Friday, November 23, 2007

Duke Blackin Bratcher

Duke Blackin Bratcher. He was my best friend. I was his master, trainer, teacher, but most importantly HIS friend. I remember everyday after school I would put my play cloths on and go see Duke. Duke was a full blooded Lab. Duke was a really smart dog, he knew the basic tricks and sat down when he ate his food. I took advantage of teaching my dog, because I taught Duke how to play football. Is that impossible? Let me break it down for you. . .

Duke and I would be seprated about twenty yards about from each other. I would throw the ball in front of him so he could run and scoop it. Well after he grap the ball, he would always look up to see were I was at so he could "let me" tackle him. Duke wouldn't run directly at me, but he would slow down his pace so I could get a good shot. Now I'm not going to lie, sometimes I tackled Duke a little to hard. He would then answer the next rep with an untouched touchdown.

I really haven't lost anybody that I was close too. But when my father gave my best friend away, all I could answer with was tears. He was so loyal to me. Duke was equal with me. What happened was I was unable to see Duke during a short time period because of football. Well we had a weekend off and I decided to let Duke come and hang out in my room. Duke laid on the bed when I was watching television and would sit next to my chair when I was on the computer.

When school came around again, I had to put him back in his pen. Duke's pen was at least two acres and all fenced in with a medium size shed to live in. In less then twenty-four hours Duke had got out of his pen eighteen times, because he wanted to spend time with me. My father tried everything from spreading pepper on the ground to shooting him with a bb gun to come him down. Most dogs would wonder off and explore but not Duke, because he would go straight to the front door and sit. When I was sleeping that night, I heard him laying outside of my window.

My father had enough and gave Duke away to some crazy women. The last I heard was that the "crazy" women got tired of him after a month and gave him to a farm. Everyday I think about him and the impact he had on my life as a young teenager. I still hope one day we will meet again. Best Friend to Best Friend.

Monday, November 19, 2007

List A (Like)
1) Family
2) Friends
3) Laptop
4) Living Life
5) Football
7) Milan, TN
8) Hairy Men
9) Dogs
10) Sweatpants
11) "Tight" Hoodie
12) Ocean
13) New Orleans
14) The Super Dome
15) Memphis Football
16) Fridays -Day
18) Raffertys

List B (Dislike)
1) Abortion
2) Crime
3) Onions
4) Government
5) War
6) President Bush
7) Throwing Up
8) Getting Hurt
9) Dog Hair
10) Time
11) Bras
12) Poop
13) Nosy People
14) Flies
15) University of Tennessee
16) Cold

A-11 (Is Like) B-8
"Tight Hoodie"
Getting Hurt

I love a brand new hoodie. I remember back in middle school, my father bought me a brand new hoodie at the mall. The hoodie was gray and black, my father paid thirty dollars for the hoodie. Later that day, I decided to go outside and play with my friends. At this time of the year, it was pretty chilly in the wind. So I went to my buddy house to flaunt off my brand new hoodie. When I entered the back yard, my buddies were playing football. My friend Zack asked if I wanted to play, so I replied by jumping into the game not thinking about my hoodie. The first play Tony throws me a ball deep, and I slipped and hurt my shoulder really bad. I also stained my hoodie with blood and ripped it on the sleeve. I learned to take pride in my hoodie.

A-4 (Is Not Like) A-5
Living Life
Football

The game of Football is very dangerous activity because players sacrifice their body to the game. You have to being able to be in great physical condition, because you have to hit with your body. You have been bless to live life, and not take life for granted. Many players experience injuries that end their career in football. Every player understands that they could get hurt every time they step on the field.

B-5 (Is Like) B-7
War
Throwing up

I can imagine soldiers in war having some ups and downs with their emotions. I believe some soldiers relieve themselves by throwing up. Throwing up or vomiting will relax you, after the process is done of course. Put yourself in their position, your sitting waiting for the enemy to come. There has to be some kind of nervousness in your stomach. I wonder if people in the war were throwing up right before they sacrifice their life for their country.

4 Syn.

Lacking of Father

As you can see David is lacking a good example at the father role. The "father figure" was a huge part of my life growing up as a kid and teenage years. My Father is the reason why I'm living a healthy life and going to college. The problem in The Rake is that David had no father to show him the right way in life.

Under the Influence

After I read Under the Influence, I was shocked because it reminded me of my childhood. When I was younger I blocked all the horrible sights out of my mind, but the way Sanders stressed his words made the memories all come back to me. I could really relate to Sanders because we both had a parent who was an alcoholic.


