text:
My mommy is the best mommy in the world. She’s making me my favorite chocolate chip pancakes. And today is especially special so I know she’ll make the smiley face. Last time she made it, she made the smile with the whipped cream that makes those funny noises when it comes out of the can. And the eyes were bananas with a chocolate chip right in the middle. To make it look like the black part of your eye. My mommy never lets me have any chocolate chips while I’m waiting for them to cook, but she said today is special so she brought me a few on a plate.
Today is special because it’s my day. It’s my birthday. I’m seven. That’s nearly ten. I’m not a little kid anymore. I’m pretty much a grown up.
That weatherman on the TV is really funny looking. His nose is kinda big and he talks really funny. Now he’s pointing at the pictures of the rain. I think that means it’s supposed to rain today. I hate it when it rains. Sometimes when it rains, the water gets through the holes in my shoes and it gets all the way to my toes and I don’t like it when it does that. It makes me cold and I don’t like being cold.
Now they’re talking about money or those credit card things or something. I like credit cards. They’re magical cards. All I know is that when you swipe them on that machine at a store, you don’t have to give them any money for all the stuff you’re getting. It’s like a get your stuff free card. It’s really cool. I don’t think I like money though. It makes my daddy yell at my mommy sometimes. The only kind of money that I know I really like is that colored money that you play with in Monopoly. The board that we have was falling apart and I think we lost some of those red and green houses and some of the money. I really like that game. It’s pretty much my favorite. No, it is my favorite game in the whole wide world. That’s why I asked for a new one for my birthday and that box on the counter over there looks like it’s just the right size. And it’s wrapped in Spiderman paper. Spiderman is my favorite super hero. He can climb walls and spray the bad guys with a spider web. That’s just so cool. It’s so much fun when my mommy and daddy play games with me. They haven’t played with me in a really long time. I can’t wait until I get to open my present after school. I hope school goes by fast today. I hope Sadie doesn’t copy my answers. And I hope Miss Brown doesn’t make me wear that silly hat that she makes you wear if it’s your birthday. It looks itchy. I don’t like wearing things on my head anyway. Like when my mommy makes me wear that cherry hat that makes it looks like I have red cherry on top of my head. It’s not a real cherry, or else I would eat it. My mommy says that it keeps the heat from coming out of my head or something.  I think that’s crazy. My head doesn’t have a hole in it!
My pancakes are ready. And he even has a nose! It’s made out of chocolate chips. I told you my mommy was the best mommy in the world. I’m about to gobble him up. First his eyes. Then his nose. Now, the fun part. The whipped cream. Why is everything more fun to eat with your fingers? Licking your hands all in between your fingers is the best part. It’s almost as good as getting to lick the brownie batter off the spoon. That’s more fun than eating the brownies normal. I really like it when my mommy puts the frosting and sprinkles on top of the brownies when she makes them.
I should go get ready for school now. I think I’m gonna wear my shirt with the rocket on it. My daddy it for me at the mall last week. I really like rockets. I hope the bus isn’t early today.

I wish school would only be on two days instead of five. I don’t really like school. Sadie is cheating from my answers again. She should know how to add numbers with double digits by now. We learned about them last week. She’s a girl. Girls are dumb. She doesn’t know any better. I know I should tell on her, but I don’t think Miss Brown likes me very much. When she asks a question and I know the answer and I raise my hand, she never calls on me.
I bet my mommy gave me Oreos in my lunch today. I love Oreos. Especially dipped in milk. That’s my favorite. You dip them in milk and then you lick all the cream out of the middle and then you eat the two cookies. I hope Aaron doesn’t want to trade at lunch today. I like animal crackers, but everybody knows that Oreos are better than animal crackers.
Now we’re doing spelling. I did my spelling words last night, so I already know how to spell ‘birthday’ and ‘shove’ and ‘without’. I like spelling though. I can spell the days of the week too. My favorite day of the week is Friday. That’s what today is. And it’s my birthday tot. That makes today extra cool.
My mommy is gonna let me open my present when my daddy gets home tonight. I can’t wait to rip the paper off and see what I got, even though I already know what they got me.

I knew they would get me a new Monopoly game. I just knew it. And mommy and daddy even said that they would play with me tonight if I set up all the pieces. Mommy said she wanted to be that thing you put on your finger sometimes when you sew. I think it’s called a thimble. And daddy said he wanted to be the shoe. They always let me be the boat. I’ve never been on a boat, but I bet it would be fun. Maybe someday I’ll get to ride on a boat.
Wait a second. There’s no board in this box. Or boat. Or thimble. Or shoe. Or even any of those red and green houses. All that’s in this box is money. Not even the kind that’s all different colors that usually comes with the game either. This is all real money. The kind that I don’t like. I didn’t get my game after all. All I got was this stupid money. Stupid, stupid money.

title: Monopoly Money

question: What is the kid celebrating with?

answer: With his favorite breakfast, chocolate chip pancakes for his 7th birthday.

question: Why doesn't the kid like money?

answer: He thinks it makes his dad yell at his mom sometimes.

question: Why does the kid think he's getting a Monopoly board game for his birthday?

answer: The board they have is falling apart, it's his favorite game, and the box on the counter is just the right size.

question: Explain why the kid think girls are dumb.

answer: Because Sadie is a girl and she cheats from the narrator's answers, assuming she doesn't know how to add double digits.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator is a kid whom is celebrating his 7th birthday. He is celebrating with his favorite breakfast, chocolate chip pancakes. He thinks he's getting a Monopoly board game as a present since the board they have is falling apart, it's his favorite game and the box on the counter is just the right size. However when he gets home, the box is opened and inside the Monopoly box there is real money instead, disappointing the kid.


split: train

text:
MÓNICA PATRICIA JARAMILLO GIRALDO (born September 30, 1984 in Marinilla, Antioquia) known as MÓNICA JARAMILLO, is a Colombian journalist, news presenter, model and former beauty pageant contestant.

Biography

Her parents are Hernando Jaramillo and Nora Giraldo, who have together two more children, Juan Fernando and Adriana, respectively.[1] Mónica studied at the Pontifical Bolivarian University, where she majored in Social Communication and Journalism.[2] Years after, she got a master's degree in Political Science at the University of Los Andes in 2013.[3]

Career

[Mónica Jaramillo and Catalina Gómez during a Caracol TV's event in 2014.] She participated in Miss Colombia 2003, as Antioquia department contestant. In the final night, she was elected as second runner-up. Jeymmy Vargas and Catherine Daza were the first runner-up and winner, respectively.[4] Later, in 2004, she competed in the international beauty pageant Reina Sudamericana, in Bolivia, and became first runner-up.[5] Formerly, Mónica won the crown in the Reina Bolivariana pageant, in Guayaquil, Ecuador.[6]

In March 2004, she began her career in journalism, hosting the weekends edition of _Teleantioquia Noticias_, while she finished her journalism studies at college. Two years later, she hosted the primetime edition, and held that position until 2009, when she became the hostess of _Un Café con Alonso_ (institutional program of the Mayor's Office of Medellín) and the central edition of Telemedellín news. In the second half of 2010, she began working in _Día a día_, a morning TV magazine on Caracol Televisión, as reporter of the show from Antioquia's capital. Subsequently, she became an anchor of international edition of CM& news.

In 2013 she joined _Noticias Caracol_,[7] as _First Edition_ reporter, presenting 15-minute-news-capsules across the morning news.[8] Since 2014, Mónica has worked as radio hostess, in the morning radial magazine _Mañanas Blu 10 AM_, broadcast by Blu Radio, along with Catalina Plata, Esteban Hernández and William Calderón. Currently, Mónica co-host the noon edition of _Noticias Caracol_, alongside Vanessa de la Torre and directs _Vive Medellín_.[9]

Personal life

Mónica is married with Luis Eduardo Valencia, Fabio Valencia Cossio's son. They have a son together, Joaquin (born May 4, 2016).[10] Mónica has said that her workmate Jorge Alfredo Vargas and the former CNN en Español presenter Claudia Palacios, have been great influencers on her career,[11] as well as the Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai.[12] She was honoured by the Brazil government, with the _Rio Branco_ medal distinction, due to her participation in the memorial ceremony to the deceased people of the Chapecoense team plane crash, held in Medellin in December 2016.[13][14]

[1]  Jaramillo, David. “Mónica Jaramillo: La mujer detrás de las noticias.” _Revista Impacto_ Ed. 16 p. 5. Retrieved December 19, 2016

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

title: Mónica Jaramillo

question: What has Monica studied?

answer: Monica has majored in Social Communication and Journalism and also has a master's degree in Political Science from the University of Los Andes.

question: When did Monica start her journalism career?

answer: Monica started her journalism career in March 2004.

question: Summarize Monica's personal life.

answer: Monica is married to Luis Eduardo Valencia. The two have a son named Joaquin. Monica says she is greatly influenced by Claudia Palacios, Alfredo Vargas, and Malala Yousafzai. The journalist has been presented by the Rio Branco medal distinction by the Brazilian government.

question: Is Monica honored with any medals or awards?

answer: Yes, Monica has been honored with the Rio Branco medal distinction by the Brazilian government. The medal is for her participation in the memorial ceremony to the deceased people of the Chapecoense team plane crash.

question: Write a ~8 sentence summary.

answer:
Monica Patricia Jaramillo, is a Colombian journalist, news presenter, and model. Monica has been crowned the second runner-up at Miss Colombia 2013.

She started her journalism career in 2004 by hosting the weekend edition of Teleantioquia Noticias while still in college. Soon, she became an anchor of the international edition of CM& news. Since 2014, Monica has been working as a radio hostess in the morning radial magazine, Mañanas Blu 10 AM.

The Journalist is married to Luis Eduardo Valencia. The two have a son named Joaquin. Monica has been honored with the Rio Branco medal distinction by the Brazilian government.


text:
The CHURCH OF SANTA MARIA DELLA SPERANZA is a church in Rome, in Nuovo Salario district, in Piazza A. Fradeletto.

The laying of the sacred stone of the building took place in 1988; the construction work was completed in 1995, and on December 10 of that year the new church was consecrated by Cardinal Vicar Camillo Ruini.

