Special Post #2

1. When I think how far the onion has traveled
just to enter my stew today, I could kneel and praise
all small forgotten miracles,
crackly paper peeling on the drainboard,
pearly layers in smooth agreement,
the way knife enters onion
and onion falls apart on the chopping block,
a history revealed.

And I would never scold the onion
for causing tears.
It is right that tears fall
for something small and forgotten.
How at meal, we sit to eat,
commenting on texture of meat or herbal aroma
but never on the translucence of onion,
now limp, now divided,
or its traditionally honorable career:
For the sake of others,
disappear.
2. This story needs to be interpreted because it’s important to our lives. We should respect the onion just like we respect our life. Even if we don’t like onions, they’re over 5000 years old and have a history to share. There’s a deeper meaning behind this poem that I feel needs to be shared because it is easy to look past this poem.
3. From the beginning line of the traveling onion, “When I think how far the onion has traveled”, I begin to think about my own life. When I think about my life and think of how I have been through everything I’ve been through it makes my own travels seem first line worthy. Our travels make us who we are, and it’s the traveling we’ve done that bring importance and meaning to our lives. And to know that our traveling is not yet finished gives more meaning to our lives, and the life of a simple onion. I’m not sure what an onion has had to go through in the stages of development and I highly doubt it has truly been anything like the life I have had, but even in our difference we are both part of God’s creations. When it says “All small forgotten miracles” it makes me reflect on the forgotten miracles I’ve had in my life. At a point I think of miracles like just being alive. It’s a huge miracle but we forget it. We forget that we take breathes every day. There have been so many times that I take things for granted and do not even realize it. I miss the beauty nature sometimes has to offer, or the story an onion has to tell. One of my favorite lines in the traveling onion is “pearly layers in smooth agreement” party because of the way it sounds. It has a ring to it that feels good falling from my tongue. And later on it says “a history revealed” just like the layers in agreement, it’s the years of our life that we have. The layers represent the years on this earth. Just like a tree has rings, sitting on the bench at Circle B Nature Reserve and someone asking about how to tell the year of a tree. Just like a knife enters an onion or they send a needle through the tree, that’s what God does with our lives, he’s are sharpening tool, he’s everything. “A history revealed” Those are probably the three strongest words in the whole poem. I look back on the history of onions and it’s like a story. It is like our life exposed. I may hate onions but I respect what they do and in my eyes I respect what they stand for. Many people especially in our class and the world don’t understand the true meaning of an onion in the grasp of an onion meaning life.
4. Just like us, in the way that we want to create a legacy in whatever you do whether it is in sports like Muhammad Ali and Michael Jordan, or in business like Jack Welch or Jim Collins, or in poetry like William Shakespeare, onions too leave a legacy. When I was researching onions I found out more about what Naomi was saying about onions being worshipped in Egypt. In the temples of gods, onions are always present. What the Egyptians saw in the onions were eternal life in the anatomy of onion because of its layers. Just like the years of our life we have our moments, we have our days that shake us to the core and make us cry. She says in the poem “I would never scold an onion for causing tears.” When I think about that it was hard to come up with an analogy of what I could say to this to be honest. And I’ve been thinking and thinking and the scolding of an onion could be the stress of our life. It could be the trials we go through, it could be demons we face. The one that’s close to me right now is the fallen heart feeling that I rushed right through the moments that I should have been paying attention. Looking back on the years or layers of my life I wish I took time to recognize some of the layers that I have missed. The moments of where my grandma could give advice or the walls I built up didn’t push the ones I really cared away; the moments where I let my addictions control my life. No matter how careful I was, there was a sense that I had missed something, just like a stew needs onions to reach to taste of perfection, I realize I missed a couple layers of onions in my life. It’s a feeling under my skin that I didn’t experience it at all.

5. Interpreting the story of the onion matters to me because onions are something I work with everyday and I tend to cry like a baby when I cut them. After reading the poem I had to cut onions the next morning. I actually went through it and did what professor Corrigan did in class. I spent extra time with it. In doing so I spent too much time with it and the day didn’t go so good but me cutting the onion symbolized the life I’m about to lead, or layer of life which graduating college and going to a new beginning. The onion has really opened my eyes in a way that I didn’t think an onion could do. I’ve always looked at it as nasty and gross and now I look at it with purpose.

6. 952 without poem 1071 with poem.

7. Numbers 11:5, www.foodreference.com/html/onions-history-of-onions.html. I talked about the sources in the paper I didn’t know if you wanted to know more or just the citations. So I just did the citations.

The temple

I went into this story with an open mind and I actually enjoyed this story. “A temple of the Holy Ghost was an interesting and good read. I liked the metaphor on pg 89 where it says “the poor soul is so lonesome she’ll even ride in that car that smells like the last circle of Hell.” I just liked this line in the story; I just thought it was neat. On page 94 she talks about martyrdom and what she could handle or not. It says “She could stand to be shot but not burned in oil. She didn't know if she could stand to be burned in oil or not.” She didn’t know if she could stand to rip apart by lions or not” The lions liking her too much reminds me of Daniel in the lion’s den in Daniel Chapter 6:1 -28 where Daniel is thrown into the lion’s den but God oh so dependable delivered Daniel out of the den. Daniel faith lives today I don’t know about you but I want to be like Daniel every day. Have the faith he had. The child is choosing her death which really doesn’t happen in a martyrdom situation if so it would be pre mediated so it would be martyrdom. Jesus was martyrdom beyond belief in my eyes being rip to shreds by cat of nail tails then had to carry across on his back , then nails driven into his hands with so much force his wrist breaks. Let’s not forget the crown of thrones oh wait and the spear through the side. Just like Dainel faced his fear and also Biel faced his fear and I think how Jesus faced his fear we need to do the same. Our greatest potential is through our greatest fears.

