"A Clean Well-Lighted Place"

One thing that was different between the movie adaptation, and the actually story; was that the old man wasn't by the window where he was supposed to be. It bothered me a lot that he wasn't sitting by the window, because in the story it was this whole big thing that he was in the shadow of the leaves on the trees. When they were filming, yes, it may have been difficult to either sit him down outside or actually by the window. But, it shouldn't matter, if you are going to make a movie off of a story line that is already written you should have made it the way the story goes.

Not having the old man sitting by a window wasn't the only thing that bothered me. But, out of the couple of things that I did like about the adaptation, my favorite was probably when the younger waiter was serving the old man and was stomping his feet on the floor. I found this to be one of the best parts of the film because you wouldn't have really thought that he was doing that from reading the actually story. I felt like it stood for that he was really angry at the elderly man because he wasn't going home; so he just stomped across the cafe. Both of these things where very important parts to this story, and it was done and written quite well. 

Bus

There are people in the world who don't have homes, or families who love them. There are people in this world who literally have nothing. But, then you have people who decide that taking the bus is the end of their world. Seriously? If taking the bus is that bad, why don't you walk? What a concept get up off your butt and move, but that is a foreign concept in our country. I walk to and home from school, everyday. When I get to school all day long all I do is listen to people complain that the people on their bus are "weird," or there are to many people on their bus. But the kids who bother me the most are the ones who get rides from their parents so that they don't have to take the bus, and then the say that their parents wouldn't stop and get them something, or that they take "to long" in the morning. What? First of all that barely makes any sense to me. But, would you rather walk? No you wouldn't just want to walk to school, or home. It's cold, and wet, and rainy, some days are terrible and others are great but trust me you do not want to walk to or home from school at all, ever!

I suppose I'm the one who just "doesn't understand" were you are coming from, right? Wrong! I used to ride a bus from kindergarten through sixth grade but, since I live to close to school they took it away from me, when I got into middle school. So don't think I am just making all of these "assumptions" without knowing what it is really like to ride a bus, because trust me I do. I wouldn't say I loved the bus, but I wouldn't say I hated the bus either. It was one of those feelings where it was just a transportation system. Yeah the people weren't the greatest but I didn't complain about it because I didn't have to walk. Which sucks. But, with that said, yes I wasn't fond of the people on my bus, they were quite "weird" but in a good way. Which I am sure is how the people on your bus are, they just aren't like you, they are they're own person like everyone is, and you just have to accept them as who they are. In other words get over yourself you aren't perfect either. 

So the "perfect" people are the ones who think they are to good for the bus so they get a ride from their parents. Which isn't a bad thing, until you start to complain that it takes "forever" to get to school, and they won't stop a pick you up some fancy drink or whatever from Starbucks. Really? You are seriously going to make me listen to your petty complaints at seven in the morning when I just walked through snow to get here? If this is you, please, please, please, get over yourself! You are being driven to school and you don't have to sit on a bus or walk to get to school. Don't complain you didn't get your five star drink that morning. I'm sure you will live, because the last time I checked when you claimed you were going to "die without it" you were still breathing. Oh, but then you want to through in there that your parents take to long to get you to school in the morning, seriously? I'm sure that they are trying their best to get you to school in the morning. My parents feel terrible that I have to walk and told me they would give me a ride if they didn't have to leave at five to get to their own job. So you are lucky in general to either have a parent that can drop you off on their way to work, or that they stay home and it's not even that big of a deal. But, please, don't make me listen to your crazy complaints at seven in the morning.  

So if you are one of these people, don't talk to me. At least not before the sun comes up, and I have just come into school from the cold, because frankly you are not someone who I would love to deal with at that point in time. If your bus brings you to and from school, don't complain about the people on it, it's maybe twenty minutes of your life every day i'm sure you will live. Oh, and if your parents bring you, thank them for not forcing you to take the bus because I'm sure they could tell you that they don't have the time to take you to school, so you would have to take the bus. But, most importantly just get over yourself, you aren't perfect and neither is anyone else. Plus, I am quite positive no one cares about your problems with the bus, because I know we all have our own problems that are much greater than your bus issues. 

My Life

What if I don't want to tell you?

What if I don't want you to know?

That is my choice

It's my life.

I don't have to tell you

I don't have to tell anyone at all. 

They are my secrets

And when I want to tell you, I will. 

It is my life

Let me live it my own way.

Social Studies Paper

“Why did you leave?” she asked.

“We didn’t leave, well we did, but not by choice. Are homes were taken away. We were in war. We had to surrender our land to “our” country, and leave. We had to watch several of our family members die as we walked to the west to start our new lives. We couldn’t fight back, we tried. We couldn’t win war, we tried. We couldn’t defeat them they were to strong, but we tried. We, my tribe and I, we just wanted our  land, it was our home. We didn’t want control, we just wanted our  home.” He said.

“But, I don’t understand, why did they do this to you and your family?” she asked.