The church is the home of the parish, established in 1968 by decree of the Cardinal Vicar Angelo Dell'Acqua _Neminem fugit_, and entrusted to the Salesians: before the construction of the new church, parish activities were taking place in the neighboring Salesian Pontifical University. It deserves to be mentioned this curious fact: in 1970 Pope Paul VI visited the parish; in his speech greeted Cardinal Karol Wojtyla (the future Pope John Paul II) present among the bystanders; and in turn, the Pope was welcomed by the then professor of nearby Salesian University, the future Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone. John Paul II visited the church again in 1997.

The church is home to the cardinal title of Our Lady of Hope. Cardinal Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga, S.D.B.

title: Santa Maria della Speranza

question: Who is Santa Maria della Speranza?

answer: The article doesn't indicate who Santa Maria della Speranza is, but there is a church in Rome named after her.

question: How long did construction of the church last?

answer: Construction lasted for 7 years.

question: Which pope visited the church in 1997?

answer: Pope John Paul II

question: What is the meaning of the "cardinal title"?

answer: The article doesn't indicate what the meaning of cardinal title is, but the cardinal title of the church is Our Lady of Hope.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: The Church of Santa Maria della Speranza is located in Rome. Construction of the church ended in 1995 after seven years.


text:
The man answered me hoarsely, a queer smile playing across the corner of his cracked lips, "It is said that when the gods wish to punish us... they answer our prayers."

His face, a map of scars, was strangely familiar, like a distant place long forgotten.

"Speak not in riddles old man," I snarled, "You will make your peace with to whomever gods you pray well soon enough. Until then, you answer to Me, and pray, pray now, my vengeance is kinder than theirs."

His sunken eyes shone dimly, and bore no fear. "Then I truly hope my debt to them is paid," he laughed, wistful.

"Tell me, what did you wish of them, Barabbas? What shining stone did you cheat from the Wardens' lot? What coveted prize did you squander on stolen time? What dungeon's claim did you lay away on halcyon roads? Was it Love? Riches? Power? Tell me. Tell me before I send you back to the hell from whence you came, wretched man."

"I sought something. I think... I sought knowledge. Understanding."

"Then you are a fool, old one. Tell me, out of perversion, what did you learn, living out your wasted days? What carnival spectacles did the wilds divulge, as you wandered far and away? What secrets did the amber halls and dim-lit alleys whisper to prowling ears? What shrouded facts sought their way through dead tomes, spilling torrid wanderlust into grey matter? Was it Techne? Logos? Pathos? Teach me. Teach me, before I snuff out your pathetic spark."

He took a deep breath and exhaled, a visible shudder traveling through his frail skeleton. I saw his eyes glimmer distantly. I saw him strain, the furrows of his brow crossed in wrought exertion. I watched his frail hand reach across the distance between us, stretching as if to grasp something unfathomable and then, a solitary tear fell onto the cold ground.

"I cannot... I can no longer remember. I am old and my mind is not what it once was."

He closed a pair of weary eyes and hung a tired head, anguish painted across his worn features.

"Once a fool, always a fool, I can see," I spat, seizing his slacking jaw, and peering into cloudy eyes, a visage of sorrow. "Tell me your story. Show me your sins. Show me your joys and regrets, your dreams and sorrows. Show me it all, the last thing you do before these damned eyes are shut forevermore. SHOW ME!"

Silence. Grimacing, he forced his eyes shut, face a contortion of singular will, summoning every scrap of concentration he could gather.

Time stood still.

Then, suddenly, his eyes sprang open and the clouds parted within revealing a sudden inner light, a clear and piercing gaze. His brow lifted, his focus sharpened and a sudden strength found itself within him, wresting my hand away.

Hands astir, he gripped my hands, arms, and face frantically, some terrible recognition dawning over him. Clasping my head with his palms, he suddenly collapsed onto the ground, drained.

"Speak, you despicable thing! Tell me your name! Speak, damn you!" I growled, anxious to hear his last words. Crouching, I knelt beside his haggard frame.

He spoke, after a time, eyes aglow with perception. His words were slow and deliberate. This is what he told me.

"You... I remember my wish. I wished to know an old man’s secret, once. My name is... but, ah! that, you know already. Let me teach you what I have learned. Let me show you, eager one.”

And he smiled, a wry smile, breathing his last.

As he closed his eyes, I opened mine to curse him, but he was gone, and I awoke lying alone, cursing only myself.

title: The Wish

question: Who are the major characters of the story?

answer: Barabbas, the narrator

question: What did Barabbas wish from the gods?

answer: He sought knowledge and understanding.

question: What does the narrator want from Barabbas?

answer: The narrator wants to know what Barabbas learned, ordering the old man to teach him. The narrator wants Barabbas to tell his story, to show his sins, joys, regrets, dreams, and sorrows before Barabbas' eyes are shut forever.

question: Barabbas finally remembered what he wished for. What was it?

answer: He wished to know an old man's secret.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator interrogates Barabbas, an old man, wanting to know what he learned from the gods and what he wished for. The narrator orders Barabbas to teach him and show him everything before the old man shuts his eyes forever. When Barabbas finally remembers that he wished to know an old man's secret, the narrator opens his eyes and finds that he's alone, cursing only to himself.


text:
It was just before dawn when I woke to the alien invasion.

It began with the thumpings on the roof. One followed by two, then three, then four, then just a dull roar of heavy objects hitting the roof.

I ran to the window and looked out to find the sky filled with small kittens in parachutes plummeting to the Earth like cotton candy.

"My time is now." I said to myself.

I had known this was coming. It was in the lore of the world handed down throughout history and only the right person, with the right mind could read between the lines.

Like the line in the bible about Jesus and that one dude and that other dude - it all spelled kitten invasion.

If you think I'm joking, open a dictionary sometime and under the letter K, you will find kittens.

Luckily, I was ready. I had been storing milk for years in my fridge. It all went bad, but that's not how I was ready. How I was ready was I had also stored guns and ammo. Lots of it.

I ran to the closet where I kept my guns and ammo and opened the door to find more expired milk.

I realized two things in that moment - why my house smelled and why there were so many guns and ammo in my fridge.

Back to the fridge, I grabbed a gun and some ammo and loaded up what looked like a shotgun and ran to the door.

The kittens were still floating to the ground, but many had landed and were helplessly clawing at their parachutes or tangling themselves up in them in some sort of attempt at comfort.

It dawned on me that the kittens may not have any ill will towards humans and were simply just kittens that parachuted in great numbers on to the Earth on one given day in the entire history of kittendom.

But that was too easy.

I opened the door and opened fire.

For five minutes I pulled the trigger again and again and not one kitten was harmed. I had either extremely bad aim, as their were thousands of them, or I was holding a chili dog in my hand.

It turned out to be the latter. Once again, I had failed to study guns and ammo and what they were and realized a hot dog was not a gun and chili was no sort of ammo.

I resigned myself to the notion that I would be of no use in the rebellion against the kittens and sat down and had a big bowl of ammo.

The TV was reporting that there was no cause for alarm as the kittens posed no danger, but still there was no explanation as to why they had parachuted in great numbers to the Earth.

I looked back out the window. Most of the kittens had removed their parachutes and lo and behold - they were now pulling revolvers out of their fur and moving towards the homes in my neighborhood.

I quickly Googled revolver and realized that this time - yes! This time! I knew what I was talking about. They were revolvers.

But before I could congratulate myself there was the sound of gunshots at my door.

The kind of gunshots that don't come from chilidogs. No, these were real gunshots.

I crouched behind my couch and noticed that the TV had gone to static. The first ploy of the kittens had worked - they had been trusted to not have revolvers hidden in their fur.

"You won this round." I muttered to myself.

Then the door broke down and a kitten standing on two feet entered the house. "Put down your weapons and surrender!" The kitten ordered.

I threw the chilidog at him and yelled "I surrender!"

There was silence.

I rose from behind the couch and there on the ground was a dead kitten. The childog had bore straight through it's abdomen and killed it.

title: [HM] KITTEN INVASION

question: What does the story say about the narrator's state of mind?

answer: He seems very confused and even a little crazy. He confuses a lot of food items with guns and ammo and tries to shoot kittens with a hotdog (with chili on top) at some point. When he "gives up" and throws that hotdog in the end, it ends up being a real gun.

question: What does the story say about dogs?


text:
POSITION: Pitcher

BATS: Both  •  THROWS: Right

5-9, 175lb (175cm, 79kg)

BORN: June 19, 1884 in Springwells, MI us

DIED: May 5, 1969 in Detroit, MI

BURIED: Park View Cemetery, Livonia, MI

DEBUT: September 3, 1905 (Age 21-076d, 2,759th in MLB history)
   vs. SLB 2.1 IP, 3 H, 0 SO, 0 BB, 0 ER, L

LAST GAME: September 26, 1920 (Age 36-099d)
   vs. DET 9.0 IP, 7 H, 2 SO, 1 BB, 0 ER, W

ROOKIE STATUS: Exceeded rookie limits during 1908 season

FULL NAME: Edgar Victor Cicotte

NICKNAMES: Knuckles

PRONUNCIATION: \SEE-cott\

View Player Bio from the SABR BioProject

RELATIVES: Greatuncle of Al Cicotte


text:
My mom only had one eye. I hated her… She was such an embarrassment. She cooked for students and teachers to support the family.
There was this one day during elementary school where my mom came to say hello to me. I was so embarrassed.
How could she do this to me? I ignored her, threw her a hateful look and ran out. The next day at school one of my classmates said, “EEEE, your mom only has one eye!”
I wanted to bury myself. I also wanted my mom to just disappear. I confronted her that day and said, “If you’re only gonna make me a laughing stock, why don’t you just die?”
My mom did not respond… I didn’t even stop to think for a second about what I had said, because I was full of anger. I was oblivious to her feelings.
I wanted out of that house, and have nothing to do with her. So I studied real hard, got a chance to go abroad to study.
Then, I got married. I bought a house of my own. I had kids of my own. I was happy with my life, my kids and the comforts. Then one day, my Mother came to visit me. She hadn’t seen me in years and she didn’t even meet her grandchildren.
When she stood by the door, my children laughed at her, and I yelled at her for coming over uninvited. I screamed at her, “How dare you come to my house and scare my children! GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!!!”
And to this, my mother quietly answered, “Oh, I’m so sorry. I may have gotten the wrong address.” – and she disappeared out of sight.
One day, a letter regarding a school reunion came to my house. So I lied to my wife that I was going on a business trip. After the reunion, I went to the old shack just out of curiosity.
My neighbors said that she died. I did not shed a single tear. They handed me a letter that she had wanted me to have.
“My dearest son,
I think of you all the time. I’m sorry that I came to your house and scared your children.
I was so glad when I heard you were coming for the reunion. But I may not be able to even get out of bed to see you. I’m sorry that I was a constant embarrassment to you when you were growing up.
You see……..when you were very little, you got into an accident, and lost your eye. As a mother, I couldn’t stand watching you having to grow up with one eye. So I gave you mine.
I was so proud of my son who was seeing a whole new world for me, in my place, with that eye.
With all my love to you,
Your mother.”

title: My "ONE EYED MOM"

question: Why did the mother not tell her son about his eye sooner?

answer: The story indicates that he treated his mother horribly throughout his life, and so it is unclear why she would not have informed him about his eye and the sacrifice she made for him.

question: Is the fact his mother has one eye a valid reason for hating her?

answer: No, it seems as though the author wanted to present the protagonist in the poorest light possible, but his motive for hating his mother is unrealistic.

question: What does the story have to say about the theme of 'nurture over nature'?

answer: The narrator's children have the same attitude towards their grandmother as their father. It could be seen as saying that hate is a learned behaviour.

question: How are we supposed to feel at the end of the story?

answer: The narrator comes to realize that the thing e hated his mother for was because of a sacrifice she made for him. We are supposed to feel guilt on behalf of the narrator.


text:
RUTLAND is a village in Meigs County, Ohio, United States. The population was 393 at the 2010 census.

