Wet and Wild

From the early hours or the morning until the late hours of the night, there is one place that makes me feel at home. This one place that no matter the time of day or the time of the year, everyone is welcome. Congamond Lake is that sanctuary of complete freedom and peace. The light sounds of fishing boats and fish jumping out of the water is the sign that the time has come. This is the time to get out of bed and prepare for a fiesta of fun on the lake. The sights of waking up to see the sunrise hitting the lake makes any person wish they were there. The water is glass, so smooth that it looks like you could walk across it. The sun reflects off the water to make the lake look like pool of inviting tropical sea. As I walk out of the lake house the sand slide between my toes and the warmth gives me a sense of relief. A relief that comes from knowing that nothing can go wrong today, nothing can bother me.

The suns heat makes my skin tingle and as I walk over to the docks. The fuzzy carpets on the deck feel like a mini golf green. My feet mold footprints into the dew covered rugs. As I sit at the end of the dock I can see fish swimming everywhere through the crystal clear water that makes me thirsty thinking about it. I dangle my legs over the end as if I have no power to move them. As my feet dangle I let my toes move towards the water inch by inch until finally I am in and it feels amazing. As I sit on the dock I watch a bald eagle sore high above. This magnificent bird of prey is the head honcho of wildlife around these parts. As it fly’s it searches for an unfortunate victim below. At last it see’s the meal it hungers for, and it begins to descend. As it gets lower the power from its wings makes the water ripple and the fish knows its time is up. The eagle’s monster talons slice through the water to spike the unlucky trout in its side. Victorious the eagle was on his search for food, and victorious on showing the lake he was still king.

The sun was starting to warm up the air now, intensifying the need to get out on the water. As I begin to take the cover off of the boat I feel the shiny metal buttons giving a warm sensation to my fingertips. With the cover off I put the key in the ignition and give it a turn. The roar of the engine is certain to wake the family of otters the lives in the nearby cove. I slide of the ropes holding my boat in place and begin backwards into the serene lake. I coast slowly so not to disturb the lakes glassy appearance. The tall Pine trees that surround the lake look like guards. These guardians reflect off of the smooth surface and it makes the lake seem unbelievably peaceful. As my boat cruises along minnows begin to jump all around it. The appearance of rain hitting the water is what these little critters create as they fly around hopelessly from an inevitable doom that lurks beneath them. These minnows are jumping because a school of bass is nearing and there is no way to out run them. As the bass grow nearer the jumping of the minnows becomes desperate. Then in a flash, a huge large-mouth leaps out of the water and engulfs a mouth full of minnows as it flails like it’s trying to fly its tail. As it crashed back into the water it made a gigantic splash and disappeared to lurk another day.

The day begins to age and the sun beats down harder than ever. I can feel the sun sizzling my skin. The lake begins to get crowded and the sounds of engines screaming up and down the lake are everywhere. The water is no longer smooth and glassy. The wake from all the boats has turned the lake into a large wave pool that makes all the boats rock back and forth. The people on the lake all seem to be having an amazing time. People on tubes skip along the surface of the water fear and adrenaline showing in their faces. As a tuber launched off a crest of a wave I watched as he flew weightlessly through the air. When he landed his face smashed against the hard tube and whipped his head backwards. I watched as his eyes rolled back into his head as he was forced from the tube violently. I moved forward down the lake at approached the sandbar.

The sandbar was full of enthusiastic young kids learning to swim. The looks of joy on the parent’s faces as their young tots took their first strokes were priceless. The water at the sandbar was so clear you could see the shells and the brown gold sand on the bottom. Parked all around the sandbar were party barges. These monstrosities had around 15 people on each of them. The boats were full of middle aged people who were drinking some beers and blaring country music. The mood on the lake today was just like every other day. The eagles said it best when they said “I got that peaceful easy feeling”. Lunch time was near so I throttle up and began to head over towards the lake’s pizza shop.

