text:
“If we’re going to go see Vince Vincente’s publicist, we can’t go looking like this”, Sam said, gesturing at himself and Dean.

Dean looked down at his shirt, “I don’t look like a lumberjack!”

“I didn’t say you did!”

“I look like a hunter!”

“Exactly - we look like hunters, not potential rockstar clients.”

Dean rolled his eyes. They were sitting in the car in a pay by the hour carpark just off Sunset Boulevard.

“Well where the hell do we buy rockstar clothes? What even are, “rockstar clothes”?” Dean smoothed down the front of his shirt and grumbled.

“Leather. I don’t know. Stop grumbling. And probably somewhere around here….or, maybe somewhere like Melrose Avenue?”

“Like the TV show?” Dean frowned at his brother.

“That was Melrose Place Dean, and you liked that show way too much.”

“Heather Locklear was hot.”

Sam laughed as he looked at his phone, flicking through pages searching for stores, “It says Melrose has some cool vintage places.”

“Second hand you mean.”

“Well, yeah, but they call it vintage here.”

“Freakin’ L.A.” Dean grumbled. “All right let’s get this over with”. He started the car. “Where to Bon Jovi?”

The brothers walked down Melrose Avenue peering into shop windows and side stepping an array of people. Dean nodded at a passing girl, flicking her a careless smile. She did a double take.

“That chick just checked me out” he said, smirking at Sam.

“Probably never seen a lumberjack”, Sam said, not missing a beat.

“I don’t…whatever.”

Sam smiled to himself.

“What about that place?” Sam indicated over the street to a large store called American Vintage.

“Dude, I’m not wearing someone’s old, sweaty cast offs.”

“They wash them, Dean!”

“Whatever, I’m not buying some has-been’s old clothes!” Dean had stopped still and was glaring at Sam. “If we’re gunna do this crap, let’s at least do it properly.”

People were walking around them as they argued, basically taking up the entire footpath.

“What about that place?” Dean pointed at a colourful store on the corner, as a tiny woman tutted him. “It’s got skulls and roses on the wall, that looks pretty rock and roll, right? I mean, you’re the big Vincente expert.”

“I’m not…. Let’s just go check it out.” Sam stalked off.

Dean smiled to himself.

Dean pushed the shop door open and stopped short.

Sam crashed into him, shoving them both inside with a stumble. “Dude!” Sam spat.

“Ahhh, I don’t think this is the right place.”

Sam looked around, “Oh ahhhhh”.

“Can I help you gentlemen?” a young woman asked, as she held a pair of barely there, lacy women’s panties in her hand.

“Ahhhh” Sam stammered.

“Looking for something for your girlfriends or….?” She looked them up and down.

Dean shook his head and held up his hand in a, just stop right there motion. “No, errr sorry sweetheart, we have the wrong store. We saw skulls and thought….” He trailed off.

The woman laughed. “What _are_ you looking for?” she asked, as she watched Dean checking out a lace bodysuit, flicking open the clasps on the crotch. She raised her eyebrows. He dropped it, smirking, looking not even slightly embarrassed. Sam slapped Dean’s shoulder.

“We’re looking for men’s clothing, maybe leather jackets, something a bit….” Sam hesitated, “…um...rock and roll?” He literally shrank two inches as the question came out.

“Something…rock and roll?” The girl couldn’t quite stifle a giggle. Grinning at them both she asked, “I take it you’re not from around here?”

“Kansas.” Dean said matter of fact. “We have to go to this shindig and need the appropriate gear. Apparently we look like lumberjacks.” Dean shrugged.

“I don’t know, plaid is pretty in these days….team it with a pair of skinny jeans and…”

Dean held up his hand again….”Never gunna happen.”

The girl laughed. “Okay, okay Kansas. Head down the street and take a right at the next corner, there’s a store just up a bit, I can’t remember the name, but it’s pretty old school…errr…rock and roll. I have a feeling it’s more your speed.”

“Old school. That sounds about right. My brother here loves Vince Vincente” Dean slapped Sam on the chest.

“Dude I….”

“Vince Vincente?” The girl chipped in, “My mum loves that guy!”

“Well now I feel old.” Dean smiled at her.

“Nothing wrong with older men….”

There was a beat of silence as everyone let that settle.

Sam cleared his throat, “Right, well, thanks so much for your help. We’ll go and check that place out.”

“No problem, have a good time at your….shindig!” The girl laughed again.

“Thanks”, Dean said as he started to follow his brother out the door.

“Oh and Kansas?” the girl called out…

Dean stopped and turned around.

“I own that bodysuit…if you ever want to…take a closer look.”

Dean glanced at the body suit and back at the girl. He smiled at her, holding her gaze just long enough that she had to look away... and then continued out the door.

Sam was standing on the footpath shaking his head.

“L.A.’s growing on me, dude.” Dean said, as he walked down the street.

‘Yeah, I’m sure it is.” Sam half laughed, half groaned.

The store the girl recommended was perfect. Zeppelin’s ‘A Whole Lotta Love” filled the air. There were Hendrix posters mixing it up with Poison and Good Charlotte. Dean loved it immediately.

A kid looked up from behind the counter as the brothers walked in.

“Cool store!” Dean yelled out to him over the music.

“Yeah…..they’re going for the retro vibe”, the kid yelled back. He eyed Dean up and down. “Seems like it worked.” he looked back down at his comic.

Dean frowned. He was going off L.A. again.

Sam went up to the counter. “We’re looking for a couple of t-shirts, leather jackets, maybe some jeans, definitely some boots.” He looked down at his desert boots noticing a small spot of blood on the suede.

The kid sighed and closed his comic. It was Batman.

“I love Batman” Dean said, nodding towards the comic. “Got a few comics at home still, from when I was growing up.” Dean smiled in solidarity.

“Oh yeah?” the kid replied.”Must have been cool to get some of those early books, when Batman was first around.”

Dean stared at him. “Dude, I was born in ’79, not ’39.”

The kid shrugged. “Okay.”

Dean sighed.

Yep. He hated L.A.

“So…” The kid eyed Dean up and down again, “What are you, like an extra large?” He turned and checked out Sam, “And dude, you’re huge, what are you like triple extra large….”

“Double is fi…” Sam started

The kid wasn't listening, “….I don’t know we have much in your size…” He moved toward a rack of jackets. “Ahhh there might be a few on here, I don’t know….anyway, here are the jackets, t-shirts over there, jeans are on the wall there…boots there…. go crazy.” He walked back to the counter and started reading.

Sam and Dean looked at each other.

“Wow” Sam said.

“Millennials man.” Dean replied.

“What?”

“Millennials. You know…the Me generation?”

“What??!”

“What?”

“Okay dad.”

“Shut up.”

Dean poured through the jackets. “Have you seen the prices on these?” He whispered to Sam.

“Don’t worry about it…not like we’re actually paying” Sam hissed back.

“That’s not the point” Dean hissed in returned.

“You guys okay?” The kid yelled out.

“Awesome” Dean said.

The kid raised his eyebrows and went back to his comic.

Dean rolled his eyes.

“This one’s pretty cool.” Dean pulled a jacket out and showed Sam.

Sam shrugged.

“Or this one!” Dean held up a classic biker jacket with quilted shoulders. “Yeah this one…. what d’you think?”

“Whatever dude, just buy one.” Sam wandered off to another rack.

Dean unwittingly pouted.

The brothers took their selections to the counter.

“Change rooms?” Sam said.

The kid got a key from under the counter and unlocked the door.

“We have to share?” Dean looked at the kid.

“Dude, it’s just one huge room, everyone shares.” the kid rolled his eyes.

“Great. Thanks” Sam said, shoving his brother through the door before Dean exploded.

“We should just wear the clothes out of here” Sam said pulling his new t-shirt over his head. “We’ll get the kid to cut off the tags.”

Dean reached down to his discarded jeans and pulled a knife out of the pocket. “Turn around.” He sliced the tags off Sam’s t-shirt and jeans.

“You need another white t-shirt?” Dean said, as he grabbed his new t-shirt and pulled it on.

“I don’t have a clean one with me.” Sam looked at his brother, “You need another black t-shirt?”

“It’s a v-neck, I don’t got a v-neck.” He grabbed the leather jacket and slipped it on, eyeing himself in the mirror.

He turned to Sam, arms out, “Huh?” he looked at his brother expectantly.

Sam nodded, “Pretty good. You look…rock and roll.”

Dean may have beamed just a little.

Sam slipped on his jacket, and opened his arms out.

Dean nodded, “Pretty good.”

They both took a moment to check themselves out in the mirror.

“Okay, we done?” Sam asked.

“Just one last thing.” Dean said. He reached down and picked up a pair of sunglasses off floor. He put them on and looked at Sam. “Now we’re done.”

“You’re gunna wear sunglasses inside?”

Dean gathered up his hunter clothes, “Hey, when in L.A.”

POSTSCRIPT

Dean looked over at his brother. Sam was gazing out the car window. Quiet.

“We’ll get him dude, I promise.”

Sam nodded his head, but didn’t turn around.

“Sammy….look at me”

Sam looked at Dean.

“We will get him. I promise.”

Sam sighed. “How. We don’t know where he is. We don’t know who he is. We don’t know what he even wants. At least last time he had a plan…we knew his plan…now….”

“And last time we beat him. We beat him. And we’ll do it again.”

Sam looked down at his lap.

Dean watched his brother.

“We will, Sam” Dean added quietly, “And he won’t get you, not this time…never again. We’ll bring him down, we’ll bring him down our way, on our terms…we will win. Okay? Sammy. Okay?”

Sam nodded, “Okay Dean.” he looked back out the window.

Dean chewed his lip as he drove; the sun was just starting to rise.

Dean pulled the car into the car park.