Geography

Rutland is located at (39.042291, -82.128967).[1] The village lies in the Appalachian Plateau physiographic region. It is situated in a wide valley along Little Leading Creek. The village is plagued by frequent flash floods, often causing road and school closures. The surrounding hills, once containing profitable amounts of bituminous coal, have been subjected to strip mining throughout the early and mid 1900s. Currently, there are no mining operations in the area. Acid mine drainage has been found seeping out some of the abandoned mines and has negatively impacted water quality in the Little Leading Creek watershed. Rutland is the only Meigs County village not located along the Ohio River.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all land.[2]

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census[3] of 2010, there were 393 people, 161 households, and 115 families living in the village. The population density was . There were 189 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 98.7% White, 0.3% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.0% of the population.

There were 161 households, of which 34.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.2% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 8.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 28.6% were non-families. 26.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.85.

The median age in the village was 39.3 years. 23.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.1% were from 25 to 44; 25.5% were from 45 to 64; and 17% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 48.9% male and 51.1% female.

2000 census

As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 401 people, 163 households, and 109 families living in the village. The population density was 488.3 people per square mile (188.8/km). There were 175 housing units at an average density of 213.1 per square mile (82.4/km). The racial makeup of the village was 99.50% White, and 0.50% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.25% of the population.

There were 163 households, out of which 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.4% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.1% were non-families. 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.2% 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 3.05.

In the village, the population was spread out, with 24.7% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 85.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.7 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $27,500, and the median income for a family was $32,917. Males had a median income of $30,500 versus $11,375 for females. The per capita income for the village was $13,558. About 10.3% of families and 11.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.8% of those under age 18 and 14.1% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public education in the village of Rutland is provided by the Meigs Local School District. Campuses serving the village include Meigs Primary School (Grades K-2), Meigs Intermediate School (Grades 3-5), Meigs Middle School (Grades 6-8), and Meigs High School (Grades 9-12).

Notable people

-   Brewster Higley VI, composer of “Home on the Range”
-   William P. Halliday, businessman and railroad executive

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

title: Rutland, Ohio

question: What caused the population decline in Rutland between 2000 and 2010?

question: What are the difficulties of living in Rutland, Meigs County?

answer: Rutland often experiences flash-flooding which sometimes causes school and road closures. Though no loss of lives has been reported (according to the passage), it seems severe enough to cause disruption to daily lives. The median income for Rutland women is $11,375 compared to the men's $30,500. This means Rutland is not necessarily the best place for any woman who wants to pursue to career and earn a reasonable amount of money to live on.


text:
LAXMI NARAYAN is a 1951 Hindu mythological film directed by Nanabhai Bhatt starring Meena Kumari and Mahipal in lead roles.[1][2] Meena Kumari, after her career as a child artist, started doing adult roles as heroines in mythological and fantasy films before she made it in mainstream cinema with _Baiju Bawra_ (1952).[3]

Cast

Male Cast:

-   Mahipal as Narayan
-   S. N. Tripathi
-   Babu Raje
-   Dalpat
-   Shribhagwan
-   Banke Bihari

Male cast (continued)

-   Brijmohan Vyas
-   Amarnath
-   Agha Shapur
-   Gadadhar Sharma
-   Kamal Kumar
-   Korega
-   Vasantrao Pahalwan

Female Cast:

-   Meena Kumari as Laxmi
-   Kanta Kumari
-   Urmila
-   Leela Kumari
-   Chandni
-   Lalita Rao
-   Sulochana

[1]

[2]

[3]

title: Laxmi Narayan (film)

question: What kind of art/medium is Laxmi Narayan?

answer: A film.

question: What is the genre?

answer: Mythological.

question: Who is the director?

answer: Nanabhai Bhatt.

question: What did Meena Kumari do before she was an actor?

answer: She was a child artist.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: Laxmi Narayan is a 1951 Hindu mythological film directed by Nanabhai Bhatt and starring Meena Kumari.


text:
*Hi Guys, first post and would love some cc on an incredibly short story that I wrote a few years ago. I found it today and edited it a little bit. I'm thinking about doing Creative Writing alongside my degree in September so any CC would be greatly appreciated.*

The tiny, flickering light only lit up half of the already dark room. He stumbled around in the dark cursing until he finally found what he was looking for. He grabbed the box which lay hidden under a pile of old documents, its lid was broken and when he delicately opened it music began to play.

Inside was a tiny mirror which was shattered into pieces on the soft red velvet lining other than the shards of glass the music box was empty. He studied it for a second, his brain flickered as if it was struggling to remember something.

He grunted and threw the box to the floor where it was silenced. He carried on his search this time pulling out a drawer, again it was empty save for a few bits of scrap material he seized these like they were gold and stuffed them in his pockets.

There was a gold watch on the bedside cabinet which caught his eye he picked it up and twirled it round in his hand before stuffing it in his pockets. He picked up a photo album and let the pages drop, memories, that same flicker in his brain. He threw it in to the fire and watched the flames dance on its ashes, he sat on the floor, watching the fire, it made him feel satisfied. The room was now completely ransacked, he smiled to himself. The fire was going out and the flickering light had nearly given up on its life; he surveyed the room one last time before limping out of the cabin and into the darkness of the night.

title: First Post: In to the Darkness

question: Is the man in a room that is familiar to him or did he break in somewhere?

answer: Unclear.

question: Write a ~6 sentence summary.

answer: A man searches through a dark lit room. He finally finds the tiny music box he was looking for. He plays it for a second then tosses it. He pulls open drawers only finding scraps of metal which he grabs along with a gold watch on the bedside table. He picks up a photo album but discards it by tossing it in the fire. Afterwards he feels satisfied that the room is sufficiently ransacked and watches until the fire goes out then leaves into the night.


text:
_IV: EMPIRES COLLAPSE_ is the fourth studio album by American thrash metal band Warbringer, released on October 29, 2013 via Century Media.[1][2]

Track listing

Personnel

Warbringer

-   John Kevill – vocals
-   John Laux – lead guitar
-   Jeff Potts – rhythm guitar
-   Ben Mottsman – bass
-   Carlos Cruz – drums

Production

-   Steve Evetts - producer
-   Adam Hessler - engineering
-   Brett Eliason - mixing
-   Adrienne Rozzi - artwork

[1] http://www.metalsucks.net/2013/10/11/collapse-warbringer-fourth-album/

[2] http://www.metal-archives.com/albums/Warbringer/IV%3A_Empires_Collapse/386775

title: IV: Empires Collapse

question: How can you describe the band, Warbringer?

answer: This band is considered an American thrash metal band.

question: What album is IV: Empires Collapse?

answer: It is the fourth studio album by the band, Warbringer.

question: Who is the lead guitarist in the band?

answer: The lead guitarist in the band is John Laux.

question: Who produces the music for the band?

answer: Steve Evetts produces music for the band.

question: Who does the vocals for the band?

answer: John Kevill does the vocals for the band.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: This article is describing a band, Warbringer, and their fourth studio album, IV: Empires Collapse.


text:
WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT 'CRACKING THE CODE':

Because it deals largely with matters of law, let's start with lawyers who have studied the book...

_"[Y]ou really need to familiarize yourself with Pete Hendrickson's absolutely magnificent work at his website and in his book(s).  He has, brilliantly and lucidly, "cracked the code" regarding the federal income EXCISE tax(es)."_

Mark C. Phillips, JD

_"...I find your work fascinatingly simple to understand."_

Jerry Arnowitz, JD

_"Your book is a masterpiece!"_

Michael Carver, JD

_"Received your book yesterday.  Started reading at 11 PM, finished at 4 AM."  "I have 16 feet (literally 16' 4.5") of documents supporting just about everything in your book." "Your book should be required reading for every lawyer before being admitted to any Bar."  "I hope you sell a million of them." _

John O'Neil Green, JD

_�Thanks again for your efforts, Pete. They mean an awful lot to a lot of people.� ��as an attorney, I am humbled by your knowledge and ability in navigating the law.  THANK YOU for your hard work and sacrifice.�_

Eric Smithers, JD

_"I am an attorney and want to give a testimonial to your book, which I find to be compelling. I am exercising these rights for myself and my adult children. I'm even considering making this my new avenue of law practice."_

Nancy "Ana" Garner, JD

Now, on to readers from every other walk of life:

_�First off thank you for writing it!�  �I now realize the amount of work that you have put into this� I pray that tens of thousands purchase it. Again thanks!!!�_

Ed Paquette, Canton, North Carolina

_"Thank you so much for your exquisitely documented and beautifully written "Cracking the Code"- "This book is a masterpiece of analysis, clarity and revelation."  "This is brain candy for patriots!"_

Christiane Sauter, Syracuse, New York

_"I would like to pick up at least 10 copies of your book for friends and family��_

Charles Shiflett, Marietta, Georgia

_�BRAVO!  You are an excellent writer and I certainly feel informed enough to begin my challenge of our Income Tax laws.�_

Patrick Mooney, The Institute of Unlearning (www.unlearning.org)

