My Book Trailer For THE BOOK THIEF

I wrote this while sitting on the steps of the art museum on University of Nebraska Lincoln campus.

Cool breeze brushes my face,
City and nature combined surround me,
Giant colorful trees and colossal stone b
uildings,
People walk by but you forget they exist,
Cars going by but they're not noticeable,
People surround me but aren't really there,
Caged in like an animal trapped in a zoo,
But actually as free as a bird,
I forget I'm on a college campus,
Instead I'm in the middle of nowhere,
Not a single soul for miles,
Can see forever but there is nothing around,
Silence,
I remain for a moment,
Then I'm back in the middle of the city,
Lots of people,
Lots of cars,
Lots of noise,
Back to reality,
The front of an art museum,
Surrounded by the perfect blend of city and nature.

My Revised Essay

Am I proud of my country? The simple answer is yes, but I’m not writing this essay to give the simple answer. The real question is: Why am I proud of my country? I could give enough answers to write a book. I am going to focus on the most important ones.

One important thing that affected my pride in America was my visit to Arlington National Cemetery. The thing that I noticed the most as I entered into the cemetery was how big it actually was. Before that I hadn’t really realize how much pride the citizens of the United States had in their country. So many people have risked their lives to defend our rights and our freedom. More than 200,000 men and women that were so dedicated to our country that they would risk their lives to keep it as great as it is today are buried in Arlington. “I regret that I have but one life to give to my country,” said Nathan Hale who was then hung by the British for being a spy on September 21, 1776. That is the dedication many of the men and women have in this country. I am proud of our strong military and their dedication to preserving our rights. I have several grandfathers and great-grandfathers who were soldier in a branch of the military. I am pleased by that dedication that has been passed down from generation to generation that has started to reach down to me.

I am glad to have holidays that salute and honor our veterans and those who gave up their lives for this amazing country. I think it’s amazing that we have programs, give speeches, and sing songs to celebrate those who served.

I consider pride and patriotism in our country to be like glue that holds us together. If not for patriotism in our country; none of this country would exist right now. If it weren’t for strong leaders and speakers our country wouldn’t have even made it through the Revolutionary War. There have been so many famous speakers in this country that helped us get through every war; so many in fact it’d fill up a book. I’m very proud of our country and their ability to stay united during a lot of times and those who sought to reunite the country when it wasn’t unified.

My Patriotic Essay

Am I proud of my country? The simple answer is yes, but I’m not writing this essay to give the simple answer. The real question is: Why am I proud of my country? I could give enough answers to write a book. Maybe some day I will, but right now I am going to focus on some specific ones that are important to my life.

One important thing that affected my pride in America was my visit to Arlington National Cemetery. The thing that I noticed the most as I entered into the actual cemetery was how big it actually was. Before that I hadn’t really realize how much pride the citizens of the United States had in their country. So many people have risked their lives to defend our rights and our freedom. More than 200,000 men and women that were so dedicated to our country that they would risk their lives to keep it as great as it is today. “I regret that I have but one life to give to my country,” said Nathan Hale who was then hung by the British for being a spy on September 21, 1776. That is the dedication many of the men and women have in this country. I am very proud of our strong military and their dedication to preserving our rights. I have several grandfathers and great-grandfathers who were soldier in a branch of the military. I am very proud of that dedication that has been passed down from generation to generation that has started to reach down to me.

I am very proud of our holidays that salute and honor our veterans and those who gave up their lives for this amazing country. I am very glad that we have these holidays to celebrate our soldiers. I think it’s amazing that we have programs, give speeches, and sing songs to celebrate those who served our country.

I consider pride and patriotism in our country to be like glue that holds us together. If not for patriotism in our country; none of this country would exist right now. “Give me liberty or give me death!” is a very important patriotic quote of Patrick Henry if it weren’t for strong leaders and speakers like him or country would haven’t even made it through the Revolutionary War. There have been so many famous speakers in this country that helped us get through every war. During the Revolutionary War there were the people that enough confidence to start an important movement that if it hadn’t succeeded they would have been put to death by the British like: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and many more. During the War of 1812 it was President James Madison. During the Civil War it was President Abraham Lincoln and General Ulysses S. Grant. During the Spanish American War Sam Houston and Andrew Jackson. During both World Wars we relied heavily on Franklin Delano Roosevelt. And there were other very important leaders during several other wars too. I very proud of our country and their ability to stay united during a lot of times and those who sought to reunite the country when it wasn’t unified.

