Don't Forget To Lock The Door.

Conrad G

September 28th, 2012

Honors English 9 Yellows

After coming home late from the office one night, I opened the door quietly and went to the bedroom, as not to wake  my sleeping wife and child. I lie next to my wife and fell asleep. Later in the night, I heard my son walk in. "Dad," he whispered, "there's someone in my room." I turned on the light in the hallway, and followed him into his room. I turned on the light. "See Leo? Nothing to be afraid of!" I said as I smiled warmly. He gave me a nervous  look, and went back to bed. I woke up the next morning to my alarm clock blaring, as any other morning might begin. Being late October, the sun had yet to come up at my ,waking hour, since I had an hour and a half commute to my day job. I walked over to the door to flick on the light switch. What I then saw in the light was horrific. My lovely wife was a ghostly pale grey, spotted with the dark crimson shade of dried blood. Her beautiful face, once full of life and happiness, was dead and stained with an expression of utter fear. Her gorgeous eyes, once bright and young, now dull and looking off into the distance. Her neck was slit open jaggedly, as if ripped by some gruesome monster. When I pulled off the covers, I found that she her torso had been flayed open, not by a knife but with a superior amount of brute force. Her chest cavity was hollow: her heart and been removed. Unlike the rest of the mutilation, her heart looked as if it was removed very carefully. A note was left folded where her heart once was. In black ink it read "Don't forget to lock the door." I ran to Leo's room, my heart pounding in adrenaline. I hit the light switch and ripped off the covers. "LEO!" I screamed, praying that this was a dream, just a nightmare, and that it wasn't real, that this wasn't actually happening. This can't be real, I thought. In a moment I'll wake up, Paige will be next to me, and I'll go off to work, and she'll drive Leo off to school. But it wasn't so. Nothing but a note lie in the bed where my beloved son, my only son, Leo, once slept in his peaceful childhood bliss and oblivion. I unfolded the note, my hands trembling. "I saved the little piggy for later." I turned around to run downstairs and call 911. I saw the glowing red eyes peering out from the closet with malevolence, smiling with its teeth sharp like doctors needles. But I didn't see it soon enough.

This story was well written because it provides suspense, lulls you into a false sense of security, before shocking and scaring you. 

IT

Conrad Gagnon

September 27th, 2012

Honors English 9 Yellows

For my reflection book this quarter, I chose It by Stephen King. The main character of this book is a young Seattle boy named George. Throughout the book, George and his friends are terrorized by "It" into their adulthood. "It" uses the fears of the characters against them before it preys upon them. I chose this book because I have previously enjoyed Stephen King's other books, such as Pet Semetary and The Dark Tower series. http://www.coverbrowser.com/image/stephen-king-books/17-2.jpg

Homelessness, The Solution of

 Conrad Gagnon

Honors 9- Yellows

20 September 2012

Homelessness

The Solution of

If you could, would you live without rules and debt, without having to serve anyone else? This is how many homeless people see their lifestyle choice. Some homeless people would rather remain homeless than get jobs, due to an ongoing problem with themselves or others, or an overly rebellious will against the system. They may have escaped from an awful situation, and would rather spend a life on the street than deal with their past. Some may have wanted to release themselves from the structure and servitude of daily life, and would rather leech off hardworking citizens than work for their money.

In the early 1980’s homelessness became a large problem in America. Pictures in the media of people living on the streets of cities shocked citizens (Facts). Some politicians even slept in the street so they could empathize with homeless Americans (Facts). In the 1990’s, the horror and shock of this tragedy had worn out. It was more of a nuisance than large problem. Beggars became increasingly more difficult to deal with, and even though jobs were available, many people still remained on the streets (Facts).Homelessness is when a person does not have standard housing unit, and does not have the normal amenities we all have, such as bathrooms, showers, beds, air conditioning, heating, and trash cans (Rossi). But what clearly defines homelessness? Is living in a car homeless? What about a motel room, or in an abandoned building? Is that homelessness? The line between homed and homeless may not be as fine as we had thought it was. Going by the “normal” definition of someone who is homeless (not having a home complete with working plumbing and other standard amenities), the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that the number of homeless people in America is between 600,000 and 900,000 people in the 1990’s (Rossi). HUD says that in January of 2007, 666,295 people spent the night on the street on average. In January of 2005, 754,147 people were considered homeless (Rossi).The homeless population is so large, they have begun to develop their own language and dialect (Hambrick).

Mental illness, drug and alcohol addiction, unemployment, and a violent or abusive home life are all problems that cause homelessness, in adults or children (Grolier). Some Americans believe these unfortunates should be moved far away from largely populated areas such as business and tourist areas. This idea is backed by many civilian votes (Facts). Is this the true way to deal with homeless people though? Just moving them around? If they are unruly, then yes, they should be moved. But is it really the correct decision to move someone less fortunate with force? Another way people deal with the homeless population is with caring and kindness, but this has its own problem: leeching. A person lives off of other people, in a parasitic fashion similar to that of a leech. If you supply a homeless person with amenities such as money, they may abuse the gift with drugs, or grow accustomed to merely begging for money instead of working. Cities with large populations often have deployed “Street Support Teams” and areas for homeless people to sleep. These “Street Support Teams” give homeless people medicine, food, therapy, and other amenities (Hambrick). Some teams provide electricity. Some homeless people even have televisions and free electricity (Hambrick).