_"Your book gave me a much deeper understanding into what this is all really about, and a better idea of how to defend myself against the monster.�  �I enjoyed your style of writing, as it does bring greater clarity to a very complicated set of problems, one building upon the next.�_

Bill Woodrow, Damascus, Maryland

_"Wonderful Book!!!  Thank you for your work!"_

Michael-Edward, Deland, Florida

_"I have been studying this subject for 10 years and this is, by far, the best work I have seen on the subject.  Not only is it enlightening, but it tells you how to proceed to get your money back if you should choose to do so. Thanks for your work."_

Brad Parsons, Cleburne, Texas

_"...I just recently read your book 'Cracking the Code' and I love it.  I have been studying the tax "problem" for about 6 years now and your book really crystallizes everything."_

Karl Weatherly, Ketchum, Idaho

_"All American Citizens who truly love their freedom and have a healthy skepticism of the federal government will add this book to their evidentiary foundation..." "...it's a beautiful thing you've done."_

John Carpenter, Ann Arbor, Michigan

_"Thank you so much for a well written book.  It  really gave me a lift."_

Clyde H Shaulis, Jr., Erie, Michigan

_"I just finished reading Cracking the Code yesterday and I must congratulate you on this fine piece of work.  I have spent several thousand hours in the law library researching these and other legal issues, and your book is a masterpiece."_

Gerald Brown, Ed. D., author of 'Cooperative Federalism' and co-author of 'In Their Own Words'

_"After reading your book, I knew that you had found the answer that everyone has been looking for."_

Arthur Pollock, Perryville, Maryland

_"...the most important book about the federal income tax that I have ever read (and I've read some two dozen in twenty years)..."_

Pitman Buck Jr., author of 'The Colossal Fraud of Involuntary Perjury'

_"If you are looking for the clear and simple Truth in the deliberately convoluted maze of Federal tax law, this is the one book you must read."_

Steve in Boston

_"�haven't been able to put it down.  Great information and fabulously put together!�_

Bart Goss, Stockbridge, Georgia

_"Thanks for the wonderful book."_

Charley Harman, Black Diamond, Washington

_"Great stuff!  Thanks... ...for an excellent read and all the investigative historical research.  ...I can now move forward with confidence."_

Ron Flick, Roland, Arkansas

_"...your book confirms my understanding of the fraud." "I have recommended this book to many..."_

Jeff G. Pemberton, Little Rock, Arkansas

_"Excellent material..." "You appear to have solved the puzzle, for which I am most grateful."_

James W. Sisk, Goodlettsville, Tennessee

_"This is a fabulous book I would highly recommend��_

Larry Golson, Montgomery, Alabama

_"Excellent work.  You have demystified the most misunderstood and misinterpreted elements of the so-called tax laws so that anyone with an enquiring mind can easily see how these codes have been used to steal American's labor for over fifty years.  In particular, I enjoyed your philosophical and ideological commentaries on the nature of law, how it works, and why law must operate the way it was designed..._

Grant Sterling, author of 'Forbidden Property: What You Don't Own Can Hurt You!'

_"I have read your CtC book twice.  What a masterpiece!  As a CPA and CFP (Certified Financial Planner), I had always suspected that something was wrong with the tax system."  "I am telling all of my clients about your book and I am helping them file past due or amended returns to obtain their rightful refunds."_

Don Gray, Portage, Michigan

_"...one of the best I have read on the subject and I have been studying the subject for over 30 years."_

Bill Richards, Newport News, Virginia

_"I consider your book to be one of my most prized possessions.  Thank you."_

Darrell Berg, Milton, New York

_"Read the book in about 2 days.  Very well done.  I have been looking at the issue for about 5 years and you distill the info down in a way even the newbies can absorb.  Well worth the asking price.  I hope this really sells."_

Ed Wahler, Fletcher, North Carolina

_"Thank you for your superb work..."_

Chet West, Woodland Park, Colorado

_"I cannot express how helpful 'Cracking the Code' has been...  Once I picked up your book, setting it down was not an option!  Who could have guessed that a sound grasp on what the law ACTUALLY SAYS could utterly banish the multifarious voices of misinformation streaming from the bureau."_

J. K., Rhinelander, Wisconsin

_"Excellent..."_

J. J. W., Akron, Ohio

_"Loved your book Cracking The Code."_

Bill Harding, Hudson, Michigan

_"Great Book."_

Richard DeSimone, Columbus, Ohio

_"Greetings!  I want to thank you heartily for the fine book 'Cracking the Code."_

Betsy Dettloff, Rochester Hills, Michigan

_"Your book is excellent..."_

Arnold Leibowitz, Los Angeles, California

_"I found the book to be extremely beneficial even though I was fairly knowledgeable on the subject prior to reading the book."  "It is definitely on my list of 'recommended reads'. Thanks for a great book."_

Phil Patana, St. Louis, Missouri

_"...I appreciate your book greatly..."_

Jeffrey T. Maehr, Pagosa Springs, Colorado

_"Your book gives me a great boost in my determination..." "Thanks for your great book as I will use it as a reference in the future."_

T.L. Peck, Lyman, South Carolina

_"EXCELLENT" "...very well written and accurate." "... I would highly recommend."_

Dave Wissel, Lebanon, Ohio

_"I am SO grateful for your book."_

Nancy in Massachusetts

_"I've just started reading the book a couple of days ago.  Talk about mind blowing.  Your book is really helping me to understand what the tax system is all about._

"
Elizabeth Larsen, Midland, Michigan

_"What a great book!"_

John B. Gartner, West Chester, Pennsylvania

_"I very much enjoyed reading it and will be recommending it to many..."_

K. B., Omaha, Nebraska

_"...a valuable tool, and a wealth of knowledge."  "Thank you for all your research..."_

Arleen Miller, Page, Arizona

_"After receiving CtC I read it in a day or two (every spare minute I could get).  It is the best book-- the best material-- I have read yet on the income tax issue."  "Thank you for your research and your great book..."_

Robin Kartchner, Pleasant Grove, Utah

_"...of everything I've read in the last 15 years, this is certainly the clearest explanation I have ever seen."_

Sue Kennedy, Sun Valley, California

_"Wow!!!!  I've been studying this for 10 years and haven't gotten anything as clearly as you have put it in your book.  I will be ordering more copies to put into the hands of everyone I know!!  I cannot thank you enough for your time and research."_

Joyce Cox, Afton, Wyoming

_"Thank you for the most informative, wonderful book I have read in ages."_

Andy Valisalo, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

_"...one of the best, most readable_ [books] _I have found in my 20 years of studying the IRS and the tax code, rules, regulations and administrative procedures."_

Steve Blumenthal, Salinas, California

_"...an excellent book..."_

Carolyn Gard, Houston, Texas

_"I wanted to drop you a quick note to tell you how much I appreciate the level and quality of research you've obviously undertaken to write this book."  "...I think your book is probably one of the most cohesive presentations I have read on the subject of the federal income tax."_

R. L., San Diego, California

_"...very enlightening...  Thank you very much..."_

Holland V. Corbitt, Loganville, Georgia

_"I think your book is the best and most thorough analysis of the "Income Tax" law.  The book is extremely well written.  Almost no one has written about this subject with the clarity and precision you have in your book."  "I think your book is the one everyone... ...should read."_

Joe Wert, Arlington, Texas

_"I want to express my congratulations and my gratitude for such an exhaustive and thorough work as 'Cracking the Code'".  "[I found it] extraordinarily enlightening."_

Carl Stewart, Saint Cloud, Florida

_"...the best info I have ever read."_

Charles Boulton, LaCenter, Kentucky

_"Your book is exhaustively researched and a must have for anyone who is considering removing the government leech from their backside. Great Stuff!"
_Rick Jaensch, Annandale, Virginia

_"Kudos to a well researched and well presented book.  It's about time that someone has printed a book that accurately describes the meaning and intent of the tax laws."_

Thom Anderson, Annapolis, Maryland

_"Wow! You�ve created a masterpiece..."  "I too am walking taller today after reading �Cracking the Code�.  Thank you very much for writing it..." "...you�ve given us the knowledge needed for asserting a proper legal defense."_

Michael Olsen, Wellsville, Utah

_"Thank you for writing "CtC"; it is most excellent, in quality of research, style and clarity.  I agree with you that this is the most important issue for the people of this nation.  I have recommended your book to all my compatriots in the fight against fraud."_

Doug Eades, Copley, Ohio

_"I have finished reading 'Cracking the Code' --it's excellent.  It puts the government's sham of fraud & extortion into perspective.  It finally all makes sense!  I'm recommending your book to everyone I know."_

Ron C. Rector, Broadview Heights, Ohio

_"Thanks for all the work, research, and courage to act that you have put forth.  I've been hammering away at understanding this ugly mess for years.  The research and writings of so many other people, for which I've spent thousands of dollars, can't hold a candle to your laser..."_

Val-David Smithson, Reno, Nevada

_"Thank you for writing your fascinating and informative book.  'Cracking the Code' is the first book that I have read which offers a comprehensive explanation and viable resolution.  Your book has been the key to unlocking the Tax-Code puzzle"_

Carl Olsen, Colorado Springs, Colorado

_"I have spent over $5000 on information regarding the IRS, and I consider your $20 book the best piece of information that I have found.  Thank you."_

Judy E., Raleigh, North Carolina

_"I really have enjoyed your book and companion CD.  Both are well done- best I've seen from anyone, and I have read extensively..."_

John Peacock, San Diego, California

_"'Cracking the Code' has shocked and amazed me.  Everything checks out... a more important book has never been written.  Reading it is like taking the red pill in the movie 'The Matrix'.  Thanks for showing me just how deep the rabbit hole goes."_

Thomas H. deSabla, Silver Springs, Maryland

_"Many have attempted to research and sift the data, but your book and website alone... ...separate truth from error substantively and consistently.  Your explanations are always cogent and clear...  You have given me the tools to be upfront with this information to my acquaintances credibly and authoritatively.  Thank you..."_

John  J. Bulten, Tulsa, Oklahoma

_"Your book was fabulous.  It was concise, yet full of information.  It was clear,... masterful.  I am somewhat familiar with the tax/sovereignty issue, however, I have never encountered a work such as yours.  Thank you for enlightening me..."_

 Marc Mabli, Long Island, New York

See video testimonials by readers of 'Cracking the Code

Read the review of 'Cracking the Code' by Steve Thomas of the Mackinac Center

What the federal and state governments have to say about 'Cracking the Code-...'