The light breeze carried the smell of melted cheese and pepperoni half way across the lake. My mouth began to water thinking of the melted mozzarella and fluffy brown pizza crust that was about to enter it. As I headed to the main docks for the pizza shop I witnessed many people heading onto their boats with lots of brews. Beer was a very common thing on this lake. Part of the lakes tradition is to give all the empties cans to the lions club. The lions club makes thousands of dollars every summer. After the pizza was devoured, I packed up my stuff and headed back out into the paradise.

I coasted under the tunnel to the last pond on the lake where I would make residence. This last pond, north pond, was the party spot of all the lakes. The low police visits and the high amount of young females that attend this spot make it a pristine area for coagulation. The people on this pond were mostly early twenties and thirties. The party boats lined the lake like a parade was going on. This array of speedboats, drunken men, and beautiful women makes for one awesome show. The people on the lake seemed to feed off each other’s stupidity. Two speedboats began to circle a pontoon and made waves that smashed over the side railings. The pontoon driver became furious and in his rage threw a full perfectly good can of brew at the speedboat. The speedboats window smashed and the brawl was on. One man leapt from his boat onto the pontoon and swung at the driver. The driver was on step ahead on him and threw him over his shoulder and right off the boat. He then drove away laughing. In this epic battle of wits one man’s windshield was broken, as well as his pride. The night is the relaxing time on this marvelous place.

As the sun fades over the tall pines the stars come out to shine brighter than ever. As I lie on the back of my boat and stare at the sky I listen to the animals all around me. I can hear the wolves in the deep woods howling to the moon. This noise could send chills through the most thick skinned of people. The sound of loons keeps me intensely listening. Only on the most silent nights can you be blessed with the sounds of these elusive birds. The water is completely still and for a moment every worry you have in life disappears. Alone in complete solitude, nothing but you and nature at its finest is what every night is like. The cool air carries across the lake and brushes with face with a gentle caress. The occasional fishing boat with move by silently like a slippery snake. The stars shine brightly and reflect off the water to make it seem like you’re surrounded by space. Crickets off shore chirp like a symphony of well orchestrated musicians. The day ends as it began, silent and peaceful. It is circle of paradise that cannot be compared with much else in the word. This is a place of peaceful tranquility as well as great excitement. It is one in a million and I found it.

Chelsea Howard

Every day I walk outside of Davis where multiple people are gathered in a group and hear them all look over at me and yell “What’s up” or “Hey girl”. This is not the way they only greet me, it’s the way that they greet almost all of their friends or even some of the by passers. There is however the few people that walk by this group and give them dirty looks or make gestures that imply they are not pleased with the smokers. This often results in the two people giving each other dirty looks and the occasional battle of the words, which can have the last word. Most of these mishaps happen because the smokers are taking up the entire sidewalk or if they are too close to the building.
One of the most dramatic situations that I have witnessed was late at night when most of Davis Hall is in bed, there was a group of smokers that were outside not being loud, but certainly not quiet. A girl was outside smoking a cigarette and started coughing when all of a sudden this guy yells from his room, “Keep smoking, get that cancer you dumbasses.” This set the rest of the group outside into a fury. The yelling continued back and forth between the two groups and finally the Residential Director from New Hall came over because his child was woken up by the argument. Everyone outside got their names taken down, even the people that did not participate, and the people inside the building got off with a clean slate. Many smokers get upset when this happens because the nonsmokers are never the ones to get yelled at. The authority only hears the distinct sounds coming from outside that could possibly be waking up the rest of the community. This often results in getting ones name taken down and a brief conversation with a Residential Director.
Everyday an hourly group of the same students stand outside, shouting to one another, playing hack sack and smoking multiple cigarettes. This happens throughout the day and most of the night. When the majority of people are sleeping, a group of smokers gather outside, shouting loudly, laughing hysterically and smoking their cigarettes. At night and during bad weather this group will stand under this cove in the building to shelter themselves from rain or snow. This causes smoke to linger up into the rooms of other students and they retaliate. Many times the ISO will come over and ask people to get twenty-five feet from the building. They listen; just long enough for the ISO to get into the building and then that all migrate back to the cove to stay dry and warm.
The smokers are not the only ones that have to take a beating for their habit. The nonsmokers get their fair share of torment from the smokers. When someone walks by that is giving even the slightest glare, all the people that smoke will make comments to the person. Also when the smokers are outside, they take up most of the sidewalk with the amount of people that are outside or because they are playing a game of hacky sack. This upsets many people because they cannot get through the large group or because they have to breathe more smoke than they would if they smoked their own cigarette.

