Sunday, December 23, 2007

Week 5 Post B

“I’m afraid if I accuse somebody, that the accusation will backfire. Lawyers could make it look like my fault, the guys could get off and-” Sophie then proceeds to say, “If I accuse somebody, they’ll say that I wasn’t wearing any clothes, they say it was my fault. And I’d had some beer, so that too.” Her words came in huge sobs (p. 184). Sophie expresses her feelings to her mother right before she is about to board her plane. Sophie had decided to fly back to Montana and stay with her friend Grace for the summer. At first her mother, Rita, didn’t want her to go. But then Rita went to speak with Dr. Brooks, Sophie’s therapist. He felt Sophie going away might clear her head. Dr. Brooks thought that maybe by chance Sophie will be able to remember the perpetrators who bestowed horrible physical and mental pain onto her. After speaking with Dr. Brooks, Rita understood that getting away was the best thing for Sophie. She also understood why Sophie liked this man so much, because even when things seemed so bad, he made it seem like everything will be okay. But as Sophie and Rita sat there, Rita knew she had to do something to make Sophie know everything would be okay and that she needed to tell her who the people were that raped her as soon as she could remember. Rita needed to comfort Sophie and help her daughter get their lives back in order. Sophie finally left for Montana, leaving the pain, darkness, lies, and fear behind.

Week 5 Post A

Vocab:
1) Rancor (p. 196) n. Bitter, long-lasting resentment; deep-seated ill will
2) Illicit (p. 211) adj. Not sanctioned by custom or law; unlawful

Quote:
“I remember some of it,” Sophie said. “But not a face. I remember things like somebody’s hair, and a smell, and a watch ticking. I remember a watch next to my ear.” She began to cry again (p. 185).

This quote is very significant to the book because Sophie finally started to open up to her mother and tell her what she could remember. Even though it wasn’t much, it gave them both hope.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Week 4 Post B

Reflective thoughts of week 4 reading:

This part in the book is important for many reasons. Number one, Crow is found not guilty by the jury and now people know it was not him. Yet still lingering in everyone’s minds, including mine, is who committed this unbelievably horrific crime? Was it one of there very own? Was it there son whom committed this crime they despise? Was it there neighbor; the kid down the street? If not Crow, who? It is mind boggling when you think about it, because for the people that live in this down, the very ones they love could have committed this very crime that everyone wants to solve. But besides this case there are other mischief’s happening. Bobby has a gun now and is telling everyone it is to work on his aim to impress his father he did not even know was still alive. Bobby is going through a lot right now; receiving the letter from his father, finding out that his mother knew all along and just never told him, the controversial thoughts over Sophie and the fact that Crow is his best friend. So that gets me thinking; what is Bobby aiming at? There are a few options I feel he is considering. First, kill himself to kill the pain and confusion he is dealing with. Second, kill Crow for stealing his girl. Third, kill Sophie to save his hide. Fourth thought, kill everyone. I think Bobby is deeply depressed and just confused about a lot and needs some help. I feel Crow is the one to help Bobby find his way back onto the right path.

Week 4 Post A

Vocab:

1) Incoherent (pg. 149) adj. 1. Lacking cohesion, connection, or harmony; not coherent
2. Unable to think or express one's thoughts in a clear or orderly manner
2) Acquitted (pg. 168) adj. declared not guilty of a specific offense or crime; legally blameless


Quote:

“When the jury acquitted Crow…” (pg. 168).

This quote is extremely significant, because it tells us that Crow is found not guilty of the crime committed against Sophie and now can try to help Sophie figure out who is the true culprit.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Week 3 Post B