ORDER NOW!

AND WHILE YOUR BOOK IS _EN ROUTE_, GET STARTED WITH THE VERY USEFUL PRIMER YOU'LL FIND HERE.

FROM THE FOREWORD TO 'CRACKING THE CODE- THE FASCINATING TRUTH ABOUT TAXATION IN AMERICA':

It was not until the late 1990�s, when the Internal Revenue Code was digitized (and thus made searchable) that it became possible to decipher its deliberately confusing and misleading construction.  Only then could complete searches be done of all 3,413,780 or so words (not counting regulations) for every incidence of �liable�, �imposed�, �income�, �employee�, and dozens of other key or misleading terms-- checking every reference, exception, definition and source.  Only then could it be established that, as written, the laws behind the code and the taxes that they impose technically comply with the Constitution, just as all the judges have said over the years.

But the same analysis also reveals that, as written, these laws don�t apply to most of the receipts of most private citizens.  Indeed, the two things are interdependent-- the former couldn't be true unless the latter was also true.

What you will learn as you read this book is that specific Constitutional limitations on the federal government�s power to tax _do_ shape related law, and have generated a coherent Supreme Court doctrine which clearly and soundly answers the question of what is taxable "income�.  Both the statutes and the doctrine acknowledge the exemption of the vast majority of private-sector receipts from that taxing power�s reach.

However, you will also learn about a complex combination of craft, routine bureaucratic incoherence, and casual-- and not-so-casual-- corruption by virtue of which many people are led to inadvertently allow, and even participate in, the legal transformation of their untaxable earnings _into_ taxable "income�.  Such people are tricked into voluntarily and utterly unnecessarily enabling the diversion of a river of wealth from their own hands, usually never to be seen again.

Thanks to an unhappy coincidence of reiterations and amendments of the law, a series of complicated judicial rulings, and the passage of time and memories, the details of American tax law-- and the principles upon which it is based-- have come to be widely misunderstood.  The opportunities presented by that reality have been seized upon, by those paid to maximize revenue flow to the government, to successfully construct an elaborate and deceptive tax scheme rooted in today�s Internal Revenue Code.

This scheme capitalizes on widespread public ignorance of general legal doctrine and rules of statutory construction.  It  practices a careful gauging of extraction levels to the tolerance limits of key demographic segments.  It relies upon the concealment of the underlying actual-law-in-force behind the misleading words of the code, which is legally no more than _�evidence of the law�_, and not the law itself.

Fundamental to the scheme is designing that code to be so dauntingly and profoundly confusing as to force the vast majority of those against whom it�s directed to abandon even a pretense of personal comprehension.  These targets are thus compelled to surrender their decision-making to the code�s administrative bureaucracy or a professional class of fixers and go-betweens-- the members of either of which are dependent on the scheme for their own earnings.  Unsurprisingly, both assure any who ask that _of course_ private-sector receipts are taxed under the law.  If pressed, these experts will trot out carefully selected, out-of-context and ambiguous fragments of law calculated to convincingly suggest that what they claim must be in the law, somewhere.  But somehow, they never manage to demonstrate exactly where.  �Cracking the Code� is going to provide that missing context, unravel the tangle of deceit and confusion, and make clear that not only is it _not_ in there anywhere, what _is_ in there is just the opposite.

*****

_�I don�t know what you mean by �glory�,� Alice said._

_Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. �Of course you don�t-- till I tell you. I meant �there�s a nice knock-down argument for you!��_

_�But �glory� doesn�t mean �a nice knock-down argument�,� Alice objected._

_�When I use a word,� Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, �it means just what I choose it to mean-- neither more nor less.�_

_�The question is,� said Alice, �whether you can make words mean so many different things.�_

_�The question is,� said Humpty Dumpty, �which is to be master-- that�s all.�_

question: Where is this published?

answer: Likely a book publisher's / bookstore's website

question: What is the book 'Cracking the Code' about?

answer: The book seeks to untangle the federal tax laws, seemingly with the aim to help readers reduce the amount of tax they need to pay.

question: What are the views expressed by the reviewers?

answer: They find it extremely helpful and have a lot of praise for the book

question: What is the purpose of this text?

answer: To promote the book

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: This webpage promotes Pete Hendrickson's book 'Cracking the Code', which concerns the many federal tax laws which the book purports to show to be unfair and to overcharge individuals for tax. The reviews from readers are extremely positive.


text:
I saw her again last night. Her visits have gotten more and more infrequent as time passes. Before this past night it had been 6 days, 13 hours, and 42 minutes since our last encounter.

I was drunk. I spend most of my time in an alcohol-induced stupor these days. A fist smashed my door several times, yanking me from my whiskey nirvana. After a brief but brutal fight with gravity and the floor, I managed to navigate my way to the knocking sound. But I was cautious. It could have been another one of my "friends" claiming they were there to help me. I'm too smart for them. All they want to do is strip away my life-preserving elixir, the one thing getting me through every morning and every night. My mud brown orbs peep through the eye-hole and meet a pair of Caribbean blue eyes. Her eyes.

It's hard for me to recollect what happened next but I remember flinging open the door with such force it's a mystery the hinges didn't come undone. Then she's in my arms, bringing me warmth greater than Hell but everything in this moment is so perfect that I know we must be in a place even higher than Heaven.

Strawberries. That's what her hair smells like. I had almost forgotten. Immediately I curse my memory and fight back tears of frustration. But before I have the chance to cry, she leans in and whispers, "I miss you, darling" and I melt into a sweet, steaming pile of yearning. Our eyes meld into a navy black mess. I hate my own eyes for dirtying the beauty of this union.

That old, tangled knot in my chest returns. It slowly expands and I know it's going to explode soon so I go for the only cure I know. My lips seek the warmth of her lips. Instead they meet a finger, stiff and icy. She shakes her head, wearing the same kind of smile a mother does when her three year old son asks for the meaning behind "you'll be a big brother soon".

The rest of the night was a blur of love. Hours dripped into hours. At some point the alcohol and strawberries took their toll. She didn't visit my dreams that night and when I awoke to the light of the morning she was gone. The knot in my chest unwound and sunk back into its bottomless void. I poured myself a glass of whiskey and stared out at the blindingly bright sun. Though it stung, it helped bring back a bit of glowing comfort.

I finished my drink and grabbed my car keys. For once I actually had a destination in mind. The drive was uneventful. The sun hid behind a shield of clouds and did not return for the rest of the day. On the way there I stopped at a farmer's market and picked up a bouquet of forget-me-nots. They had been her favorite flowers.

I placed the forget-me-nots on the cold stone and stared at nothing for three hours in somber silence. Then I drove home, opened a new bottle of Jack Daniels, and drank myself into another coma. As I drifted into death I promised to spend tomorrow the same way. And the day after that. And the day after that. And that was how my life would be spent from now. I don't need anything or anyone other than my alcohol and the occasional visit from her. Maybe if I take one more shot than I did the night before I can see her again. And maybe next time she won't leave once the sun rises. And maybe we'll be together forever, like those two stupidly innocent children promised each other underneath the thousand year old oak tree in that field of gold forever ago. Maybe.

title: Good Night, World.

question: Who is the person with 'Caribbean blue eyes'?

answer: The narrator's deceased lover.

question: What does her hair smell like?

answer: Strawberries.

question: What flowers does the narrator pick up?

answer: Forget-me-nots.

question: What does the narrator do with the flowers?

answer: Lays them at her grave.

question: How is the narrator coping with the death of his lover?

answer: By drowning himself in alcohol and avoiding his loved ones who try to help him.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator's days are an endless cycle of drowning his grief in alcohol and hallucinating the return of his deceased lover. He takes forget-me-not flowers to her grave and fantasizes about being reunited.


text:
“Do you remember that time that you and I drove around looking at green hills, and we hooked up, our bodies entangled in a kaleidoscope of shapes and movements?   We had taken my mother’s Jeep Cherokee to the end of the road and then hiked along the Caney Fork.  You made me bring a full backpack stuffed with your favorite blanket, and a shit ton of rubbers, I mean, so many that there was no possible way we were going to use them all.  You said we would, and you did that smile you always did when you were up to something.  Your lip curled in the corner, and your teeth just barely peeked through their coral covers.  You forced me to carry the backpack because after all, ‘I was such a big, strong man.’

“I was barely a man at all, more like a boy.  I was twenty, and we had only been dating for four months.  This is going to sound childish, but, I was so excited that I was able to get laid that those first few months were a complete blur.  I remember this moment so clearly though.  It’s surprising what sticks with you.  Anyways, we had hiked along the Caney Fork and made it to Scott’s Gulf.  Remember that waterfall? And how it snuck out of the canyon wall, came out, fell, and when it finally reached the bottom it snuck back into the ground?  Goddamn, it was almost as beautiful as you were that night.  The water was so clear.

"We laid the blanket down, wrapped in each other’s arms, and stared at the waterfall for what felt like ages.  There was something hypnotizing about it.  You turned away from the water and towards me.  You whispered in my ear, ‘Is it going to be like this forever?’ I was staring at the sky, which was melding colors like melting Neapolitan ice cream.  I hesitated, thinking about it for a second, you might not have known that, but I was young, and I’m sure you’ve had the same thoughts before too.  ‘Yeah, I think so.’ I responded, the words seem so far from me now, like it was a totally different conversation than what I remember.  You kissed me on the cheek and said, ‘I hope you’re right.’ I turned and kissed you on the lips, before I knew it we were a sweaty mess of skin, and shapes.

"We eventually headed home; you fell asleep in the passenger seat with your feet on the dash, and your hand clutching mine.  That day was so passionate, and uncanny, so unlike us now.  It’s not the same as when we were younger. Maybe we can rekindle those feelings.  I want to make love to you, not just love you.   We could go back, maybe, and hike along the Caney Fork.  What do you say?”

       “That wasn’t me.”

title: Kaleidoscope

question: Who is talking about being barely a man?

answer: The unnamed narrator.

question: What happened at the waterfall?

answer: The narrator went there for an intimate, romantic time with his partner.

question: What is the story's genre?

answer: Drama.

question: Who is the speaker talking to?

answer: His current partner, some years after the story he's telling.

question: What are the major events of the story?

answer: The narrator and his lover go on a hike, and years later the narrator suggests they do repeat the experience.

question: What is the main conflict of the story?

answer: The narrator mistakes someone else for his current partner when reflecting on a romantic memory.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator reflects on a memory of hiking along the Caney Fork for a romantic escapade with his lover. He wants to rekindle that kind of passion from their early relationship, but the current lover's responds by saying, "That wasn't me."


text:
SANGOB RATTANUSORN (born 1943) is a former badminton player from Thailand who won numerous titles and represented his country in team play from the early 1960s through the early 1970s.

