Saints at the River, pgs. 131-180

Chapter six begins with Maggie in her dark room developing a photo she took at the falls. It is of Herb Kowalsky looking down into the river were his daughter's remains lie. The photograph makes Kowalsky look defeated and shows him wiping away a tear from his eye. The photograph makes quite a splash in the office when Maggie begins to show colleagues. They are all very impressed with how powerful the simple photo of Kowalsky is. Lee says, "Sweet Jesus. That's the father?" You can tell right away that this photo is going to make quite a splash with everyone in Maggie's hometown because of the emotional response it is going to evoke regarding the Kowalsky's and their suffering. Shortly after Maggie shows Allen the photo, the two go to get coffee. When Maggie is crossing the street she is almost hit by a car. This hits close to home for Allen, and we finally hear the background story regarding the death of his wife and daughter. They had been on their way to pick Allen up from the airport. Allen and Maggie's romantic relationship also progresses in Chapter 6. Allen comes over to Maggie's for dinner for a date. On the date, Allen explains that writing this article has given him a second chance to be a good father. He says, "But this situation with Ruth Kowalsky, it's like I've been given another chance to be a good father by helping another man's daughter out of that river." Maggie tries to explain that Luke is not so different, but his good cause is the Tamassee River. Chapter 6 also goes into more detail about when Ben was burned, or more specifically his recovery and life after being burned. He had a difficult time being in public and social situations and their father only made things worse by forcing him to attend all the school dances and baseball games. Ben tells Maggie that she should let things go and forgive their father, but Maggie insists that she is not a big enough person to ever forgive her father. At the beginning of Chapter 7, Maggie receives and email from Luke regarding the picture she took for Allen's article. He says that he expected Hemphill would side with the Kowalskys but was disappointed in Maggie. He says, "A lot of people have devoted a significant part of their lives to saving the Tamassee. You have betrayed every one of those people." This later causes a little tension between Maggie and Hemphill. Chapter 7 also offered some insightful background on Maggie and Luke's relationship when they were younger. When it is time for the town meeting Maggie is surprised to see her father is present. She tells Allen that he is too sick to be here. She is even more perplexed when her father speaks about how dangerous the river is. Ellen Kowalsky speaks to the meeting about her daughter and every one in the meeting is immediately affected by her despair. Right away Luke and the river rats are aware that they have lost the battle. After the meeting Maggie's father approaches her and tries to apologize for Ben being burned that night so long ago. Maggie still can't seem to forgive him.

VOCABULARY:
Caulked: to seal a gap or hole with some substance
Blood Meridian: A western novel by Cormac McCarthy about a gang of scalp hunters who massacred North American tribes.

Orbiting by Bharoti Mukherjee

I really enjoyed the short story "Orbiting." Perhaps it was because it was very accessible and easily understood, but I also thought it was rather entertaining. The family dynamic in the story reminds me of the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding. The parents in the movie are pushing their daughter to become successful and find a "suitable" husband as soon as possible. The parents in the movie respond to the daughter's American boyfriend in a very stand-offish way. Rindy's parents respond in a similar way to Ro and his distinct Afghanistan characteristics. Rindy's father expects Ro to enjoy drinking with the boys and watching sports, but these are both very foreign ideas to Ro. He had to fight for his life just to get out of Afghanistan and safely to America. It is very petty how Rindy's father judges him for not possessing these essential "male" characteristics when Ro has had to become more of a man than he is just to survive. Rindy's father's definition of torture was sitting in an office for thirty something years. Separate culture's definitions of masculinity are contrasted in this way. One line that again contrasts the different cultures and illustrates just how American Rindy is says, "When I think of Abdul, I think of a giant black man with goggles on, running down a court (pg. 65). It is funny how the first thing that comes to Rindy's mind is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA's all-time leading scorer. At the end of the story, Rindy is in complete bliss when she realizes just how much she loves Ro. I am confused as to if this is really love because during the entire story she is referencing an ex-boyfriend, Vic. Vic seems to be the ideal boyfriend that Rindy's parents would love and approve of. Ro on the other hand is a complete 360 compared to Vic. As for the stories name-sake, Orbiting is mentioned at least twice in the play. However, I am unsure as to what the significance is. The first line that alludes to it is when Rindy is introducing Vic to the reader and says, "Who is he initiating now into the wonders of his inner space" (pg. 57). Another instance is on page 73 when Ro says, "For six days I orbit one international airport to another." I'm interested to hear the discussion in class as to what the title's significance is.

