Oscar. He was that good. Remember how huge and ripped Bale was in the Batman movies? Well he lost over 30 pounds to play the role of Micky Ward’s crack head half brother, Dickie Eklund. And Bale, being British, mastered the Lowell, Massachusetts semi-Boston accent. No problem. Travers uses the same word I would have… “Phenomenal.”

But Travers, like I said, is wrong about something. Please do not read further if you have not seen the film, because I am about to reveal a very small part of the movie, so don’t read the rest if you haven’t seen the movie…

In the film, Bale’s character is shown being filmed by HBO in what he says is about his comeback as a fighter. Now in my opinion, Eklund knew the whole time that the movie from HBO was an expose on crack addiction, but Travers seems to think that Eklund really thought it was on his comeback and then was “devastated” to see it was on crack addiction. I believe that Travers is dead wrong.

Why would Eklund talk about crack on camera and smoke crack on camera if he thought the piece was on him and boxing? When his girlfriend asked the cameramen what the piece was on, Eklund buried his head in his hands as the cameramen told her it was an expose on crack addiction. Travers. You’re wrong.

When reading his article, this bothered me.

I loved this movie. I recommend it to everyone.

I hope my hero doesn’t read the whole article if he hasn’t seen it……

Drew Harris is My Hero.

-B

I like the Seahawks alright...

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2011/01/02/sports/sports-us-nfl-seattle.html?_r=1&hp



Sunday night is usually filled with students struggling to finish their homework for the next day, parents dreading going back to work, and football fans going wild for their favorite teams. Tonight was no different, except I did no homework whatsoever. Sunday Night Football on NBC tonight showed the matchup of the Seattle Seahawks and the St. Louis Rams to determine who would fill the last playoff spot. Both teams were 7-8 going into the game and it was played in Seattle.

Last week, Seattle’s starting quarterback, Matt Hasselback, suffered from a hip injury, putting him out of the game tonight. He was actually cleared to play just before the game, but Seattle wanted to start Charlie Whitehurst, and only bring in Hasselback if it were necessary. This would be an interesting decision by Seattle but it ended up working out for them.

In the first drive of the game, Whitehurst threw a beautiful four yard pass to receiver Williams to take an early lead. This would be the only touchdown scored in the game. The rest of it was up to field goals. Two scored by the Rams and three by the Seahawks.

The Seahawk defense shutdown the Rams’ rookie quarterback Sam Bradford, who says he has only bought a new ping pong table with his money from the Rams. As a rookie, he has been a star for the Rams. He never missed a play for the Rams throughout the entire season and broke Peyton Manning’s rookie completion record as a quarterback. Unfortunately, tonight was not his night to shine.

I watched this hard fought game with my 23 year old brother, Dan. We actually watched every football game this weekend together, barely getting out of our chairs for two straight days. This is why I am writing now.

I had a wonderful break, but I did not see one special person who was on my list these past two weeks: Drew Harris. I almost gave him a call the other day (New Year’s Eve), but I was told he was watching a movie with Abby, so I didn’t bother. Even though I haven’t seen him in a while, he is still my hero and we will be running tomorrow after school together.

Drew Harris is my Hero.

-B

Nick Hornby is a Genious, duh

http://www.nicksbooks.com/index.php/archives/category/news/

Modern literature can be summed up by one author. His writing has been made into five different movies, given him American Academy of Arts and Letters’ E. M. Forster Award as well as the Orange Word International Writers’ London Award in 2003, has been made into music with the help of singer/songwriter/composer Ben Folds, and he is only 53 years old. His name is Nick Hornby. Maybe you've heard of him.

This is the kind of information you will get from The Official Site of Nick Hornby. The official site has a bias towards Nick Hornby. On this site, you will find all of his works, available to read uplifting comments on and be able purchase with a credit card and a moment of your time. Everything points to Hornby.

On the black bar on the top of the site, you can click on his biographical page, or his books, movies, or the section specific to teachers. This page shows all of the colleges and universities that have adapted some of Hornby's work into their curriculum.

The space next to that is the Charity section. This page has a quote from Hornby about the Treehouse Trust, an organization in the UK that has an education program for children with autism. It has the organizations purpose and how it helps society.