In these chapters I start to figure out who I think possibly committed the crime and raped Sophie. First it gives us information on Sophie’s life and how she moved from Montana to Tennessee. Her father died back in Montana and she was worried that if she moved she would leave behind the memories of her father. Sophie’s father, Ben, was a forest ranger in Glacier Park. (Ironic how he worked in the forest and Sophie was raped in a forest.) She begged her mother, Rita, not to move and asked her if she no longer loved Montana. Her mother told her that if she didn’t like Montana then they wouldn’t stay there. When they arrived they were greeted by their new neighbor, the town judge, Aurelia Bailey. She invited them to have dinner that night and when they arrived at the Bailey’s house they were greeted at the door by Bobby. Bobby took extreme interest in Sophie right away. Bobby showed up at Sophie’s house everyday the following week asking her to join him to go anywhere and do anything. She finally said yes when he asked her to join him at his band rehearsal at the end of the week. That evening he asked her to go with him down by the river. When they were down there he expressed to Sophie his feelings for her and tried to kiss her. Sophie felt flattered, scared and uncomfortable around him. She told him no and asked to leave. Then you have Lester. Lester first saw Sophie at school. He figured out her class schedule and watched for her in the halls. He finally got up enough courage to ask her to the dance. When Sophie said yes all he could think about is what he was going to do with her that night and how much he fantasized about touching Sophie. When that night rolled around, Sophie was dancing with neither Lester nor Bobby; Sophie was dancing with Crow and couldn’t stop talking about him after. That is where the jealousy of both friends of Crow’s came about. Crow came between the girl both his best friends like and this is where the entire story seems to start to unravel.

Week 3 Post A

vocab:

1. Azimuth (pg. 96) noun- The horizontal angular distance from a reference direction, usually the northern point of the horizon, to the point where a vertical circle through a celestial body intersects the horizon, usually measured clockwise. Sometimes the southern point is used as the reference direction, and the measurement is made clockwise through 360°

2. Appallingly (pg. 130) adverb- 1. To an appalling extent 2. Used as intensifiers 3. In a terrible manner

quote:

"I think about you all the time...Let me kiss you one time," (pg. 121). Bobby said this to Sophie.

This quote is significant because it shows the feelings that Bobby has towards Sophie and makes the reads think that possibly he could be the one who committed the crime.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Debates

Political Debate: These debates occur on TV. The purpose is to get their ideas out, gain more followers and to get more votes to win an election. It helps arrive at a better decision, because we then can decide who we agree or disagree and who we feel will do their job to its full potential. The debate is structured, which allows the candidates to get the same amount of time making it unbiased or it is set up in a way that makes it an equal chance for the candidates.

School Debate: These obviously occur in school. The purpose of these is to allow people to get out their opinions and to make an impact on others. It allows both sides to be productive, yet it can be either structured or unstructured. When it is structured everyone gets a say in and if it’s unstructured the teacher or one student would probably take over the debate.

Family Debates: These may occur anywhere, but most likely at home. There are many purposes for these debates, such as: what will happen on a vacation, what will we spend any extra money on, how to give each person an equal amount of time with the car, how much free time can you have before doing homework, and so on. This helps arrive a better decision for the family as a whole, and what will make life a bit less stressful. These debates are sometimes structured and sometimes unstructured. When it’s structured it makes the decision making process extremely nice, but when it’s unstructured it may just be our mom taking over in the end.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Week 2 Post B

Sophie Chabot woke from what we would all hope would only be a nightmare. In only her underwear, she lay in the woods hearing voices of her rescuers. The male and female officers reinsure her to not worry and that everything is alright now. They were going to bring her to the emergency room, but later she found out she began to scream at the voices of the officers. She could not recall any of her screams. As that dreadful night flashed through her memory she remembered Crow saying he was going to the car to get the condoms and that it would only take a minute. As she was laying in the woods that night, she heard the rustling in the leaves and then heard voices coming from the party at the house. She started to yell out Crow’s name, in hopes that it was him returning to her. Sadly, she saw a group of shadows and whispers from their mouths. Suddenly, a figure jumped on top of her and covered her face with her shirt. The others grabbed her arms and held her down. The body jumped off of her and another jumped on. She could no longer feel anything, nor hear her own muffled cries. Louise, the nurse, put two fingers on Sophie’s wrist in the hospital room. He said, “If she’s trembling, she’s back in this world” (pg. 48). I know it’s a good sign she’s trembling, because that means she’s at least still with us. But I can’t help but think; maybe she’s trembling for another reason.

