ENG 001: Section 09

Flood

2007-10-21T22:28:00.000-05:00

Several families from the secluded Cardwell Woods subdivision are suing the city of Lincoln because they were sold building permits to build in a flood plain. If the families are awarded what they are wanting the costs will be well over one million dollars. Most of the houses in this subdivision are valued at over five hundred thousand dollars. The families were very upset with what has happened, and they have reason to be. I don’t think anybody that spends five hundred thousand dollars on a house would be very happy to find out that they were misled and had built their new house in a flood plain. I know I would be a little more than just unhappy, I would be extremely pissed off!

When the city was accused of misleading the families in the Cardwell Woods subdivision, sources say that the city’s flood plain map had been misplaced or lost. I think something with this much importance would more than likely be watched over pretty well but I guess they must think people’s houses being flooded isn’t very important. If I were one of the families or house owners out in the Cardwell Woods subdivision I know I would be suing for even more than my house is worth. It would be a pain in the ass to have built your house and started your family only to have your house trashed and ruined by a flood because people from the city are evidently to dumb to be able to keep track of a flood plain map and because I would have to pack up and move not only myself but my family as well I would make sure I get as much as I can. That much hassle would be worth getting more than they are probably wanting to give you.

Weekend at home

2007-10-17T22:51:00.000-05:00

Friday after class I decided I was going to go home for the weekend. I left the parking lot at about noon so the traffic in Lincoln was pretty bad because everybody was on their lunch break. Once I got on the interstate I headed west for my home town of Aurora. After about an hour I arrived at my destination. Once I got into town I went to my mom’s and started some laundry. After a while I got bored of sitting around so I went to one of my buddies’ houses and hung out with him for a while. We met up with a few other guys and decided we were going to road trip to York to watch the Aurora-York football game. The trip wasn’t very long, but it was fun and gave me a chance to catch up with some guys I hadn’t talked to for a while. The game was kind of boring, and was tied 7-7 at half time. In the third quarter the Huskies of Aurora broke it open. At the end of the third it was 21-7 huskies. In the fourth both teams scored once to put the final tally at 28-14. The Huskies are now only one win away from making the playoffs. When we arrived back home, a bunch oh people just got together and hung out for a while. I left early because my mom had gotten two skybox tickets for the Husker game the next day and I had to get up early. My step-dad couldn’t make it to the game with my mom because he had to do some stuff for work so she invited me to go. Of coarse I would go! It’s not very often you get sky box seats at the Husker game! We left Aurora at about 9:00 and arrived in Lincoln at about 10:00. Once parked, we headed to the pre-game tailgate party my mom’s work was having. There were all kinds of free food and drinks, and however much you wanted. Once it got closer to game time we headed up to the skybox. It was pretty exciting getting to sit clear up there and have such a good view. The game kind of sucked because we lost… bad. Overall it was a fun experience getting to hang with my mom though.

When we got back into town I had to head out to the farm and help my grandpa harvest. He was in the semi, my cousin Tyler in the combine, and me and my brother chase in the grain carts. It went pretty smoothly and it was good to have us three be able to help. Harvest has been going a little rough with all the rain not allowing the farmers to get out and pick. We finished kind of late that night, and then we were rained out Sunday. So Sunday was kind of a lazy day for the family and I had to head back Sunday afternoon because I had meetings for football at 8:00 Sunday night. Then Monday started the week all over again…

2007-09-20T02:01:00.001-05:00

There are people of all ages, sizes, shapes and colors walking around in a mad craze. Some are walking fast, and some slow. There are voices all around, some are loud and resonating some are soft and quiet. The atmosphere is kind of crazy with everyone in a mad rush to get from place to place. On occasion you can hear the loud screeching of brakes and the honking of horns back and forth. The mall is just a crazy place over all. In some ways it is kind of like the jungle in how every one in there is looking out for themselves and themselves only. Survival of the fittest, if you will. There are some that are scared to just hop right in there and get what they need and as you can see they are usually standing there for a while. Some of the aged veterans of the mall can be spotted by almost trucking people over that are in their way. They are on a mission and know not to let anybody get in their way. You can see the rookies standing in the corner afraid to wonder out too far in fear of getting trucked by a veteran. The fear in the rookie’s eyes sticks out like a sore thumb. The stores range from sweetened treats, to clothing, to electronics there is something for everyone. While leaving, you can see the pissed off faces of parents that have little kids behind them holding four bags full of things and grinning ear to ear.

