Who are the main characters? The Ball Turret Gunner.

What do you know about the topic/story you are reading? I have studied history and I am familiar with the events and atmosphere surrounding WWII.

What can you imagine that is not specifically outlined? I can imagine the romantic and proud notion felt by young men enlisting in the military to serve their country. This was a badge of honor, or dare I say a “right of passage” for many young men back in the 1940’s. After high school everyone was not heading straight to college so some men decided to pass some time by fulfilling their patriotic duty by serving their country.

What do you think about what you read? I thought of how young men rushed to “serve their country” with romantic pride only to have that romantic ideal stripped from their mind at the harshness and brutality of war. I wonder if many of these men really knew before they signed up for the military what they were in for? I mean they didn’t have CNN with cameras right there on the battlefield, so was the public relations campaign by the military misrepresented for the times back then to the point that it lured young men without providing the real facts of what they were signing up for.

 How do you feel about what you read? What is your emotional response? I felt sorry for the Ball turret Gunner. I mean he went from his mother’s care to the care of the “State.” The State not being as protective of a man’s safety as his mother basically considered this young gunner as another soldier in the long line of gunners used throughout the war. As the Ball Turret Gunner crammed himself into that tiny space he faced tough conditions, both physical and mental. For example, physically he was wedged upside down into a very tight, almost claustrophobic space. In this tight space he faced cold temperatures from the high altitude that froze his wet fur. I imaged the Ball Turret Gunner mentally challenged as he waited for the enemy to approach. What sort of images and thoughts would a young man’s active imagination provide as company while he waited for combat? Remember he was isolated by himself in this tiny space away from the other crew members, so his company was mainly himself. We sort of get an answer with line three, which seems to hint at dreaming of life back on the ground. So while waiting he realized how life below on the ground seemed different unaware of the life he was about to encounter flying above. He probably thought of family, friends, and other loved ones back home and how he was eager to see them again, while he allowed himself to be carried away in his daydream. However, this dream of his did not last long as he was snapped back to reality by the antiaircraft fire. This reality became a nightmare for him, as he no longer envisioned the romantic notion of war as he was now faced the reality of literally fighting for his life. Of course by the end of the poem we learn that he did not survive and how the “State” just washed his remains out with a hose. This image comes back to the idea that the State just viewed him as a number or another piece of weaponry that can be replaced with the next soldier in line. This poem gives me the feeling that loyalty, pride, and nationalism became more of a one way street. The Soldiers felt this towards their country but the State only views the soldier as a piece of U.S. military property. I am not trying to undermine any aspect of the military I am just commenting on how this poet’s portrayal made me feel with the words he used.

What do you want to learn more about? I would like to know more about what it was like to be in such a confined space and facing enemy fire? What qualifications made a soldier fit for duty as a Ball Turret Gunner? I would think size had a big factor in determining who manned the gun in such a small space, but what else? Maybe eye sight, hand-eye-coordination skills, etc?

Think about the experiences you have just read about. How would you react if these events happened to you? I would be terrified to be a Ball Turret Gunner. I wouldn’t like being in such a small space, I wouldn’t like feeling like I stick out from the rest of the plane in that glass bubble, and I wouldn’t like being exposed to the extreme temperatures of being inside a glass bubble at high altitudes. I would not like known the last guy before me was washed out of the same space I am crawling into with a hose, because I know if I don’t make it that is what they will do to my remains.

How does this reading relate to your own life? It reminds me of how we need to remember that there are always two sides to every story. We sometimes forget the negatives that can happen to us and we only focus on the positives. We end up building images in our minds to be more romantic than what they might really be. What I mean is that we sometimes only focus on the positives certain situations can have for us and we forget that there might be a possibility of facing negative outcomes. We don’t like to allow the negative thoughts or the images of “what could go wrong” to enter our minds because it might cause us to freeze or it might unnerve us to the point that we run from what ever it is we are pursuing. So after reading this poem it reminded me to not get too high or too low on my image of the situation but to understand that this can go both ways and I need to be prepared for either outcome.

Who are the main characters? The oiler, the cook, the correspondent, and the captain.

What do you know about the topic/story you are reading? I have been on the water enough to understand the power of waves and the affect on a tiny boat.

What can you imagine that is not specifically outlined? I can imagine the feelings of being toyed with by nature. The helplessness felt by being in the middle of the open ocean. I can imagine how the human mind plays tricks on the mind and how our own imaginations can become our worst nightmares in situations like this.

What do you think about what you read? I thought of the play between nature and the men in the boat. For example, how “the birds sat comfortably in groups, and they were envied by some in the dingey, for the wrath of the sea was no more to them than it was to a covey of prairie chickens a thousand miles inland” (605). I think about how animals are more adapt to wilderness than humans, even though humans have the capacity to think, reason, and use logic it does not always work against the forces of nature whereas animal’s, who are labeled by humans as being less intelligent, have a more sophisticated internal instinctive nature to survive in such conditions.