Week 2 Post A

vocab:

1. Haze (pg. 44)-noun: 1. daze, fog, confusion characterized by lack of clarity

2. Gingerly (pg. 49)-adjective: 1. with extreme care or delicacy; "they proceeded with gingerly footwork over the jagged stones"; "the issue was handled only in a gingerly way"- W.S.White

quote:

"Then she saw them, or the shadow of them." (pg. 46)

This quote is significant because it lets the readers know that Sophie knows Crow didn't harm her. Sophie doesn't know exactly who committed the crime or everything that happened, but she knows there's more than one person guilty of this horrific crime.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Week 1 Post B

My quote I used in Post A was, “Don’t you hear something?” (pg. 3). This is most likely the most significant quote from the entire book. Sophie had said this repeatedly to Crow as they ventured into the woods, near the party they had attended. As they pushed the limbs of the trees to the side so that they wouldn’t be hit in the face, Sophie had an eerie that there was something else out there besides them. Yet Crow reinsured her there was nothing there, and she was probably just hearing the waves hit the shore of the river. They quickly rushed into “touchy feely” time and Crow forgot a condom so he had to leave Sophie for a few minutes and run to the car to retrieve one. When he reached the car a truck of girls drove up and Crow had to hide and wait longer than he had expected he would have to. When he ran back into the woods Sophie wasn’t where he’d left her; he saw her stumbling away and called her name with no response when suddenly she dropped to the ground. Crow ran to her and saw she was bruised and cut up badly, when he then heard the cops running into the woods. Crow knew he would be accused of doing this to her, even though he’s her boyfriend, so he ran away leaving his wallet behind. Sophie was put into the hospital and refused to say anything about what happened, leaving Crow helpless. Unfortunately, Crow also felt he had to lie to his father, which won’t help him seeing he is going to trail. Even though he is best friends with the town judge’s son, that makes no difference; he is the only lead to the case. I think that all the secrets will unravel during this conflicting case; Carl is not Crow’s real father, his mother cheated on Crow’s “father” with a college professor, secrets among the city, and Crow’s true strength to get through no one believing him and to reveal the true rapist.

Week 1 Post A

Quote:

“Don’t you hear something?” (pg. 3). This is what Sophie had asked Crow as they walked further and further into the woods. It's extremely significant, because unknowingly there really was someone following them and that's the person i suspect raped Sophie when Crow left to run to his car.

Vocab:

1) Wanes (In a quote right before page one)-verb 1. Grow smaller 2. Become smaller
3. Decrease in phase

2) Subaqueous (pg. 9)-adj. 1. Growing or remaining under water

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

The Slow Moon

*The Slow Moon by Elizabeth Cox
*2006
*Fiction
*307
*The book is meant for young adults & is sufficiently challenging for our level of reading.
*A friend told me about the book and I read the back of the book to find what it was about and really took interest in it.

Friday, October 26, 2007

The Sea Inside

Post one:
My general reaction and response to this film is heartache. It make’s me sad to think someone has to endure something like Ramon has to. I think his request for assisted suicide is pretty complicated, because it puts whomever he asks in an awkward position. He is asking them to do it out of love for him, but they love him so much that they want to keep him living; yet on the other hand, they don’t want to see their loved one suffer. I feel the court’s response to him was reasonable, because any way you look at it, its suicide. And what kind of message would the court send out if they allowed that kind of suicide to happen, but others were sins? I feel his final actions were showing a man at whit’s end. I have many mixed emotions on this subject, because it is suicide and in God’s eyes suicide is a sin. But I know, if put in that situation, I would have most likely done the same. That was not life. But then there’s my feeling that God chose when he wanted you to be put into life, and He has the choice of when to end your life. So I am still very uncertain on how I feel about this matter. For his friends that helped him, they did it out of love, that’s all I can say in defense for them. But in a way they helped suicide; almost murder. So it’s just another fact of religion for me. But I don’t feel any of them should have gone to jail. They already lost a loved one; I think that’s enough punishment.

Post two:
The Sea Inside and the Diving Bell and the Butterfly I feel aren’t very similar at all. Yes, they can’t move and are both quadriplegic, but Bauby can’t speak and Ramon can. The only other similarities I find are that they both wrote books and their stories are both sad. Otherwise I find that Bauby, although talking about regrets and how people treat him differently at times, is an optimistic person who doesn’t want to kill himself; as far as we know. Ramon always seemed to bring up the sad and depressing things like how he was sitting so close to Julia, but could not reach out and touch her. He always would speak of dying and how he thought there was no Heaven, which made me pretty sad seeing I like to have things I can believe in. So in reality, yes they are both in the same position, but the way they feel about it is different and the stories are very different as well. The Sea Inside was more powerful for me personally. I am one that needs to “see it to believe it.” So watching the video had a greater impact on me. Also the fact he could speak and tell you how he felt made it more dramatic when he would talk to Julia especially.