Memoir

The Life-Changing Trip

Things such as: “I hope we get to see the National Spy Museum,” “I want to see the Air and Space Museum” “I can’t wait to see Ford’s Theatre” and “ I wonder what the views is like from the top of the Washington Monument,” were all kinds of things I could hear everyone saying. I felt like we were never going to leave O’Neill High School to go to DC. “Finally,” I said as the last person got there. We were ready to go now. We all had an idea of what we were probably going to see so that was the basic topic all of the way to Omaha.

            When we got to the airport I couldn’t wait to get on the plane but of course I just had to wind up waiting even longer. Then we go through security. Everything went fine. We were all pretty hungry because we’d been awake for hours and still hadn’t had breakfast. So I went and got some Apple Jacks. They tasted great after not eating for so long. I had heard that you ears don’t pop if you chew a piece of gum, so I went and got a few packs of gum. Finally we boarded the plane. I started to work on mind games like Sudoku and crosswords. I decided to take some pictures out of the window while we flew. After a while though the wobbling of the wing made me airsick so I closed the window. Marie Sitz who was sitting by me on the plane was asleep anyways.

            The first place we went after we got to DC is on a bus and to the Old Post Office, which is really tall and is now basically a really big mall. Jon and I got some food at a Spanish place. I ordered nachos that turned out to be basically the same as the schools. After eating I wanted to see what I could find in the place to buy.

            The closest place near by was a shop called City Electronic. I figure okay an electronics store not too interesting I’ll probably only be here for a second. As I get closer though I realize that the shop is full of people and really popular. When I walk in I see why; shelves and shelves of awesome stuff surround me. One entire wall lined with common souvenir shop stuff: coffee mugs, magnets, and every other cheesy tourist stuff you can find. Then I see what is really popular; the next wall is covered with electronic such as: iPhones, iPods, iPads, headphones, speakers, and much more. The last wall is line with prank stuff and DC brand hats. If I bought a DC hat I would get sunglasses free. I remember that Baylee Colfack had wanted one and I wanted one too so I bought two and gave one pair of sunglasses to Jon. As I’m leaving the guy who runs the places yells towards me, “ Bring in customers for my headphone deal I’ll give you something free!” I didn’t know what the headphone deal so I asked him. If you bought a pair of headphone for $15 he would give you speakers, a switchblade comb and snap/zap gum. The best part was these headphones sound perfect. Believe me I tested them. I brought him 3 or 4 customers but he forgot my deal oh well. Some of us also went into a candy shop that smelled amazing. You could smell lots of chocolate and many sweet smelling candy too. The bags of candies and chocolate bags were HUGE! Some of them said the 10-pound bags and they came at a high price fifty dollars!

            The next few days went by like an amazing blur. I had lots of fun and bought lots of souvenirs. I loved it there. Anyways, The main lesson I learned is if believe something can be the best time of your life it can and will be. It doesn’t even need to be something big like this. And the main things that I really made sink in after going to that store is don’t judge a book by its cover. I had thought the name of the store meant the store only sold electronics but it turns out it had all kinds of awesome things I would have never believed before then.

My Fractured Fairy Tale

Goldilocks vs. The Three Bears Case

Recorded by: James Walton

            “I didn’t mean to cause trouble. It was an honest mistake. Don’t let them hurt me. Please. I beg of you. They overreacted really. They stretched the truth.  Just listen to what really happened.

