FREE WRITE ON ETHICS

FREE WRITE ON ETHICS
I FEEL THAT WHAT THIS MAN DID WAS WRONG. PLAIN AND SIMPLE. YOU CAN'T SUGAR COAT THE TRUTH. I BELIEVE JOURNALIST HAVE A BINDING CONTRACT TO TELL THE TRUTH, NO MATTER WHAT. DO WE SEE THIS BEHAVIOR HAPPENING MORE AND MORE? YES. TAKE A LOOK AT SOCIETY AROUND US. INSIDER TRADING, BLOOD DOPING, AND EVEN FICTION IN JOURNALISM. EVERYBODY WANTS TO GRAB THE BRASS RING BUT WHO WANTS TO PUT IN THE HARD WORK. I FIND IT FUNNY THAT THIS JOURNALIST WAS GREATLY TALENTED AND IF HE WOULD OF PUT IN HALF THE AMOUNT OF WORK HE DID IN FABRICATING THOSE STORIES , THE TRUE STORIES WOULD OF BEEN JUST AS GREAT IF NOT BETTER. ALOT OF PEOPLE DO WHAT HE DID IN TRYING TO CAPTURE THE GRAND PRIZE, BY TAKING SHORT CUTS. IN HIND SIGHT , HE PROBABLY WOULDN'T OF DONE IT, BUT ISN'T THAT THE WAY FOR ALOT OF PEOPLE. ONLY TO GAIN THAT PERSPECTIVE AFTER THAT SOMEONE IS CAUGHT, NOT BEFORE. IT'S A  SAD COMMENTARY OF SOCIETY BUT ALTHOUGH A TRUE ONE.

DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY

Steve Evans

Ms. K. Anthony

ENG. 101-111

April 16 2014

No Greater Sacrifice

            I’m going to attempt to put you in my shoes and stand right where I did, to let you see what I saw and hear everything I heard but the only difference is it’s going to be 36 years later. In 1978 I enlisted in the United States Navy and graduated from the Navy Training Center in San Diego, California. I then completed my technical training in Orlando, Florida and finished first in my class. For this accomplishment I was given the opportunity to pick anywhere in the world for my first duty assignment. Of course being a California boy, the choice for me was an easy one. I chose Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and in October of 1978 I arrived wide eyed and with the anticipation of a 6 year old waiting for Christmas morning.

 After a 5 hour flight over nothing but a blue ocean, I could see the bright lights of Waikiki beach and all the hotels as we descended down into Oahu international airport. As the passengers left the plane, we darted as if we were running a race in the Olympics. We all couldn’t get off that plane fast enough, ready to enjoy all that this tropical paradise had to offer. I remember the aroma of salt water mixed with the warm tropic breeze coming off the Pacific Ocean. I’ll never forget that scent of the ocean for as long as I live. At the bottom of the stairway off the plane you are greeted by a line of Hawaiian wahini’s, (Hawaiian for women) that greets you with a bright floral lei placed around your neck. The perfumed bouquet emanating from the lei’s wafts into your olfactory senses and a smile appeared on my face as wide as the Mississippi river.

The ride to Pearl Harbor Naval Base in the back of a bright yellow taxi takes a quick 10 minutes. As I first saw all the ships berthed at the piers I was simply in awe. The standard navy grey paint job on all the ships that included 400 foot fast frigates, a little bigger, the destroyers and then the almighty beast of the sea, the aircraft carrier. This ship is over a quarter mile in length and it appeared to climb to the stars as it rose upward. I walked on the gangplank onto my ship for the first time and that’s when I saw the Arizona Memorial. I’m not ashamed to say it was a very emotional moment for me. I had seen pictures of it in magazines; saw it on the television news, but seeing it up close, my mind quickly filled with the realization that I was standing in the same exact spot where thousands of military men and women fought bravely against the Japanese aircraft that viciously attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7 1941. The overwhelming feeling of camaraderie and patriotism swept over my body as powerful as an electrical current surging from my toes to my head. I told myself then and there that I would make it a priority not only to go see the memorial but to also pay my deepest respect and appreciation for those that paid the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country.