Post three:
The scene that effected me the most was the extreme close ups of the pictures of Ramon’s life when Julia was looking through them. They showed the pictures quickly and almost got a feeling of, life passes by fast. I think the director was going for that effect on people to get it in their heads that life is short and soon all you have left are those pictures. The scene and extreme close up made the message of the movie so much stronger for me.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Final Sickened Blog!

Summary:
In the last part of Sickened I wanted to jump for joy because she finally started to get her life back in order! She is now able to go about her life in baby-steps at a time to make up her lost childhood. She has now moved out of her house of mirrors and is moving the Los Angeles, California. She feels moving there in a sea of people she won’t stand out. She’ll be able to start her life over and no one will care if she dies on the sidewalk. She will just be happy to not have people watching all the time. She also tries talking to her mom and her dad again. Her dad doesn’t admit to anything even after crying because he was being confronted by Julie about the abuse. Then she saw her mother again and her brother Danny. Julie is over thirty now and has finally decided to call Children’s Services, because she knows her mother will never stop her abusive behaviors. But Julie has moved on and is now leading the life she deserves.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Sickened: Part Five

Summary:
In part 5 of my memoir Julie finally tells a counselor about the abuse she endures from her parents. A lady from child services goes to the house and takes the foster children away from her parents and tells Julie that if she needs help to call her. Julie was happy she saved the foster kids from her parents and was happy they made it so that her parents could no long have foster children. But when Julie’s mom found out it was her who made that happen she told Julie that her father was going to kill her. Julie had no other option then to finally take a car and run away, seeing she was sixteen. The lady from children services put her in a foster home and told her they would take her parents to court. But when it came time for trail, Julie’s dad had convinced her that she was in the wrong and the courts had no testimony from Julie so they sent her back to live with her parents and Danny, her brother. When she went home the family was different. No more doctors’ appointments, no more fighting, no more abuse. Her parents even trusted her to go stay at her friend Carmen’s house. But the next morning when she got home her house was burned to the ground. She quickly found her mother and asked where her beloved dog P.J. was. Her mom told her the dog was trapped in the house and died in the fire. In part 5 the years fly by quickly. Julie moves out and is 21 now. She now wants to go back to school and in her summer class they start to talk about different types of abuse. One day her professor starts talking about this common type of abuse that is normally a mother conflicting it on her daughter. As she listens to the things that may occur during this type of abuse, her life flashes before her eyes. “This form of child abuse is called Munchausen by proxy, or MBP.” Julie finally realized, her mother was doing this through her entire childhood.

Reaction:
My reaction to part five of Sickened is just that, sickened. I don’t know how someone can look at their daughter and say that they are not the one in wrong, but in fact the victim is the one who is the wrong. It hurts me to know that Julie finally had the courage to runway, be free, and safe for once in her life; then be manipulated back into believe she is the one with problems. It’s just wrong! Then my reaction to the house burning down and P.J., Julie’s dog, dying in the fire is what kind of sick person would do that? I love my dogs and I know how Julie must have felt. When my first dogs died it felt like a family member of mine died. So for Julie, knowing her dog burned to death must have been extremely hard! P.J. was like her best friend and taken away from her by her father who apparently doesn’t have a heart. Then the fact that she finally moved out and decided to go back to school made me extremely happy for her. The day she found out about MBP made me ecstatic! I was smiling from ear to ear when I reached that part. But I’m still hurt that it took her 24 long years to finally here about MBP.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Sickened Quote

Post #1: "I can't smile without you, can't laugh without you. If you only knew what I'm going through..." This was a quotes said by Julie Gregory on page 27. This quote sums up the book in so many ways. It makes me think about the book on a different level. It makes me think of the irony in this book, how she cares so much for her mother when her mom is the one who's making her worse. This is my favorite quote in the book, because it tells you she knows something’s not right, but she still lets it happen, because she cares so much for her mother.