VOCABULARY:
Calabrian: A region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian peninsula. It is separated from Sicily by the strait of Messina. 
King Cotton: song in which American military marches to

Glengarry Glen Ross, Act 1 scenes 1-2

As mentioned in class, I had to read a few pages of the play before I could catch on to the rhythm and understand exactly what was going on. The play begins with two men, Levene and Williamson, chatting in a booth at a Chinese restaurant. It sounds to me like they are in the sales business. Levene is begging Williamson to give him the good leads. The use of the word "leads" was a little misleading for me because then I thought that they might be in journalism. Levene is desperate to make the top of the "board," and it sounds as if his job depends on it. He is very temperamental and constantly is losing his cool and then apologizing for saying certain things to Williamson. I am not positive about Williamson's role in all of this. Is he a secretary for the bosses or is he one of the bosses? He often claims he will be fired and that he must do what he is told. However, it seems that the only thing that will sway Williamson is money that Levene does not have. This already hints at the capitalistic theme in the play that was mentioned in class on Monday. The system that the company has seems to me to be a bit flawed. They tell Levene that he must get back on the board, but they only give him second rate leads that are not going to make a sale. The whole entire first scene Levene is arguing for a lead and appears to making progress if he is willing to pay some money to Williamson, but by the end of the scene he still ends up with a lead that is on the "B-list." In the second act it is Moss and Aaronow sitting at the booth in the Chinese restaurant. They start complaining about the Indians who chat it up with them making them believe that they are going to make a sale and then are not interested. Moss says, "They're lonely, something." Once again the only concern is the money and not establishing a relationship with the customer. They talk about the hierarchy that exists in the office. If you sell the most, you get a Cadillac. If you do not sell enough, you get a set of steak knives. Finally, the worst two salesmen get fired. They mention a Jerry Graff who they claim runs a better business than Mitch and Murray. Moss actually suggests that someone should rob them and take their best leads. He plays this out like it is just an idea but Aaronow comes to realize he is serious and has even talked to Jerry Graff about it. Apparently Graff is willing to pay them for stealing the leads for him. Moss reveals that it may be more money than he let on but still plans to give Aaronow the same amount he said at first. He is also making Aaronow actually perform the robbery. Once again, this emphasizes the greed and importance of money.

VOCABULARY:
Lead: the identity of a human or entity potentially interested in purchasing a product or service, and represents the first stage of a sales process
(WIKIPEDIA)

The Same River Twice Blog, pgs. 54-109

As chapter 5 begins, the author speaks of how he has finally been paid for one of his short stories, so his wife is extremely pleased. He states, "The check validates her decision to have a child with me, proves that my days as a bum are gone." This line really shows how Rita expects Chris to become the bread winner that society expects of men when they have a child. Society places a large emphasis on materialistic possessions and being able to spoil your child. He talks about how the money is immediately spent on things like dinner on the town and curtains for the baby's room. The name of the book is also mentioned in this chapter when Chris goes down to the river. He explains the origin of the quotation and how a Greek named Heraclitus said, "You can't step into the same river twice." Honestly at this point I had no idea what he meant. Of course you can step into the same river twice. Chris then goes onto explain and says, "...and it occurs to me that you can't even step on the same bank twice. Each footstep alters the earth." This is an extremely profound statement. Rita insists on getting amniocentesis to verify that their child will be healthy and well. Toward the end of the chapter we learn that that baby is doing well. In chapter 6, the author continues to express his desire to search for and find something with meaning. There is a lot of water imagery in this chapter, which seems to be a common theme throughout that memoir. You really get a sense of how important Chris's journal is becoming to him. He talks about how his supplies and backpack are dispensable, but the journal is not. In the following chapter, Rita takes a Lamaze class and continues to worry about something going wrong with the baby. The pressure of being too inadequate to be a parents is again a central idea in this chapter. Again the selfishness surrounding being the best parent and having the best things consumes Rita. In chapter 8, Chris is picked up by a missionary, Al. Al immediately starts talking religiously about how it is God's will that they be riding together today. Al believes that Armageddon is coming. He says, "The prophecies are being fulfilled, my friend. Men and women live unmarried and sex is on TV. Grocery stores have electric machines that read invisible numbers. The Antichrist lives in Nevada." Chris also soon meets a man named Winner at a truck stop who seems to be a crystal meth addict. Much of this chapter is the ramblings of these two men. It was hard to follow at times. In Chapter 9, Chris reflects on parenthood. He thinks about how parents are expected to be aware of everything. He says, "A father must face everything. I try to open my vision in the way that helped me see the watermark on the trees." He is trying to use what he learns from nature and the woods and apply it to his life, more specifically being a father. In the final chapter of the reading assignment, Chris talks about the circus and the Parrot Lady who worked there. He says that the dwarfs refer to "upper crustacean" entertainment. Her show was for men only. She undresses during the show to reveal that she has tattoos of exotic birds all over her body. She swallows a giant light that makes her body "glow from within" and illuminates all of the exotic birds and their colors. Most of the chapter involves events taking place while Chris is working on the circus, but ends with him once again heading onward to a new place. He says, "...I was loyal to no direction. I was neither kinker, nor freak, yankee, nor reb, boss nor bum. I wasn't much of a playwright either."

VOCABULARY:
Kinker: A performer in a circus
Dexedrine: a form of amphetamine