The Fourth of July

I think Audre Lorde learned from this experience because she didn’t let racism stop her later in her life. Lorde took immediately action after her experiences in Washington D.C. Lorde's attitude toward this experience led her to write an angry letter to the President of The
United States.


The Rake

In The Rake the paragraph about the rake really stood out in this story. The story is structured to make us think about violence, and the rake David uses is a violent approach just to gather leaves up. The rake has claws on the tip, and scratches the ground as you pick up leaves. David uses the rake as a main part, because the rake harms and cleans up the yard.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

First Memory

One cold night, my father told me that I would be moving to Tennessee with my grandmother. My Aunt Pam and Grandmother came from Tennessee to Nebraska so they could take my sister and me back home with them. My five-year-old soul stayed up all night thinking about my future and what was going to happen to my family. I remember waking up at 5:30 in the morning and freezing, so I stole my brother's sweat shirt. My brother pitched a fit and wanted his sweater back, but my father told him to let me keep it. The sweat shirt was a striped purple and gray sweater with a Tennessee logo. Once I think about it now, it is ironic because that was the day my life changed, and I really started to become somebody.

After saying good-bye to my father, my sister and I went into the back seat of my Aunt Pam's red car and I began to cry a little bit. I did not want to be separated from my father because he was my role model and friend. There was silence as my sister and I sat in the car in the freezing wet weather. My sister looked at me and said, "Are you crying?" and I replied, "No," and turned my head catching my breath. I just could not believe that my childhood would ever be the same, and I had to prepare myself to start all over again.

On the trip to Tennessee from Nebraska, we brought back our dog Pippy. My aunt had to pull over three times so the dog could use the restroom. I could feel the tension between my grandmother and the dog. My grandmother refuses to have any kind of pet live in her house; however, my grandmother is a smart and caring person considering she took in two children and helped us grow up to be successful. During the ride, I remained quiet just wondering what to expect on my next journey.

When I entered the state of Tennessee, I noticed that there were a lot of trees on the side of the road. Nebraska was more a completely surface, because farmers took advantage of the perfect soil and no trees. Not only were the trees different, but the roads felt like you were on a carnival ride. I remember riding over the hills and the hills made my stomach jump. Finally, we got to my grandmother's and I had to tie Pippy to a little tree. My last memory of that day was entering my grandmother's house.

A-Ha Blog

When I was in high school, I decided to take a criminal justice class. The class was taught by a wonderful women whose name is Susan Featherstone. Mrs. Susan loved me as a student and would always confience me to be a leader in the classroom. Anyways, I took three semesters of her class, learning a lot of information in criminalogy.

Susan insisted me to go to this Police Academy because the top student overall would win two hundred dollars. We had to go on Tuesday every week for two and half hours for five weeks. One week we had to complete an obstacle that the police force have to complete to be able to join the force. We saw meth, weed, pills, and other hard street drugs. We met three drug dogs, who later chased a man the length of a football field and then tackled the man.

Week by week I learned so much about the environment of police and detective work. After accomplishing five weeks of the academy it was time for graduation. I remember walking up in front of everybody to recieve my diploma. It felt really good to graduate and earn your respect from the officers who serve your town. Part of me wanted to really walk down the aisle later on in my life. Going to this academy really help me make my decision in my major with is Criminalogy.

Family Ritual

After I came home from school, the rest of the night would take the same course. Once I put up my school books, I headed straight outside to play with my friends. Every night between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. my father would call my name to tell me it was time to eat dinner. When I entered the house, I would automatically know what we were having for dinner because of the smell.

After washing my hands, I always sat in a certain seat, which was the only chair without a cushion on it. My back would always face the television so I would not be distracted by it while I was eating. My grandmother always sat to my left in her comfortable chair so she could watch everybody eat her food. My grandmother's chair would be directly in front of the television, because that is where she spent her time during the day.

In front of me, at the dinner table, was my sister and the only reason she sat in that particular seat was to see the television. There was also a mirror behind my head and every now and then I noticed her taking a glance at herself. My father would always sit to my right, and he was always the last one to sit down at the table. I remember every night at dinner my father would sit down real hard after a long day and set his hat to his left on the ground. We each had our own assigned seats, not because we had to, but because it was our habit.

Developing this ritual over time, the places that we sat showed our personalities. My grandmother would take pleasure watching us eat, because that would let her know that she is taking good care of her family. My grandmother would sit in her seat so she could get the best view to see everyone eat her food. My sister always made sure she could get the best view toward the television and the mirror because she was always concerned about being "cool." My father would sit in his seat to get a glimpse of the television and to be head of the table. My main priority was eating my grandmother's country food and not letting the television bother my eating. Personally, I did not care to watch televsion because my main focus was eating the food in front of me. After eating my grandmother's wonderful food, my sister and I always had to make our contribution by washing the dishes. Now that I am in college, I look back and notice how every night was repetitive and organized.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

??Family??Football??