Post #2: In part 4 the same bad things are happening to Julie. Her mom is still crazy and might be getting crazier. Julie is getting sicker and the doctors are getting further and further away from figuring out what's wrong with this child. Julie's dad is getting more physically abusive with the children. The section in part 4 that gets me the most is the section of pictures talking about her mom, her life as a child living in the trailer with her brother, crazy dad, and crazier mom. She talks about her 4-H horse, Skipster's Barr. Julie's mom would make her pose as a model and carry pictures of her around in her purse to show a "nice older man" who wanted to have a look at her. The last photo graph of Julie and her mom was on Mother's Day in Ohio. But two months later she learned of MBP and started to rebuild her life. For her last picture she states, “I am a real woman now. I have lived a lot of life. I know what it feels like to be cut, caged, or taken, and I know what it feels like to escape." I think that might be another quote of hers that sums up her life.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Monday, October 8, 2007

THE DiViNG BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY

This memoir made me upset, laugh, sad, grateful, confused and made me realize more in life. I am upset, not only at this memoir, but at the fact people actually have to endure “locked-in syndrome.” I feel it’s unfair for anyway to be locked inside their body, unable to move or take care of yourself, while your mind runs free. Jean-Dominique Bauby described it in the book as your body is the diving bell in which you’re trapped and your mind is the butterfly that flies unimaginable places. This memoir also made me laugh. I love the fact that he could be bitter and complain about how unfair his situation is, but instead he’s extremely sarcastic at points that make you giggle and hope to have that kind of attitude towards negatives in your own life. Parts of this memoir make me sad. For instance, when he’s singing the song by Henri Salvador: “Don’t you fret, baby, it’ll be all right.” This saddens me, because he is now like the baby who needs everything done for him and people keep saying that it’s going to be okay. When even he knows it’s not going to change anything. It’s amazing that someone could write this unbelievable memoir and makes me grateful when I think of what I do have in my life compared to others like Bauby. At times this book made me a bit confused. I also feel that’s due to the lack of time in which I could sit down and really get connected with this book. Yet I still found so much meaning in it. This memoir made me realize that I don’t want to have any regrets. Bauby says, “Mithra-Grandchamp is the women we were unable to love, the chances we failed to seize, the moments of happiness we allowed to drift away.” I don’t want to look back on life and feel this way. “Mysterious paradox: time, motionless here, gallops out there.” Another thing Bauby said that made me realize, don’t let life pass you by. The scary thing is, we could end up like Jean-Dominique Bauby, wishing we had lived our lives, but now just living like The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.

Sunday, October 7, 2007

My Feeling On Sickened

This book makes me feel a lot of mixed emotions. At first I’m very angry at her family and how they abused her. I also feel very sorry for her and that she had to go through this unfortunate thing. No one should have to go through this. I am ecstatic that she has lived through this and now is trying to stop it and fight it. I just wish she would have know what was happening to her when she was younger and had the power to stop it then. I think the same horrible stuff will continue to happen throughout the rest of this book. And I pray she figures out that what’s happening to her is beyond wrong.

My Author

Summary:
So far in this section the same crazy things are happening to Julie Gregory. Only this time I see how she is so much stronger than her mother. Her mother was having another epic fight with her father. Julie’s mom came into her room and sat on the edge of her bed. It was dark, but Julie could still see the gun her mother had aimed and ready to shoot in her mouth. Julie once again had to attempt to save her mother. While trying to get the gun away from her mom’s mouth, she learns that her mother was molested as a young girl and she said that her mom knew it was happening. Maybe this is the reason for why Julie’s mom treats her in such a manner. At the last doctor appointment her mother told them Julie wasn’t going to the bathroom and they had to shove a tube in her urethra and inject iodine in her arm. Julie ended up having an allergic reaction and got a massive headache. Her mother was so pleased and told her to take a double dose of medicine for her headache. Julie ended up passing out and that’s where I left off.


About my author:
Julie Gregory was born on May 16, 1969 in Columbus, Ohio. She is the author of the memoir I’m reading, Sickened. As a child she suffered through Munchausen by proxy (MBP) abuse. Julie’s mom often took her to doctors, coaching her to act sicker than she was, making this girl's imaginary illnesses worse. Her mother fed her based on foods a doctor had said Gregory shouldn't have, gave her medicines she should not have had, sometimes in double doses, and gave her physical labor to fill her day. Julie’s mom became upset with a doctor who wouldn't perform open heart surgery on her daughter. Julie also endured physical and emotional abuse by her father. Julie’s father beat her across the head with his belt and forced Julie to eat old used tissues. So the Munchausen by proxy was not the only form of abuse Julie went through. She’s a graduate student at the University of Sheffield, in England, and she currently lives in Columbus, Ohio. Julie’s an expert writer and spokesperson on MBP and an advocate in Munchausen by proxy cases.
Picture: http://www.enotalone.com/img/partners/775.jpg