The campus green is soaked and flooded with water. This is mainly due to the fact that it had rained all night the day before and the relative warmth of the day. The previous week has also seen vast amounts of snow accumulate on the green due to snow storms. This combination of melting snow and heavy rainfall leaves for mucky, damp and uncomfortable conditions for the trip to class. The water threatens to soak my jeans as I carefully walk through and around the puddles. There are also slick patches of ice that waiting to be slipped on.

The whole scene is fairly miserable. A dark set of clouds covers the sun. The whole green is covered in mostly ice and snow. It also is traced with footprints of people crossing the ice for a quicker trip. The green has been crossed so much and so often that paths began to form in the snow. People carving new paths in the snow as quickly as the paths had been covered up by the snow. Several footprints for several people crossing with the same idea of making their own trip a little bit quicker. Some are used more often then others resulting in some paths in which mud and grass can be seen. Others have just turned into ice, making them even more difficult to cross.
The green is different after being crossed so many times. It is no longer clean, white and fresh like after a snow storm. The melting of the snow reveals mud underneath. And the entire scene is just that much more grimy than from when I first came.

davis hall outside dwellers

Of all the people in Davis Hall the most interesting to observe is the group that is always outside or in the lounge. They are probably the most consistent group of people I’ve seen. No matter when I’m walking to or from the building I know that there will be some of them outside. I love it.
There are a few places where they seem to locate themselves while outside. One of their spots of interest is the benches. I noticed some variables on whether or not they decide to sit or stand exist. The most prominent thing is how many people there exactly are. If there is a few people out side they tend to sit at the benches, primarily the first one. But when they are outside by the masses, 6 or more they tend to stand more and converse and such. While residing themselves in this bench area I noticed there are some specific things they enjoy doing. The prominent activity would be talking among each other. There conversations include that of some things they do together at night like going out and such. Conversations about classes are sometimes thrown in the mix. Many of the people who come and hang out side Davis Hall tend to smoke cigarettes. It is almost such of a social time for all the smokers. Many times you can hear one ask another for a cigarette or if another has a lighter. Besides smoking at this bench area, another activity they enjoy taking part in is playing with a hacky sack. This tends to occur when larger groups are outside. This game gets pretty intense. In case you don’t know about this game, it includes a small round bean sack. The people stand in a circle and the sack is tossed by one person into the air using there body, but no hands. This method of keeping the sack up is used again and again by everyone else in the circle to try and keep the sack from touching the ground as long as possible. I noticed that this is one of their more favorite activities along with smoking.
Besides chilling around the benches they tend to flock around a small stair case on the building, which leads to a little cover under the roof scoop. This is the spot for if the weather outside is bad. One of my days of observation was one of those days. It had been raining consistently and I noticed people would go under this roofed area to protect them from the rain. It was smart thinking, considering they didn’t like the rain. In this location the activities tend to be the same as by the benches. Sometimes people sit on the stairs while other times under the roof scoop. They enjoy talking about life, music, school, and such things here too. Other events they do here are the same as before, like smoking and hacky sack. I did notice another thing some do enjoy in this area is skate boarding. I suppose since there is stairs and a high curb along a garden in this locale it is a prime spot to do some skate board tricks. I noticed mostly males take part in this. There are also times when those smoking in this area get warnings from I.S.O.’s or R.A.’s for smoking too close to the building, so they have to move by the benches again. Sometimes even though having been warned before some people smoke here. It is a smart place to smoke though on rainy days, because the rain can put out the cigarette or whatever is currently being smoked by person. I have also noticed that at times before they have just chilled in this area in the shade listening to music. There are a few ways they listen to music. Sometimes there is some one with a small radio, but other times I have seen a guitar or even some little conga drums. It seemed pretty chill.
Also, another place which they tend to locate themselves is in the Davis Hall Lounge. This is also a resort for those days when the weather is poor. Here they tend to do different things than they would do outside. I also noticed if inside, there are other people inside than would be outside. Since they are not allowed to smoke, skate board and such in this lounge there are other things they do to have fun and socialize. In this lounge there is a big screen television in which I noticed they enjoy watching movies or sports games on. Also there is a pool table and ping pong table. There are times when there are some intense matches going on at both these tables, and times when not even being used. While in the lounge I also noticed that the conversation level increases and there are more different conversations going on.
Everyone who hangs out side Davis Hall appears to be a friendly person with very little worries about what others think. They just lounge around outside doing whatever they want, whether its smoking or hacky sack. The biggest thing I noticed was how no matter who or when some one walks by the Davis Hall outside dwellers, some one says hi and a little conversation goes on between one another. It just shows how nice and care free some people can be.