Career

A fine “all-arounder” (proficient in all three events: singles, men's doubles, and mixed doubles), Rattanusorn won eight Thai national singles titles between 1962 and 1970, and the Southeast Asian Peninsular singles title in 1967.[1] Outside of Asia, his most significant victories came in doubles events. He shared the U.S. Open mixed doubles title with England's Margaret Barrand in 1963, and the Canadian Open mixed doubles title with the USA's Lois Alston in 1968.[2] In 1968 he also won the Canadian Open and Dutch Open men's doubles titles,[3] and reached the men's doubles semifinal at the All-England Championships with fellow countryman Chavalert Chumkum. Perhaps the best year in his badminton career, however, came toward the end of it in 1973, when he helped Thailand to a surprise victory over Malaysia in the Asian zone final of Thomas Cup[4] before bowing to perennial champion Indonesia in the inter-zone ties.

Achievements

Asian Games

_Men's singles_

  Year   Venue                                       Opponent        Score          Result
  ------ ------------------------------------------- --------------- -------------- -----------------
  1970   Indoor Stadium Huamark, Bangkok, Thailand   Punch Gunalan   17–18, 10–15   [Bronze] BRONZE

Asian Championships

_Men's singles_

  Year   Venue                 Opponent        Score         Result
  ------ --------------------- --------------- ------------- -----------------
  1965   Lucknow, India        Dinesh Khanna   3–15, 11–15   [Silver] SILVER
  1969   Manila, Philippines   Muljadi         10–15, 3–15   [Bronze] BRONZE

Southeast Asian Peninsular Games

_Men's singles_

  Year   Venue                                    Opponent                   Score              Result
  ------ ---------------------------------------- -------------------------- ------------------ -----------------
  1965   Stadium Negara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia   Tan Aik Huang              7–15, 15–7, 7–15   [Silver] SILVER
  1967   Bangkok, Thailand                        Somsook Boonyasukhanonda                      [Gold] GOLD

[1] Herbert Scheele ed., The _International Badminton Federation Handbook for 1971_ (Canterbury, Kent, England: J. A. Jennings Ltd., 1971) 303, 335.

[2] Scheele, 314, 138.

[3] Scheele, 137, 246.

[4] Jack Van Praag, “National and International News,” _Badminton USA_, May 1973, 10.

title: Sangob Rattanusorn

question: What does the text say Sangob Rattanusorn excelled at?

answer: Sangob Rattanusorn excelled at Badminton and won numerous titles. He was proficient in singles, men's doubles, and mixed doubles events. Rattanusorn went on to win eight Thai national singles titles and outside of Asia, his most significant victories were in the doubles events.


text:
  Two children were sitting on a sidewalk in front of a suburb house, talking and drawing chalk pictures of clouds on the cement. One was using blue chalk, drawing a cloud with a smile, while the other was using red chalk, drawing a big red cloud that floated above a family of three standing beside a tiny house with a smiling sun overlooking them. Meanwhile, the real clouds above the children began to turn a shade of gray. The children heard thunder in the distance.
 	A raindrop fell on the sidewalk next to one of the children, a boy. He didn't notice. A few more drops fell, one landing on the nose of the other child, a girl. The girl laughed,

"It's starting to rain!", she said.

"But what about our pictures?", her friend asked, a fearful tone in his voice, "they'll wash away!"

"Don't worry", said the little girl, "They'll still be in your head!"

The rain started falling harder, and as the little boy watched, his chalk drawing began to melt away into a shapeless puddle. As the girl ran off down the street, laughing in the rain, a tear fell down the boys cheek and mixed with the rain falling on his face.

title: Chalk Drawings

question: Why was the boy bothered about his disappearing chalk drawings?

answer: Unknown; it may be because he invested a lot of time in it.


text:
Pale eyes, crewcut after a long stint of length, rounded unabashed nose, strong lips leading to a sag in the very muscle of the face, all pointing to a strong cleft chin, only vaguely hidden by stubble. Eyes of alcohol stained isolation, but not many saw that, only the mirror and those who accompanied him past his strange-focus setup. In all truth, Stockton Miller was a fair and unmoving man, except for sudden outbursts that had seemed to accelerate in occurrence since his final years of high school until a point in life, now twenty-three, where they were on par with his natural and accepted baseline. He was, in all manner speaking, a psychopath (and notably, still is), yet his behaviour was not that prescribed to the word psychopath, and, as his gut told him, was more like a number of other statistics in populations that cast aside the cliche so long-glued to the aura of psychopath and instead chose to live as a productive member of society. An affinity for jeans and blazers, weather permitting, sitting this day aged blue tweed blazer, dark blue cutting through threads of light, blank white T beneath, loosely hanging over thin body, slight rolls in the skin unseen beneath, aged lightblue jeans tight on skin, canvas shoes tightly laced, belt only for purpose, strong stance leaning back against soft fabric couch, dark red against soft blue, legs crossed, hand behind head sorrow eyes looking at the only interest in the room, interest staring back with apprehension, intrigue, thoughts of feelings same as red light running.
Freight train conversations rolling through, eyes fixed, depression interest, she glanced back, eye contact unnerving, both taking sips of red wine, pouring more. Melissa Salaway. Thin brown hair, light voice, face pale and clear, eyes ready to receive information, wide wide pupils, lengthy nose but only obvious on studying her face, gaunt jaw, bones like plumbing. Black dress, loose, modest, dark blue cardigan, dull flats. She sat and listened for the most part, glancing occasionally at Stockton, engaged almost completely, clattering tracks of ideas rolled through. Most of brain attached to conversation, small slither analysing, body language, phrases, watching eyes.
	“Hey uhh… If I die and your hair’s still growing when I do, don’t let anybody pray for me. Tell them to stop it. And uh, if, by this time, you end up saying words about me, that is if you still uh, admire me, by that time enough to say words about me then don’t tell anyone about me, tell them about my ideas. Tell them that I’m just an assortment of well positioned atoms. Tell them about the fact that I’ll only die if my ideas die. Tell them that my ideas will continue whirring as long as people can think them.”
By this time Stockton could feel a rush coming on and decided to keep talking, better judgement notwithstanding.	“And uh, I think that the time may come quite soon. Not soon as in months or day but soon for a twenty-three year old.I think thirty. Yes, thirty,” The rush gaining strength, vision blending into thought, dragging him down into deep depression, bad energy proving immovable, kept from tears only by constant talking.
	“Yes, I’m going to die on that lone highway. I saw it the other day, you see. A car, and I don’t even drive. A car, me propped up against the door frame, dirt slightly shaken, legs splayed out in from of me, toes pointing straight up. And then I remembered that I had just been shot in the head, or had I shot myself? It doesn’t really matter. I died there. I tried to talk myself out of it, only half aware that it was the dream, and these things give you the impression of inevitability anyway, real or not. Well yes I tried to talk myself out of it, slowly, then sharp and harsh, not desperate or insulting, but harsh. I felt myself die. I woke up then, slight adrenalin buzz wore off and I felt nothing. This is why today is about death. I’m sorry. I really am. I never talk well to others. I imagine topics so well in my head and they always fail to be of worth in reality. I’m sorry.” Stockton felt that he was more a person to be talked about than talked to, regardless of how many ideas he tried to give away.
Rush receding, almost a sense of self accomplishment for having withstood, yet grasping onto the draining force, knowing that it won’t come again with any sensible reason, and as worrisome as it was it felt good, felt being the most important term.
Melissa stood up and took another bottle of wine, started pouring in both glasses.
	“I find that interesting, you seem to be admitting and embracing this death yet, in that exact moment, you tried to talk yourself out it.”
	“Well that’s put down to the fact that I was twenty-three in my dream. I wasn’t thirty.”
	“Oh! Well then I suppose it comes down to how far the subconscious is willing to go to make this happen, and subsequently how little your conscious is willing to fight it. Of course I have my own personal response and please re-think this, but I know you well enough to predict that any attempt to convince you otherwise will just strengthen your resolve. So uh, if you do decide to off yourself, do it near me at least.”
	“I don’t know where this is going to take me but I’ll try. I’ve been missing you for a while, even when I’m talking to you. My guess is that it’ll all fold up into one large crunch, and in a mad rush something will happen. Simply put, things will explode. Whether we’ll be together remains unseen. From what I can guess it’ll be in a few years at least but the way things are going..” Stockton trailed off, eyes focusing on the wine slowly streaming down his throat.
	“Stockton I wish you wouldn’t talk like that.”
	“Oh but you know I can’t help it, for, of course, ‘I am a Karamazov!’”
	“Shut up with all your book stuff.”
	“They write for their readers, you know.”
	“You’re not going to die.”
	“Ah, my dear, I’m sorry. I’m afraid you failed to grasp the summary of your 6 years of studying biology. We all die. I’m just going to finish existing sooner than some other people. You’re lucky you didn’t fall in love with some african aids orphan. At least we fucked.”
	“Fuck you Stockton. Somedays you’re so fucking vile. Get a fucking grip. You’re wingeing about your fucked up life and doing nothing but drinking yourself to death and deceiving yourself that your writing is worth anything. Clear up your shit. Every night it’s the same thing. Depression or violence or happiness, you only have three. It’s so simple. They’re just a triangle and you hit them each in series. You’re a fucking loser.”
Stockton laughed. Windows into other worlds flashed through his head while he made up his mind on what kind of emotion he should put in his response. Whilst he was good at dolling out emotions, he still had a tidbit of trouble knowing which ones  were appropriate.

title: 'Pale eyes, crewcut'

question: What is the relationship between Stockton and Melissa?

answer: The seem to be good friends.

question: What are they discussing?

answer: They are discussing Stockton's dream which was about his death. He is sure he will die soon.

question: What is the setting of the story?

answer: The story doesn't give that information.

question: What is the plot?

answer: There doesn't really seem to be a plot. The story is a discussion.

question: Write a ~5 sentence summary.

answer: Stockton and Melissa are drinking wine and talking about Stockton's recent dream about his death. He is sure he will die soon. When it happens, he doesn't want others to pray for him; he wants Melissa to tell them that he will only really die when his ideas die. Melissa gets irritated with him for drinking himself to death and not valuing his writing. She's tired of his cycle of three states of being: depression, violence, and happiness.


text:
The Tesla Model S may be the safest vehicle ever tested by the feds. So safe, in fact, that according to the automaker, the all-electric sedan broke the testing equipment at an independent commercial facility.