Information from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julie_Gregory

Sunday, September 30, 2007

10 Loaded Words

1.Royalty pg. 38 (+) The author uses it as a positive talking about her baby brothers name.
2.Newborn baby pg. 39 (-) The author uses it as a negative talking about how her mother reacts to the baby boy and how old/big he is.
3.Brain dead pg. 40 (-) The author uses this to describe her last living grandfather Chester, her Dad's dad, meaning that he was and idiot.
4.Sickly pg. 40 (-) The author uses this as a negative to describe what her mother thinks "knows" she is, but really the state of what she'll end up in after this abuse.
5.Porky pg. 43 (+) The author uses this to describe her baby brother's arm.
6.Flakey pg. 43 (-) The author uses this as a negative to describe the skin on her arm saying that it's dry.
7.Shrunken pg. 43 (-) The author uses this as a negative to describe her extremely skinny arm.
8.Eggplant pg. 68 (-) The author uses this to describe an old war veteran's skin color that lived with them for awhile.
9.Popeye arms pg. 70 (+) The author uses this to describe her father's strong arms.
10.Dreamily pg. 82 (+) The author uses this to describe how her father slowly let her mom back down to the ground.

Summary:
In section two two Julie's baby brother is born and his name is Daniel Joseph Gregory the Second. Julie brakes her wrist because it's so tiny, but her mother doesn't take her to see a doctor so it just gets worse. They have an old war veteran come live with them and his name is Mr. John Beck. Julie's dad get very upset with her mother and starts to hit her. Then Julie and Danny have to stop him from killing her. But their mother tells them to stop and just let her die. Her father let's go of her mom's throat and even after that her mother still tries to kill her. It's almost like Julie's mom wants to die and take Julie along with her.

Reaction:
I have the exact same reaction as I did after reading the first section. But this time I wonder why she was trying so hard to save her mom from her dad. Julie is just that kind of person though. Just because she's being hurt, doesn't mean she wishes to see that person hurt in return. We should all be more like that.

Sickened #1

1) Sickened: The true story of a lost childhood by Julie Gregory. Munchausen By Proxy (MBP) may be the most complex and deadly from of maltreatment known today. It's the physical and/or emotional illness by a caretaker of a dependent person. The most common case is the perpetrator is the mother and the victim is her child. This is a type of abuse not visible to the human eye. It is not a form of beating, but the caretakers making the children sick in hidden ways. Then they may go to the doctor and who do the doctors listen to? The mother or the child? In most cases they will listen to the mother who knows the child's "sickness". They will make the doctors believe the child is sick and the doctor will proscribe the child medicine not needed. In the end, the medicine makes the child even more sick. Most people do not survive this for of abuse. Julie Gregory is lucky to be alive.
The part she hated most was when they had to shave her chest. She couldn't imagine why they needed to shave a 12 year old girl's chest repetitiously, I mean how much hair could be there? But they had to so they could stick the little white pads on her chest around her heart to record her beats. When she was in the hospital she'd study the white ceiling tiles, imagine she was hovering above her families trailer, away from the hospital and just floating in pure, white peace. She was made to believe she was this sick little girl. Her mother would starve her and tell her how sick she really was. Her mom would get mad at her and ask why she couldn't act sick while they were at the hospital. Julie's mom would tell the doctors she felt they should just resort to open-heart surgery. Her mother would get so upset with the doctors if they couldn't find what was wrong with her daughter. She would say,"Look, dammit, this kid is sick, all right? Just look at her. And so help me God, if she dies on me because you can't find anything wrong with her, I'll sue you for every cent you got." So as you can imagine, that made the doctors do everything possible to find this "sickness" and in reality just make Julie worse.
Julie's mother, Sandy Sue Smith, was married at the age of ninteen to a man in his forties named Smokey. He had a carnival on the edge of the town in Ohio. Smokey taught Julie's mother how to ride and do tricks on the backs of horses. He also would use her mother for the knife act. Smokey became sick and died leaving this young poor wife behind. But her mother soon found her next husband Dan. Her father would always call her Sissy instead of Julie. Dan had been in a psych ward. He has the papers and everything to show he was, but then there's her mother who had nothing to prove she's crazy. When in reality, her mother is actually the crazier person-only without the paperwork to back it up.
(Flash back) Julie's first memory of medical mayhem started when they moved to Arizona to be closer to Grandma Madge, her mother's mom. She was three then, with long hair the color of banana taffy. She loved her life then; rollerblades strapped to her shoes and a pillow belted to her butt, frying eggs on the sidewalk in the Phoenix heat, learning cuss words in Spanish from the Mexican boy next door, and visiting Grandma, who lived just up the street. Grandma Madge was a born-again Christian. She was a devout basement Sunday school teacher. She would wear a fishing cap with a smiley face on it to match her cheerful self. She would take her fishing for sunfish. Grandma Madge was not a terribly good driver. A head-on here, a rear-ending there, always at a slow speed with old people like herself. Obviously, she lost her liscens and couldn't take Julie out as much. But Grandma Madge would come over and babysit Julie when her mom and dad would go out on dates. They would play games and have a good time. But then Grandma Madge would say that Julie looked like she was burning up and would ask to feel her head for her temp. When her mother would get home her grandma would say how sick she thought Julie was and they'd bring her to a hospital right away. Julie's parents then felt Grandma Madge was a battleac. So they moved back to Ohio.
Julie's mom would tell her not to smile when the doctor came in, because who would believe how "sick" she really was if she's smiling? Julie just followed whatever her mother told her. If her mother told her she had a headache, she'd make Julie put a white pill under her tounge. But Julie knew the headaches got worse when she took the pills. And when her mom would say she doesn't have a headache, she'd let her ride her bike down the street. Everytime she was alone on the street she'd sing, "I can't smile without you, can't laugh without you. If you only knew what I'm going through..." Julie's mom then decided to have her long beautiful blonde hair cut really short under her ears and dye it brown. Julie looked like a boy, and her mother just laughed. She looked ugly. Her mom was doing even more stuff to her than normal and was growing even angrier with her. Her father explained to her that mommy was just upset right now because a baby was growing in her stomach. So her father would say, "Come on Sissy, lets get out of your mom's hair." People on the streets were laughing at her one day when she was with her dad and her father said, "Don't worry honey stick with me and I'll protect you. I love you Sissy." And Julie would respond, "I love you, too, Dad." But this man would, in a way, just hurt this young girl even more mentally.


