text:
Disclaimer -- I haven't done any real non-work related writing in many.. MANY years.. I have probably committed a thousand and one grammatical atrocities and don't even realize it.  I just finally decided I miss writing and threw together a short story off the top of my head in about 15 - 20 minutes.

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

It wasn't quite yet midnight.  The day we had anticipated for months.  We had everything packed and I was desperately trying to sleep for the long trip ahead of us.

Tossing and turning we struggled to pass the time as minutes turned to hours leading up to now.  Eleven Fifty Five pm and All I want to do is hit the road now, not at 8am as we planned. Suddenly, a shatter from the garage.  "What is happening? What is going on!" I thought, as I nudged John next to me. "John, John.. did you hear that?!" "Wha-snarfle-snar-gull-uggg* is the response I got "I nudged him a second time, harder still "John! Somebody is in our garage!" This time John woke up and seemed as concerned as I was.

John went to the safe and got a 9mm pistol, loaded it up and started for the downstairs.  I made for the phone to call the police..  Dead.. the line was dead.  How could this be? This couldn't be happening, not to us, not now.. On this day of all days.

I check back at the clock.. 12:20.  Today, today is supposed to be the greatest day of our recently married lives. I realize soon that John has been gone for 20 minutes and I haven't heard another sound from the entire house.  Frozen in time for what amounted to 5 minutes, I wasn't sure what to do.  I finally mustered up the courage to step out of bed and throw on my Bathrobe.  I too grab the other gun from the safe and struggle to remind myself of the training that John and I took last summer at the Police shooting range.  I loaded up the clip and locked it into the gun.  Through the dark and quiet house I tip-toed silently as a mouse.  I made my way to the door leading to the garage and listened.  voices.. John.. and.. 2 voices I did not recognize.  I stood silently trying to listen.  A Standoff.  It sounds like John is in danger.  Without sight, I am left to my own imagination of what the situation looks like just beyond the door.  Guns in the air, pointed at one another.  Everybody making threats and nobody backing down.  Uncertain how to help, I tip-toed to the outside leading door furthest from the garage.  I made my way to the yard.  I have no idea at this point if I am making any correct decisions or just struggling to make the situation worse.  Around the outside of the house I snuck, gun in hand, safety still on as to not accidentally fire in my nervous state.

I made my way to the window just outside of the garage. The window is open, "This must be how they got in, I thought.  Shoot, the shades are closed though" It was obvious there was no way I was going to be able to see through this window without being heard.  I can now hear the conversation inside the garage much more clearly than from behind the interior door.   I don't know what to make of the things I am hearing.  John seems to know these 2 people.  They are referencing each other by name.  Some sort of argument ensues.  I can only make out some of the conversation.. "Money owed.  Gambling.. Here to collect"

Could it be? Could John have a secret life of gambling and crime?  5 years together and I've never known?  How could this be.  All those late nights at the office. I never imagined anything else.  All those "Business" phone calls.  I just couldn't believe it.  I hear John is trying to convince them to leave the car, and everything in tact.  They keep saying it is the only thing worth any value.

In my nervous state, shocked at the things I am learning I unknowingly dropped the gun to the ground as it made a loud "thud" and a "scraping" sound across the gravel.  I hear one of the men gasp and start heading towards the window.  I quickly pick the gun back up and point it at the shades.  The shades fly up and I am face to face with a man I've never seen before, gun drawn.  Now things are a 1 on 1 standoff.  Me with my gun and this man and John with his gun and the other man.  I refuse to come inside the garage and insist that they leave empty handed.  Things turn from bad to worse when the man shoots a bullet over my shoulder to scare me. I immediately pull the trigger to fire back... "Shit, I didn't release the safety" Now struggling in a panic at what to do the man starts to laugh and reaches out to grab the gun from me.  By now, the neighborhood is awake and surely police have been called.  I manage to release the safety just in time to shoot the stranger in the hand as he is reaching to grab the gun from me.  He backs up and the other man Shoots John.  John shoots the other man and the man I shot in the hand shoots me.  We are all down, I laid there in the cold gravel, still outside of the garage.  In the distance I can hear sirens looming as I lose consciousness.

2 days later I wake up in the hospital.  John is no where to be found bedside or otherwise. I have no idea what has happened.  As I come to and I adjust to my place in this hospital bed I am finally informed of the news.  "John didn't make it" The nurse said "We did everything we could but the wound was too damaging."

As I lay there contemplating my current situation, I replayed that night in my head every single second in repetition.  Could I have done anything more?  Should I have done something differently?  What happened to my dearest John?  What happened to the assailants who broke into our house?  As these questions raced I didn't notice the 2 assailants being wheeled down the hallway passed my room with police in tow.  They were on their way to county lock up pending trial.

I couldn't believe it, a dream of a life shattered in one single hour.. It just goes to show that you never really have ti all, or if you do, it's only on loan as long as someone agrees that it is okay for you to keep it. From that day fourth, I never could take that drive into the country.

title: The long road to loneliness

question:
Answer the following question based on the above passage:

What does the story say about the narrator and John?

answer: The narrator and John have been together for 5 years and have been recently married. They were planning to leave on a trip to the country, a trip that they had anticipated for months. They both took firearms training at the Police shooting range last summer.

answer:
The narrator and John seem to have been happily married for about five years. On the day that they planned for months, someone breaks into their house, and there is an altercation in the garage. John is shot and dies from his injuries. Apparently, the police think the two assailants are due for trial.

The story seems to show that John and the narrator were close and comfortable together, but there is evidence that he may have been hiding a secret life that he did not share with the narrator. John died, likely because of this secret life. The narrator was left feeling betrayed and traumatized by the entire situation.

text: The text does not say that they have been married for 5 years

refinement:
The narrator and John seem to have known each other for about five years and are recently married. On the day that they planned for months, someone breaks into their house, and there is an altercation in the garage. John is shot and dies from his injuries. Apparently, the police think the two assailants are due for trial.

The story seems to show that John and the narrator were close and comfortable together, but there is evidence that he may have been hiding a secret life that he did not share with the narrator. John died, likely because of this secret life. The narrator was left feeling betrayed and traumatized by the entire situation.

text: "Apparently, the police think the two assailants are due for trial" sounds absurd

refinement:
The narrator and John seem to have known each other for about five years and are recently married. On the day that they planned for months, someone breaks into their house, and there is an altercation in the garage. John is shot and dies from his injuries.