 How do you feel about what you read? What is your emotional response? I felt emotion from the men’s point of view and this made me feel small. The waves kept coming one after another and smashing into the small boat. Not only did the fear of being taken under by waves come into play but then the fear of what lies beneath the ocean surfaced with the appearance of the sharks fin. The feeling of fear was challenged by the feelings of hopelessness. Each time these men thought something good happened or was about to happen it was taken from them. For example, the violent sea would calm and then a shark appears, or they saw land only to be driven back out to sea. Also stated on page 608 “that’s the house of refuge, sure, said the cook. “They’ll see us before long, and come after us.” Yet, no one came to save them as stated at the bottom of page 608 “funny they don’t see us.” The story gave me the feeling of being toyed with by nature. It made me feel like wilderness was reminding man of how small we are and how we are at the mercy of nature’s torturing acts. I echoed the sentiment by the men in the boat on page 612 “If I am going to be drowned-if I am going to be drowned-if I am going to be drowned, why, in the name of the seven mad gods who rule the seas, was I allowed to come thus far and contemplate sand and trees?” This sums up exactly that feeling of being toyed with, why would the wild forces at work let them get this far and not kill them in the beginning, unless the plan all along was to torture and play with these men’s fate.

What do you want to learn more about? I would like to know if and how this event changed the lives of these men, specifically in the way they lived their lives after they returned home? Did they remain in contact and form a close bond for having experienced such a death defying ordeal? Did any of them go back to working on a boat at sea, or did this event change the way they viewed the sea and their interaction with the sea?

Think about the experiences you have just read about. How would you react if these events happened to you? I would react in a similar way as these men. Inside I would be tired, stressed and fearful of my life, but on the outside I would try to remain calm and avoid mentioning the idea of death. I think in times of crisis a person needs to try and remain clam and think as clearly as possible despite the elements being faced. Running around like a chicken with your head cut off is not helping other people believe in their survival and it exasperates your ability to make rational decisions. I would also try to keep my mind’s imagination in check, what I mean is wondering about sharks under the sea or fixating on the cold and darkness only open the mind to be sabotaged by wild visions within your imagination. Theses visions can paralyze you from making sound choices and can cause you to act in a manner that jeopardizes your situation.

How does this reading relate to your own life? It reminds me of how insignificant man is against the powers of nature. All our knowledge and thinking ability becomes useless to the forces of nature. No matter how much we prepare or plan against certain things nature can always deliver something that we did not or cannot prepare for. We see the power of nature in everyday life as tsunami’s, hurricanes, tornados, floods, mud slides, etc. destroy thousands of lives in a matter of minutes. Human’s might think they are at the top of the food chain with no natural predators but nature always has a way to remind us of our place in the world by showing us that we are vulnerable to the forces of nature. 

Who are the main characters? Harry & Helen.

What do you know about the topic/story you are reading? I know a little bit about African safaris and the wild terrain.

What can you imagine that is not specifically outlined? I can imagine Harry’s struggle as he slips between reality and death, while images of his past flash before his eyes. I can sense his challenges of coming to terms with dying and how he tries to keep his mind off the topic of death and instead focused on other thoughts.

What do you think about what you read? I wonder what people really experience as they are dying? Do people really see in dreams, or a light at the end of a tunnel, or is the experience something all together different. It would be fascinating if technology could record what a person sees, feels, and experiences during death. I think a lot of people are fearful of death because it is the unknown and more importantly it is so final. Not many people experience near death events and return to tell there tales, and those people that do experience near death experiences I wonder how much of their story was real versus a dream. I think we have all had dreams that seem so real that even after waking up you question if it was just a dream.

How do you feel about what you read? What is your emotional response? I kept thinking how mean he was to Helen. She seemed like a good person who would do anything for him and that she did not deserve the way he treated her. I felt that if Harry was not happy with how his life turned out it was his own fault not Helen’s fault and he should take more responsibility for his life. I find it interesting that people flash back to events or times in their lives that they would have never recalled otherwise if not for their dying experience. It gives rise to the question of why some memories are so repressed in our minds that it takes death to bring them to the surface. I sort of feel bad for Harry because through his experience of dying he realizes what all he has not done. He comments on all the things he was going to write about and now he no longer has the chance. I felt sad for him that he feels like he wasted opportunities that might have enriched his life more when he was alive, but for whatever reason he did not act on these missed opportunities.

What do you want to learn more about? As I touched on above I would love to learn more about the experience of dying. What a person goes through, experiences, feels, and thinks as they are dying would be fascinating to learn more about if you could do this without having to actually die completely and never return. Death is a mysterious thought and to be able to shed more light on the events surrounding death would be something worth exploring.