“What’re you doing?” Sam looked at his brother, jerked from his revere by the sudden turn.

Dean drove into a space and switched off the engine. He turned and smiled at Sam. “Come on” he said, opening the car door and getting out.

Sam looked out the windscreen at the sea. “What're we doing here, Dean?” Sam watched as Dean bent down and undid his boot laces. He got out of the car himself.

“Dean?”

Dean looked up and smiled.

Sam smiled quizzically in return.

“Deannn?”

Dean stood up and stretched, taking in a lung full of sea air, he turned and looked at his little brother and smiled again, “Sand between our toes, Sammy. Sand between our toes.”

-sweetondean

question: What does the text say about second hand clothing?

answer: Sam and Dean decide to go to some vintage stores, which Sam notes is just a cover up word for "second hand" in LA. Dean thinks that the second hand clothing is dirty and sweaty, but Sam assures him that the stores wash the clothing. Dean doesn't seem to approve of second hand clothing overall because he says he doesn't want to buy "some has-been's old clothes".

question: Summarize Sam and Dean's goal.

answer: Sam and Dean are brothers in Los Angeles, seemingly from Kansas. They're walking down Melrose Avenue looking for stores so they can buy clothes. They want to go to an event and they need the appropriate apparel. They need to shed their lumberjack appeal and find clothes that are suitable for potential rock star clients.

question: What does the text say about millenials?

answer: Sam and Dean go to a store to find clothes, and speak with the young man behind the counter. The kid subtely calls them old when discussing comic books, and also assumes the men need very large sizes in clothing. He eventually brushes Sam and Dean off in favor of reading his comic books. Sam and Dean are shocked by his behavior, and Dean attributes it to the kid being a millennial. Sam doesn't even know what a millennial is. Dean calls them the "Me" generation.

question: Summarize the postscript scene.

answer: Dean and Sam are driving in a car. Dean promises Sam that they will "get him" and that "he" won't get Sam ever again. They don't know who the male subject is or where he is, but they note that they "beat him" and his plan last time. Dean pulls into a parking lot while the sun rises. Sam is confused and doesn't know why he's doing this. Dean takes off his shoes and goes to breathe in the sea air. He tells Sammy it's sand between their toes.

question: What does the text say about Sam's love interest?


split: test

text:
A little disclaimer first... sorry about the format, or the length. This was originally an idea I had at school, then I wrote it as a short story in many parts through facebook chat for an awesome person I know. As such the style may change, or there is an unnatural jump. Either way I hope you enjoy it.

The great theatre of the world

The stage manager stands there and surveys his work. It wa sgood. He particularly liked the way the light went through the leaves of the trees. The land was luscious and green, th people happy and all was good.

Soon he would meet the director and show him what he has done but for now he could relax in this perfect world he had created.

Soon the director turned up and boy was he pleased with the stage managers work.

"This is perfect, it is amazing. How did you get the light to go through the trees like that? Seriously my friend you have earned this."

With that the director handed the stage manager a small bag tied at the top.

"What's this?" Asked the stage manager

"Money. You know? To pay you for work you have done?"

"But i didint put money in this world, whats it for?"

"It represents worth, one thing could cost more money than another. you can sell your work, goods, anything really and in exchange you can buy stuff."

"Stuff?"

"Yeah, food, entertainment, land... people"

"People?! Buy people?!"

"Well only those that can afford to anyway"

"This is not how I built this place!"

"Yeah but audiences dont like perfect. They get bored. I need a story. I need to make this place more interesting."

"This will end in tears, and not just mind mark you"

"Grow up man! Things will be fine, a little story never hurt"

"Mark my words this will be bad"

With that the stage manager left, throwing the money onto the ground.

the director continued to survey the land. this will do. qquite nicely I believe.

The director is at a table, staring intently at something. In walks the stage manager.

"Ah, stage manager. Come have a look at this"

"This isnt another change is it? You have made so many. I created perfection, it didnt need changes"

"Hush your mouth, perfection is boring. And yes it is another change -"

"It'll end in tears you know"

"Stop moping and have a look at this"

The stage manager moves closer to the table and as he gets closer he sees that a map of the world is on the table, next to it lies some felt pens and the director has enthusiastically been adding colour to the map.

"Its a map of the world which you have scribbled on. so what?"

"It's what the scribbles mean thats important. They are borders" The director beamed proudly

"Borders? What do they need borders for, they are all already bordered by the ocean"

"Ah well its more of a seperation from the other countries nearby... You know generate some community spirit and the such"

"But they were one big community?"

"Ah see what I've done as well is in the process given them a few diffferent languages, colours and beliefs. I tell you what it was quite tough to think up all the ridiculous things for them to believe, however they accepted it"

"Things to believe... are we talking god again? Must you make a cameo for your friend everytime? He cant even act. What you done this time?"

"Well the Christians believe he built the world."

"HE DIDNT I DID!"

"Calm down, I know that and he knows that. What does it matter if they dont?"

"I cant believe you. Stop making changes, someone is going to get hurt."

The stage manager walks off in anger.

"Perfection is boring!" shouts the director after him.

The director turns back to his map and picks up a pen. "Maybe I'll add platypus to Australia... That will really fuck them up."

"Hello?" the stage manager's voice travelled into the void. the director's lab was empty. this is unusual, normally he is here tinkering, interferring.

"Hello?" the stage manager tried again. The same void swallowed his voice and it faded off into the distance.

"Up here!" the director cried, "come look at this! you'll have to hurry!"

The stage manager climbed through the laboratory, discarded thoughts littering the floor where they had taken root with a life of their own.

The stage manager climbed the ladder to the roof where the director was stood, in a rain coat, with the wind tearing through his hair.

"You wont want to miss this"

The stage manager curious inspite of himself joined the director and looked out over the land in the general direction that he was.

After a couple of moments the skies grew darker and darker and clouds formed. As the clouds met a funnel emerged and and gradually saught its way downwards. As it touched the floor it seemed to rip the earth around it. Everything flew through the air, landing in heaps of rubbish.

"What on earth is that?!"

"I call it a tornado. Beautiful isnt it?"

"Deadly more like"

"Well yeah, whats the point in it if its not? the best stories come out of tragedy. You should see what else I have done, earth quakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, volcanoes, the works. I am going to call them natural disasters."

"They look horrid. Why would you do this to people?"

"Its entertainment my dear friend, its all just entertainment."

"I dont want any part of this."

"What are you talking about?! its your world. You are part of this. Without you there would not be any of this. We owe our thanks to you. You built the stage, all I have done is make the stries happen. and boy are they happening."

"You are sick"

"You should see it, the horror people will put each other through, it shows the best in others. Every criminal has a story which makes you yearn for him to be brought back into society. Every act of hardship is followed up by resilience."

"Only in the stories that you show. What about where they dont get back to normal? or they dont rehabilitate? what happens to those people?"

"Well, of course there will be fallout. There is always fallout. Can't make an ommlette without breaking some eggs."

"You arent breaking eggs, you are smashing them and rolling in delight in the mess. Thats it. Im through. I am not indulging you any more. I am going down into that place and I am going to correct what you have done. I am going to tell people the truth"

"They will think you are crazy..."

"I dont care. I cant stand here playing with people for entertainment. I created perfection and you have destroyed it in favour of this horrorshow. Good luck with your endeavors as I am gone"

the stage manager stormed off fuming. As he walked down the hill into the world he threw his mobile phone and only contact with the director into a pond. He ditched his creators bag and with every step became more human. At the bottom of the hill he entered the world as a human to do what he could...

The director grabbed his phone and dialled for the stage manger.

*ring ring*

shit

*ring ring*

Fuck pick up

*ring ring*

Come on! Pick up

*You have reached the answering machine of-"

""Fuck fuck fuck shit shit"

"Please leave a message after the tone"

*Beep*

"Hey. It's me. uhh. I need your help. I think you were right. The world cant handle it anymore. Things are getting bad down there. I dont know what to do.

I gave them entertainment but they just wanted more. More sex, more violence, more horror. I dont have anything left to give.

Shit! what was that?

I think there may be someone outside. our someones. It's getting noiser...

I dont have anything left to give, and I cant watch the horribleness that they gleefully inflict on one another. Have you seen Auschwitz yet? I didnt make that. They did. Well maybe I gave them the tools to do it.

No i gave them the tols to build civilisation, not evil. Perhaps they no longer want t obe civil?

It's getting louder outside... I think they are coming for me.

What I am trying to say is although perfection is boring it is safe. Remember how beautiful that world looked when you built it? They have shit all over it now?

Crap! I think they are in the labratory!

Anyway what I'm saying is undo it all. Only you know what I have done and what can be undone. Ignore God, he is a prick, he just wants to stay God. Did you see his commandments? What a turd.

*Shouting grows loud*

Ithink they are right outside. Promise me you will do this?

*Crash as door breakss down*

You've got to fix this. Fix it-"

*Line goes dead*

****************************************************************

Two kids are laughing and joking as they walk down an alleyway. They see a homeless man passed out, stinking of piss and alcohol. They move over to him and start going through his stuff.

They pull out a small bag which contains coins, but no currency they have ever heard off.

They see a map with scribbles all over it, notes about religions.

They unfold a photo of a tornado.

"What a fucking freak"

With that on of the heftier teenagers swings his foot back and punts the homeless man in the stomach. The homeless guy wakes with a start as the teenagers run off down the alleyway.

The homeless man coughs and splutters up phlegm and blood. And there sat the saviour of the world, everyday becoming more human, and every day the world taking another part of him.