The story seems to show that John and the narrator were close and comfortable together, but there is evidence that he may have been hiding a secret life that he did not share with the narrator. John died, likely because of this secret life. The narrator was left feeling betrayed and traumatized by the entire situation.

answer: The protagonist and John have become recently married and were about to undertake a long drive to a beautiful cottage in the country, where they will spend the weekend forgetting about their burdens, when a terrifying experience disturbs their romantic getaway. The narrator and John wake up at 11:55 pm to a shattering sound and assume there's someone breaking into the house, but John doesn't want to turn on the light. They go to the garage and handle the situation armed (she has her gun drawn). Then, imagine the sound from a gunshot and a scream from the narrator. John is shot. The narrator is shot too. The next thing she realizes is that John is gone and she wakes up in the hospital, but John is gone and she left their car in the garage. The narrator questions if they could have done anything more. Whatever happens the author says it is time to never have to have a hope of a life that didn't work out.

text: Everything after the first sentence does not address the question

refinement: The protagonist and John have become recently married and were about to undertake a long drive to a beautiful cottage in the country, where they will spend the weekend forgetting about their burdens, when a terrifying experience disturbs their romantic getaway.

text: Fabricates details about the trip

refinement: The protagonist and John have become recently married and were about to undertake a long drive to somewhere in the country, when a terrifying experience disturbs their romantic getaway.

text: Note that they have known each other for five years, and John has been hiding things from the narrator

refinement: The protagonist and John have become recently married and were about to undertake a long drive to somewhere in the country, when a terrifying experience disturbs their romantic getaway. They have known each other for 5 years, and it is revealed that John may have been hiding things from the narrator.

answer: The narrator and John appear to have been in the process of moving from their city life to a cabin in the country when their lives became suddenly turned upside down through a home invasion by two strangers. The two were associates of John's, but John had kept this secret from the narrator. The two strangers end up shooting John and the narrator, with both being hospitalized. The story also infers that John was killed in the home invasion. The narrator portrays herself as shocked and betrayed by John, who had been keeping secrets from her.

text: The story does not "infer" that John was killed; it's stated outright

refinement: The narrator and John appear to have been in the process of moving from their city life to a cabin in the country when their lives became suddenly turned upside down through a home invasion by two strangers. The two were associates of John's, but John had kept this secret from the narrator. The two strangers end up shooting John and the narrator, with both being hospitalized. John was killed. The narrator portrays herself as shocked and betrayed by John, who had been keeping secrets from her.

text: We don't know that the narrator and John were moving

refinement: The narrator and John were about to make a trip to the country when their lives became suddenly turned upside down through a home invasion by two strangers. The two were associates of John's, but John had kept this secret from the narrator. The two strangers end up shooting John and the narrator, with both being hospitalized. John was killed. The narrator portrays herself as shocked and betrayed by John, who had been keeping secrets from her.

answer: John is the narrator's husband. She has known him for about five years and considers him to be her best friend. He usually works late at the office, but she suspects there could be more to his work. He never shared more than verbal details of his business with her but he lets her know that some people owe him money and that they owe him money. Back at their house, she woke up late in the night because she thought there was an intruder. Well, actually two men are in the garage and want to buy the narrator's husband's car to repay a debt owed to him. One of them ends up shooting John, who shoots back and dies on the way to the hospital. John's demise has shaken the family badly. The narrator begins having nightmares about her husband's death.

text: What are "verbal details of his business?"

refinement: John is the narrator's husband. She has known him for about five years and considers him to be her best friend. He usually works late at the office, but she suspects there could be more to his work. He never shared many details of his business with her but he lets her know that some people owe him money and that they owe him money. Back at their house, she woke up late in the night because she thought there was an intruder. Well, actually two men are in the garage and want to buy the narrator's husband's car to repay a debt owed to him. One of them ends up shooting John, who shoots back and dies on the way to the hospital. John's demise has shaken the family badly. The narrator begins having nightmares about her husband's death.

text: John doesn't let the narrator know; she finds out. And John owes the money

refinement: John is the narrator's husband. She has known him for about five years and considers him to be her best friend. He usually works late at the office, but she suspects there could be more to his work. He never shared many details of his business with her but the narrator discovers John owes money to the people who have broken into their home. Back at their house, she woke up late in the night because she thought there was an intruder. Well, actually two men are in the garage and want to buy the narrator's husband's car to repay a debt owed to him. One of them ends up shooting John, who shoots back and dies on the way to the hospital. John's demise has shaken the family badly. The narrator begins having nightmares about her husband's death.

text: Everything from "back at their house" to "owed to him" should be removed

refinement: John is the narrator's husband. She has known him for about five years and considers him to be her best friend. He usually works late at the office, but she suspects there could be more to his work. He never shared many details of his business with her but the narrator discovers John owes money to the people who have broken into their home. One of them ends up shooting John, who shoots back and dies on the way to the hospital. John's demise has shaken the family badly. The narrator begins having nightmares about her husband's death.

text: "The family" is just the narrator

refinement: John is the narrator's husband. She has known him for about five years and considers him to be her best friend. He usually works late at the office, but she suspects there could be more to his work. He never shared many details of his business with her but the narrator discovers John owes money to the people who have broken into their home. One of them ends up shooting John, who shoots back and dies on the way to the hospital. John's demise has shaken the narrator badly. The narrator begins having nightmares about her husband's death.

text: The text doesn't say the narrator has nightmares

refinement: John is the narrator's husband. She has known him for about five years and considers him to be her best friend. He usually works late at the office, but she suspects there could be more to his work. He never shared many details of his business with her but the narrator discovers John owes money to the people who have broken into their home. One of them ends up shooting John, who shoots back and dies on the way to the hospital. John's demise has shaken the narrator badly.

question:
Answer the following question based on the above passage:

What does the story say about the outcome of the standoff between John, the narrator, and the two men?

answer: The narrator shoots one man in the hand as he was grabbing the gun from her. He shoots back and she goes down, losing consciousness. John and the other man in the garage shoot each other. They're all down. The narrator wakes up in the hospital. John's gunshot wounds were too much and he didn't make it. The two assailants survived and were headed to county lockup pending a trial.

answer: The outcome of the standoff ended in violence. John was fatally shot and the two men were taken into police custody.

text: Also note that the narrator was shot but recovered

refinement: The outcome of the standoff ended in violence. John was fatally shot and the two men were taken into police custody. The narrator was also shot, but she recovered.

answer: The narrator shoots one of the men, and the man shoots John. The other man shoots both the narrator and John.

text: Another man shoots John, John shoots him, and the man the narrator shot shoots her

refinement: The narrator shoots one of the men, and another man shoots John. John shoots the other man, and then the man the narrator shot shoots her.

text: Note that John died and the home invaders are under arrest

refinement: The narrator shoots one of the men, and another man shoots John. John shoots the other man, and then the man the narrator shot shoots her. John didn't survive his injuries, and the 2 assailants were arrested.

answer: John is shot and no one survives the standoff. The narrator is hospitalised and the two men are arrested.

text: Only John doesn't survive

refinement: John is shot and doesn't survive the standoff. The narrator is hospitalised and the two men are arrested.

text: Everyone is shot

refinement: Everyone is shot and John doesn't survive the standoff. The narrator is hospitalised and the two men are arrested.

answer: The outcome of the standoff was a tragedy. After shooting one of the intruders, John was shot and killed. The other intruder was arrested and charged with murder. This leaves the narrator alone to struggle with the pain of loss and find a way to continue living her life.

text: Both intruders were arrested

refinement: The outcome of the standoff was a tragedy. After shooting one of the intruders, John was shot and killed. The intruders are arrested and charged with murder. This leaves the narrator alone to struggle with the pain of loss and find a way to continue living her life.

text: We are not told what the intruders are charged with

refinement: The outcome of the standoff was a tragedy. After shooting one of the intruders, John was shot and killed. The intruders are arrested. This leaves the narrator alone to struggle with the pain of loss and find a way to continue living her life.

question:
Answer the following question based on the above passage:

Summarize how the narrator's feelings towards and John changes throughout the story.