A lot of homeless people are trying to escape the rules of others, in an extreme form of a rebellious attitude. They refuse to go to shelters because and do not wish to integrate themselves back into the working society (Hambrick). Drug addiction is also a large problem in the homeless life. Though drug use is in decline, it is still a major problem (Hambrick). Homelessness is now a standard part of any largely populated area. Police are provided with training on how to attend to the homeless and those who complain about them. Police will often pick up homeless individuals and give them things that will help them, such as shelter and contact with housing and job providers, along with social security providers (Hambrick). Most homeless people will leave after they are released, but some may use these recourses they have been provided with (Hambrick). Many cities have used auditoriums, gyms, and armories into shelters for homeless people. Sadly, many homeless people find that the street is a safer place to stay than a shelter, as many homeless shelter-goers will rob other sleeping civilians, and the noise is just too much for some other homeless people (Grolier).

Homeless is not always by choice though. Some other things that cause homelessness are unemployment or a low pay rate, which causes individuals or entire families to lose their homes (Grolier). Prison reentry and military release are also causes of homelessness. Astonishingly, only 18% of the homeless population are chronically homeless (Rossi). Someone who is chronically homeless has either been homeless for more than a year or has been homeless at least four times in three years (Rossi).

            Moe jobs that can be for an affordable shelter and basic amenities are the only real way to cure homelessness (Grolier). In the Chinatown and Pearl District of Portland, $46.9 million dollars were spent constructing an eight-story Homeless Service Center (Epstein). It is located in a part of the city that has a large amount of illegal activity in it, such as drug dealing (Epstein). Most shops and residences that were once in the area have moved away, though some still remain (Epstein). It has one hundred and thirty permanent private apartment style rooms, ninety shelter beds, and enough offices to hold 50 employees (Epstein). Haircuts, job training, and therapy will also be provided (Epstein). The goal is for anyone who checks in to the facility to no longer be homeless once they leave (Epstein). The director of nonprofit organization Doreen Binder says that the mission of the Homeless Service Center is to "move people from the streets into safe, secure, permanent housing. Once that housing is obtained, [the organization] will continue working with each person to assure that they retain that housing." (Epstein). Many other classes are available, such as writing, yoga, art, and nutrition, to provide support for the homeless community in a very stereotypical “Portlandian manner” (Epstein). The Portland Homeless Service Center is a prime example of how homelessness should be dealt with. Those who would like to integrate themselves back into the working society and economy will, and those who only wish to leech will not survive very long in the harsh life of homelessness.

Works Cited Page

Hambrick, Ralph S., Jr., and Gary T. Johnson. "The Future of Homelessness." Society. Sept./Oct.             1998: 28-37. SIRS Issues  Researcher. Web. 06 Sep 2012.

"Homelessness." Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. Grolier Online, 2012. Web. 10 Sept. 2012.

Rossi, Peter H. "Homelessness." Encyclopedia Americana. Grolier Online, 2012. Web. 10 Sept.    2012 Epstein, Ethan. "In Portland, Art Therapy and Other Lures for the Homeless." Wall Street            Journal. 28 May 2011: A.13.  SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 10 Sep 2012.

"Homelessness." Issues & Controversies On File: n. pag. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File     News Services, 21 Feb.  1997. Web. 12 Sept. 2012.

http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-graphic-single?id=SMD0067H-0-8990&keyno=0000114072&artno=0000114072&auth_checked=Y

Research Topic Ideas

1. Reasons for child homelessness: Troubled home life is a greater cause than being born on the street.
1. Pros: Interesting, intelligent, and useful.
2. Cons: May be too simple.

2. Drug dealing tactics.
1. Pros: Interesting and controversial.
2. Cons: Too controversial and illegal. 

Conrad Gagnon

Honors English 9 Yellows

31 August 2012

In the books So B. It  by Sarah Weeks and Can't Get There From Here by Todd Strasser, there are many similarities and differences. In both books, the main characters are independent, persevering, and stubborn, though in different ways. In  So B. It, Heidi is stubborn, because people keep telling her that she won't be able to find her family, but she ignores them. In  Can't Get There From Here, Maybe is stubborn in a negative way. She doesn't want to accept help from anyone, she wants to be "free and independent", or maybe that's just what Maggot wants, and she's a follower. Both characters have troubled home lives, but again, in different ways, but this time also in similar ways. Heidi's mother is mentally disabled, and her father left her family. Maybe's mother was an abusive alcoholic, and her father also left her. Both stories have endings with mixed emotions. Maybe's "Asphalt Tribe" is gone, but she is on to a new life. Heidi's mother dies, but she is reunited with her family.

Conrad G.

Honors English 9 Yellows

31 August 2012

For my summer reading, I read a book called Can't Get There From Here by Todd Strasser. In this book, a group of homeless children who call themselves the "Asphalt Tribe" struggle to survive in the harsh New York City winter. I chose this book because I enjoy metaphorically putting myself into others' shoes, and gaining knowledge and insight from their unique perspectives. The book describes troubled homes, starvation, death, suicide, loneliness, and other negative emotions that may or may not be relatable to some people. I enjoyed every aspect of the book, and would highly recommend it. It is insightful and thought provoking.