The End

title: The Great Theater of the world

question: Why did the stage manager throw away the money

answer: He is an idealist. He created a perfect world and didn't understand why the director paid him for it. He threw it away as he didn't see why he would need to buy the goods that should have been free for all.

question: How did the stage manager and the director differ in their understanding of how the world should be run?

answer: The stage manager believed that the only borders the world should have were the oceans. The director was drawing lines across the continents. He gave the people in the various countries different languages and religions to add interest to the world.

question: How did the director plan to use natural phenomena to add interest to the world?

answer: The director added earthquakes, tsunamis, and hurricanes to the mix all in the name of entertainment. The director wanted to see the reactions of the people to natural disasters.

question: Why was the director trying to get hold of the stage manager after he had thrown his phone away?

answer: The director wants the stage manager to undo what he has done. He believes that the world was perfect before he meddled. Now the things are out of hand. The director can't control the evil human race anymore.


text:
WERNER GUSTAV DOEHNER (March 14, 1929 – November 8, 2019) was the last living survivor of the 1937 Zeppelin airship Hindenburg disaster.

Early and later life

Doehner was born in Darmstadt, Germany, and spent his childhood in Mexico City, Mexico, where his father was general manager of Beick, Felix, and Company Pharmaceuticals. He married his wife Ellin, to whom he was married for 52 years, in 1967 in Essen, Germany, who moved with him to Mexico City. In 1984, Doehner, his wife, and son Bernard emigrated to the United States so he could work as an electrical engineer. Doehner was described as a hard-working man, and a devoted family man who worked as an electrical engineer in Mexico, Ecuador, and the United States. He retired from New England Electric System in Westborough, Massachusetts, in 1999.

After retirement, Doehner and his wife lived in Colorado till 2018, when they moved to Laconia, New Hampshire.

Last survivor of the Hindenburg disaster

Doehner, the last living link to the Hindenburg disaster's part of American history, lived his life in relative low profile obscurity. He eventually became historically significant when he was acknowledged as being the last living survivor of the original surviving 62 passengers and crew who jumped from the dirigible's flames on May 6, 1937, at NAS Lakehurst, Lakehurst Borough, New Jersey. The _Hindenburg_ flames and crash killed Doehner's father, sister, and 34 others. Doehner, his parents, older brother and sister were taking a vacation on the _Hindenburg_ from Germany to New Jersey. Doehner finally ended his self-imposed silence in 2017, and told the Associated Press on the 80th anniversary of the Hindenburg disaster that his mother threw him and his older brother out of the ship while it was on fire. His mother then jumped from the flaming _Hindenburg_ to the ground after them. Hydrogen, exposed to air, had triggered an inferno somewhere on the airship, causing flames to flicker atop the airship, which then ignited the airship as it attempted but failed to land.[1][2]

[1]

[2]

title: Werner Doehner

question: What type of airship was the Hindenburg?

answer: A Zeppelin airship.

question: Where was Doehner born?

answer: Germany.

question: Where did he spend his childhood?

answer: Mexico.

question: Which of Doehner's family members did the air disaster kill?

answer: His father and sister.

question: Write a ~7 sentence summary.

answer: Werner Gustav Doehner was the last survivor of the Hindenburg air disaster. He was German, and spent his childhood in Mexico City. He and his wife emigrated from Germany to the United States in 1984, so he could work as an electrical engineer. Doehner is known to have lived most of his life in relative obscurity until it was brought to light that he was the last survivor alive from the explosion, which occurred in 1937 in New Jersey when the Zeppelin aircraft crashed and burned. Doehner had lived in self-imposed silence until 2017, when he told the Associated Press on the 80th anniversary of the Hindenburg disaster that his mother threw him and his older brother out of the ship while it was on fire. His mother then jumped from the flames. Doehner passed away in 2019.


text:
He held the pack of cigarettes out to her, but he knew she’d decline. She’d given that habit up a long time ago. They zoned out of the gray noise of the traffic passing by them, time began to slow. It was a bleak sunday morning, the anniversary of an event neither of them could find the courage to recall.

They stood in silence, as if they occupied two different worlds. After all, there was nothing left for them to say. She looked down at him, she had always been slightly taller than he was. She couldn’t meet his upward gaze, like a weak magnet facing a stronger one, she found she couldn’t bring them close enough to meet. She wondered if he thought about their friendship anymore, but she could never bring herself to ask. Why would she? She didn’t particularly want to know the answer, anyway, nor did she think he’d even have one to offer. She wished she could express how much she cared about him without it coming off as desperate. She saw him take a long drag of his cigarette. The thick smoke filled his lungs, and as she watched, the back of her throat began to burn. It was a phantom pain that she couldn’t forget. Turning away from him, she shut her eyes tightly, trying to force the image out of her mind.

He wasn’t ever really sure how or why she ever forgave him for what happened - he didn’t really know how or why he forgave her, either. He held no malice, it was in the past - but he never knew if she was happy when he was around anymore. Something about her presence made him long for his perceived vision of happiness, the fictive memories of nights they never shared. He thought about the wedding - or to be more precise, the wedding cut short. Deep down, he knew that it could’ve gone more smoothly. They had some bumps in the road, but he never thought that it could go so wrong so quickly. He tried to translate his emotions into words, but he couldn’t. There was nothing left for them to say.

It occurred to her that the very place that they met was in a way a physical reminder of what happened. They had driven by here together a countless number of times: on their way to school, to the wedding.... No, she couldn’t think about it now. There were dozens of couples who came here to talk. She had to remain strong. She had brought flowers with her, the same kind she’d bought him so long ago. She dropped them on the ground in front of him and turned to walk away. Tears began to collect in her eyes: she wished she could stay to talk, but she knew she couldn’t. There was nothing left for them to say.
He stepped in front of her, but she seemed to walk right through him. He couldn’t help it: he leaned forward to kiss her. She kept walking, tears ran from her eyes. He tried to talk to her: he ran besides her as she walked back to her car. She didn’t seem to notice. He opened his mouth to speak, but couldn’t find the words, physically incapable of talking to her. He reached out his hand to place it on her shoulder, but it passed right through her.

Another car had pulled over behind hers, its owner seemed to be fixing a flat. She fumbled with her keys to unlock the door, Traffic raced by on the freeway as she got in and turned on the engine. She shot the roadside grave one more remorseful glance before she drove away. She wished she could just see him one more time, but she knew that it couldn’t happen. Besides, it had been so long since the accident - three years today - an anniversary, of sorts. What would they even talk about? There was nothing left for them to say.

title: [MF] Nothing Left to Say

question: Who are the main characters of the story?

answer: The woman and the man, both unnamed.

question: What is their relationship to one another?

answer: They were married.

question: Where does the story take place?

answer: By the roadside of an unnamed freeway.

question: What was she doing by the roadside?

answer: It's the third anniversary of her husband's death and the roadside was the site of the accident.

question: Write a ~6 sentence summary.

answer: On the third anniversary of her husband's death, a woman visits the roadside on the freeway where the accident occurred. Her husband is there standing with her and smoking a cigarette. He forgives her for what happened and wonders why she ever forgave him. She cries, trying to walk away from the memories. He tries to talk to her and hold her, but she goes right through him. Their marriage had its share of bumps and it went wrong quickly, but she wishes she could see him one last time.


text:
An argument over a missing cell phone led to a brawl at a Newark pizza place that involved at least 20 people, according to one witness.

The surprise twist: It turned out the cell phone was turned into the restaurant's lost and found hours before the brawl started, police told NBC Bay Area.

The fight broke out Saturday night at John's Incredible Pizza Company at the NewPark Mall. Video captured patrons throwing punches and yelling at each other as staff members tried to separate different groups that were fighting.

[Food is a powerful thing. Just ask the following people, who allegedly committed some really ridiculous crimes in pursuit of a snack.]
1of26
FOOD IS A POWERFUL THING. JUST ASK THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE, WHO ALLEGEDLY COMMITTED SOME REALLY RIDICULOUS CRIMES IN PURSUIT OF A SNACK.

Viktoriia Leontieva/EyeEm
[In hot water for lobster An intoxicated Florida woman yelled at a restaurant manager and stole a live lobster. News outlets report 42-year-old Kimberly Gabel was arrested in November 2018 and charged with disorderly intoxication and petit theft]
2of26
IN HOT WATER FOR LOBSTER

An intoxicated Florida woman yelled at a restaurant manager and stole a live lobster. News outlets report 42-year-old Kimberly Gabel was arrested in November 2018 and charged with disorderly intoxication and petit theft

[Burger and coke Friendswood residents Nicholas Ryan May, 20, and Wyatt Samuel Gensemer, 19, face drug charges after Whataburger employees called Friendswood police after the pair were allegedly using cocaine while in the restaurant drive-thru in the early morning hours of Nov. 10, 2016. They were arrested a short distance from the Whataburger in a white Nissan SUV.]
3of26
BURGER AND COKE

Friendswood residents Nicholas Ryan May, 20, and Wyatt Samuel Gensemer, 19, face drug charges after Whataburger employees called Friendswood police after the pair were allegedly using cocaine while in the restaurant drive-thru in the early morning hours of Nov. 10, 2016. They were arrested a short distance from the Whataburger in a white Nissan SUV.

Courtesy, Whataburger
[Dine, ditch, dash...repeat At least eight women allegedly ended up footing the bill at swanky Los Angeles restaurants after police in September 2018 said Paul Guadalupe Gonzales, 45, invited them out to dinner via online dating then ditched them before the meal was over.]
4of26
DINE, DITCH, DASH...REPEAT

At least eight women allegedly ended up footing the bill at swanky Los Angeles restaurantsafter police in September 2018 said Paul Guadalupe Gonzales, 45, invited them out to dinner via online dating then ditched them before the meal was over.