answer: At the start of the story, the narrator sounds very sure they have a connection and she trusts John implicitly. This quickly changes as the narrator begrudgingly begins to untangle John yarns of going to an office late and the crazy things he comes home to her about business affairs. It is hard to ascertain the mental struggle the narrator is undergoing with all the things they have never been aware of, until the night goes sideways and John gets shot. The narrator seems to have difficulty healing from the hole in her heart after losing a lover/partner. It is implied that the narrator grows a lot more paranoid about people and strangers in general since the event that occurred at their house. However, it is not knowledge that comes with the telling of the story but rather, a guessing game for the reader to decipher.

text: The narrator's feelings change as she realizes John has been hiding things from her

refinement: At the start of the story, the narrator sounds very sure they have a connection and she trusts John implicitly. This quickly changes as the narrator begrudgingly begins to realize that John has been hiding things from her. It is hard to ascertain the mental struggle the narrator is undergoing with all the things they have never been aware of, until the night goes sideways and John gets shot. The narrator seems to have difficulty healing from the hole in her heart after losing a lover/partner. It is implied that the narrator grows a lot more paranoid about people and strangers in general since the event that occurred at their house. However, it is not knowledge that comes with the telling of the story but rather, a guessing game for the reader to decipher.

text: It is not implied that the narrator grows "paranoid" and the last sentence is nonsensical

refinement: At the start of the story, the narrator sounds very sure they have a connection and she trusts John implicitly. This quickly changes as the narrator begrudgingly begins to realize that John has been hiding things from her. It is hard to ascertain the mental struggle the narrator is undergoing with all the things they have never been aware of, until the night goes sideways and John gets shot. The narrator seems to have difficulty healing from the hole in her heart after losing a lover/partner.

answer: Initially shocked and scared by what she hears, the narrator grows to resent and distrust John when she learns about his secrets and dealings. The revelation that John does not survive the ordeal leaves the narrator with an overwhelming sense of loss and betrayal.

answer: The narrator and John start off as a recently married couple who are excited to go on the road trip they've been planning for months. The excitement for the trip is shattered when two men break into their garage. The narrator overhears John talking to the two men like he knows them. She learns that John has been lying to her about staying late at the office and taking all those "business calls" - he was just out gambling and the calls were from the people he owed. She feels shocked and betrayed, but still backs up John by telling one of the men that they should leave empty-handed.

text: Include the narrator's feelings after John's death

refinement: The narrator and John start off as a recently married couple who are excited to go on the road trip they've been planning for months. The excitement for the trip is shattered when two men break into their garage. The narrator overhears John talking to the two men like he knows them. She learns that John has been lying to her about staying late at the office and taking all those "business calls" - he was just out gambling and the calls were from the people he owed. She feels shocked and betrayed, but still backs up John by telling one of the men that they should leave empty-handed. The narrator struggles after John's death.

answer: Initially, the narrator has a very positive impression towards John and trusts him fully. She believes that his going away every night is for work-related reasons. The only reasonable answer the narrator has is gambling, which makes her assume his actions are related to a cheating spree that he's on. When she is told that John is dead, her perception of him changes drastically. The image of him she cultivated slowly fades.

text: The narrator discovers that John has been gambling; nothing is said about cheating

refinement: Initially, the narrator has a very positive impression towards John and trusts him fully. She believes that his going away every night is for work-related reasons. The narrator discovers that John has been hiding a secret life of gambling and crime from her and feels betrayed. When she is told that John is dead, her perception of him changes drastically. The image of him she cultivated slowly fades.

text: Nothing is said about "the image of him" fading

refinement: Initially, the narrator has a very positive impression towards John and trusts him fully. She believes that his going away every night is for work-related reasons. The narrator discovers that John has been hiding a secret life of gambling and crime from her and feels betrayed. When she is told that John is dead, her perception of him changes drastically.

text: After the narrator learns of John's death, she seems haunted by it

refinement: Initially, the narrator has a very positive impression towards John and trusts him fully. She believes that his going away every night is for work-related reasons. The narrator discovers that John has been hiding a secret life of gambling and crime from her and feels betrayed. When she is told that John is dead, she struggles to cope.

answer: The narrator's feelings towards John change drastically over the course of the story. Initially, the two were excited to get on the road and begin their life together. However, things quickly change when the intruders break into the garage. The narrator is hearing that John has a secret life, one which includes gambling and crime. This leads to losing trust in John and ultimately ends in his death.

text: The narrator's loss of trust in John is not a cause of his death

refinement: The narrator's feelings towards John change drastically over the course of the story. Initially, the two were excited to get on the road and begin their life together. However, things quickly change when the intruders break into the garage. The narrator is hearing that John has a secret life, one which includes gambling and crime. This leads to losing trust in John.

text: Include how the narrator feels after John's death

refinement: The narrator's feelings towards John change drastically over the course of the story. Initially, the two were excited to get on the road and begin their life together. However, things quickly change when the intruders break into the garage. The narrator is hearing that John has a secret life, one which includes gambling and crime. This leads to losing trust in John. After John's death, the narrator seems to struggle to cope.


split: train

text:
9/6/2013
Last night I had the most vivid dream that I can ever recall having.

I am a passenger in a SUV driving on an interstate.
There are four lanes, the cement is very light in color. So new that there are no cracks, just those long grooves in the pavement that run in the direction of traffic.
I do not know who my driver is, but I am not alarmed or nervous so it must be someone that I trust.
In front of our vehicle is a low pickup truck, like an old S-10. The back of the pickup is piled high with furniture. There are boxes low in the pile and on top a wicker table and chair set.
The flow of traffic comes to a halt. Maybe an accident, maybe just the long slinky bunching up.
As traffic begins to move again, the pickup lurches from the halt and several pieces of furniture come loose and scatter onto the pavement.
My driver is alert. He brakes safely and puts on his hazard lights.
The driver of the pickup exits his vehicle and shuffles back to attend to the dislodged furniture.
He is Latino and wearing the common jeans, pearl button shirt and cowboy boots so often associated with ethnicities from Latin America.
I push my head out the passenger window and offer to help him reload but he waves off our help with a smile.
It is then that time seemed to slow.
With my head out of my window I can see down the side of the pickup ahead of us and back along the traffic lane to our right through the passenger side mirror.
My attention splits and I seem to see both the tractor trailer approaching from the rear and the passenger of the pickup opening her door at the same time.
I want to yell but traffic is moving gain and I know she won’t hear me. She opens her door and gets out. Moving slowly, unaware of the increasing danger.
I feel useless. The semi is so close that if I were to try to help I would be crushed long before I could reach her.
I am watching her. I cannot tear my eyes away.
Still unaware, she closes her door and takes a quick moment to straighten her colorful skirt.
She even takes a few steps before her eyes lift and the calm and resigned look on her face is shattered and replaced by one of pure terror.
Time speeds up again.
She tries to run but barely makes a quarter turn before the truck is upon her.
Her body becomes a ragdoll.
It is over in a second, punctuated only by the sounds of chaos. The roar of the wind caused by the passing truck. The squeal of tires as the truck drivers last second attempt to avoid her sets the trailer fishtailing.
It does nothing.
Traffic once again comes to a halt. This one is a screeching, honking sudden halt. Not the kind that incites anger. The kind that leaves the driver thankful that they aren’t the reason everyone is braking.
The girl’s body was dragged past the front of the pickup and all I can see of her is her leg. It is crushed. There are only a few inches of ragged flesh below her knee still attached.
I glance back through the mirror one more time and throw my door open.
I can’t sprint fast enough. My legs and my body are failing me. I hate them for being so slow.
Halfway to her, I rip my belt from the loops of my pants. I know if she is to have any chance of living I need to tourniquet her leg. And soon.
When I turn the corner at the front of the pickup, and see her body, my breath catches. She is lying face down. Her limbs are thrown about haphazardly. She looks like a child’s toy. Discarded, forgotten.
The pickup driver is turning the opposite corner and our eyes meet. His face shows shock, horror and confusion.
I drop to my knees and throw my belt around the girl’s thigh. There is already a growing pool of dark red blood forming below her amputation.
I feed the belt through the buckle and put my knee on her leg above the belt for leverage. Gripping the free end of the belt, I pull with all my force. As the loop tightens the spurting bloods slows.
A few other people have gotten out of their cars and have approached us. The pickup’s driver has fallen on all fours over the girl’s upper body.
“Mi Chica, Mi Chica” He sobs.
I tie off the belt and try to examine the rest of the girl. Her leg can’t have been the only injury.
Her skirt had been ripped away, and her blouse was twisted and bunched near her neck. Her exposed skin was abraded and already beginning to bruise.
As I unfold a pocket knife the man looks up. Seeing the blade his eyes widen. He has no idea what my purpose is.
I point to her blouse. And mime scissors.
Realization dawns and he nods.
I carefully feed my blade under the blouse and cut away from her skin.
My heart drops.
I fall back onto my heels.
With the blouse removed I can see her face staring upwards. Her neck grotesquely twisted completely around like some sick marionette puppet.
I can faintly hear the sirens in the distance. Racing towards us to render aid no longer needed.
But drowning it out is a rising wail, a sound infused with pain, anger and despair.
The driver’s forehead is on the girls, he his buddy is shuddering.
I wake up.