The attack on Pearl Harbor occurred on Dec 7 1941. It was on a Sunday morning when the first Japanese aircraft started their attack on the naval base in Pearl Harbor Hawaii. There were 185 US Pacific Fleet vessels moored in Pearl Harbor that morning, including battleships, destroyers and fast frigates. The first wave of Japanese aircraft consisting of bombers and zeroes were launched some 230 miles off the northern coast of Oahu. At approximately 7:02 in the morning, the Opona radar installation reports a large formation of aircraft heading to Oahu but was dismissed as a group of friendly B-17 aircraft flying from the mainland. The actual attack was 53 minutes later and by 10:30 am, 21 vessels were sunk or damaged by the Japanese. A total of 2,390 people were killed or mortally wounded by the end of the attack and Japan had officially declared war on the United States and Great Britain. The USS ARIZONA took the most destructive barrage of the attack of all battleships that were moored on battleship row. The USS ARIZONA received 3 near misses and 4 direct hits from 800 kg Japanese bombs. The ship sunk in a matter of 9 minutes. The total loss of life onboard the USS ARIZONA was 1,177 servicemen and was the greatest loss of life on a naval warship in American history.

According to the National Park Service, the Arizona Memorial sits atop of the sunken USS ARIZONA, in the exact location where the ship sank some 73 years ago. The architect, Mr. Alfred Preis states the design of the memorial as follows; “wherein the structure sags in the center but stands strong and vigorous at the ends, expresses initial defeat and then ultimate victory “. The memorial is 184 feet in length and spans the midpoint of the sunken battleship. The brightness of the white color of the memorial contrasts greatly with the hues of the blueness of the water. It consist of three areas; the entry room, the assembly room and the shrine room. The shrine room is where the names of the entire fallen are engraved in marble. President Dwight D Eisenhower approved the creation of the memorial in 1958. Construction started in 1961 with public funds and private donations and was finally dedicated in 1962. The USS ARIZONA is not in commission but as a special tribute to the ship and her lost crew, the US flag flies from the flagpole, which is attached to the severed mast of the sunken battleship. In the assembly room on the memorial you can see personal memorability, dramatic photographs and artifacts of the battle of Pearl Harbor. There is a model of the Japanese aircraft carrier ( IMS AKAGI ) that launched the attack and another model of the USS ARIZONA before the attack.

 As someone who has seen this memorial in person, I can tell you that I have never felt anything more emotional in my life. I can only compare it to the ground zero memorial in New York City. It actually brought me to tears seeing all the photographs and artifacts of the attack on Pearl Harbor. I recommend anyone who has the chance, to take the time and take the tour of the memorial. The visitor center located on the shore has 2 theaters, a museum and a bookstore. It includes 23 different documentary films and was not only informative but was an awe inspiring, life changing event that I doubt I will ever reproduce in my life time. The vast array of emotions I felt that day included anger, sadness, pride, patriotism and love of my country. I felt so proud to be an American that day, I stood a little taller, talked a little louder and smiled a little bigger.

 

 

DESCRIBE THE COLOR OF CRAYON I FEEL LIKE TODAY

YOU ASKED ME WHAT COLOR I WOULDF DESCRIBE MYSELF TODAY AND I MUST ANSWER COBALT GREY. VARIOUS EVENTS THAT ARE PRESENTLY OCCURING IN MY LIFE MAKES ME FEEL DEPRESSED AND GLOOMY , SO WHAT BETTER COLOR THAN GREY. i SHOULD CONSIDER MYSELF FORTUNATE BECAUSE FOR THE LAST TWO WEEKS I WOULD OF DESCRIBED MIDNIGHT BLACK.
I'M NOT SAYING THAT THINGS HAVE CHANGED THAT DRAMATIC BUT MORE OF THE WAY I CHOOSE TO LOOK AT MY CURRENT SITUATIONS.
THEIRS A SAYING THAT YOU CAN'T SEE THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL.
WELL FOR PEOPLE LIKE ME THERE IS NO TUNNEL, NO LIGHT!
IT REMINDS ME  OF A DEEP DARK HOLE. SO FAR DOWN YOU CAN'T EVEN SEE A PINPOINT OF LIGHT.
THERES NO HOPE, NO WISHING, NO "THINGS ARE GOING TO GET BETTER" TYPE OF ATTITUDE.
IT'S JUST DARKNESS WITH NO CHANCE OF ESCAPE.
BLEAK!

