Halloween

            Every Halloween, I never dressed up, people would say to me "Hey, Silas what are you going to be for Halloween?"
            Then I would say, "Nothing.".
            Then they would say, "What?!".
            Every time we had our Halloween Parade at school, I would be one of the few people that was not wearing a costume. I would have to be at the front of the parade every year. Also, I never went trick-or-treating either, and I would just sit at home watching the Halloween specials. Halloween is my least favorite holiday.

Satire in My Life

             Whose idea was it to give us these lockers? Our lockers are so small that a mouse could not fit into it.

Why Patriotism Still Matters

          Patriotism still matters today, because it is how we got our freedom. When I think about patriotism I think about veterans who serve for our country. Symbols that I think about, are the flag and red, white, and blue. A show of patriotism is reciting the Pledge of Allegiance every school day. Veterans protect us and fight for our freedom.

          We celebrate patriotism today so that we can discuss how we got our freedom. We celebrate it on the fourth of July and on November eleventh. These holidays mark the times our country has overcome a war. I feel safe knowing that there are veterans out there protecting our nation. Patriotism can be reciting the Pledge of Allegiance or wearing red, white, and blue. Patriotism is what we should show every day.

          Philadelphia is a city filled with patriotism, such as Independence Hall, the Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Franklin’s chair, and the Liberty Bell. I visited Philadelphia last year for my fifth grade field trip and had fun. It is a really historical city. There are flags everywhere you look in the city, and this city should be the capital of Pennsylvania instead of Harrisburg, because it is much better well known. It is a highly populated city.

          Independence Day is the holiday that is shown with the most patriotism, because we shoot off fireworks on this day. I like to watch the fireworks from my house by looking out the window and seeing all of the wonderful colors.  All of the stores close and Applebee’s has a kids eat for free sale. Independence Day is when the Declaration of Independence was approved. This holiday is celebrated all over the country.

          So, as you see patriotism really does still matter. Without it, we would not have any of these holidays to celebrate, and Philadelphia would not be as historical as it is today.                                                

Marshfield Dreams

            In Ralph Fletcher's vignette, "First Pen", "It was just a cheap BIC, the kind with a clear barrel so you could see how much ink was left in the cartridge" (p.43) was my favorite sentence. I had never known a pen could be described this way. This sentence does not really describe his passion for the pen. I can visualize how this pen looks and I wish my pen was clear too, so that I would know when it is about to run out. It is marvelous that he could make a whole vignette out of a pen. Overall, this piece is brilliant.              
            In his vignette, "Baseball," "We'd insist we could see the ball fine, but she'd make us come inside" (p.43) was my favorite sentence from this passage. I can connect this to when my mom would say it was too cold out for me to play basketball, even though Iwould say it wasn't, she would still make me come inside. I am not too fond of this passage because baseball is the sport I hate the most. Another connection I have is that I am allergic to pollen also, except that it makes me sneeze. Overall, I do not like this piece. Ralph Fletcher is a writer with excellent imagery and woven ideas. 
                                          

3rd Place In The Team Competition

            I had a team competion for my division last year. The location was in HHMS and the name of my team was the Lakers. There are 12 teams in my division and the team in last place, known as the Kings, did not even bother to show up to the team competition. There were 4 events, free throw shooting, three-point shooting, dribble races, and layups. I thought that by the end we had done a very good job, especially in free throw shooting. When every team was done we waited to hear the results. They told us that there was a three way tie between the Knicks, Mavericks, and us. The tiebreaker was that the coach that made the most free throws in 30 seconds would win the tiebreaker. My coach and the Knicks' coach had made four free throws, while the Mavericks' coach only made two free throws. The final tiebreaker was that the coach that made a three-pointer first would win. Unfortunately, the Knicks' coach made it on their second try. We thought that we had gotten second place, when it turned out that the three way tie was for second place, and that the team that had won was the team in 11th place, the Nuggets. So I ended up going home with a third place ribbon.