Cholulaman

title: My belt, a tourniquet

question:
Answer the following question based on the above passage:

Who are the main characters of the story?

answer: The main characters of the story are the passenger of the SUV, the driver, the girl, and the pickup driver.

text: The list includes the driver though he is not one of the main characters.

refinement: The main characters of the story are the passenger of the SUV, the driver, the girl, and the pickup driver.

answer: The passenger of the SUV, the Latino pickup driver, and a woman on the other side of the road.

answer: The narrator, the narrator's driver, the Latino driver of the pickup, the girl

text: The narrator is a passenger. The driver isn't one of the main characters.

refinement: The SUV passenger, the Latino driver of the pickup, the girl

answer: The narrator and the injured woman

text: This is incorrect. There is also a pickup driver.

refinement: The narrator, the pickup driver and the injured woman

answer: The main characters of the story are the woman who gets out of the pickup truck, the driver and his passenger in the SUV, and the pickup driver.

text: The driver of the SUV is not one of the main characters.

refinement: The main characters of the story are the woman who gets out of the pickup truck, the driver and his passenger in the SUV, and the pickup driver.

question:
Answer the following question based on the above passage:

Where does the story take place dream?

answer: The story takes place in traffic on an interstate.

text: I am a passenger in a SUV driving on an interstate.

answer: U.S. emess

text: Doesn't make sense

text: I am a passenger in a SUV driving on an interstate.

answer: An interstate

text: Incomplete answer

text: I am a passenger in a SUV driving on an interstate.

answer: The story takes place on an interstate.

text: I am a passenger in a SUV driving on an interstate.

answer: Interstate.

text: Incomplete answer

text: I am a passenger in a SUV driving on an interstate.

question:
Answer the following question based on the above passage:

What is going on?

answer: In this dream, a driver spots some furniture falling off a pickup truck and stops to help. While traffic moves again, the pickup driver's passenger exits the vehicle and is struck by a passing tractor trailer. The passenger is badly injured and cholulaman uses his belt as a tourniquet in an unsuccessful effort to save the passenger's life. Sirens approach and confirm that there is no hope for the passenger.

text: There are some minor errors

refinement: The narrator tells of his vivid dream, in which the driver of the car he is in spots some furniture falling off a pickup truck and stops to help. While traffic moves again, the pickup driver's passenger exits the vehicle and is struck by a passing tractor-trailer. The passenger is badly injured and cholulaman uses his belt as a tourniquet in an unsuccessful effort to save the passenger's life. Sirens approach and confirm that there is no hope for the passenger.

answer: In the dream, a car stops because there is furniture on the road, and as traffic starts to move again, the occupant of a pickup truck gets hit by a semi. The driver of the car tries to help by using a belt as a tourniquet, but the girl is severely injured. There are sirens in the distance, but the driver is crying over the girl.

text: There are several incorrect bits of information in the answer

refinement: The narrator has a vivid dream. In it, the car in which he is a passenger stops because there is furniture on the road, and as traffic starts to move again, one of the occupants of a pickup truck is hit by a semi. The narrator tries to help by using a belt as a tourniquet, but the girl is severely injured. There are sirens in the distance, and the pickup driver is crying over the girl.

answer: A fatal accident in a dream.

text: This doesn't adequately answer the question

refinement: The narrator tells of his vivid dream, in which the driver of the car he is in spots some furniture falling off a pickup truck and stops to help. While traffic moves again, the pickup driver's passenger exits the vehicle and is struck by a passing tractor-trailer. The passenger is badly injured and cholulaman uses his belt as a tourniquet in an unsuccessful effort to save the passenger's life. Sirens approach and confirm that there is no hope for the passenger.

answer: The narrator has a vivid dream of a gruesome accident while on the interstate.

answer: Some girl is hit by a pickup.

text: This is an inadequate answer

refinement: The narrator tells of his vivid dream, in which the driver of the car he is in spots some furniture falling off a pickup truck and stops to help. While traffic moves again, the pickup driver's passenger exits the vehicle and is struck by a passing tractor-trailer. The passenger is badly injured and the narrator uses his belt as a tourniquet in an unsuccessful effort to save the passenger's life. Sirens approach and confirm that there is no hope for the passenger.

question:
Answer the following question based on the above passage:

What happened to the girl?

answer: She was hit by a truck.

text: She tries to run but barely makes a quarter turn before the truck is upon her.

answer: The narrator's is dreaming and this occurred during the accident. It is implied that she will not survive.

text: This neither makes sense nor answers the question

answer: The girl was struck by a truck and was injured, suffering a gruesomely severe leg injury. She also likely sustained other injuries.

answer: She gets hit by a truck and dragged under, killing her.

answer: The girl was hit by a tractor trailer while getting out of her pickup truck. Her leg was crushed and her neck was severely broken.

text: She was hit by a truck

refinement: The girl was hit by a tractor trailer while getting out of her pickup truck. Her leg was crushed and her neck was severely broken.

question: Write a ~10 sentence summary.

answer: In a dream, Cholulaman is a passenger in an SUV driving on an interstate. A pickup truck with furniture piles gets in the way. The traffic stalls, and the furniture falls off the truck. The pickup's passenger exits the vehicle and is hit when the semi comes speeding by. Fearing for the girl's life, Cholulaman rips off her belt and uses it as a tourniquet to slow the bleeding. The girl's neck, however, is horribly twisted from the impact. Cholulaman wakes up from the nightmare, knowing that the girl will not survive despite their efforts.