[Battle for chicken A Houston woman was taken into custody by Bryan police in August 2018 after allegedly assaulting a pregnant woman with a tire iron in an argument over chicken at a grocery store.]
5of26
BATTLE FOR CHICKEN

A Houston woman was taken into custody by Bryan police in August 2018 after allegedly assaulting a pregnant woman with a tire iron in an argument over chicken at a grocery store.Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
[Waffle House robber with AK-47 Antoine Cooper, 26, of Dallas, was on life support after being shot July 7, 2016, by a Waffle House customer in the south Dallas suburb of DeSoto. Cooper entered the restaurant brandishing an AK-47 and robbed several patrons before going outside to the parking lot, where he was shot by the customer, police said.]
6of26
WAFFLE HOUSE ROBBER WITH AK-47

Antoine Cooper, 26, of Dallas, was on life support after being shot July 7, 2016, by a Waffle House customer in the south Dallas suburb of DeSoto. Cooper entered the restaurant brandishing an AK-47 and robbed several patrons before going outside to the parking lot, where he was shot by the customer, police said.

Raymond Boyd/Getty Images
[Truly passionate In early 2017, a Maryland couple was charged with public lewdness after they engaged in oral sex in the middle of a Pennsylvania-area McDonald's eatery. ]
7of26TRULY PASSIONATE
In early 2017, a Maryland couple was charged with public lewdness after they engaged in oral sex in the middle of a Pennsylvania-area McDonald's eatery.

JOERG KOCH/AFP/Getty Images
[He didn't technically leave the premises  A Texas man was charged with misdemeanor theft at an H-E-B store. Police say he stuffed a package of sushi and three bottles of wine into his pants and took them into the bathroom to eat.]
8of26
HE DIDN'T TECHNICALLY LEAVE THE PREMISES

A Texas man was charged with misdemeanor theft at an H-E-B store. Police say he stuffed a package of sushi and three bottles of wine into his pants and took them into the bathroom to eat.
[That's not what 911 is for Disappointing Chinese food does not warrant a 911 call. An Ohio woman had to learn that life lesson when she decided to contact the authorities about the substandard fare.]
9of26THAT'S NOT WHAT 911 IS FOR
Disappointing Chinese food does not warrant a 911 call. An Ohio woman had to learn that life lesson when she decided to contact the authorities about the substandard fare.

[Pizza for all A man repeatedly punched a customer at a Little Caesars Pizza restaurant in Salinas, Calif. on June 6, 2015. Police report the customer insulted the man's mother, saying ]
10of26PIZZA FOR ALL
A man repeatedly punched a customer at a Little Caesars Pizza restaurant in Salinas, Calif. on June 6, 2015. Police report the customer insulted the man's mother, saying "she should not eat pizza because she was already overweight." Apparently the woman's son got to the offending party before she was able to get a crowbar from her vehicle.

Handout/PR NEWSWIRE
[Burrito bites A man reportedly punched a diner in the face while trying to get a handout at a Seattle restaurant. The alleged attacker repeatedly demanded a bite of the victim's burrito until the victim stood up. Then, the attacker punched the victim in the head. ]
11of26BURRITO BITES
A man reportedly punched a diner in the face while trying to get a handout at a Seattle restaurant. The alleged attacker repeatedly demanded a bite of the victim's burrito until the victim stood up. Then, the attacker punched the victim in the head.

Imstepf Studios Llc/Getty Images
[Naked chicken A man who got stuck breaking into a Mr. Beef restaurant in Chicago found it easier to get in after taking his clothes off. Once he made it past the window's bars, he microwaved a chicken tender snack before police caught him. The break-in was caught on video.]
12of26NAKED CHICKENJuanmonino/Getty Images
[Just a minute, officer  A suspected drunk driver, caught by Ohio police in the drive-through line of a Taco Bell, made police wait for her to grab her food before moving out of line so they could apprehend her.]
13of26JUST A MINUTE, OFFICER
A suspected drunk driver, caught by Ohio police in the drive-through line of a Taco Bell, made police wait for her to grab her food before moving out of line so they could apprehend her.

Taco Bell
[That's not a chicken leg A man was accused of exposing himself to employees of a Bojangles' restaurant after employees told him they had run out of chicken legs. The man reportedly replied ]
14of26THAT'S NOT A CHICKEN LEG
A man was accused of exposing himself to employees of a Bojangles' restaurant after employees told him they had run out of chicken legs. The man reportedly replied "Here's a (expletive) leg for you" before pulling down his pants while seated in a minivan.

Iain Bagwell/Getty Images
[Jack out of the box A Jack in the Box customer allegedly shoved another customer to the ground after he became enraged when the restaurant attempted to charge him 25 cents for a third packet of ranch dressing.]
15of26JACK OUT OF THE BOXJack In The Box
[Sauce does not go on babies A woman was arrested after she reportedly entered a Chinese restaurant, made racist comments to customers and started flipping their plates over. She was also accused of dousing a baby in soy sauce.]
16of26SAUCE DOES NOT GO ON BABIESCarin Krasner/Getty Images
[No such thing as a free pizza An enraged customer in the Seattle area allegedly stabbed a pizza restaurant employee in the back after the restaurant refused to give him a free pizza. Police said they found four knives on the suspect when they arrested him.]
17of26NO SUCH THING AS A FREE PIZZA
An enraged customer in the Seattle area allegedly stabbed a pizza restaurant employee in the back after the restaurant refused to give him a free pizza. Police said they found four knives on the suspect when they arrested him.

--/Pizza Hut
[BK 'bikini brawler' A woman in a bikini was arrested after she was caught on camera jumping on top of a Burger King counter and throwing a donation jar at employees, and pulling the hair of one employee. The woman said she thought the restaurant was preparing her food too slowly.]
18of26BK 'BIKINI BRAWLER'
A woman in a bikini was arrested after she was caught on camera jumping on top of a Burger King counter and throwing a donation jar at employees, and pulling the hair of one employee. The woman said she thought the restaurant was preparing her food too slowly.

Nick Ut/Associated Press
[Crime only pays in burgers? A real-life ]
19of26CRIME ONLY PAYS IN BURGERS?Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
[A good evening ruined Police tracked a suspect down in the streets after he allegedly struck a Chipotle employee in the face with a glass bottle of hot sauce, cutting the employee and himself. The suspect had become enraged when the employee wished him a ]
20of26A GOOD EVENING RUINED
Police tracked a suspect down in the streets after he allegedly struck a Chipotle employee in the face with a glass bottle of hot sauce, cutting the employee and himself. The suspect had become enraged when the employee wished him a "good evening."

Erickson Photography/Getty Images
[Self-serve A drunk suspect who reportedly broke into a Pizza Hut wasn't hard for police to find. They said he was busy trying to fry some chicken wings in the middle of the night.]
21of26SELF-SERVEJosef Mohyla/Getty Images
[Tax dollars at work Two McDonald's customers and an employee reportedly called 9-1-1 on each other after the customers claimed they were supposed to have received hash browns with their breakfast sandwiches. When the restaurant refused to provide hash browns, employees claimed the wife threw a bag of food at employees and both parties called in emergency crews.]
22of26TAX DOLLARS AT WORK
Two McDonald's customers and an employee reportedly called 9-1-1 on each other after the customers claimed they were supposed to have received hash browns with their breakfast sandwiches. When the restaurant refused to provide hash browns, employees claimed the wife threw a bag of food at employees and both parties called in emergency crews.

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press
[Too much to carry A man accused of breaking into a Sonic restaurant by shattering a glass door led police right to his house with a trail of food, including hot dogs, hot dog buns, chicken breasts and corn dogs.]
23of26TOO MUCH TO CARRYMarcus Nilsson
[Strange currency A Los Angeles woman was arrested on charges of prostitution after she allegedly propositioned customers in a McDonald's drive-through. One customer told police the woman offered to perform sexual favors in exchange for chicken nuggets.]
24of26STRANGE CURRENCYPRN
[Served family style A man nicknamed ]
25of26SERVED FAMILY STYLE
A man nicknamed "Eggs" reportedly became upset when his brother Gene cut a McDonald's brownie in half. Eggs allegedly grabbed three steak knives and slashed his brother, who police said defended himself by throwing a television.

Seth Perlman/Associated Press
[I have a beef with inflation A customer at a Taco Bell became enraged after learning of a 50-cent price increase on Beefy Crunch Burritos and allegedly fired a BB gun at the restaurant's manager through the drive-through window. He was also accused of shooting at police and sparking a standoff when he barricaded himself inside a motel room.]
26of26I HAVE A BEEF WITH INFLATION
A customer at a Taco Bell became enraged after learning of a 50-cent price increase on Beefy Crunch Burritos and allegedly fired a BB gun at the restaurant's manager through the drive-through window. He was also accused of shooting at police and sparking a standoff when he barricaded himself inside a motel room.

Steve Helber/Associated Press

-   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -

Nicole Davis recorded the fight and confirmed the police account of events, telling SFGATE that at least 20 people took part in the fight and that pepper spray was deployed at one point in the brawl.

"It was a horrible experience," Davis said of the fight. "I made sure I protected my kids until they cleared the way so we can get out, but I just hated the fact they did this at a family establishment. It makes me sick that my kids had to see that and all the kids that were scared crying."

Davis said staff members had trouble containing the fight before police arrived and didn't initially help other patrons get out of the restaurant when the fight broke out.

"One staff member jumped in by himself to stop the fight and ended up getting hurt. He had no backup. That just wasn't a safe move," Davis said of the employees. "It's not their fault. This is not their job title. They don't train them for things like this."

The large crowd size prompted Newark police to ask the Fremont Police Department for assistance in breaking up the brawl.