2007-09-13T20:24:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday September 12, the police ran an undercover operation in Wilderness Park. The objective of this mission was to catch people for indecent exposure, and sexual harassment. Ten men were caught during the operation including 7 from the Lincoln area. There have been several complaints about such activities happening, and the police said that once in a while it’s necessary to do an operation such as this one. If these type of operations are done it kind of keeps the stuff happening to a minimum. Police announced this is not the only park in Lincoln where this sort of activity happens, and along with Lincoln other cities have the same things happen.
I think it’s good for the public that the police do these type of things. If these weren’t done, and complaints were just ignored then the problem would continue and likely worsen. If you are with your little kid who wants to go play in the park you shouldn’t have to worry about what’s going to happen there or what you might stumble across. This is a nuisance to the public. If I had a little kid and had stumbled across some of these things happen I’d be very pissed off. It’s good that the Lincoln police care as much as to take care of the problem. I’m sure in some big cities, the police over look situations similar to this because they don’t think it’s that big of a problem but the police here take their jobs serious and take care of all the problems. The community can feel better about itself, and also safer when the law enforcement does its job.

2007-09-10T00:33:00.000-05:00

I would have never imagined there was so much interesting information about Aurora. A lot of the information in the Plainsman Museum was pioneers, and early settlers. There were covered wagons, and other artifacts used by some of the first settlers in Aurora. There were early guns, some being from the military and some were used to hunt. There was a replica of the jail that was in town when the early settlers started arriving. Being a farming community, another great deal of the information was about farming and agriculture. There were pieces of farm equipment that was used in the area, and I even saw a stuffed two-headed calf that had come from the area. One of the one-room school houses used in Hamilton County that was called Fairview. It was one of the last one-room school houses used, it was closed in 1954. There were also items in the museum that my great-grandfather, Fay Perry had donated so I thought that was a part of the trip that brought some special meaning. Two of the donations Fay made were miniature models he made by hand. One of the models was of the Nebraska state capitol building, and the other was of the Aurora courthouse. Fay took great pride in his work and used much detail. A blacksmithing shop was one more exhibit I visited on my trip to Plainsman museum. The blacksmith shop is in working condition and even used for demonstrations on special occasions.

the memorable essay

2007-09-04T22:43:00.000-05:00

The Memorable Essay

I am predisposed to the essay with knowledge to impart-- but, unlike journalism, which exists primarily to present facts, the essays transcend their data, or transmute it into personal meaning. The memorable essay, unlike the article, is not place- or time-bound; it survives the occastion of it's original composition. Indeed, in the most brilliant essays, language is not merely the medium of communication; it is communication.
-Joyce Carol Oates

An essay is more likely to keep somebody’s attention and hold onto them if it is somehow related to a memory. If the reader starts thinking of a memory when he or she reads the essay then they are going to be more interested in it and want to know more about it. When you are reading an essay and it has nothing to do with you or anything you like then you probably aren’t going to enjoy reading it and won’t actually see what the essay is saying. If the essay you are reading persists to you or something you care about or like then you are going to be more likely to stay interested and enjoy reading the piece. If you enjoy reading the essay, then you are more likely to actually listen to and think about what you are reading therefore you will be getting a lot more out of it than if you are just reading along but not paying attention to what it says. I don’t think it’s limited to being memories that keeps a person interested in an essay, it can be many different things. A memory is just something easy to relate to and is definitely going to keep you interested.

Post 1: Test Post

2007-08-30T09:37:00.000-05:00

First Post.