answer: The narrator recalls having a vivid dream about being a passenger in an SUV on a four-lane interstate. The pickup in front of him is loaded with furniture and boxes that get dislodged when traffic comes to a stop. When the pickup's Latino driver goes down to collect his cargo, his passenger, a young woman, goes down too, not knowing that there is a truck barreling down on them. The narrator sees the accident about to unfold and warns them, but they cannot hear him. Knowing it is too late to help, he feels useless but cannot stop watching. The truck rag dolls the young woman, dragging her under and crushing her leg. The narrator rushes to help, takes off his belt, and uses it on the girl's severed leg as a tourniquet. The Latino driver knelt beside the young woman, weeping. It is too late to help her, as it appears her neck is broken. The narrator wakes up.

text: The third last sentence should be in the present tense.

refinement: The narrator recalls having a vivid dream about being a passenger in an SUV on a four-lane interstate. The pickup in front of him is loaded with furniture and boxes that get dislodged when traffic comes to a stop. When the pickup's Latino driver goes down to collect his cargo, his passenger, a young woman, goes down too, not knowing that there is a truck barreling down on them. The narrator sees the accident about to unfold and warns them, but they cannot hear him. Knowing it is too late to help, he feels useless but cannot stop watching. The truck rag dolls the young woman, dragging her under and crushing her leg. The narrator rushes to help, takes off his belt, and uses it on the girl's severed leg as a tourniquet. The Latino driver kneels beside the young woman, weeping. It is too late to help her, as it appears her neck is broken. The narrator wakes up.

answer:
The narrator daydreams about a trip in a car, dreaming of being a passenger. He started to feel like the driver had driven a long time.
They end up at an accident site and the pickup ahead of them starts piling furniture.
The narrator notices the pickup's driver opening the door, a girl near the front of the truck starts getting out of her seat. The girl in the pickup sees the truck heading right for her. The narrator screams as he watches the girl and her body getting dragged.
He feels helpless as he was a passenger. He gets out of the car to attempt to help the girl. Even though he wanted to help he feels trapped in his body and he can't move fast enough.
He arrives and see a man kneeling over the dead girl. He was the driver. He sees her neck is twisted and quickly takes out his pocket knife.
He goes over to try to do CPR on the girl. The man doesn't know what he's doing and might have scared him, so the narrator slashes open the girl's blouse and the blouse gets stuck in the way, effectively pulling down the front of the girl's bra.

text: This is a poor summary, both muddled and containing misinformation and poor sentence construction.

refinement: In a dream, Cholulaman is a passenger in an SUV driving on an interstate. A pickup truck with furniture piles gets in the way. The traffic stalls, and the furniture falls off the truck. The pickup's passenger exits the vehicle and is hit when the semi comes speeding by. Fearing for the girl's life, Cholulaman rips off her belt and uses it as a tourniquet to slow the bleeding. The girl's neck, however, is horribly twisted from the impact. Cholulaman wakes up from the nightmare, knowing that the girl will not survive despite their efforts.

answer: In a dream, the protagonist sees a truck accident happen in front of them. The driver of the low S-10 vehicle fails to notice a sudden halt in traffic and one of their boxes full of furniture falls onto the roadway. The occupant of the pickup gets out of the car before she is hit by a tractor trailer, and the protagonist puts her belt around the injured girl's leg in an attempt to stop the bleeding. The girl's neck is found to have been twisted around to an unnatural angle and she dies, despite the protagonists efforts. Sirens sound in the distance, but the driver is too overwhelmed to move.

text: I am not sure that the narrator is the protagonist.

refinement: In a dream, the narrator sees a truck accident happen in front of them. The driver of the low S-10 vehicle fails to notice a sudden halt in traffic and one of their boxes full of furniture falls onto the roadway. The occupant of the pickup gets out of the car before she is hit by a tractor-trailer, and the narrator puts her belt around the injured girl's leg in an attempt to stop the bleeding. The girl's neck is found to have been twisted around to an unnatural angle and she dies, despite the narrator's efforts. Sirens sound in the distance, but the driver is too overwhelmed to move.

answer: While driving along, the narrator is almost run over be a truck. Piles of furniture that have been packed on the pickup trucks spills out, and someone from the pickup gets out to help. A girl takes it lightly and opens the door and gets out just as the truck is about to catch up to her. This makes the narrator yell but the girl is unable to hear. A few seconds later, the girl is killed as the truck runs her over. She was doing her stuff on the truck and when the truck got on a heap of furniture, the main load on the back spilled forward just as the truck was passing thru her at such a speed that her neck is twisted. The narrator tourniqueted her leg, but it was too late. On looking carefully, she finds out that the girl's neck is twisted. The driver and the narrator share their sadness.

text: This is pure fabrication with a few facts dropped.

refinement: In a dream, Cholulaman is a passenger in an SUV driving on an interstate. A pickup truck with furniture piles gets in the way. The traffic stalls and the furniture falls off the truck. The pickup's passenger exits the vehicle and is hit when the semi comes speeding by. Fearing for the girl's life, Cholulaman rips off her belt and uses it as a tourniquet to slow the bleeding. The girl's neck, however, is horribly twisted from the impact. Cholulaman wakes up from the nightmare, knowing that the girl will not survive despite their efforts.


text:
In 1993, Congress enacted a taxloophole for qualified small business stock, which has been dubbed the Section 1202 conversion."Thanks to recent tax changes, it may now help you save millions.

This rule, if executed correctly, could allow you to save up to 100 percent of your capital gains on the sale of your company.

As explained by Paul J. Valentine, a tax attorney at Jennings, Strouss and Salmon, PLC, the 1202 exclusion provides that if you contribute a qualified company to a C-corporation, and hold the company's stock for five years or more, then the greater of $10 million or 10 times the initial value are not subject to capital gains when you sell.

In layman's terms, this requires you to create a new C-corporation, and "contribute" the equity from your existing company to this new entity.

After waiting a minimum of five years, you can then take advantage of ridiculously advantageous tax shields, excluding up to 10 times the base value from tax. Instead of paying the long-term capital gains tax on the total value of your sale, you might only pay long-term capital gains on the base value. In a growing company, this five-year-old basis could be a small fraction of the sales price.

For example, if your company is valued today at $2 million, and you sell it five years later for $22 million, you would pay tax on the initial $2 million, and not a penny on the remaining $20 million. If tax rates stay roughly where they are today, your effective federal tax rate on the sale would drop from 20 percent to 2 percent.

If this is such a good deal, why are you just now hearing about it?

While the well-intended Congress wanted entrepreneurs to take advantage of it back when it was established, the corporate tax rate was substantially higher. As such, the "double-taxation" of becoming a corporation made this conversion a much riskier bet.  Furthermore, at the time, the 1202 rule did not provide a 100 percent exclusion on gains, as it does now.  Even with the change to a 100 percent exclusion in 2010, the rule continued to collect dust until Trump lowered the corporate tax rate in December 2017.

And now, it's go-time.

The Conversion Process

Becoming a C-Corporation on paper sounds relatively easy. With the help of our lawyer, it only cost a few thousand dollars to file in Delaware, and create all the necessary corporate bylaws. However, as we became a new entity, we required a new EIN. This then sent us down a rabbit hole of new bank accounts, new accounting "books," new payroll, new insurance--new everything. Be sure to consider the ramifications prior to changing your entity.

After the legal conversion occurred, we were advised to have our initial company independently valued by a certified appraiser. Our attorney recommended one that was familiar with the process. The valuation is critical; if the number ends up too low, your "10X gain cap" might be smaller than ideal. Conversely, if your valuation is too high, you will pay additional tax on this basis when you sell down the road.