2)"Life is not a problem to be solved but a work to be made, and that work my well utilize much raw material we would prefer to do without." This was written by Philip Yancey. She used it in her book to represent her life. I feel it does that and more. This book makes me pretty sad and keeps my attention unlike most other books. When I think of the song she would sing while riding her bike it makes me wonder if she was singing because it reminded her of her life or if she was singing it to someone. And if she was singing it to someone, who? God? The part that hurts me the most is the fact that it's the hardest kind of abuse for people to figure out. I know someone that has been abused so maybe that's another reason this story gets me so much. Read this story makes me want to find a way to stop these crazy, sick people like Julie Gregory's mother. And it makes me pray that if someone else is going through this, they would tell someone so that they could get help and stop this from ever going to the extent of what Julie's going through.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

This I Believe Assignment 9/18/07

1. A link to the essay
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9249892
2. Author
Judith Jamison
3. Title
To Thine Own Self Be True
4. One sentence of what the belief is...
We are in this world for only so long and one must be open, honest and true to herself. No regrets, but be good in this life.
5. 2 examples from the story that showed their belief
*In the rehearsal studio, I strive to be as true to myself as I possibly can. For me, the studio is hallowed ground, where the realities of self and spirit are revealed.
*I had a dancer who was a beautiful dancer with a gorgeous body. But I couldn't get him to express himself. He had to go further.He has to find his truth in what he wants to say, and show us who he is as a person.
6. 1 favorite passage
In my life and work, I've found that honesty comes with goodness. My mother used to say, and she was quoting Shakespeare, "This above all: To thine own self be true."

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

The thing I am most anxious about at Edina High School is getting good grades. The reason I am is, because I put so much pressure on myself to get straight A’s. If I get a B I am disappointed in myself and feel I’ve let down people. Even though the number one person I’d be letting down is really the person I see each morning in the mirror. So, getting good grades is what I’m anxious about at EHS this year.

One goal for myself in my sophomore year is to work my hardest to be satisfied with my efforts at the end of the year. I will work my hardest to get good grades, do well in my outside activities, and just be a good person. =]
That’s what I’d like to achieve my sophomore year.
hi. =]