A manager later found the missing cell phone while police were at the restaurant, NBC Bay Area reported. Only minor injuries were sustained during the fight and there were no arrests, according to police.

question: What was the argument over?

answer: The argument was over a missing cell phone.

question: Where did the fight break out?

answer: The fight broke out at John's Incredible Pizza Company.

question: What did the video capture about the fight?

answer: The video captured patrons throwing punches and yelling at each other as staff members tried to separate different groups that were fighting.

question: Where did the missing cell phone turn up?

answer: The missing cell phone turned up at the restaurant's lost and found hours before the brawl started.

question: How many people were involved in the argument?

answer: At least 20 people were involved in the argument

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: This article describes an argument that occurred at a Newark pizza place over a missing cell phone. The overall theme of the article is how heated people get over food.


text:
[Holt County Nebraska Map] HOLT COUNTY is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 10,435.[1] Its county seat is O'Neill.[2]

Holt County is in the Outback area of Nebraska.[3]

In the Nebraska license plate system, Holt County is represented by the prefix 36 (it had the 36th-largest number of vehicles registered in the county when the license plate system was established in 1922).

History

Holt County was created by an act of the Nebraska Territory Legislature in 1862 and was organized in 1876.[4][5][6] It is named for Joseph Holt of Kentucky, who was Postmaster General and Secretary of War under President James Buchanan. It shares its name with Holt County, Missouri, though it is named for a different Holt.

Geography

The terrain of Holt County consists of low rolling hills, with the flattened areas used for agriculture. The Niobrara River flows eastward along the north line of the county, and the Elkhorn River flows southeastward through the upper central portion of the county. The county has an area of , of which is land and (0.2%) is water.[7] It is Nebraska's fifth-largest county by area.

Major highways

-   [] U.S. Highway 20
-   [] U.S. Highway 275
-   [] U.S. Highway 281
-   [] Nebraska Highway 11
-   [] Nebraska Highway 95

Adjacent counties

-   Boyd County - north
-   Knox County - east
-   Wheeler County - south
-   Garfield County - south
-   Loup County - southwest
-   Rock County - west
-   Keya Paha County - northwest

Demographics

As of the 2000 United States Census,[8] there were 11,551 people, 4,608 households, and 3,170 families residing in the county. The population density was 5 people per square mile (2/km²). There were 5,281 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile (1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.86% White, 0.03% Black or African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.23% from other races, and 0.35% from two or more races. 0.71% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 46.0% were of German, 12.5% Irish, 8.6% American, 7.5% English and 5.4% Czech ancestry.

There were 4,608 households, out of which 31.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.70% were married couples living together, 5.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.20% were non-families. 28.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.06.

The county population contained 27.30% under the age of 18, 5.70% from 18 to 24, 24.50% from 25 to 44, 22.70% from 45 to 64, and 19.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 96.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,738, and the median income for a family was $37,463. Males had a median income of $24,681 versus $17,593 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,256. About 9.80% of families and 13.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.00% of those under age 18 and 12.10% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

-   Atkinson
-   O'Neill (county seat)

Villages

-   Chambers
-   Emmet
-   Ewing
-   Inman
-   Page
-   Stuart

Unincorporated communities

-   Amelia
-   Anncar
-   Catalpa
-   Deloit
-   Dorsey
-   Dustin
-   Inez
-   Meek
-   Opportunity
-   Paddock
-   Redbird
-   Stafford
-   Star

Townships

-   Antelope
-   Atkinson
-   Belle
-   Chambers
-   Cleveland
-   Coleman
-   Conley
-   Deloit
-   Dustin
-   Emmet
-   Ewing
-   Fairview
-   Francis
-   Golden
-   Grattan
-   Green Valley
-   Holt Creek
-   Inman
-   Iowa
-   Josie
-   Lake
-   McClure
-   Paddock
-   Pleasant View
-   Rock Falls
-   Sand Creek
-   Saratoga
-   Scott
-   Shamrock
-   Sheridan
-   Shields
-   Steel Creek
-   Stuart
-   Swan
-   Verdigris
-   Willowdale
-   Wyoming

Politics

Holt County voters have historically tended to vote Republican. In only two elections since 1916 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate.

  Year                               Republican                                  Democratic                                  Third Parties
  ---------------------------------- ------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------- ----------------------------
  style=“text-align:center;” |2016   style=“text-align:center;” |85.1% _4,354_   style=“text-align:center;” |10.4% _531_     4.6% _233_
  style=“text-align:center;” |2012   style=“text-align:center;” |79.4% _3,922_   style=“text-align:center;” |17.9% _882_     2.7% _135_
  style=“text-align:center;” |2008   style=“text-align:center;” |75.3% _3,746_   style=“text-align:center;” |21.9% _1,089_   2.8% _139_
  style=“text-align:center;” |2004   style=“text-align:center;” |81.5% _4,217_   style=“text-align:center;” |17.3% _894_     1.2% _63_
  style=“text-align:center;” |2000   style=“text-align:center;” |79.7% _3,954_   style=“text-align:center;” |17.1% _846_     3.2% _159_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1996   style=“text-align:center;” |65.3% _3,436_   style=“text-align:center;” |21.0% _1,107_   13.7% _721_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1992   style=“text-align:center;” |54.9% _3,131_   style=“text-align:center;” |14.6% _835_     30.5% _1,737_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1988   style=“text-align:center;” |74.7% _4,081_   style=“text-align:center;” |24.3% _1,327_   1.1% _58_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1984   style=“text-align:center;” |83.2% _4,613_   style=“text-align:center;” |16.1% _893_     0.7% _39_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1980   style=“text-align:center;” |77.0% _4,495_   style=“text-align:center;” |17.4% _1,016_   5.6% _327_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1976   style=“text-align:center;” |64.2% _3,389_   style=“text-align:center;” |33.2% _1,751_   2.6% _138_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1972   style=“text-align:center;” |79.8% _4,147_   style=“text-align:center;” |20.3% _1,053_   style="text-align:center;|
  style=“text-align:center;” |1968   style=“text-align:center;” |66.0% _3,319_   style=“text-align:center;” |25.4% _1,278_   8.6% _430_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1964   style=“text-align:center;” |53.8% _3,194_   style=“text-align:center;” |46.2% _2,739_   style="text-align:center;|
  style=“text-align:center;” |1960   style=“text-align:center;” |63.0% _4,150_   style=“text-align:center;” |37.0% _2,438_   style="text-align:center;|
  style=“text-align:center;” |1956   style=“text-align:center;” |69.3% _4,237_   style=“text-align:center;” |30.7% _1,874_   style="text-align:center;|
  style=“text-align:center;” |1952   style=“text-align:center;” |74.7% _5,088_   style=“text-align:center;” |25.3% _1,726_   style="text-align:center;|
  style=“text-align:center;” |1948   style=“text-align:center;” |54.6% _3,147_   style=“text-align:center;” |45.5% _2,622_   style="text-align:center;|
  style=“text-align:center;” |1944   style=“text-align:center;” |62.1% _4,198_   style=“text-align:center;” |37.9% _2,565_   style="text-align:center;|
  style=“text-align:center;” |1940   style=“text-align:center;” |61.6% _4,840_   style=“text-align:center;” |38.4% _3,016_   style="text-align:center;|
  style=“text-align:center;” |1936   style=“text-align:center;” |47.8% _3,714_   style=“text-align:center;” |50.3% _3,902_   1.9% _148_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1932   style=“text-align:center;” |33.0% _2,375_   style=“text-align:center;” |66.1% _4,761_   0.9% _64_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1928   style=“text-align:center;” |54.4% _3,746_   style=“text-align:center;” |45.4% _3,126_   0.2% _10_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1924   style=“text-align:center;” |37.1% _2,207_   style=“text-align:center;” |25.7% _1,529_   37.1% _2,207_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1920   style=“text-align:center;” |64.6% _3,163_   style=“text-align:center;” |32.2% _1,577_   3.2% _158_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1916   style=“text-align:center;” |40.2% _1,568_   style=“text-align:center;” |56.7% _2,213_   3.1% _120_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1912   style=“text-align:center;” |21.6% _778_     style=“text-align:center;” |40.5% _1,456_   37.9% _1,364_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1908   style=“text-align:center;” |44.3% _1,541_   style=“text-align:center;” |51.1% _1,777_   4.7% _162_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1904   style=“text-align:center;” |52.9% _1,740_   style=“text-align:center;” |19.7% _646_     27.4% _902_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1900   style=“text-align:center;” |45.1% _1,320_   style=“text-align:center;” |50.9% _1,492_   4.0% _118_

  : PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION RESULTS[9]

[1]

[2]

[3] “About” , North Central RC&D.

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9] Election Results

title: Holt County, Nebraska

question: Summarize the population of Holt County Nebraska as of the 2000 census.

answer: Holt County is a vast open land that is home to a vastly white population that has less then 2% non-white citizens. There is plenty of space available, given the 2 people/sqkm distribution. Families for a majority of the households, with very few single mothers. This is a notable number of senior citizens living alone as well. Gender distribution is mostly even, with females just mildly outnumbering the number of men. A little over 10% of the families live beliw the poverty line, showing that while the county is economically stable, there is still some room for improvement,


text:
This is a strange land. The days that are not scorched under the burning sun are usually sultry under the oppressive humidity of rain bearing clouds. When it rains, it does not rain in drops – like it should, but in sheets of impenetrable water. In the creeks and waterways lurk predators unchanged for eons. The dry land holds no reprieve as it is replete with venomous critters, unseen and unheard harbingers of death. It’s not surprising then, that it is but a wasteland for the peoples populating the more hospitable lands to the south. Neither is it surprising that this land is devoid of humanity.  It’s not that this land is without a strange, almost ancient, kind of beauty. However, it’s not, obviously, something that beckoned visitors or would-be residents with open arms.

This is why it was so weird that they had left their cozy homes and comfortable jobs in the anonymous suburbia to move here. Mat & Sid’s parents had always romanticized this land. Their youth and naivety had misled them into a notion of freedom in the life off the land under this harsh sun. It would have been ironic, had it not been such a tragedy, that they had far too soon lost their lives to this unforgiving land. The twins were at the tender age of five or thereabouts.