The Risk in Waiting

Converting to C-Corporation currently is economically advantageous. However, corporate tax rates could change, making the burden of operating within a C-Corporation more expensive, or Congress could change the exclusion.

We felt the risk of either of these events was relatively small, given the huge upside.

The Fine Print

There are a few restrictions to consider prior to converting. The 1202 conversions provide benefit only if your company performs a sale of equity. Asset sales do benefit from this tax treatment. Furthermore, if your company has $50 million or more in assets during any period of the five years, your company does not qualify.

To confuse matters, not every company type is eligible. Namely, businesses where people are the primary asset (such as investment firms, law firms, consulting firms, sports teams, etc.) are excluded, as are real estate investment vehicles. Additional company types, such as companies involved in farming and the operating of a hotel, motel, or restaurant, are also excluded. Be sure to double-check your company's eligibility first.

Note: Listen to Your Lawyers and Accountants

Let me close by saying that I am not an accountant or a lawyer. Please consult with professional advisors prior to converting. The decision to elect the 1202 conversion is a big one, with potentially huge upside.

Thanks to changes in the corporate tax rate, it might be the right time to consider this for your exit strategy.

question:
Answer the following question based on the above passage:

Summarize the types of companies that might be able to take advantage of the recent tax change.

answer: The companies which can take advantage are likely small to medium-sized businesses which are expected to grow significantly. This is because a company with $50 million or more in assets cannot be converted via 1202 conversions and therefore would be unable to take advantage of this change. The companies cannot be ones where people are the primary asset, where they are real estate investment vehicles, or which are involved in farming or hospitality.

answer: Companies that are looking to exit the equity through a sale of the business qualify for the Section 1202 conversion. Only businesses where people are the primary assets (such as investment firms, law firms, consulting firms, sports teams) are excluded from the 1202 rule. Other company types, such as those involved in farming and the operating of a hotel, motel, or restaurant, also do not qualify.

answer: A business that's valued based on the assets it holds (if it has $50 million in assets during a period of the five years) and companies that aren't people-centric (investment firms, law firms, teams, etc.) are ineligible.

text: The wording in this response is a bit convoluted. The question asks which kind of business could take advantage of the recent tax change.

refinement: The business should not have $50 million in assets within five years' time, and it should be a people-centric business in order to take advantage of this tax change.

answer: The types of companies that might be able to take advantage of the recent tax change is operating a consulting business or/and operating a sports team/business.

answer: Companies whose primary asset is equity, and do not meet certain criteria, may be able to take advantage of the recent tax change. The 1202 conversion allows for a lower capital gains tax rate on the sale of a company if it qualifies. Businesses primarily involved in agriculture or hotels are not qualified.

question:
Answer the following question based on the above passage:

Summarize what this tax change allows companies to do.

answer: Converting to a C-Corporation allows them to save tax for Growth companies.

text: This is a sort of convoluted sentence in terms of syntax.

refinement: This tax change allows them to convert to a c-corporation in order to save money on taxes and become a company set for high growth.

answer: This tax change allows a company to save 100 percent of capital gains from the sale of a company if the company is a qualified small business, is converted to a C-corporation, and is held by the original owners for five years or more. The capital gains saved can represent a significant amount of money.

answer: It helps entrepreneurs save millions of dollars on taxes on their company's value.

answer: The Section 1202 conversion allows companies to exclude up to $10 million or 10 times the initial value of qualified small business stock from capital gains taxes when selling their company. This makes the conversion tax-wise beneficial in most cases. However, some company types are excluded from the rule. The decision to convert to a C-Corporation should be made with the help of legal and accounting advisors.

answer: A company can set up a new C-corporation and sell equity from the existing company to this new entity. If the original company is sold after five years, then the greater of $10 million or 10 times the original value of the original company is not subject to capital gains tax. This therefore allows the company owner to avoid paying the full long-term capital gains tax upon selling their company.

question:
Answer the following question based on the above passage:

Summarize the process to exploit this loophole.

answer: To exploit it, create a new C-Corp, then donate equity from your company to the new C-Corp. After waiting for a minimum of 5 years, you can then reap the benefits of an additional loophole. Instead of paying the long-term capital gains tax on the total value of the sale, you might only pay the long-term capital gains on the basis that state some 5 years ago. The base price is likely only a fraction of the price you have to pay, so you save almost 100 percent of your capital gains.

answer: In order to take advantage of this tax loophole, you must create a new C-Corporation, then "contribute" the equity from your existing company to this new entity. After waiting a minimum of five years, any gains on the sale will be capped at 10 times the base value. This lowers the potential long-term capital gains taxes on a sale significantly.

answer: To exploit the loophole, you must create a new corporation to hold your company's equity. After holding for five years or more, you are eligible for the big tax savings.

answer: To take advantage of the Section 1202 conversion loophole, a business owner must convert their existing business into a C-Corporation, and then wait for a minimum of five years. At the time of sale, up to 10 times the initial value of the company's equity is excluded from taxable capital gains.

answer: The original company needs to set up a new C-Corporation, including sorting out new bank accounts, payroll and insurance, in order to comply with corporate law. (The article does not describe the full conversion process in detail.) After legal conversion, the original company should be independently valued. They then must wait for at least five years before selling.

question:
Answer the following question based on the above passage:

Summarize the drawbacks to this tax loophole.

answer: The 1202 loophole provides significant tax savings for entrepreneurs who are able to convert their C-Corporation. However, this conversion is not without its drawbacks. First, the process of converting to a C-Corporation is costly and time-consuming. There are also some company types that are ineligible for the loophole, and factors such as future changes to the corporate tax rate or changes in congressional policy may negate the advantages of this loophole.

answer: First, one must pay for their attorney's help (at least a few thousand dollars) to get the new Delaware company. Then, in order to actually have a new accountant, there's a mandatory five-year waiting period before anyone can start taking advantage of the loophole.

answer: The loophole can only be exploited after at least five years from initially converting to a C-corporation. During this time, corporate tax rates could be increased, making the C-corporate vehicle more expensive. Other legislative change could also close this loophole. The loophole cannot be exploited by businesses with large assets or certain kinds of businesses either.

answer: The conversion process is complex and dealing with it can be expensive. The company is required to be independently valued by a certified appraiser, which can be expensive. Furthermore, if the company has over $50 million in assets at the end of any of the five years, then it is ineligible.

answer: The 1202 conversion has potential benefits, but there are also drawbacks, including the risk of changes in corporate tax rates, Congress changing the exclusion, and ineligible types of companies. Furthermore, it requires an upfront investment of time, money, and effort. Lastly, you need professional advice to make sure your company is eligible for the 1202 conversion. Overall, this loophole has great potential, but there are some valid reasons for exercising caution.


text:
Drexel fell behind 5-0 at the start of tonight’s game against Delaware, and for quite a while, it didn’t look like they’d be able to crawl out of that hole. With a few minutes remaining in the first half, they were down by 34, and by the break, they’d only managed to cut that to 27 points. But in the second half, they started breaking things open, and soon enough, they had a record-setting comeback on their hands.