            I was out for a walk so I could pick some berries to add to my porridge for breakfast, but I got to far away and was lost. I started to cry and just kept walking in the direction I was going hoping I would be going the right way. Then up ahead I saw my house; at least what I had thought was my house. We’ll get back to that later. I walked into the house and saw 3 bowls of porridge on the table. But no one was home I assumed that my parents had gone out for a walk too and weren’t home yet. When I tried the first bowl it was far too hot. Ouch! It burned my tongue! I knew that was the way papa liked his porridge very warm so I thought that was his. I tried the next bowl. Brrr! Far too cold! I knew that mama like her porridge cold so I thought it was hers. So I tried the next bowl of porridge. Yum! It was just right I added my strawberries and enjoyed the bowl. I went to sit down in the living room. I sat in a big wooden chair. Ouch! It was far too hard! “This is papa’s chair,” I thought. I went and sat in the medium size chair covered in pink cushions. Oof! Far too soft! I assumed it was mamas. I went and sat in the smallest chair. Perfect! I loved it! Then Snap! it broke underneath me.   Yawn… I was getting tired. I decided to go upstairs to sleep. I jumped in the first bed. Ouch!! It was made of a hard rough wood that I don’t even think had been sanded because I now have all kinds of splinters. I thought that was papas. I tried the next one. “Aaah!” I screamed. I was soft, fluffy, and cushy. I was pulled into a black hole consisting of pink and purple pillows and blankets.  “That is obviously mama’s,” I thought aloud. I tried that last bed. Phew! I sunk straight into the quick sands of sleep. I awoke to an awful ROAR!! When I opened my eyes I screamed from the shock of seeing the murky brown of the three bears fur. I ran straight past the bears and out the door all the while worrying that the bears would come and eat me alive. My fears were intensified when I looked back and saw the biggest bear was less than an inch away from my face.” Said Goldilocks towards the jury.

“I object!” screamed papa bear. “I didn’t try to hurt that dangerous little thief!!” exclaimed papa bear. “You need to hear my side of the story judge,” said papa bear.

“Proceed,” said the judge.

“My wife, mama bear, accidentally made the family’s porridge a little to warm, so we went out for a walk and gathered some stuff to add to it. We got strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, mulberries, honey, and more. When we got home I noticed the lock on the door had been broken. When I went inside to go eat my porridge some of it was missing. So was my wife’s and baby bear’s was all gone. So we decided to go sit and calm down in the living room and I saw a library card on my seat. My wife saw a berry stain on hers. Then baby bear cried out, “Someone sat in my chair and broke it!”  I was getting tired by now so I wanted to go to bed so we meandered up stairs. I found a scratch on my bed and new someone had lain there.  My wife’s blankets and pillows were all messed up. Then we heard baby bear yell,” Someone was sleeping in my bed and is still here!” We ran into his room just in time to see an angry looking girl threatening my son. When I ran into the room she screeched, “Get out of my house!”

“You’re an intruder in our house little girl,” I said as calmly as I could.

“I’ll get you all for this!” she screamed as she ran hurriedly out of the house.”

“Lies!!!!!” shrieked Goldilocks. 

“Order in the court!” commanded the judge banging his gavel.

“Decision from the jury?” queried the judge.

“Goldilocks is found guilty of thievery and of destruction of property,” replied the jury, “ and Papa Bear is found guilty of harassment on all charges.”

“No! I will not be taken to jail!” cried Papa Bear steam rolling everyone in his road to the door.

“Stop Papa!” yelled Baby Bear. In the instant Papa Bear stopped to listen to Baby Bear the bailiff had him in handcuffs. Goldilocks pulled out a Denix Luger P08 Parabellum and shot around the courtroom she. She hit the judge, Big Bad Wolf, with a bullet in the tail and Little Red Riding Hood in the heart.  

"No one puts me in jail!" cackled Goldilocks as she rode off on her Harley Davidson. But, her gas line had been cut. She got 10 feet from the court house and was arrested by the police and put in jail for life.

Out of Reach

Out of Reach

Out of reach,

Out of touch,

Hard to be involved

When I can’t always

Be there,

What happens

When I miss practice?

What happens when

My friends change

But I don’t know?

In the middle of nowhere,

Nothing to do,

No one near,

To hear,

What I have to say,

Out of time,

Out of touch,

Out of reach