When I was younger my mother had custody on my two brothers, sister, and of course me. At this time we lived in Norfolk, Nebraska. Barbra, my mother, would get fucked up everyday keeping a distance toward her kids. Barbra would go to her "boyfriends" house and sometimes take my sister and I with her. I remember standing outside for hours while my mother was in the house with another man. My father at the time was out of town working so his children could live.

My father was sick of not seeing his kids so he took my mother to court for custody. Barbra didn't even show up, which gave my father all custody of his kids. Around the age of six I moved to Milan, Tennessee with my grandmother. Moving into my grandmothers house really changed my life. Every night my grandmother and I would cook and read chapters in the Bible. Around the age 13 I was presenting lessons at churches with my brother Patrick. :>

My father works seven days a week and sun rise to sun set. He works on the outside of your house like vinyl siding, windows, and trim. He has been doing this work for 27 years and is still counting. The only thing that kept him going was seeing his boy play the game of football.

My oldest brother Justin played football most of his life since he was five to twenty-five. He played college football at Wayne State and Cumberland University. My other brother Patrick played in high school and won two state champions back to back. Later on Patrick played with Justin at Cumberland University for two years. And of course my present career.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Under the Influence

When I read Under the Influence by Russell Sanders the bottles kept standing out to me. My mother had a drinking problem when I was real young. Reading the text brought me back to my childhood because I experienced the same as Russell Sanders. My Mother would drink bottle after bottle and then pass out on the couch.

One day I was playing out in the yard and stabbed my hand against a cactus. I started running for my Mother and was stopped by a locked door. My Mother was passed out from beer in bottles. It seemed like the bottles were causing my Mother and I not to have a relationship. If you decide to have a kid you have to accept the responsibility.

My Mother and Russell Sanders' Father felt sorry for themselves and answered it by drinking. The one thing I learned about my Mother was put your kids first and selfish acts later. I realized having no Mother made me stronger and motivated me more to parent my kids.

Friday, October 12, 2007

Lacking of Father

Keenan Bratcher

10.12.07

As you can see David is lacking a good example at the father role. The "father figure" was a huge part of my life growing up as a kid and teenage years. My Father is the reason why I'm living a healthy life and going to college. The problem in The Rake is that David had no father to show him the right way in life.

Everychild in this world should have a father figure around them during their childhood. Not just a man who only pays bills, but a loving father who shows care for his children. Every house should have a strong father figure who sets rules and never disobeyed by his children. The mother is a very important to the kids life, but the father needs to be there to keep his role.

The Stepfather gets under my skin a little bit during this story, because he was a violent man. The Mother should have not let the step father take controll over her kids. He has no right parenting those kids if he is going to beat them. David was in a situation where he had to put up with it, and it showed later when he hit his sister in the mouth.

My parents split up when I was at the age of two. When I was younger my Father was out of town working, and my Mother had her boyfriends over in our house. Sometimes my Mother's boyfriends would try to teach me something, but I never paid any attention to them. I had a father that taught me right from wrong.

In conclusion, the father figure is something that stucked out to me in this story. The father has to set good examples for the children around him, because the kids will follow your actions.

Street Haunting

Keenan Bratcher

Wendy Sumner-Winter

10/11/07

After I read “Street Haunting: A London Adventure” by Virginia Woolf I noticed that there were a lot of different views. I personally consider myself a person who can adapt to any environment around me. In high school I would not sit at a certain table, because I was friends with everyone. Of course I had my best friends who I could trust with my own life and always depend on them. My friends varied between very heavy set good kids to cocky jocks who love to party. In my eyes we are all the same but have different personalities.

Appearances about you are very important in the society today. On television you always see beautiful skinny people selling a product. If you see a person over weight they usually tell you a product that helps you lose weight. If you really think about it we all have flaws on our body that we just dislike or would like to change on us. Another subject that stood out to me was about the dwarf in her story. The dwarf was self conscious about her height. We all are self conscious about our self in ways like height, weight, hair, and teeth.

When you see someone in public you usually judge them an individual by their appearance. Descriptions go through your head about the person like age, sex, gender, and their color. As you meet someone you can’t get to know them off of their appearance, because that’s not who they truly are inside. If you meet me in town you couldn’t notice that I’m self conscious about myself but I am. My personality shows who I truly am instead of what I look like.