With six minutes remaining, Drexel made it a 10-point game. With five minutes remaining, there was this sweet rush to save the ball from going out-of-bounds, followed by a three-pointer to cut the deficit to four:

Finally, with just under two minutes to go, Drexel took the lead. With the game tied and just two seconds remaining, Tramaine Isabell—who’d ultimately finish as Drexel’s leading scorer, with 29 points, all but seven of which came in the second half—was fouled while shooting a three. He made two of three, and that was all that the Dragons needed for an 85-83 win and a place in the DI history books.

question: What is the article about?

answer: The article is about a win for Drexel's men's basketball team that led to an upset victory.

answer: The article is about a game that Drexel won 85-83 against Delaware.

answer: The article is about a basketball game, and the player, Drexel.

text: Wrong

refinement: The article is about a basketball game played by the team Drexel.

question: Who is Drexel?

answer: Drexel University.

answer: Drexel seems to be the hero of the basketball game against Delaware.

text: Wrong

answer: Not clear

text: wrong

question: What does "...and a place in the DI history books." mean?

answer: This means that Drexel was able to pull off a comeback, and as such has a unique piece of trivia about their athletic history. This is often considered an impressive feat.

answer: The article doesn't indicate what DI stands for.

answer: This means that Drexel is now memoralized in the history books for having pulled off the biggest comeback in NCAA Division I basketball history.

text: exaggeration

refinement: This means that Drexel is now memoralized in the history books.

question: Which team does Drexel play for?

answer: Drexel plays for a college or university located in the United States.

text: Wrong.

answer: He plays for the Dragons.

text: Wrong

answer: Drexel plays for a university in the United States.

text: Wrong

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: The article is about a basketball game, and the player, Drexel. Drexel is a member of the Dragons. The Dragons make an amazing comeback in the second half, ultimately winning the game 85-83.

text: Wrong.

refinement: The article is about a basketball game, and the team, Drexel. Drexel makes an amazing comeback in the second half, ultimately winning the game 85-83.

answer: Drexel overcame a 34-point deficit in the second half, winning an incredible comeback 85-83 over Delaware. Notably, Drexel senior Tramaine Isabell, who led the team with 29 points, netted the game-winning free throws with just two seconds left on the clock.

answer: Despite starting out the game down by nearly thirty points, Drexel managed an exciting comeback to defeat Delaware 85-83. Key to their comeback was Tramaine Isabell, who scored 29 points in the second half alone to insure victory.

answer: In a stunning turnaround, the Drexel Dragons managed to overcome a seemingly insurmountable deficit to score an 85-83 win over the University of Delaware.

answer: At the beginning of the game, Drexel looked doomed as they trailed Delaware by over 30 points. But then they started carving away at the lead, and after an unlikely comeback, they edged out a thrilling 85-83 victory.

answer: Despite falling behind early, Drexel rallied to an improbable 85-83 victory over Delaware tonight. Their comeback was spearheaded by Tramaine Isabell, who poured in 29 points in the second half, including the game-winning three-pointer with under two minutes remaining.


text:
John didn’t feel like a homeless guy, because he had been a lot of other things before he was a homeless guy. Apartment tenant. Middle-manager. Depressed. Broke. Couch surfer. Scavenger. Survivor. Now, homeless. Really, though, he was a man without a safety net. That was all it was, and maybe that wasn’t so bad.
John didn’t have to worry about paying his credit card bill on time.
John didn’t give a shit whether he missed the first five minutes of his sitcom or he couldn’t get the copier to print double-sided at the office or his amazon.com order came three days later than he expected it to.
He was comforted by the fact that these comforts of modern life didn’t bother him anymore.
By moving backward on society’s scale, John had moved forward.

This isn’t to say that John was enlightened by his homelessness.
At least not in the way that the crazy men who yelled about Jesus on the street corners were enlightened, and certainly not in the way that that jackass Saul who lived next door to John’s old apartment was enlightened by his herbal teas and sunrise yoga and smooth-flowing chakras or whatever the Grand Master Swami High Priest Chief Guru told him to meditate about that week.
John was simply at peace with the way he lived in a way that all those society-bound hivemind slaves tried to forget that they weren’t.
Organizing the weekly soccer carpool and using the same color pen on the grocery list because it looks nicer that way is not anyone’s natural lifeblood, yet it gets people going because it is the closest they can get to being in control of their lives while staying firmly put in their minivans and ergonomic rolling desk chairs, and the closer they can get to control is the closer they can get to feeling alive.
And it never works.
Soccer moms still sneak cigarettes after their kids get on the bus, and Saul still jerks off furiously into recycled hemp fiber tissues with his eyes squeezed shut in shame until it’s over because nobody is satisfied.
It’s against the natural order of life to live like this, but we tell ourselves it’s better.
We’re better than nature.
We’re more advanced than that.
And we still rot in the earth like any other animal after we die, and people wonder why society has an uncomfortable time talking about death.
John wasn’t satisfied by life either, but he was closer to a natural outlet for his frustration than Saul and the millions of other drones who didn’t even consciously process advertising anymore because it was everywhere.
John didn’t spray paint his name on the sides of bridges, seeking the rush of rebellion but allowing his indistinct thoughts to lead him blindly into adding another layer of grime to the filthy buildup of the human impact on the world.
John didn’t live within the boundaries of the capitalist system and bring his money, so valued and coveted yet useless in practicality’s eyes, his worthless scraps of paper, to the convenience store to trade for a bottle of purple hair dye to show his rebellion against the man.
John didn’t use humane, PETA-approved traps on the rats that came into his section of living space under the bridge.
He killed them.
Because that is how nature works.
John wasn’t appointed his living space by a signed slip of paper issued in standardized form by a group of self-appointed leaders who follow each other in circles until they slow down and get replaced by newer, identical pieces.
He lived there because the space was there, and his body was in that space, and just by doing that he physically overcame the theoretical importance of every tax document that was ever filed away for later reference.
John cut through some of the bullshit of human society by living a taboo.
His priorities were in a much more natural order than those of the businessmen who owned three different kinds of aftershave and spent his limited waking moments on matching his cufflinks to his tie each morning, and so John was living backwards.
SOCIETY IS SICK OF ITSELF
And every hypocritical, dissatisfied, angry young idealist was jealous of John, and every business-suit wearing lump of coal whose spark had been doused by the dirty dishwater of society’s ideas of goals and propriety comforted the raw confusion that John made him feel by telling himself that John was sad that he didn’t have the stupid luxuries that his life had, when really it was all he could do to keep talking to drown out the primal screams of his inner human being as it tried to hang itself with the tangled USB cord of his Blackberry phone.
SET ME FREE
And of course John was not jealous, and he was crushed in the bottom of his throat by his pity for those who carried their self-imposed burdens in their Starbucks cups and laptop cases and plugged up the flow of their natural desires and human impulses with clumps of advertising and white picket-fence posts and the hundreds of pages of their financially-responsible retirement plans that they would never even enjoy because they would be DEAD.
And everyone dies as atoms and molecules and matter and clay and filth and dust and hair and teeth and every brain is a tangible thing
And when people die, their repressed, crushed-up, malnourished souls try to uncurl themselves and fly away to live in the natural world with the trees and the animals and the other shit that makes things live, and they FAIL because they’re too beaten down and they were never allowed to hope, and their willpower is weak so they give up just like their bodies and their brains and their hearts did, and they die too inside the cage of bones that used to keep them safe and so they return to the earth but not in the way that they were meant to
And John’s soul will fly away when he dies, because he saw that he was gripping it too tightly and flattening it under his piles of tax-report forms and so he let it go and he nursed it back to life with real food that he grew in the earth and songs that he sang because he felt them inside himself and he wanted to sing them and not because anyone else cared if he did or not and he drank and he smoked and he fucked for pleasure and not for rebellion or pride or shame and every person he had ever met asked him why he was ruining his life and he told them no, he was living it and so they turned around and plugged their ears and turned up the TV because they felt what he said in their hearts and it pulled on them more than they were used to and they wanted it but they were scared and so they didn’t let themselves think about it and another layer of cotton grew around their hearts so it would be even harder for something to get in next time it tried.