“In the early 19th century, the United States was expanding rapidly, growing into the lower South and westward. Settlers faced what they considered "an obstacle" the area was home to many different Indian tribes. These Indian nations, in the eyes of the settlers and many others, were standing in the way of progress. The settlers were eager for land to raise cotton, so the pressured the federal government to acquire Indian territory (Judgement Day) The years were long, and for those who made it, it was hard. The land we had to work with wasn’t good and everyone was out of their element.” He said.

…

“It was a long time ago that this happened, and as much as we didn’t know it we were scared. Just imagine having peace in your own town destroyed because certain people didn’t like you. There was this one tribe, The Cherokee, they used legal means in their attempts to save their rights. They tried to find protection from "land-hungry" settlers, who continually harassed them by stealing their livestock, burning their towns, and squatting on their land. In the early 1800's the Cherokee adopted a written constitution declaring themselves to be a sovereign nation. They based this on United States policy; in former treaties, Indian nations had been declared sovereign so they would be legally capable of ceding their lands. Now the Cherokee hoped to use this status to their advantage. The state of Georgia though did not recognize their sovereign status, but saw them as tenants living on state land. They took their case to the Supreme Court, which ruled against them (Judgement Day). Just imagine…” He stuttered.

As the little girl sat there thinking of what was going on back in these times, what her grandpa had gone through. Where she could live. She couldn’t even begin to imagine, but what she did see was scarier than your worst nightmare.

As her grandfather kept talking she started to think about what it may have been like to be told that you had to leave. Everything…behind.

  “In 1814, Jackson led an expedition against the Creek Indians climaxing in the Battle of Horse Shoe Bend, this is where Jackson's force defeated the Creeks and destroyed their military power. He then forced upon the Indians a treaty whereby they surrendered to the United States over twenty-million acres of their traditional land--about one-half of present day Alabama and one-fifth of Georgia. Over the next decade, Jackson led the way in the Indian removal campaign, helping to negotiate nine of the eleven major treaties to remove Indians.  In 1830, just a year after President Jackson took office, he pushed a new piece of legislation called the "Indian Removal Act" through both houses of Congress. It gave him the power to negotiate removal treaties with Indian tribes living east of the Mississippi. Under these treaties, the Indians were to give up their lands east of the Mississippi in exchange for land to the west. Those wishing to remain in the east would become citizens of their home state. This act affected not only the southeastern nations, but many others further north. The removal was supposed to be voluntary and peaceful, and it was that way, for those who agreed to Jackson's treaties. But for the southeastern nations, who resisted, Jackson forced them to leave… (Judgement Day) (Office of the Historian )” He didn’t want to but he continued on.

“Indian leaders were pressured to sign treaties that would give up ancestral lands in exchange for much smaller parcels in the West. The removal policy was eventually refined into the "reservation" system, with tribes being confined to specific areas of land. The area that became Kansas was considered prime space for these "emigrant" American Indians who were forced to move west. Between the years 1825 and 1850, treaties were made with more than 25 tribes to "remove" them to the region that ultimately became Kansas (Office of the Historian ).”

“Isn’t that illegal?”

“It is now, but it wasn’t then.”

“Oh. What is the “Trial of Tears” then.”

“Trials of Tears" was given to the period of ten years in which over 70,000 Indians had to give up their homes and move to certain areas assigned to tribes in Oklahoma. The tribes were given a right to all of Oklahoma except the Panhandle. The government promised this land to them "as long as grass shall grow and rivers run." Unfortunately, the land that they were given only lasted till about 1906 and then they were forced to move to other reservations. Plus, this land in Oklahoma was thinly settled and was thought to have little value. Within 10 years of the Indian Removal Act, more than 70,000 Indians had moved across the Mississippi. Although , not all tribes moved as a unit. Indian Removal policy often led to divisions within tribes. In 1800 the Potawatomi claimed land in Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Illinois. However, between 1836 and 1841, the tribe was forced to sell these lands and to be removed beyond the Mississippi River. A large number of those living in Indiana refused to move and eventually fled to Canada to avoid military conflict. Some of the tribe stayed in Michigan and Wisconsin and only a portion of the Pottawatomi’s settled on a reservation in Kansas by 1846. In 1868 a number of the Potawatomi were removed to Indian Territory, and became known as the Citizen Band. Other portions of the tribe remained on a small reservation in Kansas, which still exists today, and is known as the Prairie Band. No matter the experiences, the various tribes were all moved into environments different than their traditional tribal lands. The people from woodlands and Great Lakes regions had maintained lifestyles based on hunting or fishing. The resources they found in Kansas were foreign to them (Indian Removal Act ). But don’t ever not be proud of who you are. You are an American Indian, and you should be proud of all your family has come through, you are the next generation of American Indians and you should be proud of that.”

“Thanks for letting me interview you for my paper Grandpa.”

“No problem!” 

See you again

"Oh...you're right. I should have told you." she said. "Your dad did rob that bank, was sent to jail, and was convicted of first degree murder. I knew you knew it was true, but I just couldn't find the words to say it. When he left town on that spring day after he robbed the bank. He left you and your sister at home, that is when I showed up to take care of you." she explained. "He is in prison now and has been for quite sometime, but it was so bad that you will...never see him again..." 

"Why?" the little boy asked.