Most cars get five stars in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's frontal crash protection test and four stars for side impact protection. But the Model S aced them all: front, side, pole, and rollover. And Tesla adds in its announcement that during a previous roof crush test used during validation, the machine failed while applying more than 4 G's of pressure – the same as stacking four of the electric sedans on top of the car without the roof breaking.

When NHTSA added up all the scores, it totaled a combined five stars across the board – one of the highest ever recorded for a production vehicle.

The reason for the insanely high marks isn't just the stiff structure, but the electric drivetrain. With no engine up front taking up valuable crumple zone space, Tesla's engineers were able to maximize the amount of sacrificial space, and with the battery mounted oh-so-low in the floor, that increases rigidity around the occupants. The rear crash test – particularly important given the rear-facing child jump seats – was another high score, with no "permanently disabling injury to the third row occupants" thanks in part to what Tesla calls a "double bumper" to absorb additional impact.

And before you ask, the lithium-ion battery handled it all with aplomb, with no leakage or fire.

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

More Great WIRED Stories

-   The reason you use closed captions for everything now
-   The stock market loophole that screws the little guy
-   Inside Palmer Luckey’s bid to build a border wall
-   The bike share war is shaking up Seattle like nowhere else
-   Here are the best Mac alternatives for Windows users
-   Looking for more? Sign up for our daily newsletter and never miss our latest and greatest stories

question: How did the Tesla Model S do in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's crash protection tests?

answer: Most cars get five stars in the frontal crash test and four stars in the side impact protection. The Model S aced all the tests, front, side, pole, and rollover crash rests, which is very rare and proves it to be an extremely safe car.

question: How safe is the Tesla Model S?

answer: It may be the safest vehicle ever tested.

question: Why did Tesla get such high marks?

answer: Partly because of the structure of the Model S, but also because of the electric drivetrain, theres no engine up front taking up crumple zone space. The area of sacrificial space is maximized, and the battery is mounted very low in the floor.

question: What was the result of the rear crash test?

answer: Another high score, where no permanently disabling injury would befall third row occupants due to what Tesla calls a "double bumper".

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: The Tesla Model S is perhaps the highest scoring car ever when it comes to safety tests. It aced every crash test possible, front, rear, side, poll, and roll. Much of this is to do with the engineering, with the battery stored low in the floor, there is more crumple zone space in the front, which is crucial for absorbing impact. The car is so safe in fact, that when testing the roof in a crunch test, the machine used to administer the test actually failed before the car did, when it exceeded in applying more than 4 G's of pressure.


text:
A Human ~~misunder~~Stand~~ing~~

Trapped under a code of unspoken law existed a helpless body, the silhouette of a foreign and defected lie. It was on the bridge of denial where this deformed and self-threatening creature attempted to gain validation through the manipulation of belief, determination and euphoria. This creature denied accusation but exaggerated praise. At birth, each of these full of thought, yet thoughtless creatures would be unknowingly blessed with the burden of life. A task, which looked at through rosy glasses could resemble a noble quest, or an extended search for unjustified appreciation. In truth, the task was the opposite, instead of associating, joining or uniting, this species openly chose to disassociate, disjoin and disunite, inherently leading to its fatal yet oppressed demise. Although genuinely curious and often intelligent, the creature chose to rise to its defeat, thus loving itself for what it wasn’t, and hating itself for what it had become.

Passive and expecting change, scouring social and political conduct only to grow an acceptance to non-conform, on an ever changing wave that did right to others, but left to self. This creature often attempted to distinguish itself by claiming individuality so it could stand freezing whilst lying on a sweltering background. It was only an imaginary feature that allowed a pulse of self-sanity to remain omniscient. Memories that multiplied the sense of no escape crafted a promise that was already gone, a regret that recommended the colour of black and white. Fraudulence and deceit left a heavy head and feet made of stone, a quest lost, a quest stopped and a quest that questioned a deeper conscience. A painful smile and frown of anticipation, this creature was a twisted yet simple manifestation of everything that it wasn’t and nothing that it was.

title: Got carried away with a creative writing task in school - What are your thoughts?

question: What is the story trying to depict?

answer: Humans and humanity.

question: What is the overwhelming quality criticized in the story?

answer: Self-deceit seems the most common theme.


text: She wrapped her arm around him. They were leaning on one another for quite some time. She and the lady love to her side sipped his drink. They leaned on each other as they leaned on him, she rubbed his back.

title: Sip.

question: Who is the third lady?

answer: Unclear.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: Three people are embracing each other for quite some time. One of he women rubbed the man's back.


text: He woke. It was a breathless waking, the kind where you slam your own bed as if rushing to the ground. He had hardly blinked away the heaviness in his eyes when he noticed. Something was wrong, different, unsettling, his room seemed, brighter. It wasn’t a comforting light, it seemed to vibrate from everything, as if all objects had a new glean. He took the whole feeling as a shuddering, a resonating chill lasting only moments. Curling his fingers over the edge of his bed he swung himself across the lip of the sheets. His feet touched the ground and the tactile sensation of the carpet caused him to shift uncomfortably. For the first time he was conscious of the fibers, the rough spun cotton flowing underfoot. He thought he might be able to count them all, every strand, and find them all to his liking. He found this unnerving. Straining his eyes the room came into focus, his vision was acute and the details washed over him in waves. The colors were deeper and the patterns more noticeable. This made him realize everything about his immediate surroundings. The four corners, arched ceiling, tissue box, miss matched curtains, everything, all of it, appeared flawless. Nothing had moved, nothing had changed, it was simply right. It was in its place. It was at home. All except the door. It was the same. The familiar had a new temptation, a magnetism, a undeniable pull. The door was already cracked, shadows slipping in from around the frame. The dark ruff cut wood, bronzed hinges and dented knob stood in flushed contrast to the perfection surrounding it. He rose, pushed off the bed, stepped towards the doorway and reached out tentatively. He clutched the handle, it felt slightly chilled, as if it hadn't been turned in a generation. He stood there, preparing to breach, wondering why he would pause. Feet shoulder width apart, sideways to the door, he surveyed the room with a last calculating gaze. Suddenly, in a lapse of time without thought, he gave a sharp pull, strode into the darkness, and fell.

title: Never wrote before, thought i needed a new hobby, whipped this together today!

question: Is the person alone?

answer:
In the initial location, the room where he wakes up, yes.

At the end of the narrative, the man moves out of the room past the door. While the narrative has described the room as having no other occupants other than the character, the shadows slipping in from the frame of the door suggests movement. The narrative has not stated if this is from another living being or not, but the typical interpretation is that there could be another person or a pet in the house.


text:
The 1976 ASTRO-BLUEBONNET BOWL was the 18th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas, on December 31. Part of the 1976–77 bowl game season, It matched the thirteenth-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers of the Big Eight Conference and the #9 Texas Tech Red Raiders of the Southwest Conference (SWC).[1][2] Down by ten points in the second half, Nebraska rallied to win 27–24.[3][4]

Teams

Both teams were making their only appearances in the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl; this edition (ninth as “Astro-”) was played on New Year's Eve at 7 p.m. CST.[5][6] The Sugar Bowl had been played in this time slot the previous four years, but moved back to New Year's Day this season.

Nebraska

The Cornhusers started the season ranked first,[7] but a tie to LSU dropped them to #8. Five straight victories made them rise back to third before a matchup with The home loss dropped them to ninth, with victories over Kansas and #13 Oklahoma State doing nothing to make them rise nor fall. Losses to Iowa State and dropped them to thirteenth, with a lopsided win at Hawaii ending the regular season on a high note. The Huskers tied for fourth in the Big Eight Conference (with Iowa State) at 4–3 in a year where Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Colorado all won a share of the conference title at 5–2. This was Nebraska's sixth bowl game of the decade along with their seventh straight bowl appearance.

Texas Tech

The Red Raiders won their first eight games, rising from unranked to fifth in the nation with wins over and being highlight wins. However, a loss to #9 Houston at home cost them a chance at an undefeated season, though wins at Arkansas and meant that the Red Raiders won a share of the SWC, their first conference title since 1955. This was Texas Tech's fifth bowl appearance of the decade.

Scoring

First quarter:

-   Nebraska - Rick Berns 1-yard run (Al Eveland kick), 5:42 remaining
-   Texas Tech - Brian Hall 28-yard field goal, 1:22

Second quarter:

-   Texas Tech - Billy Taylor 14-yard pass from Rodney Allison (Hall kick), 12:08
-   Texas Tech - Taylor 11-yard pass from Allison (Hall kick), 2:14
-   Nebraska - Mark Dufresne 22-yard pass from Vince Ferragamo (Eveland kick), 0:33

Third quarter:

-   Texas Tech - Taylor 8-yard run (Hall kick), 11:32
-   Nebraska - Berns 18-yard run (kick failed), 9:19
-   Nebraska - Chuck Malito 23-yard pass from Ferragamo (Eveland kick), 7:01

Fourth quarter:
    _No scoring_

    [8][9]

Reg Gast recovered a Red Raider fumble with 1:34 left in the game to seal the game for Nebraska, who rallied twice from ten-point

Statistics

:{| class=wikitable style=“text-align:center” ! Statistics !! Nebraska!! Texas Tech |- |align=left|First Downs || 21|| 24 |- |align=left|Rushes–Yards|| 49–164|| 42–191 |- |align=left|Passing Yards|| 232|| 193 |- |align=left|Passes (C–A–I)|| 14–24–0|| 15–23–0 |- |- |align=left|Total Offense || 73–396|| 65–384 |- |align=left|Punts–Average ||3–36|| 4–40 |- |align=left|Fumbles–Lost ||2–2|| 4–1 |- |align=left|Turnovers by|| 2|| 1 |- | Penalties–Yards || 1–4 || 2–21 |}

    [10][11]

Aftermath

The teams switched places in the final AP poll, Nebraska climbed to ninth and Texas Tech fell to thirteenth.