Movie review

Usually I just sit here outside this building watching the events occur around me 24 hours every day. Today was definitely a different day than all the rest. A man approaches me wearing a black suit and dark sunglasses. As he sits down upon me I can smell the aroma coming from the round oval object that he is holding. Suddenlt out of nowhere a greyish winged animal swoops down from the sky and lands atop my backrest. This winged beast is staring intensly at either the man in the black suit and sunglasses or the round oval object that is emitting this destinct aroma. The man tosses a small piece of that object onto the ground. The winged beast stares at the item on the ground but quickly turns his attention back to the man. Out of nowhere the winged beast suddenly starts flapping his wings ferociously at the man as he stands up and tries to deflect this attack. He quickly tosses this ringed item and lands inside this shiny square box that has his lid open . The winged beast flies over to the shiny box and they both fall off of me and onto the ground. The lid closes abruptly as they hit the ground. I can hear certain muffled noises coming from inside this shiny box but do not they seem foriegn to me. The box suddenly has items propelling out on top of the box and I can see whispers of smoke and loud crackling noises all around me. Cars in the street are evasively trying to dodge these whispers of smoke and each other as they careen out of control in front of me. The shiny box lays in the middle of the street and its top opens up and the winged beast appears,staring ever so intesley at the man in the black suit who is holding the ringed oval shape item in his extended left arm. Suddenly the winged beast swoops towaqrd the oval item and a clicking sound is heard just ever so faintly. The box closes and way off in the distance a large bulding transforms itself into a fiery ball of flame and smoke propelling itself higher and higher towars the stars I usually see only at night. The man seems to have pushed a button and him and the shiny box propell after the large building heading toward the heavens. I can't see much because of the altitude that all three have reached but I hear a loud explosion and a big plume of greyish black smoke high in the sky. The man in the dark suit descends from the sky still clutching the shiny box. The winged beast sits on the grey concete beside me eating this circular item as I hear a loud noise and seeing a large white piece of metal,  but no signn of the winged beast.

Picture of the sky

This picture reminds me of the many sunrise and sunsets I saw when I was on  a ship in the navy.Theres usually nothing but you and many miles of unobstructed views of the sea. There is nothing quite like the vibrant colors of a sunrise or a sunset. For some reason it always made me feel closer to mother nature. The brillant intensity of the yellow of the sun contrasting with the many different hues of the blue sky and the darker blues of the ocean always made me feel mother nature had painted this picture just for my enjoyment.

Memories of mayonnaise bread

Before my wife passed away two years ago, she and our daughter would make mayonnaise bread at least a few times each year. I had never heard about this type of bread before but after I had tried it I fell in love with it. I do not the process of making this bread. This was something that my daughter and her mother did together. I felt that this was something that was a bonding moment between them and did not want to jump in and somehow take that special time they shared together away from them. Me and my daughter share the same birthday. Greatest gift I'd ever received. So my daughter and I have always had this special bond that unfortunately her mother at times probably felt a little left out. By them making this bread together, I felt it was her mothers way of them having this special bonding time. Like I said before she passed away two years ago and I can remember my daughter telling me she was going to make this mayonnaise bread for dinner. It was one of the saddest emotional days  in my life. As I sat in the living room I could hear my daughter going through the process of making this bread and her talking out loud like her mother was standing right next to her. The sound of her crying as she she talked to her mother made my heart break in pieces. I finally couldn't take it anymore so I entered the kitchen only to find her curled up in the fetal position sobbing  and crying holding on to the stainless steel mixing bowl on the floor of our kitchen. I joined her on the floor throwing my arms around her trying desperately to somehow take the pain away. I failed at that attempt. Her attempt at making this bread was unsuccessfull and she felt terrible. I tried to tell her it was alright and she was successfull and how brave I thought she was at trying to make this bread

DESCRIBE COOKING A MEAL

I asked my daughter to make some mayonaisse bread. She learned this from her mother who had passed way two years ago. She attempted to start the process but broke down in tears right from the start. I could tell that by making this bread it brought up some bad feelings of remorse and loss of her mother. All I could do was to hug her as tightly as i could, tell her that I loved her and no matter what her mother was looking down from heaven with a smile on her face and love in  her heart. We never did make that bread but we made something else and that was a bonding of our love for her and how much we both missed her.