It was a matter of tremendous luck then, that in such a tenuously populated area the twins had found a caretaker. Bigg was a recluse, probably a felon and most definitely a maniac with delusions of grandeur. In his mind, he was the king of this realm. No animal could harm him. The shining bright sun that made tinder out of living trees was powerless to make him sweat and the venomous critters were but vermin to be squashed underneath his bare feet. But that is what made him special and especially suitable to live off this land. He was fearless in the face of danger which lurked paralyzingly close. This, in turn, made him able to fetch food, water and shelter at will.

It didn’t come as surprise to Mat that they had a very unusual childhood. They didn’t learn about the world or math or culture, no, they learnt about the greatness of Bigg. They learnt how he could bend the land to his will. When not learning how else to exalt Bigg, they learnt to kill animals that could kill them and eat the rest. They also learnt to stalk and hunt, to grovel and beg before Bigg for more ideas and when all else failed, to steal – from each other, from other, more formidable, critters. Mat never liked this life and yearned to escape. It’s not that he was ever prevented from escaping, it’s just that he knew, even as a child, separation from Bigg meant death in this unyielding landscape and that tormented him. Sid, on the other hand, while never deriving sadistic pleasure out of any of this, was, for the lack of a better word, content. This annoyed Mat, it did as child and it did now.

Despite all his vagaries, Bigg was a father figure for the twins. He valued the stories of their exploits in the land more than the spoils. He had, for instance, no interest in the meat that took a great deal of effort on the part of twins to hunt, but he had great interest in their story of the hunt, and the fact that they did it. While he enjoyed some of the fruits of his own toils, he never grew attached to them, neither did he place a great deal of value in things the twins had obtained at great effort. He was too attached to himself, perhaps. This was another thing that Mat never understood; to him, something that took effort to procure was valuable, it’d even more valuable if others valued it too, of course, but they didn’t. Mat would often remind himself that Bigg was a maniac, that would explain everything. But what annoyed Mat was the fact that Sid would nonchalantly let their spoils go to waste were Mat not to take notice.

When the twins were not much more than fifteen, they were “discovered” by some hardy travelers passing through. Child protection services had put them up in a care center and eventually a foster home. The date they were brought to the foster home was celebrated as their birthday ever since. Mat loved his brother, and he was sure Sid loved him back, in as much as  he could be said to love anything. But they had increasingly grown distant despite their physical proximity. Mat remembered their first “birthday” in the foster home vividly. They had a hastily baked strawberry shortcake presented to them by their foster family. Sid’s advice was “Mat, enjoy the cake, really taste every bit of it and enjoy it when it’s available. But don’t get addicted to it, don’t remember it and yearn for it. Expectation only brings misery.” This and other such strange things is what made Mat grow tired of his brother.

Initially, they were ill adjusted to the life in the City. They were, after all, feral children – they didn’t belong in civilization. Their history notwithstanding, Mat did remarkably well at school. Sid seem disinterested in what civilization had to teach them. Mat even went to a prestigious college. In college fell in love with a girl and they got married by the time he was in his early twenties. Post education, he took up a job, not much different, perhaps, from his parents’ anonymous vocation. Mat and his wife lived in a suburb, had a pet dog for company and generally led a life that society had taught them would bring happiness, or at least this is how they were to pursue that elusive emotion. In all the years since Mat went off to college, however, he had hardly met Sid. Sid had come to Mat’s wedding, but that was about all they had seen of each other during all these years. Their foster family was not much close to them, for they were rebellious, not to mention feral, teenagers when they were brought there and by the time they could appreciate what that family had done for them it had grown dysfunctional.

Last year, however, Sid had called on Mat to meet him. It startled Mat, for, in all these years he couldn’t remember a single instance where Sid had asked him for anything, not even to meet him! The conversation they had then was exceedingly strange to Mat, even by the standards of his conversations with Sid. Mat recalled the conversation in his mind.

“How have you been, my brother?”
“I’m alright Sid. In fact I don’t think I’ve ever been happier. What are you doing these days?”
“Oh, it’s not much, I just bring people to our land and show them its beauty. Can you believe they pay me to do that? They pay me good money – just to show them something that could harm them!”
“I’m glad to hear that, are you happy?”
“I’m content, brother. I heard you bought a house?”
“Yes, Bigg would’ve been proud!”
“Indeed, say, do you ever wonder… never mind…”
“What is it?”
“It’s just that, do you ever wonder… you were so distraught at our parents’ sudden demise and so suddenly we find Bigg… or that he never provided us with anything, nothing physical, just… comfort… or that the social services never found anyone else where we lived…?”
“Well, it was providential that we found him. I don’t find it hard to believe that no one found him, remember he was a master of disguise and he’d lived off the land for god knows how long.”
“Yes, never mind. The reason I called, my… err… business is doing rather well… too well in fact. But I don’t want it. I want you to have it”
“What? I have my job here, my life here, I don’t want to go back to the land”
“You don’t have to, if you don’t want to. You can sell it. I have other people who guide people in the land as well, you could just manage it”
“Are you serious?!”
“Yes. Here are the papers.”
“And… what.. what will you do?”
“Oh, I’m off to explore places, experiences and the world…”
“You know you are giving up lots of things. You can have a good life here, a family perhaps… You can be happy!”
“Ah, but that’s not what I’m after!”
“What ARE you after?”
“Well… nothing”
“You are crazy”
“So are you, my brother”

It turned out that Sid’s business was worth millions. Mat would’ve been a fool to not keep it. It annoyed him that Sid didn’t want to be happy, it annoyed him that he had to be back in the land he detested. But it meant money. So he was back, he was guiding a few folks in the area, showing them the ropes of surviving the land. He thought to himself “this is a strange land”…

title: The generic dream

question: What does the story say about Mat?

answer: Mat and Sid are twins who lost their parents when they were five years old. They were looked after by a man named Bigg, who was both kind and delusional. He considered himself the king of the harsh and mostly uninhabited land they lived in, thought them how to hunt, cared for the stories they'd tell, but not for the spoils they'd bring. Mat found it strange; according to him, things that took effort were valuable. Mat would've escaped if he thought he could survive. They were re-introduced to civil society when they were 15 and grew apart. The discrepancies were there even before. Sid was aloof, not interested in the material things, and he continued to be that way. Mat, on the other hand, took well to civilized life. He did well at school, went to college, fell in love, and married. He lived life as most people in suburbia do, and one day Sid called him to tell about his business as a travel guide, showing people the inhospitable land they lived in as children. As annoyed as Mat was to see Sid give up his business, which was worth millions, he took it anyway. He detested the land but liked the money.

question: What does the text say about Sid?

answer: Mat and Sid are twins who lost their parents when they were five years old. They were looked after by a man named Bigg, who was both kind and delusional. He considered himself the king of the harsh and mostly uninhabited land they lived in, thought them how to hunt, cared for the stories they'd tell, but not for the spoils they'd bring. While Sid never showed much pleasure in their life, he was content. They were re-introduced to civil society when they were 15 and grew apart. The discrepancies were there even before. Sid was aloof, not interested in the material things, and he continued to be that way. Mat, on the other hand, took well to civilized life, living like a regular white-collar suburbia dweller. The first time when the boys celebrated their birthdays, Sid had advised Mat to enjoy the cake but never to yearn for it. He continued to live like that, very rarely seeing Mat. Sid became a travel guide, showing people the land they grew up on, finding it strange that people wanted to pay to see things that could kill them. His business was worth millions, but he gave it to his brother anyway, choosing to explore new places and experience new things.

question: What does the story say about how Bigg died?


text:
_Melanie has a BS in physical science and is in grad school for analytics and modeling. Her research is in computational chemistry._

[On April 15th, 1912, "the ship of dreams" collided with an iceberg and sank. This resulted in over 1,500 crew and passenger deaths. ]
On April 15th, 1912, "the ship of dreams" collided with an iceberg and sank. This resulted in over 1,500 crew and passenger deaths.

It's well-known that the Titanic sank as a result of a collision with an iceberg, but what you might not know is _where_ it sank. Where exactly was the Titanic when she plunged below the ocean's surface? What was her last port of call? Where was she headed? How far was she from her final destination when she sank?

When Did the Titanic Sink?

The Titanic disembarked on her maiden voyage on April 10th, 1912. Mere days later, the ship collided with an iceberg. Sometime in the early morning hours of April 15th, she slipped under the icy waters (which were roughly 28° F) of the North Atlantic. Over 1,500 passengers and crew (including the captain) perished.

When Was the Wreckage Located?

It took researchers years to find the Titanic's wreckage. She was not seen again until September of 1985 when researchers on the vessel _Knorr_ were able to identify debris from the ship's boilers.

[This is the last known photo of RMS Titanic. It was taken on April 12th, 1912 during the vessel's maiden voyage.]
This is the last known photo of RMS Titanic. It was taken on April 12th, 1912 during the vessel's maiden voyage.

Where Was the Titanic Found?

Research teams were initially hindered by the fact that the Titanic's final resting place was nowhere near the location of her last distress call. After searching for the wrecked vessel for some time, Dr. Robert Ballard found the first remnants 13 miles southeast of the location of the final distress call.

As it turns out, the Titanic sank in the North Atlantic Ocean roughly 400 miles (640 km) southeast of the coast of Newfoundland. The bow of the ship was found at 41°43'57" N, 49°56'49" W and the stern was located at 41°43'35" N, 49°56'54" W.

[This is a photo of an iceberg found on April 15th, 1912, close to where the Titanic sank.]

[This is a photo of an iceberg found on April 15th, 1912, close to where the Titanic sank.]

[A streak of red paint left scraped along the base of one of the icebergs indicated that it had collided with a vessel within the previous 12 hours.]