The bowl win was Nebraska's seventh in the last eight seasons, and the Huskers had regular bowl appearances for the rest of Osborne's tenure. only reached three bowl games combined in rest of the decade and the next one. Neither returned to the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl after this game.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

title: 1976 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl

question: What teams played in the game?

answer: The Nebraska Cornhuskers and the Texas Tech Red Raiders

question: Which team won?

answer: The Nebraska Cornhuskers

question: When did the game happen?

answer: December 31, 1976

question: What game took place on New Year's Eve the previous four years?

answer: The Sugar Bowl

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: The 1976 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl was a college football game played at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas on December 31, 1976. The Nebraska Cornhuskers beat the Texas Tech Red Raiders with a final score of 27-24.


text:
This is the ending of the first dream I ever remember. It was the only time I ever "met" my grandfather who died six months before I was born. I was three when I had it.

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

The air was ephemeral.

It was more of a concept than anyone that young should embrace, but it was. The air, what else could you call it? It was ephemeral. Each breath lasted within the nostrils for only a moment and then they scintillated through his flesh as does daybreak from the pupils. That's all the longer it needed to and then it was gone. Thick and heady, but then only a memory. It was just as the colors, the sounds, the smells...everything; so ephemeral.

The cousins, they bounded off into the distance. They were free, joyous, and ignorant. All of them knew nothing except what was in front of them except one. She looked back. Her eyes filled with fear, resentment, and longing from beneath inky bangs. She wanted what she could never ask for, for what she'd eventually bridle herself with, but for what could never be given. Even she turned away.

"This is your responsibility. I wish I could spare you some of it. It is yours...all of it."

These were ancient words, far older concepts, more than a young mind could bear. The elderly man stooped down among crimson leaves hanging from emerald capped mushrooms beneath lavender skies.

"This is as far as I can bring you. You will have to carry them the rest of the way."

The young boy, still silent, looked to the rest of his party. They were his age and a bit older. They were smarter, wiser, more independent. As they bounded off he wondered what else he could possibly have to offer them. The fear and turmoil was nothing to them. They didn't register the terror as he did. What more guidance could he offer them?

"There are far more my boy. They have much farther to go; much farther than you or I have traveled and much farther than you can imagine. They are your responsibility though. You have to pull them through."

The boy's eyes watered. It was the stress of responsibility and the weight of inevitability. It was the strain weighing on nerves and thoughts which could barely sustain their own mass, much less the heaving of eternity. Yet here it all met. Timelines, seemingly so incongruent yet so inevitable, meeting at the crossroads of ancient history and fate's inexorable rails.

"It isn't fair, I know. We've done the best we can for you, and I admit, it's not enough. I don't think it is enough, but I know it must be enough. You will bring them, not just *them*," nodding to the little girls bounding off to consciousness, "but all of them. It won't be pretty and you probably won't think you'll do it well, but you must believe me -- if you won't believe anyone else --  no one else can do this thing. You will bring them through. You will bring them through the darkness, the forest, the things that they fear, and the things which fear you. Most importantly, only you can bring them through that which you fear most."

That was what broke the dam of tears. That elicited fear and sadness and doubt. The boy shuddered under the weight of this promise. This was the promise which would break anyone, the one not made by a man but made to a man. It incapacitated him, it emancipated him, and still it endowed him with a lifetime of duty.

"In the end this will hurt more than any pain I could inflict," and now the old man began to cry, slow streams of tears down a creased face as he knelt to hold the boys trembling cheeks in his hands for one last time, "but it will save them, it will save me, and most importantly my boy, it will save you."

They embraced. The boy's tiny arms struggled to wrap around the elderly man's withering frame. It was the first time. It was the last time. It was the only time.

The boy looked at him in his somber pinstriped suit. The navy lines barely registered among  the dark charcoal wool which covered him from saddle shod toes to fedora lined brow. The subdued colors shone brightly against the ghastly hued landscape. The boy walked away towards both liberty and incarceration.

Of all the colors he looked back on the only one he could truly remember were those refracted through his grandfather's tears. The light that passed through the drops of his eyes carried everything. They carried hope, doubt, strength, weakness, triumph, and failure. They carried lifetimes. They carried the weight, the eternal weight, the weight no sane man could accept and no honorable man could reject.

Then he awoke. For the first time, he truly awoke.

title: The First Dream's Farewell

question: What responsibility is the narrator saddled with?

answer: To bring his peers and himself out of the darkness, whatever that means.

question: Why does the narrator seemingly buckle under the pressure?

answer: He seems to be a very young child saddled with a lot of responsibility.

question: Explain the implications of the ending.

answer: The line that says the boy "awoke for real" seems to imply that he obtained an awareness about his circumstances that is beyond mundane.

question: Why is it the narrator that gets the responsibility?

answer: The story doesn't elaborate on that.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: Everything feels ephemeral as the narrator's grandfather explains to the young boy that everything that needs to be done to save himself, his peers, and more is his responsibility. It's more than a young boy can handle, and tears start to flow from his eyes. But his grandfather is adamant, and he tells the boy that the struggle will save everyone, including him. They hug as they both cry, and the boy awakens for real for the first time.


text:
[Captain H Riall Sankey] MATTHEW HENRY PHINEAS RIALL SANKEY (9 November 1853 – 3 October 1926) was an Irish-born engineer and captain in the Royal Engineers, known as the creator of the Sankey diagram.

Biography

Sankey was born at Nenagh in County Tipperary in 1853 the son of General W. Sankey, C.B. He received his first education in Switzerland and at Mr. Rippon’s School at Woolwich. Here from 1871 to 1873 he attended the Royal Military Academy, and from 1874 to 1876 the School of Military Engineering in Chatham.

In the last years of his studies Sankey started as research-assistant of the Royal Commission on Railway Accidents making calculations and experiments on railway-brakes and trails. After graduation he started at the British Army, first on the War Office on architectural design, then leading a drawing office of 16 draughtsmen in Manchester. In Gibraltar he was superintended at the construction of barracks for a Military Telegraphs station. From 1879 to 1882 he was instructor at the Royal Military College, Kingston, Canada, and from 1882 to 1889 back in England working for the Ordnance Survey Establishment at Southampton.[1]

From 1889 to 1904 he was a member of the board of directors of Willans & Robinson engineers. He was appointed lead engineer and steam engine designer in 1892 after Mr. Willans died. Later he designed their new Victoria Works at Rugby. From 1904 to 1909 he was a consulting engineer in the steam and internal-combustion engineering industry. From 1909 until his death in 1926 he was a board member of Marconi’s Wireless Telegraph Company, Ltd, and on the board of some other companies.[2]

In World War I Sankey volunteered serving as a staff officer at the department of the Director of Fortifications and Works. He was decorated with the Order of the Bath (CB) and the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his service in World War I.

He was also President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.[3]

Work

Sankey diagram

[Sankey's diagram, 1898] In an 1898 article about the energy efficiency of a steam engine in the _Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers_ Sankey introduced the first energy flow diagram: a visualisation to be christened Sankey diagram.[4] Sankey gave the following explanation how to read the image:

    “_No portion of a steam plant is perfect, and each is the seat of losses more or less serious. If therefore it is desired to improve the steam plant as a whole, it is first of all necessary to ascertain separately the nature of the losses due to its various portions; and in this connection the diagrams in Plate 5 have been prepared, which it is hoped may assist to a clearer understanding of the nature and extent of the various losses.
    The boiler; the engine; the condenser and air-pump; the feedpump and the economiser, are indicated by rectangles upon the diagram. The flow of heat is shown as a stream, the width of which gives the amount of heat entering and leaving each part of the plant per unit of time; the losses are shown by the many waste branches of the stream. Special attention is called to the one (unfortunately small) branch which represents the work done upon the pistons of the engine._”[5]

Previously created by Charles Joseph Minard (for the Russian campaign of 1812) to show the number of Napoleon's soldiers going to and from Russia, Sankey specialised its use for energy flow.

This presentation made an impression. Just four years later in 1902 Robert Henry Thurston among others acknowledged, that the heat distribution of the then modern steam engine was best shown by the use of the so-called “Sankey Diagram”.[6]

Patents

Sankey received at least four patents for an expansion-gear for engines (1894),[7] a turbine (1905),[8] a reversible turbine (1907),[9] and a steam-turbine (1907).[10]

Publications

Books:

-   1879. _Elementary theory and calculation of iron bridges and roofs_. English translation of August Ritter's German book of 1863.
-   1898. _Temperature Entropy Or [theta Phi] Chart for 1 Lb. of H2O: Giving Also Volumes, Absolute Pressures and Dryness Fractions, Internal Energy, Water Heat, and Total Heat in British Thermal Units_. Frost & Sons
-   1911. _Gas engines_. with William Johnstone Marshall
-   1907. _The Energy Chart: Practical Applications to Reciprocating Steam-engines_. E. & F.N. Spon

Articles, a selection:

-   1888. “The Maps of the Ordnance Survey: a mid-Victorian view”. in: _Engineering_, a weekly illustrated journal. Charles Close Society London. Republished in 1995.
-   1896. “The Thermal Efficiency of Steam-Engines”. In: _Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers_ 125, 1896, S. 182–242.
-   1898. “Introductory Note on the Thermal Efficiency of Steam-Engines”. in: _Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers_. Vol. 134, p. 278–283

[1] OBITUARY. CAPTAIN MATTHEW HENRY PHINEAS RIALL SANKEY. 1853-1925. in: _Minutes of the Proceedings_, Vol 221, Issue 1 January 1926, pp. 271–274. E-ISSN 1753-7843

[2]

[3] Captain H Riall Sankey Profile at imeche.org. Accessed 12 January 2013.

[4]

[5] Sankey (1898, p.279) cited in Mario Schmidt (2006, p.9)

[6] Robert Henry Thurston (1902) _Stationary Steam Engines, Simple and Compound: Especially as Adapted to Light and Power Plants_. Wiley, p.331.

[7] US Patent 521,574, 1894

[8] US Patent 797,460, 1905

[9] US Patent 871,526, 1907

[10] US Patent 874,443, 1907

title: Matthew Henry Phineas Riall Sankey

question: How did recent wars in European history affect Sankey's experiments and research? Note political and economical factors.

answer: His research was rooted in Russian research regarding Napoleon's wartime travels. As Napoleon had traversed many countries during his many successful campaigns, the Russians had developed an interest in how the leader moved his men throughout passages. The intention was to capture the energy flow of these armies. Sankey's diagram fine-tuned the Russian technology to show the units of energy expended and returned when living bodies, or soldiers, leave and return from different rooms.