Big Issue on Campus
As people walk by one another there is one thing that everyone has in common, smoking. This is not to say that everyone is smoking, but whether people are smoking or people are walking by the smokers, they have to deal with the distinct smell coming from every direction on campus. This causes a big problem on the college campus due to people not wanting to have to walk by people smoking cigarettes and the smokers do not and usually will not stand twenty five feet from the building.
Everyday an hourly group of the same students stand outside, shouting to one another, playing hack sack and smoking multiple cigarettes. This happens throughout the day and most of the night. When the majority of people are sleeping, a group of smokers gather outside, shouting loudly, laughing hysterically and smoking their cigarettes. At night and during bad weather this group will stand under the building to shelter themselves from rain or snow. This causes smoke to linger up into the rooms of other students and they retaliate.
While standing outside smoking there are the frequent snide remarks yelled down to the smokers. The smokers outside of Davis will get the daily, “Get that cancer you goddamn smokers!” which causes the people outside to yell back heinous remarks. This goes on for quite a bit of time and it ends with one of the Residential Assistants or Residential Directors coming out to yell at the smokers. Many smokers get upset when this happens because the nonsmokers are never the ones to get yelled at. The authority only hears the distinct sounds coming from outside that could possibly be waking up the rest of the community. This often results in getting ones name taken down and a brief conversation with a Residential Director.

Do I do something like this, or do I tell a story? Im soo confused

Fast Paced Learning

I drive home about 4 times a week to work. My home is about an hour away. I drive through Westfield, on the pike, and through Pittsfield. I choose to observe people while they drive. I thought it would be a pretty good idea seeing as how that’s all I do is drive. Not only that but I lost my license before and I am an aggressive driver so I thought observing other peoples driving habits would help me understand why I drive the way I do.

Driving through Westfield is very different than driving through my hometown. There are potholes everywhere. The roads are a complete mess. I noticed that people are extremely impatient in Westfield. It doesn’t seem like there is a good flow in traffic or a good system of getting places. At one of the bridges truck drivers have to drive around in this detour type thing. That kind of seems like an inconvenience to me. The positioning of the lights seems kind of stupid and unnecessary to me. At one of the lights when you go straight you have a flashing yellow light giving you the right of way. Although the people turning right have a flashing red light. People automatically alternate with who goes, the person going straight then the person going right. Then of course its my turn and the jerk that I am I don’t let the person turning right go I just stay right on the person in front of me and get mad when people let others go. That is the way that I am used to driving. It is weird to actually see people in Westfield compromising with each other.

By the time I get to the pike I am usually annoyed with all the drivers and traffic that held me back for the past twenty minutes. It doesn’t end there though. I notice that when people are preparing to get onto the pike they drive really slow then try to speed up with people that are going at least what seems to be 90 miles per hour. This also annoys and frustrates me. As I get onto the pike I set my cruise control at 75. I notice that there is more of a pattern on the pike. There are what seem to be these unwritten rules that everyone knows and abides by most of the time. The pike is far more organized that city driving. The slow people stay to the right. If you’re in the left lane and someone is behind you you better pull over to the right quick or they get real mad. When traffic merges from the right people usually pull over into the left lane. These are all things that I notice people doing every time I drive home or back to school and they are things that even I do.