This is a photo of an iceberg found on April 15th, 1912, close to where the Titanic sank.

Where Is the Titanic's Wreckage?

As the Titanic was sinking, the bow and stern separated as a result of structural stresses on the ship. This caused the vessel's contents to be strewn across the ocean floor in a debris field spanning roughly 2000 feet.

The bow of the Titanic, which comprises the largest piece of the wreckage, was found at 41°43'57" N, 49°56'49" W. The ship's stern was located at 41°43'35" N, 49°56'54" W. The final resting place of the ship's boilers was at 41°43'32" N, 49°56'49" W. The Titanic made her final distress call from 41°46' N, 50°14' W.

[This is a photograph of Titanic's bow taken in June 2004]
This is a photograph of Titanic's bow taken in June 2004

Where Was the Titanic Going?

The Titanic started her journey in Southampton, England headed toward Cherbourg, France. From Cherbourg, the Titanic sailed to Cobh (then known as Queenstown), Ireland. After leaving Cobh—her final port of call—the Titanic made her maiden voyage across the Atlantic bound for New York, USA.

How Far Was the Titanic From Her Destination When She Sank?

By the time she collided with the iceberg, the Titanic had already covered more than half of her journey from Cobh and was set to dock at Pier 59 in New York on April 17th, 1912. The ill-fated voyage across the icy waters ended approximately 1000 miles from New York. The Titanic was within mere hours of the Lightship Ambrose and only about 375 miles due south of Newfoundland when she had her fateful rendezvous with the drifting chunk of ice that caused her demise.

[This photo of the Titanic embarking on her maiden voyage was taken on April 10th, 1912.]
This photo of the Titanic embarking on her maiden voyage was taken on April 10th, 1912.

How Deep Is the Titanic's Wreckage?

The Titanic currently rests in mud and sediment on the ocean floor approximately 12,415 feet (2.35 miles) below the surface. That's incredibly deep! The pressure and frigid temperature at this depth make exploration and excavation efforts extremely difficult, dangerous, and costly.

Map of the Titanic's Route

What Is Being Done to Preserve The Titanic's Remains?

While freezing cold temperatures have, to some extent, helped preserve the Titanic, she is nevertheless starting to decay and fall apart. Roofs have begun to cave-in, decks have started to grow weaker, and the stern may soon collapse. Because of this, many deep-sea expedition teams are doing what they can to help preserve the ship.

The vessel is currently undergoing sonar mapping, which will later be used to form a 3D replica of the wreckage. This replica will be used by scientists in order to better study the ship.

Perhaps someday, we will have the technology to bring both the bow and stern of the Titanic to the surface. Currently, many objects from the ship, including coal, metal, dishes, and items owned by the ship's passengers are being recovered and brought to the surface. Imagine being able to see the ship in its entirety!

References

-   _Official investigation report - the sinking of RMS Titanic_ (PDF) (1 ed.). London: The final board of inquiry. Retrieved 4 Feb 2018.
-   Ballard, Robert D. (1987). _The Discovery of the_ Titanic. New York: Warner Books.
-   Ballard, Robert D.; Hively, Will (2002). The Eternal Darkness: A Personal History of Deep-Sea Exploration. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
-   "Titanic Ship Listing". Chris' Cunard Page. Retrieved 4 Feb 2018.

Questions & Answers

QUESTION: Where is the Titanic now?

ANSWER: The Titanic is still at the bottom of the ocean, in its final resting place.

© 2012 MELANIE

KILL KILL on August 24, 2020:

I just watched a movie in a hotel and it’s Actually true

ANNIE B. on March 24, 2020:

thank you so much for this. im doing a report over the titanic and this was super helpful! :)

SARAH REMMEL on April 16, 2019:

I know, all about-the, RMS Titanic. I read books, about it, & I own, lots of, Titanic DVDs, books, & I, own the, 1997 movie, on video, & DVD, I also, saw the, Titanic musical, way back in, the year 2000. I really liked, reading this, Titanic article. It is, very interesting, reading about, the RMS Titanic.

FAYE CONSTANTINO from Florida on September 04, 2012:

Very interesting article! There was a lot of information that I didn't know!

MISS KATE000 on June 02, 2012:

I love reading stuff about the Titanic, i don't know what it is about it, just has always fascinated me. Interesting article.

CURIAD on May 09, 2012:

This is a very interesting hub. As for the question of why the ship rests 13 miles from the last point of radio communication I think is because given the depth of the ocean there, 13000+ feet the parts of the ship would have drifted with the prevailing currents many miles on the way down to the bottom.

ANNA from New York, NY on May 09, 2012:

Very interesting hub! I thought I knew everything there is to know about the Titanic since I was actually one of those teens who saw the movie X amount of time at the movie theater (too embarrassed to disclose the number, lol!) and then I read books about it and my family and I happened to go on a cruise the following summer up north where one of the stops was in Halifax, so of course I explored the Titanic exhibition and went to the cemetery, amazed to have found a grave belonging to a Jack Dawson. I didn't know though that the ship made stops in France and Ireland before heading to NY. I recently heard that an exact replica of the Titanic is being built and will set sail in 2016!

DAISY MARIPOSA from Orange County (Southern California) on May 09, 2012:

Melanie,

Thanks for publishing another well-researched, well-written Hub. I've read other articles about the disaster, but I learned some new things from your Hub.

TERESA COPPENS from Ontario, Canada on May 03, 2012:

my family visited athe naval museum in Halifax where there is a rather extensive Titanic exhibit. it was amazing and extremely icompelling. One of the cemeteries in Halifax was the burial site for many of the victims including an unidentified infant who still receives mementoes laid by the gravesite. Interesting and timely hub Mel. They just had a hundred year memorial of the disaster in Halifax.

DIOGENES from UK and Mexico on May 01, 2012:

Good treatment of this evergreen subject. Some friends just went to the site on a cruise and stopped above where she went down and held a service.

Great movie, too.

Bob

WOWSITE1234 from Moncks Corner, SC on May 01, 2012:

Great Article. Can't wait to see the mechanics of the new Titanic.

KELLY UMPHENOUR from St. Louis, MO on April 30, 2012:

Awesome Mel! I love the Titanic - one of mu daughters is absolutely fascinated with it. She's read a lot about it and seen the movie several times. I wish they would have the exhibit at our Science Center again - I'd love to take her. I took her to see the exhibit for a Pirate ship exhibit and ship wreckage - it was pretty cool. She loved it!

I am going to let her read your hub after school I know she will find it really neat! Thanks!

BRITTANY KENNEDY from Kailua-Kona, Hawaii on April 30, 2012:

It's always been a dream of mine to visit the wreckage of some sunken ship in a submarine. Although the devastating events that caused the Titanic to sink are grim to think about, I really enjoyed reading your hub and dreaming about seeing the submerged remains of such a historical event. It saddens me to think that I would be damaging the ship by visiting it, so it's cool that you added such interesting photos to accompany this well-written hub.

Excellent hub, Mel! Voted up, shared, etc.

STEPHANIE MARSHALL from Bend, Oregon on April 30, 2012:

Very cool Hub! Lots of great information on the Titanic's current location and why she remains at the bottom of the ocean. Rated up!

THOUGHTSANDWICHES from Reno, Nevada on April 30, 2012:

hi melbel,

Interesting information. I understand that quite a bit of the damage has been caused by site seers. Some of the structural damage was caused when a wedding couple got married on a submarine which landed on the deck (thus crushing it). There is a plan afoot to paint the ship with a special type of paint that will help preserve it.

Great job,

Thomas

PS...did you hear about the rich-assed Australian dude who is building a Titanic II? He announced it today.

question: What does the text say about where the Titanic sank?

answer: The Titanic's last distress call was 375 miles south of Newfoundland. It sank in the North Atlantic ocean after it collided with an iceberg. It was two days away from reaching Pier 59 in New York. Despite this, the Titanic's final resting place was nowhere near there. Its first remnants were found 13 miles southeast of its crash site.

question: What does the text say about cold temperatures?

answer: The Titanic sank in freezing waters in the North Atlantic after it struck an iceberg. The ocean was roughly 28 degrees Fahrenheit. The Titanic's wreckage is 12,415 below the surface. The pressure and frigid temperatures at this depth make exploration and excavation efforts very challenging. A positive to the freezing temperatures are that they have helped preserve the Titanic to an extent. The temperatures haven't totally stopped it from beginning to decay however.

question: Summarize hopes for the future.

answer: The author of this text notes that sonar mapping that will later be used to form a 2D replica of the wreckage will be used by scientists to better study the ship. They also hope that there will be technology in the future that will bring the Titanic's bow and stern to the surface. This makes them wonder about what could be recovered if the ship could be seen its entirety. Some people in the comments of the article hope that they could eventually visit the wreckage of the Titanic or even have an exhibit about it near them.

question: What does the text say about the Titanic's ballroom?


text:
[Roman Catholic Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary] The ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY is a basilica with a nave and two aisles. It is located in the historical centre in Písek, Czech Republic. The church tower on the south side of the western facade has become a symbol of the town, it is also the highest building in Písek.

History

The construction of the church started with the building of presbytery in 1240. Walls of the presbytery together with its polygonal ending were made first. Then was built a roof frame, which was protecting the work during the construction of the vault. There was built a temporary wall in a triumphal arch of the presbytery to start the religious ceremonials before the church construction was completed.[1]

The work continued with a construction of two towers in corners of the western facade. At the same time were built side walls of the church. A main entrance was built in the northern wall, which was quite uncommon. After finishing the exterior walls a sacristy by the presbytery and an arcade, they were able to build a cross vault above the nave and two aisles. After that, the temporary wall was demolished and the church was completed. The church was probably consecrated around 1360. The Late Gothic construction period is connected with the master builder Mikulas Pisecký, who changed the western facade and he constructed the south tower. The Neo-Gothic reconstruction was made according to plans by the architect Josef Mocker.