Think about the experiences you have just read about. How would you react if these events happened to you? Rather than push people away and destroy what life I am leaving behind as Harry tried to do, I would take the opposite approach. I would let those I am leaving behind know how much I care about them and how important they were in my life. Even if I cannot say all good things about those I am leaving behind, I would rather not say anything about them versus destroying them. As my mother use to say “if you can’t say anything nice don’t say anything at all.”

How does this reading relate to your own life? It reminds me that life is short. Do not put off doing what you want in this life today and try to save it for later when the time is “right” or when it is “more convenient,” because there are no guarantees that tomorrow will come. It is a cliché but live everyday like it is your last. To me this does not mean go out and buy everything you ever wanted, etc. but instead it is a more about a frame of mind an attitude towards life. I try not to leave my daily encounters in a mess, because there may not be a tomorrow to apologize. I try to look at the bigger picture and answer the following question “is this topic worth it in the grand scheme of life?” If I die tomorrow will this topic be that big of a deal or was it blown out of proportion to what really matters in life.

Who are the main characters? A man and his dog

What do you know about the topic/story you are reading? I know the Klondike region is famous for the Klondike Gold Rush. I also know this is a remote wilderness with danger lurking everywhere.

What can you imagine that is not specifically outlined? I can imagine the isolation of being in such a remote location. Combine this isolation with the cold and I imagine how your mind can play tricks on you. I imagine how being alone except for a dog that cannot speak back to you means you are the only voice you hear, you are your only trail guide, and your decisions are the only voices of reason that you hear when your surroundings are unreasonable.

What do you think about what you read? I kept thinking about the author’s descriptions of the cold and the affects it was having on the man’s ability to think clearly. I kept hoping that the man and the dog would work as a team to find their way to safety. I kept wondering how hard it must have been for the man to try and keep his head about him when he kept making mistakes that had major consequences (stepping in the water, making the fire under the tree, etc.). This was not the time to beat yourself up but at the same time you can’t help but be mad at your lack of clarity. Again, I think of the cold as a reason for this inability to think clearly.

How do you feel about what you read? What is your emotional response? The deeper I got into the mind of the man the more concerned I became for the dog. I was concerned that the relationship was one of a master and a slave between the dog and owner. I am a huge animal lover and when he started making the dog go first I feared for the safety of the dog. Then later I really became nervous when the man started trying to kill the dog so that he could use the dog’s insides to keep him warm. I was a bit relieved when the man could not complete this dreaded task, but I quickly began to feel like this was the end of his journey that the cold would be too much to overcome. I began to sympathize with the man’s mental struggles and the panic that would surge within him. He had to fight to suppress and pushing back the thoughts of freezing to death and try to focus on making it to camp. Then overcome by exhaustion and cold the man sat up and decided to take on death with dignity. Wow, I thought what a moment to realize this is the end, you have done everything in your power and have still come up short and to try and imagine what he thought as he stared death in the face. He realized that the old timer was right and by trying to face the cold alone the man had lost. At this point I was feeling mentally exhausted from this roller coaster journey so when the man laid his head back to rest and fell into what was described as a “satisfying sleep” I too felt tired and began to feel a sense of calm and a peaceful voyage to the world beyond. I wondered if in some cruel fate the dog would eat the man to survive but thankfully the dog did not and the dog actually ended up running around the bend to the safety of the camp. I thought this ironic twist was interesting and I wondered that maybe the dog should have or could have led the way to safety all along, but was just never given the chance by the overly confident/arrogant man? Maybe the dog’s instincts could have avoided the water and the man would never have fallen in and both of them might have made it back to camp.

What do you want to learn more about? I have always been fascinated with animal’s ability to sense dangers or abnormalities in nature. For instance, how animals know before people that a storm is coming and how animals act differently. I would like to know more about this “sixth sense” if you will and learn more about how or why animals are able to do this and what specific types of animals have the keenest senses for detecting abnormalities in their surroundings.

Think about the experiences you have just read about. How would you react if these events happened to you? Well, being more of an animal lover, I would have tried to communicate more with the dog than this man did. I would try to pick up on the dog’s instincts and heed the warnings the dog is giving, like when the dog hesitated to go first and when made by the man the dog fell into the water (hence learn from the dog’s hesitation that danger is near). The dog knew before going that it was going to fall through that is why it hesitated so paying more attention to these signs would be one way I would react. I know I probably have seen too many “Lassie” episodes (ha, ha) but I would have maybe told the dog to go for help and try and alert the guys at camp to come look for me. The dog built better for these conditions may have made it to camp faster and easier than the man.

How does this reading relate to your own life? It reminds me to not be overly arrogant. I say this because the man ignored the old timer’s warnings and thought the old timer was just soft. The man thought he was to smart, strong, and to tough to be beaten by the “unthinking” natural world. It helps remind me to know my place in this world and to have respect for what I do not know. 