"We will never know why he did it, or what his motive was. But one day you will see him again but it will be the day he dies, because your mom made me promise that I would never, ever let you see him again. It wasn't my choice it was hers..." she said, and it was left at that. 

Letter to You

Dear X,

You left me for something that obviously meant more to you. You have brought me down so many times I don't even know where to start. I wrote a letter, quite a few. But all of them seemed a little to "nice" to give to you. We were best friends. I remember before the drinking started, and before the smoke that filled our house. We were a happy family, got along most of the time, had our arguments, and then moved on. I remember the times on the farm, with Grandpa and Uncle Jeff. You threw that away, you left it all. Everyone you loved, everything you loved...gone. Why can't you just remember all the great things before you let this...this "thing" take you over, this isn't you. I truly don't know what is anymore. I barely know who I am anymore. You were supposed to be the person I looked up to, not the one I despised. You were supposed to be the person who taught me right for wrong, you did well on the wrong part. You were supposed to be the person I wanted to grow up to be, not the one I want to be anything but.

You raised me with a deep belief of God, we never went to church, but it was there. Me and him right now, let's just say, aren't on such great terms. He took part of my childhood because of who you are. He took part of my family. Mostly he took one of the people I love the most, even though you're still here; you aren't you. The things you say have hurt me, and are things I will never forget. I don't even know where I am anymore, where I belong. I have lost all since of direction. All of the walls around me are crumbling down, and there is nothing I can do to stop it. I've cussed, I've screamed, I've fought back. None of it has worked you just keep making the wall between us bigger, as I try and break it down. Home should be a place I want to be, it's not. School should be a place I want to leave, it's not. You should be a person I want to see, your not. I should be the person I want to be, I'm not. Everything I have ever wanted I have never gotten, you are the one who comes between me and my dreams. When I try not to let the things you say bring me down, they do. I try not to show you that I am falling apart, actually I have convinced everyone that I am fine...even myself. My whole life is a lie, because of the choices and decisions you have decided to make. 

I want you back, not his "new" you, but the "old" you. I deserve that. I need that. I need you. I haven't said "I love you" to you in over a year. You saying it to me...I don't even remember.

You yell, and scream. I have convinced myself it's the alcohol talking to me, not you.

I want my life back. You took that. I want my freedom back. You have that. I want a lot of things, I know I will never get.  

I've cried to the point where there is no more tears. I've yelled to the point where there is no more words. But all I want is for you to hear me, and listen, not fight back. You used to say something to me when I was really little, it was something that I never thought truly had a meaning until now. You would say, "Sometimes you have to stand alone to prove that you can still stand", this was a phrase I heard come out of your mouth multiple times. It actually means something to me now. I don't need anyone else to help me make it through my own life. All I need is to be able to stand for what I think is right. That is all I need, no one else's approval, just my own.  

I am a strong person. I have walls, you have helped to build. They have worked to my advantage, and to my disadvantage.  I'm in an "argument" I think, with one of my friends. She is trying to get to me, and I would like to take this time to thank you for helping me build those walls. So that no one can get to me. I would also like to thank you for giving me the ability to have things to say to bring her down, but enough pride to know I have already won, and to just walk away. I would also like to say that since you've helped me build these walls, you can't get to me either, no matter what you say. You have made me the person I am, not perfect, but strong enough to stand on my own two feet. The things you've said got to me, and they cut deep. I am still standing, so you haven't knocked me down...permanently.

There are things I have done I am not proud of, and things you were supposed to teach me. There are things I have ran from because of things you have said. Will I ever apologize for the things I said to you? No. Everything I say I mean, and there is no way I will ever take it back. This was hard to say, seeing that I have never talked about it before in my life. But there are somethings you just needed to hear. I will never talk to you again, I will never apologize, and I will never be sorry for who I am. As much as I know you want to see it all. I have shed enough tears over you and it's time for me to move on. With my life, friends, family, and if you want to be a part of that something you are doing needs to change, and once it does you will realize that I will come around. But right now we are not on the same page, nor do I ever think we will be. But for now I am comfortable with who I am, with where I am, and with where I am going. 

One last thing...I was not good enough for you. Why? That is my only question. Why, did you leave me here, by myself? I will never forgive you for that. You have belittled me, and you never apologized. You don't remember anything that you have said. You were the one person who I looked up to...I will never make that mistake again. 

I'll see you when I see you. 

Morgan 

I ran...

I ran...

From everything

From everyone

I ran...

From life

From love 

I ran...

From friends 

From family

I ran...

For everything I believed in 

For everything I thought was right

I ran...

Because what I had was not what I wanted 

Because what I had was not what I deserved

I ran...

From my life

From my world

I ran...

So that I would have a chance

So that I would be able to live life my own way

I ran...

Because everything eventually ends

Because my ending was anything but perfect

I ran...

Because no one understands

Because no one understood

I ran...

To find my place

To find my home

I ran... 

To realize where I belonged

To dream a different dream

I ran...

Because you haunt me in reality 

Because you haunt me in my dreams 

I ran...

So I wouldn't have to deal with it all

So I ran...

From it all