Although Hornby seems to be a great guy, this picture is being painted by his own official website. This gives the website a bias in favor of Nick Hornby.

But in his defense, after looking into the information and browsing other sites, Hornby does appear to be the very same kind of guy that his own website portrays him as. So although there is a bias, it is negligible because it is all true.

The only thing that proves a bias is that none of the comments on his work from journalists or fans are negative. But in all honesty, who can say anything negative about this man's writing? It is incredible.

Multiple movies, a Broadway play, prestigious awards, a column in an art and literature magazine, several best selling books, and he is still young. You go Nick Hornby!

Merry Christmas Everyone, especially my friend and hero, Drew Harris.

Drew Harris is my hero.

-B

True Grit, the Best Western

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/12/movies/12grit.html


True Grit was a country western novel written in 1968, and was made into an old time western movie in 1969 starring John Wayne. Now, 41 years later, the Coen Brothers are at it again in directing another fantastic film. The new True Grit is starring Academy Award winner Jeff Bridges, Josh Brolin, Matt Damon, and a upcoming acress Hailee Steinfeld as the 13-year-old Mattie Ross out to kill the man that killed her father. The film is due to come out before Christmas this holiday season.

The Coen brothers in this article are interviewed on the main points of the film, why did they wish to do this film, and the process by which they choose a young actress for the role of Mattie Ross. They have a lot to say, most of which is that they are not remaking the original movie, but creating an adaptation from the book. They have each read the book, as well as most of the cast, and they feel it speaks to them and is a very powerful novel.

This film is rated PG-13 and the Coen's plan on it bringing in quite the christmas crowd. Since the PG-13 rating, they can show what the young girl had to go through, by still keeping it clean enough for all members of the family.

In all honesty, I am a bit disappointed by the rating. I enjoy new western action dramas just as much as anyone else, such as the Coen's No Country for Old Men, and others such as There Will Be Blood and 3:10 to Yuma, but all of those greats capture their intensity with many aspects that a PG-13 movie can't.

I am still excited about the movie and will see it, but I do wish it were a rated R film.

Most everyone enjoys seeing movies. From my experiences, everyone does, especially Drew Harris. He does not see as many as he should, but I am sure that he will get to this one. It is the tale of a survivor, and Drew is defiantly a survivor.

Drew Harris is my Hero.

-B

Don't drive in the fog

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2010/dec/05/echoes-from-the-fog/

In 1990, Tennessee was hit with a devastating day. In an unexpected fog on highway I-75, two semi trucks collided, and in the midst of the fog, started a 99 car pileup. This pileup is still the largest car accident in Tennessee history. The article presents the events in a terrifying way, almost as if you were in a movie. The author shares interviews with people that survived the crash and police officers that responded to the hundreds of calls dialing 911 and gasping for the breath to say ‘help.’

I read this article this morning when I was in Chattanooga. I was visiting my Grandma for her 85^th birthday with my family, and my dad’s extended family. I discussed the article with my grandmother and she remembered it like it was yesterday. She was not in the crash and lives south of the crash site, but she was connected to it in some way, and so was I, although I did not know at the time…

In 1990, on December 5^th, my mother and father were living in Knoxville, Tennessee. My dad was working almost all hours of the day and my two older brothers were two and three years old. I was not even born yet. My mom was planning ahead on Christmas and wanted to travel down to Chattanooga on my grandma’s birthday and they were going to go shopping in a famous mall in Chattanooga. To get there, my mom was going to drive down I-75. With no knowledge of the fog, my mother was going to drive down early in the morning.

Then on the early morning of December 5^th, my mom called my dad at work before she left the house. He told her something that she had forgotten to do, and had to change her plans on the day. She called up her mother-in-law and apologetically said that she could come down and they would have to shop another time. About an hour later, the crash began.

It was figured that my mom would have been in the crash or just missed the crash if she had made the trip down to Chattanooga that day. My grandma said this morning “I don’t know what kept her that day,”   but then she said “It was God.”

Anything can happen on any given day that can affect us for the rest of our lives it seems. Anything can happen, good or bad. Car accidents happen every day, even though ‘it would never happen to me.’ Teens especially.

I mean even your hero can be in a car accident…

Drew Harris is my Hero.

-B