WHAT DO YOU WANT?
WHY DO YOU WANT
DO YOU WANT
CAN YOU WANT
I WANT TO NEED
And all I know is want
And I’m torn and it makes me just as bad as everyone else
Worse
And what is stopping me-
And I’m a bystander in my own life-
And what am I waiting for-
And I am the biggest hypocrite of all---

FUCK YOU—
NO ONE IS CONTENT-
Shave your head and say what you want to people and mean what you say to people and never feel embarrassed and fuck society and fuck in society and don’t be careful at all because you are alive and you need to feel it and things can happen to you and you shouldn’t die with wasted potential and energy that you didn’t use and you can feel everything so let yourself feel everything and do it RIGHT NOW
Destroy yourself because you can and you need to do everything you can do and you can do bad and good and you can feel bad and good so do both and feel both and that way you will live

title: Started as a story, became a rant of my feelings

question:
Answer the following question based on the above passage:

Summarize the ways in which John believes he is different from other people.

answer: John believes that he does not conform to the standardized expectations of modern society, opting for a more natural order of priorities. Specifically, he does not worry about materialistic concerns, and he kills rats, instead of trapping them to be humane. On the other hand, John does not blindly rebel like many young idealists do. Instead, John has opted to cut through "some of the bullshit of human society by living a taboo." Other ways in which John is different than others is that he is unconcerned with material things, and he is comfortable allowing his suppressed emotions to come to the surface and be expressed. Lastly, John is unique in that he believes that everyone- even himself- is capable of both good and bad, and urges people not to waste potential or energy.

text: John's lack of material concerns is repeated twice.

refinement: John believes that he does not conform to the standardized expectations of modern society, opting for a more natural order of priorities. Specifically, he does not worry about materialistic concerns, and he kills rats, instead of trapping them to be humane. On the other hand, John does not blindly rebel like many young idealists do. Instead, John has opted to cut through "some of the bullshit of human society by living a taboo." Other ways in which John is different than others is that he is comfortable allowing his suppressed emotions to come to the surface and be expressed. Lastly, John is unique in that he believes that everyone- even himself- is capable of both good and bad, and urges people not to waste potential or energy.

answer: He is at peace with the way he lives. He is closer to having a natural outlet for his frustration. He lives as a taboo.

text: The answer is too vague, it should give details about John's life.

refinement: John believes that he does not conform to the standardized expectations of modern society, opting for a more natural order of priorities. Specifically, he does not worry about materialistic concerns, and he kills rats, instead of trapping them to be humane. On the other hand, John does not blindly rebel like many young idealists do. Instead, John has opted to cut through "some of the bullshit of human society by living a taboo." Other ways in which John is different than others is that he is comfortable allowing his suppressed emotions to come to the surface and be expressed. Lastly, John is unique in that he believes that everyone- even himself- is capable of both good and bad, and urges people not to waste potential or energy.

answer: John is aware that other people are miserable and think their lifestyles are normal, so he rants about how their lifestyles are wrong inhuman to live and how he his much more in tune with his own existence than other people. John lives in the here and now. He lacks the technological conveniences of phones and laptops and tries to live a simple life.

text: The answer shouldn't be judgemental when the text isn't.

refinement: John is aware that other people are miserable and think their lifestyles are normal, he talks about how he is much more in tune with his own existence than other people. John lives in the here and now. He lacks the technological conveniences of phones and laptops and tries to live a simple life.

answer: He did not work for money. He did not have to worry about having a job, paying his bills, or going to the market to buy things. He was also very tolerant and accepted life for what it is. His way of living was not attached to material things or a place to live.

answer: John believes that he is less affected by the desire to conform to societal conventions. In contrast to many people, John values letting go of the security of material possessions and comfort in favor of feeling alive. John also chooses to kill rats rather than trapping them, which shows a difference in his priorities. Finally, John believes that more people are weighed down by the desires of society and fail to let their inner selves feel uninhibited. John feels that this is detrimental to human beings as a whole.


text:
PIPEWELL WOODS is an 85.3 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south-west of Corby in Northamptonshire. It is composed of Pipewell Wood itself, Little Haws Wood, Foxhole Wood, Barrowdykes Wood, Monk's Arbour Wood and Rawhaw Wood.[1][2] It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade 2.[3]

The woods are an example of wet ash-maple woodland both in its typical form and a nationally rare one. It has diverse flora including the locally rare giant bellflower, herb paris and wood speedwell. Open grassy areas provide additional habitats for birds and insects.[4]

A road and a public footpath from Pipewell go through the site.[5]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

title: Pipewell Woods

question: Where are Pipewell Woods located?

answer: In Northamptonshire.

text: One could be more specific.

answer: Pipewell Woods are located near Corby in Northamptonshire, England.

answer: Pipewell Woods are located in Northamptonshire, England.

text: Be more specific

refinement: Pipewell Woods are located near Corby in Northamptonshire, England.

question: Are they public domain or privately owned?

answer: The Pipewell Woods are located on private land.

text: It is not known whether they are located on public or private land.

refinement: It is not known whether the Pipewell Woods are located on public or private land, but a road and a public footpath from Pipewell go through the site.

answer: Pipewell Woods is a public domain.

text: It is not stated in the article.

refinement: It is not known whether the Pipewell Woods are located on public or private land, but a road and a public footpath from Pipewell go through the site.

answer: Information not found.

text: Be more specific.

refinement: It is not known whether the Pipewell Woods are located on public or private land, but a road and a public footpath from Pipewell go through the site.

question: What is the main type of trees in this forest?

answer: Based on the text, the main type of trees in Pipewell Woods is ash trees.

text: Also maple trees

refinement: Based on the text, the main type of trees in Pipewell Woods are ash and maple trees.

answer: Ash and maple

answer: According to the passage, the forest contains primarily ash and maple trees.

question: What are some other plants that grow in this forest?

answer: Giant Bellflower, herb paris, wood speedwell.

answer: Some of the other plants that grow in Pipewell Woods include herb paris, wood speedwell, and giant bellflower.

answer: In addition to the commonly found ash and maple trees, other plants that grow in Pipewell Woods include giant bellflower, herb paris, and wood speedwell.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: Pipewell Woods includes a variety of wet ash-maple woodland habitats and is renowned for its diverse flora and attractive landscape.

answer: Pipewell Woods is a site of special scientific interest with diverse flora and varied landscapes, including wet ash-maple woodland. Visitors can enjoy walking through the paths in the woods.

answer: Pipewell Woods is an ecological treasure-trove of wet ash-maple woodland and diverse flora. Visitors can take a footpath or road through these 85.3 hectares of trees and nature.

answer: Pipewell Woods is a collection of woodlands in Northamptonshire, which is home to a variety of wildlife and plant life.

answer: The short article describes Pipell Woods in Northamptonshire.

answer: Pipewell Woods is an 85.3 hectare expanse of wildlife-rich woodland near Corby, Northamptonshire. The trees, which are typically ash-maple, provide homes for a variety of flora and fauna.