I hate when people think they know a person by how they physically look. The dwarf looked different then the other people, but in reality she is more special then the rest of them In the world we live in we should just accept people for who they are, and watch what they can do with their life’s.

Hashish in Marseille

Keenan Bratcher

Wendy Sumner-Winter

10.12.07

I personally did not like the story. The only thing that stood out to me was love. I am in a serious relationship with a girl name Delana who I love very much. The story reminds me to see the world differently or in a different view. Right after I started dating Delana I knew I had to change my ways and see the world differently.

Before dating Delana I would get high after school and party all night long not doing my homework. I was having the best time partying and getting messed up. I saw my world as being perfect, but I soon realized that I had only just begun my journey through life. My girlfriend pushed me every night to complete my homework, because she wanted me to go to college.

The relationship between love and being "high" really reached out to me, because of my old actions and how they connected. The love growing between Delana and myself made me a better person and more thoughful. Love took over a horrible action to help me succeed, and keep me out of trouble.

Taylor Bradford

Keenan Bratcher

10.02.07

Around ten o'clock Josh and I came back to the apartments and notice police cars all around the campus. Well a current football player told us what had happened to Taylor Bradford. The football team spent about three hours standing in the parket lot trying to figure out the loss. Later on the police made us go to our rooms and put us in lock down.

The day Taylor got shot was the actual first day I carried a conversation with him about his phone. The one thing learned from this tragedy is you never know whats going to happen. People take the wonderful life for granted, and pay no attention to the important things in life.

I was not very close to Taylor Bradford, but Taylor and I were teammates. We both experience the hell in football together. The hours we put in and off the field. People now days will do anything to get money, so be aware of your surroundings.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

The Rake: A few scenes from my childhood

Keenan Bratcher

09.11.07

In class we discussed the essay The Rake: A few scenes from my childhood. We shared several different subjects that we saw in the essay and how they related to us as a individual. We were told to pick one subject and share how it affected us in some way. The blood and the rake were the only two things that got my attention.

In The Rake the paragraph about the rake really stood out in this story. The story is structured to make us think about violence, and the rake David uses is a violent approach just to gather leaves up. The rake has claws on the tip, and scratches the ground as you pick up leaves. David uses the rake as a main part, because the rake harms and cleans up the yard.

David shares many times that his sister was beating by their step father. The pain the sister is is experiencing is showed off by blood. Blood is decribed all though this story to show the audience the real image of pain. Blood is something that I would rather not see, because some kind of pain is usually involved.

Textual Anaylsis

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Will correct this textual analysis

Keenan Bratcher
English 1010
Mrs. Sumner-Winter
09/25/07
Textual Analysis
The Fourth of July

The article "The Fourth of July" was written by Audre Lorde. A simple concept that Lorde stresses in this article is color. The variation of colors and the different ways Lorde uses in her sentences conveys this simple concept. Lorde’s sister was denied the opportunity to attend her class trip to Washington D.C. The reason for this denial was because she was black. Lorde's father decided if the white administration at his oldest daughter's school wouldn't allow her to travel to the nation's capital, he would take her, along with the rest of his family.

During her trip to Washington D.C., Lorde experiences situations that hurt her emotionally but make her stronger in the end. Audre Lorde describes different foods and items by detailed colors. The pattern in this story stays consistent with the contrast of the adjectives of colors. The arrangement of these colors was used to relate to the racism of black and white. An example of color description is when she was standing next to a white marble counter, and their skin reflected off of the white surface. Another example of the adjective in the word color is ‘little violently yellow iced cakes’ which vividly describes the color.

Lorde also shares how her parents will not allow her to have sunglasses, because of the product and expenses. She could not see the monuments in Washington D.C., because of the brightness caused by the "white" of the capital. Lorde noticed that it was "lighter" in Washington D.C., and it was "darker" at home in New York. She compares these two shades to symbolize racism between whites and blacks. Her experience made her realize that her race is not allowed to do some daily tasks, because whites did not let it happen.

I think Audre Lorde learned from this experience because she didn’t let that stop her later in her life. Lorde did something immediately after her experiences in Washington D.C. Lorde's attitude toward this experience led her to write an angry letter to the President of The United States.

In conclusion, Lorde's word choice was very understandable. Further into the story, one begins to comprehend the message she is trying to present. Color symbolizes racism, because the author would describe the different shades of brightness between two different states. Everything in Washington, D.C., was centered on the color white. Lorde really thought about what she was writing to make this story a complex structure.

Works CitedEscholz, Paul Alfred Rosa Virginia Clark. “The Fourth of July.” Language Awareness: Readings for College Writers, 9th Edition 2005: 567-570.

