The Northern Lights

I liked this piece a lot.  The detail that Sigurd Olson went into when describing The Northern Lights made me feel like I was there.  The details in the story give a heightened sense of perception, every detail is listed.  This is something to me that is relatable because when ever I am on my bike, I get this same sense.  Colors pop out and become vivid.  Every sound is is magnified, from the sounds of nature to the sound of the bike down the trail.  This short story really summed up the beauty of nature quite well.

Is This Kansas

This reading to me is about a relation between big national events and smaller regional events.  This story is close to me because I live just north of Iowa City and I remember seeing and hearing these events.  It was big news in The Corridor until the floods in '08.  The point that the author makes is that a town that is nothing but party 24/7, doesn't even stop for much human compassion or personal gain.  While their town was damaged, they refused to change their way of life.  They still focused on the party aspect of their life.  The author says that this is a different event then what happened in New Orleans.  The people there quickly took advantage of opportunities to loot and make personal gain.  Granted, Katrina was a much larger event and it had widespread attention.  The people of New Orleans, and the rest of the country were quick to start helping them rebuild.  I know this because I went down there with my church.  But back in Iowa, people didn't rush in nearly as fast to help out after the storms probably because they knew that the college kids just wanted to drink.

Manhood for Amateures: Wilderness of Childhood

I believe the central claim of this essay is the freedom that a child has outdoors.  He says at the end that he excitedly takes his child out so she can explore the outdoors.  But in the sad reality he discovers no other children outside.  He longs for the day that she could experience the same wilderness as he did and create adventures with other kids.  It shows that the experiences of the outdoors have helped him to create an imagination and become a creative writer. I believe that children have lost their appreciation for the outdoors due to over protective parents and new influences that keep hem from going outside.  Parents know of dangers that exist outdoors and children would rather be entertained by video games or tv.

I played outdoors a lot as a child as that was where my friends were.  We would ride bikes around the neighborhood and explore the empty lots and make jumps.  We would run around the yards with plastic guns playing cops and robbers.  I would spend countless hours in the garden playing with my Hot Wheels.  Then as I got older I moved inside and played more video games.  My brother started to play games with me and didn't go outside when he was younger. Although an interesting trend has happened, over the past 2 years video games playing has been minimal as I ride my bikes and kayak and my brother has discovered rock climbing and geocaching.  I find it odd how its more fun to rediscover the outdoors and have fun then to hide inside.

Photo A Day

The first photo is the meaningful one to me.  It is a photo of a bike trail. This is something that brings peace to me when i ride it.  It is a way for me to connect with nature.  It wipes away any stress that that i might be having.