Anglo-Saxon Riddle

I have leaves but am not a tree.
My vocabulary is expansive
and I come in many shapes and sizes.
I can take you all around the globe
and am multi-lingual.
I am as ancient as Egypt
and as young as yesterday.
What am I?

The food can be gross
The cafeteria always smells like artichokes
There are kids running wild and free
The teachers they fuss
Just because we like a rush
And it gets us a detention or three
Both my parents work here
I do something wrong and they appear
So I just have to be good
There is homework that’s a mess
The four sports plus school are a stress
And I want to just be done
But on top of all of this I have a 4.0 to keep up with
And there are people that don’t do anything
Sometimes I wish I could just be like that
So I wasn’t stressed all the time
The teachers know us too well
There are only 14 kids per class
And you get in trouble for having fun
We have to take classes online
It’s a joke in my mind
We should just get teachers for us

(To the tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb)

______had a lot of homework,
A lot of homework, a lot of homework
_______ had a lot of homework and it piled up.

Every time she went to class
Went to class, went to class,
Every time she went to class,
She just got more and more.

She is getting very stressed
Very stressed, very stressed
She is getting very stressed
And it’s making her a mess.

After school she goes to sports,
Goes to sports, goes to sports,
After school she goes to sports
And stays real late.

When she finally gets home gets home, gets home
when she finally gets home
it’s time to get down to work.

The hours drag on and on
On and on, on and on
The hours drag on and on
But she gets it done.

Then it’s back to school back to school back to school
then it’s back to school
where it happens all again. 

Thank goodness, she has only one more year
One more year, one more year,
Thank goodness, she only has one more year
Then it will be all done!

The Joys of the Morning

Give me a break
This is too much to take,
It’s six a.m. already?
If the alarm doesn’t stop beeping,
I’m going to start freaking,
The morning is not going steady.
It’s the devil in disguise,
Waiting for the sun to rise,
Because the morning is just so vain.
Heavy eyelids
And unhappy kids,
The morning brings so much pain.
Breakfast fell on the floor
And now there’s no more,
Mornings are just no fun.
It’s still dark outside
Under the covers I hide
To shelter from the peeping sun.
The snooze button fails
So the morning prevails,
But now being on time is not "makeable."
So we "suck it up" and do it
Because there’s nothing else to it,
Mornings are just inescapable.

9-11 diary entry

September 9 2001

                Today I decided to start keeping track of every event that happens to me in a journal. Today naturally I woke up this morning feeling very tired; you see I was at the office until eleven o’ clock. I am very busy all hours of the day, I barley have time for my kids and its starting to affect our relationship. I left for work today at seven forty-five, and arrived at the first world trade center tower at eight thirty. Today I had to create a spreadsheet for my own budget here at the company. It was an extraordinarily difficult task, if I didn’t complete by the time I left I would have fallen behind majorly.

September 10 2001

                Today I woke up with a sort of headache, my head was throbbing and I just wanted to stay home but yet again I would have fallen very far behind. My wife and children are starting to become very distant to me and I am beginning to feel slightly depressed, I’ve been spending way to long at work and they are becoming anxious and agitated. I really didn’t have to do much today at the office, except be my bosses little errand runner. He assigns me so many nitpicky tasks and I feel that if I don’t stand up to him soon I could end up losing my family. At least tonight I got home by nine o’ clock instead of eleven o’ clock.

September 11 2001

                Today I was late for work by about ten minutes, because some careless driver decided to run into the rear end of the car in front of me. Its times like these that if more people paid attention on the road traffic wouldn’t get clogged up. I really am starting to not enjoy my time at the office; the days are getting longer and longer. Today was the day my life changed, I was 10 floors below the floor that got hit by an airplane, I was lucky to be alive they made us come down the stairs and evacuate the building, while doing so I realized that I wasn’t the only one unhappy. There were many people that had more severe cases of sadness than I do. There was one man whose wife was above the crash site meaning she was trapped, and there was nothing anyone could do to help her. The only thing that man could do is to pray to the gods that some miracle will happen to those unlucky souls.

September 12 2001

                Yesterday I made it safely out of the building and I got home to my wife and kids they were so blessed to see me alive. We all could not contain the tears from this national tragedy and the great happiness that I was alive; I have to go to the hospital today for a checkup, to see if I’m injured. Luckily I am not injured. I won’t be going back to work for a very long time.   