Exterior

Western facade

The entrance portal in this part of the church was built in the middle of the 14th century. There are reliefs on the edge of the portal. One of them is Mikuláš Písecký himself, builder of the monumental tower and in his text is written about the construction of the tower. Other reliefs possibly show the king Vladislaus II of Hungary (Jagiellon) and his son Louis II. There is a pointed window above the entrance portal, which is decorated by sacral motifs and statues. Next to the window is a relief of Crowned Virgin Mary with child. There is also a staircase to the organ loft in the wall of the northern tower.

Monumental tower

The monumental southern tower built in the western facade is in height and has become the symbol of the town Písek. The construction of the tower started in 1489. In 1555 lightning hit the new tower and it burned down.[2] During the following reconstruction was built the bulbous roof (also called onion roof) instead of the old saddle roof.
At the top is an observation deck with a tracery railing. Behind the observation deck is a room for watchman, because in the past was the tower a part of the town defense system. At each side of the observation deck are clocks, which were moved from the city castle in 1860. There are some pointed windows at each side of the tower.

Northern facade

During the reconstruction of the monumental tower in the 16th-century were made changes also in the northern part of the church. Above the north portal were built Renaissance shield arches with a new roof construction of the northern aisle. In 1726 was built an entrance hall in front of the entrance portal. It was removed in the middle of the 19th century while the church was in another reconstruction. In the same years an old sacristy next to the presbytery was demolished. The window above the old sacristy was enlarged to the same height as other windows in the presbytery. It has become the biggest window in the presbytery because of the original window. Windows in the nave above aisles or in the sacristy are usually wider than in the presbytery.

Písek, kostel Narození Panny Marie a kaple sv. Jana Nepomuckého.jpg|Western facade Písek-kostel-Narození-Panny-Marie2009-door.jpg|Entrance portal Kostel Narození Panny Marie v Písku - Jižní průčelí.JPG|Southern facade Písek, kostel Narození Panny Marie (5).jpg|Presbytery Kostel Narození Panny Marie v Písku - Severovýchodní průčelí.JPG|Northern facade Kostel Narození Panny Marie v Písku - Severní průčelí.JPG|Northern facade with original entrance portal

Interior

In the church was used a so-called „bonded construction system“ in which the length of one field of the nave correspond to the two fields of the aisle and to two arcades. The system was interrupted by the tower which was built on the two western fields of the southern aisle.

Presbytery

The presbytery contains one cross-rib vaulted bay and polygonal ending, which is radially vaulted and in its center is a simple keystone without any decoration. The second keystone in the western part has been decorated with a radially lined up overlapping leaves. The axial pointed window is noticeably larger than other pointed windows, except the widened window in the northern facade.
The adjoining bay of the presbytery has a ribbed vault connected to the reduced supports of the vault ended by a console. The consoles have simple floral and geometric motifs.

Nave

Also, the nave has the cross-ribbed vault with reduced supports. Massive columns and the simple shaped arcade look heavy-footed. The supports of the vault ended on a cornice of columns. From the cornice come out a cuboidal slab to the pointed arch. In every bay of the nave is a window above the arcade which is a typical feature of the basilica. In the western part of the church was built the organ loft which is supported by the cross vault. It creates a quite lowered space behind the entrance portal.

On the border of the northern aisle and the nave are placed paintings Enthroned Madonna and Jesus crowned by two angels from 1270. The fresco of the Crucifixion is on the border of the southern aisle and the nave.

Aisles

In the southern aisle next to the fresco of the Crucifixion is an altar of Virgin Mary of Písek from the middle of the 14th century. The original painting of the Virgin Mary has been stolen and from the 1975 is exhibited a copy. On the left are vaulted windows with expanded moulding. There is also an entrance to the chapel of Saint John of Nepomuk, which was added in years 1741–1743 to the southern aisle. This radical extension of the church ground plan was possible, because a churchyard was moved behind the city wall in 1549. Today the chapel serves as the sacristy and it has its own entrance, which was made in 1723.

The northern aisle is less changed by reconstructions. In the western part are enlarged columns bearing the weight of the north tower and half of the organ loft. In the middle is the old entrance portal, right in the opposite to the entrance to the chapel of Saint John of Nepomuk.

Kostel Narození Panny Marie v Písku - Pohled od kruchty.JPG|Nave from organ loft Kostel Narození Panny Marie v Písku - Přímý pohled od presbytáře.JPG|Nave from chancel Kostel Narození Panny Marie v Písku - Pohled od presbytáře.JPG|Nave from chancel Kostel Narození Panny Marie v Písku - Vedlejší loď.JPG|Southern aisle from altar of Virgin Mary Kostel Narození Panny Marie v Písku - Napojení svatojánské kaple.JPG|Connection of Chapel of Saint John of Nepomuk Kostel Narození Panny Marie v Písku - Triumfální oblouk.JPG|Triumphal arch Kostel Narození Panny Marie v Písku - Hlavní oltář.JPG|Main altar Pisek dekansky kostel oltar.jpg|Altar of Virgin Mary Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary - church groundplan.jpg|Church groundplan

Curiosity

-   The original main portal on the north side is quite unusual. Its origin may be due to the orientation of the church of East-West and dropping it to the highest point surrounded by walls. The church was in that place parallel to the walls and the best access road was straight from today's´ Ales Square to the north side of the church as could be clearly seen today.
-   Throughout the history of the building were built entrance portals in all sides of the church. Even there was an entrance portal leading directly into the presbytery, which was bricked up in 2001. The southern entrance was bricked up two years earlier.
-   The tower clock swapped size of pointers because of economic reasons. The big pointer shows hours and the small pointer shows minutes.

Bibliography

-   Soukup, Josef: Soupis památek Historických a uměleckých, díl 33. Politický okres písecký (1910), str. 202-226.
-   Adámek Jan, Sommer Jan; Všetečková Zuzana, Středověký kostel Panny Marie v Písku, Prácheňské nakladatelství firmy Ires (2001), 145 str.
-   Adámek Jan, Škoch Jiří, Písecké katolické kostely, Písek, Římskokatolická farnost Písek v Prácheňském nakladatelství (2005), 54 str.

[1]

[2]

title: Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Písek)

question: What does the article say about the artworks in the church apart from its architecture?

answer: There are reliefs on the edge of the entrance portal, one of which is the builder of the monumental tower. The others are thought to depict King Vladislaus II of Hungary (Jagiellon) and his son Louis II. The window above the portal is decorated with statues and sacral motifs with a relief of Crowned Virgin Mary with a child next to it. The second keystone of the presbytery is decorated with radially lined up overlapping leaves. The consoles in there have simple floral and geometric motifs. On the border of the northern aisle and the nave, there are paintings of Enthroned Madonna and Jesus crowned by two angels from 1270. On the southern part is a fresco of the Crucifixion. Next to the fresco of Crucifixion is an altar of the Virgin Mary of Písek from the middle of the 14th century, which is a copy since the original was stolen.

question: What does the text say about absolution?


text:
The view was beautiful. The white foam of the waves crashing on the far away land, the small boats floating by, powered by their engines and battling against the storm. The wind was ripping at my coat, the collar of my small spring jacket fanning out and slapping me in the face. My hands were gripping onto the railing, white knuckle, ignoring the stabbing pain of the cold from the metal. The cars behind me were roaring on, ignoring everything that was happining around them. They were trying to get home in time to their wives and settle in for dinner before the storm potentially cut the power. Their little kids so happy to see their daddy or mummy.

Every now and again someone would walk by, looking at me with a look of puzzlement and confused as they considered what I could possibly be up to. One woman stopped and gave me a card with her number on it, saying if I needed a call to call her. I merely laughed and said I wasn't going to jump, I was just admiring the breathtaking view.

A police officer stopped at one point, flashing his lights and hitting the siren, causing my skin to jump. The officer clasped his hand on my shoulder and asked if I was going to jump. I feigned happiness, promising I wouldn't. His name was Officer Medel, or Danny as he wanted me to call him. He waved his partner off, telling him to drive around and he'd call him when he was ready.

He leaned against the railing, pulling his jacket up to prevent his skin from touching the freezing metal. After a few moments of silence I spoke up. "The view is truly stunning, isn't it?" Danny nodded, his face stern and hard. "You're going to jump, aren't you?" I paused. I didn't want to lie. I didn't want to have to pretend anymore. I looked away from him, and back out to the open water where a water-taxi was struggling against the stronger waves. "I'm considering it." "Why? Out of all the beautiful vistas such as this, spread across the world and beyond, why would you ever want to jump and leave it all behind?"

I was unsure how to respond. I opened my mouth more than once, trying to explain, but never able to find the right words. After a moment, he clasped a hand on my shoulder, squeezed, and started to walk away. He stopped a moment, turning back, and saying "Just keep considering. Be wary of the choice you're going to make."

The rain started soon. Pelting hard rain, smashing into the metal beams of the bridge and making a sound that emulated a basic instrument. I couldn't help but smile. He was right. The world was certainly beaitful, and there was so much to offer but it still wasn't enough. I swing both legs over the railing, making sure the watertight baggie was zipped in my pocket, and let go of the railing. As I was falling I heard the dancing sound of the metal and closed my eyes.

title: Considerations

question: Is the main character going to jump?

answer: They debate about it, but in the end they do.

question: Why does the main character want to commit suicide?

answer: It's not clear.

question: Who comes up and talks to the narrator?

answer: One of the cops.

question: What does the narrator admire that makes them reconsider their death?

answer: The beautiful view.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: The story is about a young person who sits atop a bridge contemplating suicide. Many people try to stop them. Then, finally, although the world is beautiful, they decide to kill themselves.