Tuesdays With Morrie Blog (about Tuesdays, which I'm writing on a Tuesday...)

The Tuesday that has inspired me the most would have to be the fourth one, in which death is discussed. The reason it's so impacting is because death keeps striking at important family members when you least expect it (my grandfather, then my cat...within the span of a few months...). Morrie says, "Do what the Buddhists do. Every day, have a little bird on your shoulder that asks, 'Is today the day? Am I ready?....'" It rang true. Death is something I've thought about frequently lately due to the subject matter. I've been looking at it from a biological perspective, a philosophical one...but never constantly. I'm never ready, and that's kind of the one admission I always withhold from myself.

      Let me explain. Before each of my three surgeries, I mostly felt sadness, and a deep philosophical questioning of the little bird: "Am I ready? Cuz if I'm not...*insert tears*" However, once I was in the car, I sort of went numb. There was nothing I could do, other than exist. It's kind of a weird feeling, looking back. There's no future or past, only present. That's kind of what Morrie is doing. He's living in the moment.

      Morrie mentions that "once you know how to die, you know how to live."  That basically sums up what he's doing: planning his death so he doesn't have to worry about his life. I also figured: "The weirdness of this situation is too much for worrying, and if I do die (which is very unlikely) I won't have to either, so why worry at all? Morrie's not worried about the end either. He's already clobbered it, domesticated it, and forced it to make him dinner. Morrie is using his end as a philosophical springboard to say what he never could at his middle. There's a lesson in the sentence I just wrote, but I can't quite put my finger on the words to express it. Philosophy is weird like that.

Bucket List Blog

      Recently, we started reading Tuesdays With Morrie. The titular character seems to really handle his impending death with grace, and he's really frank about the whole thing. He also—and this is the important part— doesn't take what remains of his life and the beginning of his death for granted. He attempts to use what he's got left to better others. And on a side note, most people with ALS do something like that, regardless of their fictional status. They use the time they have left to leave a mark on people, and then bow out with whatever grace they have left. Morrie certainly seems to be planning on that. He also, it seems, is trying to fulfill his bucket list, or at least one item on it. In honor of this goal, and because that's the assignment, I've composed a bucket list of my own. And yes, "bucket list" comes from the expression "to kick the bucket."

My Bucket List 

• Make a video game
• Attend a full scale Nerf war/beyblade tournament/other large congregation of my fellow hobbyists
• Create something that changes lives
• Graduate high school
• Graduate college
• Graduate anything else I need to graduate from
• Beat my disability (well, as much as I can)
• Continually update my list

      Death is kind of like a distant due date on an assignment. You ignore it until it's staring you in the face, and then you throw yourself at it until the due date. Some people, however, focus on the due date the entire time and manage to get done every part before the due date's even remotely close. I won't say which way is the best way to live (that's not my place), but I will leave you with this so you can ponder it...which is kind of like what Morrie would do, if you think about it. 

Blog for 4/10/17 Week- A List of Cages by Robin Roe

      I recently read A List of Cages, by Robin Roe. I decided to blog about that rather than the other books I read this week because it impacted me more. I have read the entire book, so I will be leaving out spoilers for those who have not. In the novel, Adam Blake, a senior in high school, lands a position as the aide to the school psychologist. While in that position, he is reunited with Julian, his old foster brother. Julian is now living with his abusive Uncle Russell. Adam and Julian become friends (again), and Adam and his fellow seniors attempt to help Julian escape from Russell. Spoilers ensue. Warning: There is some blood/abuse depictions, profanity, and evil teachers

Prompt One: • Draw 4 objects that represent your reading. Write a sentence for each, telling

what each item says about what you’ve been reading.   

      Since images I post have a habit of not rendering, I'm just going to write about them instead:

1. A willow switch, representing Julian's abusive home life.
2. A bowling ball with Shakespeare's head printed out and taped to it, representing the bond that rekindled between Julian and Adam over Shakespeare and group activities.
3. A copy of Elian Mariner with a toy bug on it, representing their initial meeting.
4. A bottle of herbal remedy, representing Adam's ADHD.

Prompt Two: List five major events in order from which happened first to last.

1. Mrs. Nethercutt's 5th grade reading buddies.
2. The demise of Julian's parents and fostering of Julian by the Blakes.
3. Julian is taken in by Uncle Russell and his abuse begins.
4. Adam and Julian reunite in high school.
5. Adam saves Julian from abuse.

If the image of the cover does not render, well...sorry.