Prime Directive

September 19, 2007


When I read this article I notice that the author was trying to write in modern words that we use today. The words like lame, contacts, and flip really jump out to get you more interested. Once I got more into the story I became really confused, because the author would jump subject to subject. Once I read the entire thing and had a classroom discussion I understand his message. He writes about popular subjects, but shares both sides of the subject.

The subject that really stuck out for me was Halloween. When I think about Halloween I picture the younger groups of children look at it as a fun night were you get to eat candy. The children will dress up like their hero or favorite monster going around screaming and scaring other kids. Then I see teenagers who might be absolutely terrified of Halloween, because they have had a bad experience. Also, the young groups attempting pranks and creating scary haunted houses. The point I got behind this story is a person saying one subject can fan out to many different ways.

There are many different examples in the story that shows that you can’t judge a book by its cover. Some of the subjects meant the exact opposite of the meaning. The writer was really putting in a lot of thought into his story, because it relates to many different subjects. Sometimes I look at my direction in life one way, and I can be completely wrong.

Hatred on cats 1010

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Cats are a mysterious animal who can take care of themselves. These animals love roaming the night sky to look for there prey. One thing I hate the most about cat is they always jump out of a trash can when you least expect it. It is also a fact that cats cannot be in the same room with a young child, because it will suffocate it. Now I'm sure the cat does not have intend to harm the baby, but it can easily happen. Our group agreed that we were a dogs best friend, and never owned a cat in our lives. We will be sharing our personal experiences in this blog to show you our point of view our hatred of cats.

One weekend I went to visit the river just to calm down and relax. We went to my friends Aunts house, because she lives on the river. Now this Aunt is a huge pet lover and had a couple of cats.

I kept noticing a big black cat looking at me as if it had a problem. Curiously, I walked over to the cat trying to give him loving. He froze like the wind and swiftly clawed my hand. Suddenly the other claw came and he coiled up as if he caught his prey.At this time I was very mad, and the only thought that came to my mind was throw it.

As I tossed the cat over my shoulder it ended with a loud thud. It just so happens that my friend and her aunt were out of the room. They rushed in wanting to know what the noise was. The little beast and I met froze eyes as I explained that the noise was my foot. The cat walked off as nothing happened. We both knew that there will be another day were we will finish our friendly conversation.

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

The Best Seats

The article I read was in The New Yorker. The author, Bruce Wagner, provides a humorous tone telling a story from a wild experience. His imagination in this text was trying to come off in a funny way. Bruce tells a story about a person who completes him when he listens to the music. The tickets of this concert are in the thousands of dollars and all sold out.

Honestly I didn't like the article because there was no meaning behind it. The humor did not connect with me at any point. The structure was building all through the article by showing circles around the theme. I will write what I gathered of the text, and hopefully you will find it funny.

A friend called Bruce to tell him that Prince had a exclusive concert set for Friday night. The cost of the ticket was three hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars. Bruce jumped on the opportunity to get V.I.P tickets. The concert set off at two o'clock in the morning, and it took place at Beverly Hills Hotel. Bruce had to pay one hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars to stand within twenty feet of Prince. Simon Cowell, Christopher Isherwood, and Micheal Moore were the few to experience the front row seats with Bruce. After the show Prince reappeared and played fourteen more hours. The whole audience was gregarious and high from the experience. Fortunately Bruce brought with him his Adderall, prescribed for his A.D.D.. He courteously offered his subscription to surroundings, but they all declined.

Finally Prince stopped his performance and had brunch with the V.I.P.s. Bruce said that when Prince ate the flecks from his omelet they fell into his mouth. For the next few weeks Bruce was very depressed beacuse of the experience. Couple of days later he received a call from a friend who works as a chef in Sun Valley, who cooked for Rupert Murdoch. His friend stated that the opportunity to lunch with Warren Buffett, The Oracle of Omaha, was regularly auctioned off on eBay. The money that is made from the diner is giving to charity. People bid as much as six hundred and fifty thousand dollars for the honor.

Weeks later he got excepted into the luncheon invitation. As he is sitting at a round table with Mr. Buffett he realized what people said bout him were true. Bruce realized that Mr. Buffet was witty, wise, and concise. Mr. Buffett had mentioned that his grandson wanted to go to a Prince concert. The concert was at Cedar-Sinai Medical Center, its developed by Johnson & Johnson. Mr. Buffett's grandson had told Bruce during the concert he could "think Prince's thoughts." The price of the ticket was fifteen million dollars. Bruce's heart sank and to cheer himself up he bought a $59,750 Hastens horsehair bed. He wasn't quite sure if he could ever sleep again.