December 5 1941

I do not know why I am writing this but I felt like it would you all should know about my adventures on the USS Nevada. My first day on the ship was December 5 1941. When I got on the ship, I was lost because i have never been on a boat that was that big before in my life. However, my lieutenant showed me around the ship and I was still lost.

December 6 1941

It is my second day on the ship. And after spending my first night aboard the ship I was hungry so I went to the mess hall and got in line. The next thing I knew I was getting pushed to the back of the line by this brute of a man. The man said listen newbie you get your food after every one else has eaten. So when I actually got my food it was all hard and cold. However, I ate it anyways because I had a long day of work ahead of me.

December 7 1941

It is my third day and I had been up all night because I was think about that brute at breakfast. And 730 came along and I went up to the deck of the ship to look at the view and was getting hungry because I could smell the food cooking. But I sat there for 15 minutes and I sow planes coming in low and fast. At first I thought it was the navy practicing the flight maneuvers. But then I saw a bomb drop and then I realized that we were being bombed. So I mounted the gun on the side of the ship to try to fight off the planes that were trying to destroy my home.

December 8 1941

All the men in my ship had to go stand guard around the island because the ship was in dry docks getting repaired after the fight yesterday. But I am pretty sure that I was not the only one that was scared that the Japanese were going to come back again. While standing guard I looked around to see who I knew and the person that I sow to the left of me was that brute and he was crying about something and the man to the right was the lieutenant.     

Pearl Harbor

Blog: 1

                December 6, 1941 Honolulu, Hawaii

Today I lay in slumber watching the rising sun as it sets just above the ocean. The view of it is magnificent, but as I look to my left the massive fleets of naval battle ships surrounding me. The ship that I call my home is the USS Arizona not quite your five star hotel but she’s home. I better hurry to my post before captain sees me loafing about.

December 7, 1941

The words to describe what has happened today I cannot attain.  We were attacked by hundreds of Japanese fighter planes it’s like they just came out of nowhere. I barely made it out alive my ship was sunk and I was thrown overboard.  I attempted to swim to shore but was shot by a plane that was flying overhead. But somehow I woke up on the beach not knowing how I got there.

December 8, 1941

These are slower starting to calm down I’ve been in the hospital overnight. There’s some many people injured. The doctor said I got hit in the spine and may never walk again but it didn’t seem to matter as I stared blankly at all the other men and women being carried away marked with death.

December 9, 1941           

The Doctor says I will be released soon for there is nothing further that they can do for me.  This bothers me but I will still be able to go home and see my family my service to the military is over. When I look back I will know how fortunate I was to survive! I may be cripple from the waist down but I escaped death on this horribly but beautiful island.

Christopher Columbus

August 3, 1492

we left spain today heading for the new world. We have three ships and plent of food to last us for months and there. The men are wodnering if we are going to make it or not the caption is acting really strang. The men just got the ship set sail in the right direction so were all going to bed now.

August 12, 1492

we are going threw a storm today it has the ships almost tipping over. One of the ships almost crashed and tipped over. A man went over the edge off one of the boat already and was lost him at sea. the caption has told us all to go under deck to stay safe for the night.

October 1, 1492

We are getting close to land i can feel it. The men are all getting excited to step off the ship. soon we will all be standing on land agian but this time we will be standing on a new land. They just made dinner for one of the last times this way.

October 12, 1492

We hit land today and the men all jumped out of the ship and started rolling around in the dirt. They looked around for a bit till one man came back and said there was life on this rock. The men all went and looked at what he was talking about and they saw indians and they were sitting around a fire. The men decided to sneak up on them. Before they could get all the way there the men ran away so we are heading back to spain to tell everyone.

Nature of war

October 7, 2002

My therapist told me I should carry a journal around. Why, these blank pages will not give advice, or calm me down this is pointless. I am supposed to write whatever comes to mind. There is only one thing on my mind. That would be Iraq it is my third tour and I am not even sure if I am serving my country any more. The things I have seen will never leave my memory.