Who are the main characters? Wing Biddlebaum (a.k.a. Adolph Myers), and George Willard

What do you know about the topic/story you are reading? I do not know much about this time. I believe this time involved an explosive growth of industry and surrounding that growth was a distrust of by the common man.

What can you imagine that is not specifically outlined? I can imagine the internal turmoil of Mr. Biddlebaum. His physical oddities of shaking, hands hidden, etc. clearly were manifested by this comment of “keep your hands to yourself.” However, mentally he did not know the whole meaning behind this statement, so he must have been struggling his whole life to come to terms with what happened and why? He never really knew why he was forced to change his life and lose his passion and dream of teaching. He only knew he could not be who he was, without knowing why? This mental torture must have been extremely difficult to overcome and had to leave him wondering why he even gets out of bed each day. He must have felt like half a person or even another person without his being able to following his passion and to constantly be holding back because of fear.

What do you think about what you read? I did not take this story as Mr. Biddlebaum was a sexual predator or sexual deviant. Instead, I thought this was a man who connected with people through contact with them, granted his contact was excessive but I did not take it as anything with alternative motives behind his actions. I probably took it this way because I have known a few people in life who were like this, overly touchy. For example, I had one friend that every single time he talked to you he had to touch you, like a slap on the arm, or a yeah you poke to the shoulder, nothing perverted or inappropriate, but definitely annoying. So based on this approach to Mr. Biddlebaum I thought about Mr. Biddlebaum’s lost life. I mean, he clearly enjoyed teaching and had a passion for it. Teaching others to dream and better themselves seemed to give him life and confidence. So it was sad that something he enjoyed and appeared to be good at was taken from him and he was reduced to being an empty shell of his former self.

How do you feel about what you read? What is your emotional response? I was conflicted, angry, and sad. The confliction comes from Mr. Biddlebaum’s former self where he touched people and rubbed heads as a way to connect and reach them. While I understand his motives to connect to others I can see the conflict here, because I am someone who values my “personal space.” I do not like others to touch me, or to invade my space by getting to close to me, it makes me uncomfortable. I was put off at the stories told by the “half-witted boy” that sent the town on a frenzy. The frustration comes from the fact that anyone can make something up about another person and it becomes their word against yours. To make it worse if the person telling the story happens to be a child, people tend to believe everything children say as the whole truth. In this story we never know for sure whether Mr. Biddlebaum desired young boys or if his inappropriate actions were just misunderstood? However, the counter argument is that we have to protect the children so where do we draw the line or discover the truth in what they say? Of course, the seemingly sad part, depending on how you interpreted his actions (which again I took them as misunderstood not perverted), is that Mr. Biddlebaum had his life destroyed by exaggerated or misinterpreted accusations and there was no action to seek or prove the truth. What the children said was not 100% false he did rest his hand on them but they also were not 100% accurate in their portrayal which made it seem like he touched them inappropriately in a sexual way. So I was torn between several emotions as stated above as I read this story.

What do you want to learn more about? I would like for Mr. Biddlebaum to understand better why he was beaten up and chased out of town to see if he would understand their concern of his touching behavior? Would he be able to adapt his approach and still get his message across and enjoy his teaching or can he only make a connection or get his message through by touching? What are Mr. Biddlebaum’s thoughts if he knew the truth?

Think about the experiences you have just read about. How would you react if these events happened to you? I would be shaken like Mr. Biddlebaum. He did not know the extent of what the children were saying behind his back to their parents. So when the parents came after him he was confused, scared, and fled with no answers. He did not have a chance to explain his side of the story or to defend his name he just knew his hands were involved but not the whole story behind his hands. So for him to be a recluse and to pull back from society is probably how I would react as well. I would be searching for the answers in my mind but left forever changed by the past.

How does this reading relate to your own life? It is significant in that you cannot be too careful in this day and age. It seems more and more people are looking for reasons to file lawsuits or to go after another person or their employer. So to protect yourself a person really has to watch what they say, how they say it, and be very aware of their actions. Touching a student to say good job can be taken by the student as a sexual gesture. Also related to the boy’s dreams and comments, in today’s time this type of story really hits on the hot buttons of today’s technology craze. Anyone can post a comment about you on social media and that statement is left for interpretation by the reader to take the message anyway they want. People post stories everyday with no truth, little truths, or half truths but other’s reading it might take it as 100% factual truths. This creates sticky situations and cases where people’s reputations and lives are ruined by someone’s one-off comment. It should serve as a reminder for all of us to think before posting, because once it is out there it is near impossible to take it back. Also it should remind us if something is posted to take it with a grain of salt and seek out the truth, don’t just assume everything you read is 100% accurate and forthcoming. In today’s society people are found guilt first and they have to prove their innocence, versus being innocent until proven guilty.