By the time I get off the pike I am so sick of driving and I still have about twenty minutes of small towns to go through until I get to Pittsfield. Pittsfield is where you will find some of the most aggressive drivers. Everyone is in such a hurry for nothing. Then we get the people from New York that doesn’t know how to drive. I get to Pittsfield and I am also swerving to avoid potholes. I remember this one time when I didn’t have my license (I still drove) someone from the lane turning right automatically just decided to go straight into my lane which would have caused an accident if I wasn’t paying attention. Since then I notice this more frequently only now I have my license and can beep and flip them off. This is what everyone does in Pittsfield. Everyone runs those red lights after about a minute of it turning red. Everybody is just so inconsiderate which is what I think led to my aggressive driving habits.

All three of the main places in which I drive are very different from each other. Drivers in Westfield seem more respectful and nicer to everyone. The pike is organized and in uniform. Pittsfield drivers are so aggressive it’s just annoying. Driving in these three different settings has allowed me to adapt to different types of driving habits and behaviors.

heaven wherever i look

Paul Moses

English 101

3/20/08

Prof. Meek

Heaven Wherever I Look

The four seasons rotate like the circle of life all around the world. Some environments are affected more so then others. Similar to humans lives, we go through stages physically and mental. Walker Pond in Lakeville, Florida did not experience the seasons transforming the wild life. As the bright sun rises it seems like it’s my own personal alarm clock. Every summer morning one of the brightest stars in the universe shines right into my window at eight o’clock, screaming with its yellow rays. Telling me to get up and hit the lake. No matter what happens throughout the year that may get me upset or stressed out I always know the beautiful Walker pond will be waiting for my arrival every summer morning. It is so much easier to hop out of bed with a smile from ear to ear when I know the joy and relaxation that awaits me. When you can spend a whole day with nothing but a pair of basketball shorts on its hard not to be completely at peace.

As I walk through my grandparent’s backyard I feel the thick green grass gently tickle the souls of my feet. With a bag of sunflower seeds in one hand and a cooler of Gatorade in the other I see my fishing pole and tackle box waiting for me in the neon orange canoe. Like the focal point of a painting, no matter how long you look at the beautiful pond your eyes will always be drawn to the bright orange canoe. I lift the heavy canoe from the grass and gently place it in the water like placing a sleeping baby in its crib. The dark blue water ripples away from the canoe gently yet rapidly. When I step into the canoe I feel the cold plastic on my feet as I wobble back and forth like trying to balance on a skateboard. As I push off from the dock I go soaring into the water as if I was floating on the clouds. The clear baby blue sky is completely empty except the blinding yellow sun beaming down onto my bare chest. The gentle wind cools my body as it whistles through the trees surrounding the pond.

The colors that engulf the pond compete for my attention, at the same time they blend together to make the most beautiful natural collage on earth. The dark blue water gleaming in my eyes coordinates with the bright green shrubbery and trees that seem to help keep the water in its bed. The trees stretch as far as the eyes can see into the light blue sky that acts as the cover to my utopia, only letting the good in and letting nothing leave. The sun reaches higher and higher in the sky like it knows to nurture and give life to every inch of walker pond. From the gloomy brown and grey snapping turtles corner, to the middle of the water where the silver bellied bass jump into the air to catch a afternoon snack. I take in all the great sights of the pond but there is so much more. The drag of my line rapidly clicking because in has a fourteen inch bass on the hook, the different calls of the birds looking for some food, and the leaves on the trees being blown in every direction. All I can taste is the ranch flavoring from the seeds and the ice cold fruit punch Gatorade hitting my pallet and cooling my whole throat.

Like the change of seasons everyone experiences the different parts of life. When I’m at Walker Pond the environment is not affected by the seasons because it is always perfect. Whoever enters the confines of the pond feels invincible, like they can live happily forever. Walker Pond As the sun begins to set the skyline develops a pinkish hue, I head back disappointed the day is over yet satisfied with how the day went. The air chills; I look over the pond standing on the dock with goose bumps all over my chest. I think to myself, I will be back again real soon.