October 19, 2002

I do not know if I am meant to write in this thing daily, it has been over a week sense I first wrote in it. This week I saw my squad hit with an IED all I can say is why? Why me there was good men in there and I’m the one that lived? IT IS NOT FAIR, IT IS JUST NOT! I ask god why I’m the one that lived, there was no response….

November 22, 2002

It has been a month sense my last journal entire. Recovery was hard; I looked back at my first entire. I said I was not sure if I was serving my country anymore and, the answer is I am not. I am serving the men and women who have died for their country making sure their name does not die in vain. That is my purpose and I will not fail.

February 12, 2003

Each day is getting easier to live with knowing my squad’s death will always be with me. I am back in Iraq, now I have squad that I am responsible of. None of them is experienced they are all scared to be over here. I know what it; I still remember my first time over here. There is one soldier though by the name of Henry Adams he is private; he has potential an amazing solider. I hope this kid goes far

June 6th 1990 Tornado in Limon

May 26^th 1990

            Today is the day… this absolutely beautiful day in Limon, Colorado is the day that marks the end of one, but the beginning of another.  Today is the day that I graduate from high school!!!  I can’t express in words how extremely excited I am to be out of silly high school and start college at NJC in the fall of 1990.  My plans are to become a registered nurse, and the absolute best one at that!  Well, it is 6:30 a.m. I have to be at the school at 9:30 a.m. and you know how girls are when they get ready for important events so I better stop writing and go get ready to get my diploma that I have worked oh so hard for!

June 2^nd 1990

           Hey there!  Sorry it has been awhile, graduation time is a busy time!  On the plus side it was perfect!  I wouldn’t have had it any other way.  Anyhow, this whole week the weather has been so beautiful, I’ve been out tanning, walking, driving around with friends, going to the park to play a little volleyball.  I’ve been doing all kinds of fun things you can do when you don’t have to spend your whole day in a classroom doing homework.  Today is the first day since graduation that it has rained!  I personally do not like the rain very much.  It’s just not as much fun to enjoy yourself outside when you are soaked from the rain with all your heavy wet clothes.  Oh well, looks like today will be mostly spent inside with my wonderful family.

June 4^th 1990

            Yet again we have us another rainy day!  Today it seems to be much worse than the past few days.  I have been listening to the news lately, there are so many tornados coming out of this storm!  I sure hope there is not going to be one here.  There has never, for all my 18 years of living, been a tornado here.  Well, there have been some outside of Limon, but none that have ever affected anyone or damaged anything.  I say the likelihood of us getting hit by a tornado is pretty slim… close to zero! Ah, I suppose there is no need to worry… I hope. See ya until next time!

June 6^th 1990

            Slim… close to zero?  I could never be more wrong.  As I sat in the basement hearing those sirens I couldn’t help but think of what life is going to be like once this tornado takes everything I have… my house, my family, my friends, my town, my world as I know it.  I hear this F3 tornado ripping through town… tearing everything to nothing, changing a town full of happiness and energy into… a life sucking black hole.  As I hear the shreds of metal, the shingles of my neighbor’s home, the branches from the tree’s from my very own front yard pounding into my house above me, I think to myself, how am I going to survive without my house, my family, my friends, my town… my world?  How am I going to function?  Do we have to just start over completely?.... The metal, the shingles, and the branches come to rest, the wind stops completely… we sit there numb to any emotions.  At that moment I experienced the loudest silence.

Welcome

Welcome to 21st century diary-writing or journaling! Your task is to take on the character of someone who was present at, and observed some major event in history, be it political, a natural disaster, historical, etc. You may research your chosen event to be sure that your information is accurate and your voice typifies the era. Create 4 diary entries of no fewer than 4 sentences each. Post them to Mrs. Markle's English Class blog. Print a hard copy and turn it in with the rubric you have received. Your blog posts and your hard copy are due Thursday, March 8, 2012.

Don't forget--your AR test points and/or book report activities are due by March 8 as well.

War Over in Iraq

My therapist told me I should carry a journal around. why, these blank pages won't give advice, or calm me down this is pointless. im supposed to write whatever comes to mind. there is only one thing on my mind. that would be Iraq it is my third tour and im not even sure if im serving my country any more. the things i have seen will never leave my memory.

I don't know if I'm meant to write in this thing daily, it has been over a week sense i first wrote in it.