The ones that walked away

After reading the story of “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” I was first shocked at the child in the basement and the second that people happiness came from the child every day. While the child was beaten and torment other people lives were amazing full with happiness. To be honest when reading this story I couldn’t think about anything else but Jesus and how the sacrifice he made so everyone can be happy and have the life they want. I guess when I was reading this story over and over again I kept on getting different views or perspectives. Ideas popped up in my mind about third world countries and poverty in Africa or even city here in the United States. This story raised a lot of questions for me like why didn’t the ones that walked away help the child, they saw that the child was hurting and they didn’t do anything? And also why did the ones that saw the child deprived just keep living in their beautiful city? How could someone just keep doing life knowing the child is being tormented like that? I have tried to put myself in both situations thinking would I just keep doing life or would I just walk away. I think the easiest thing would be just keep doing life. I mean, you are in city full of happiness let’s just let the child be our sacrifice. If I do that do I tell the child thank you for being sacrifice because after all he’s taking out pain? Kind of like Jesus took the pain on the cross. Or how the little countries of Haiti and Dominican republic and many more sacrifice their resorts for us so that we can be happy. Their again with that that’s how they make a living. There’s a phrase that is said a lot No pain No Gain. The child took the pain for the people, so that the people had the gain. Wow stop think about that Jesus took our pain so we could gain heaven and eternal life. But as always after writing a post in class the whole meaning of the story will be different and I will think different or be open to other perspectives.

Old Man

This story is the reason I really don’t like literature sometimes especially because I have to read this makes me despise literature more and more each day. I love reading about things I enjoy such as baseball or any sports and about business or leadership. To be honest everything we have read I liked in some way this is the only one that I didn’t like at all. It was to unrealistic for me. I didn’t believe any of it. If I think of an angel I think of glorious, pure creature. But I could also see some angels just being cool and down to earth. If I wanted to be an angel I wanna be the down to earth one that would straight up chill. Them throwing stones at it reminded me of the bible with people got stones. That connection was pretty cool. Some of the stuff in the story kinda lined up with the bible in some ways but then you get to the spider thing and that threw me through some loops and it was just weird. And the crabs, it puzzles me how the crabs give the child a fever. That’s puzzled me more than anything. Kind of ridiculous. It kinda reminded me of freak show when they put him in the chicken coop and it kinda reminded me of how they made a mockery of him and put him with the lowest of lows and nailed him to the cross. I don’t know if Jesus was ever stoned so I’ll have to research more on that. And if you read this post and you know you could save me the time and just tell me. The chicken coop kinda reminded me of, in some weird way, of Daniel and the lions den because the chickens could have done a lot worse and they didn’t. I guess it kinda reminds me of the feeling that Daniel had.

Othello

Othello
I attended the Othello Sunday evening, I do have a comment about it they talked old English but used a cell phone kind of weird. I really don’t like old English talking.

Trip to Circle B Reserve

Trip to Circle B Reserve
I was thinking about this and I took a lot of pictures at the Circle B reserve and I wanted to paint a big canvas picture of the swamplands. The picture would capture the restoration efforts of the Polk county natural resources division. I was happy that will help out a little bit in pulling weeds it felt good to help out with their efforts. The scariest moment of the trip was the guide the blonde one I forgot her name, said “Yea their palm tree disease going around” all I could think of is my tuition going sky high because of the disease of palm trees. The only down fall to the trip was I had this imagery of seeing a big alligator and I didn’t. Sad face to that. I really like the poem reading in the seating area right outside the swamp lands. When we read the poem their I felt like I could look around and try to connect better with what it is saying also just feel the breezy air go right in your face was pretty cool. I have never seen a bald eagle until this trip and let me tell you that was amazing. I liked how they respected the bald eagle even though Polk county wants to restore the land that’s right next to the bald eagle they won’t smoke him out or anything. Shows they care and I thought that was pretty cool. I wish we did this earlier in the school year so we could have a chance to go on hike maybe that would be sweet. I have been on a hike but I think reading a poem or a story would make me greatly appreciate the nature better on the hike. In saying that, next time I go hiking I will read a poem or something on nature.

Poems in Nature

Poems of Nature
“I know a lot of fancy words. I tear them from my heart and my tongue. Then I pray.” My favorite line if I can say it ever. I just like how it says I know a lot of fancy words but even knowing this I still have to go deep into my heart and tear them out. I relate this line to like the onion poem we did at the beginning of the year. Just like this line you have to go deep and search what you want o say or pray. The onion like layers of your life and the more layers you go the sweeter the onion gets. Even knowing fancy words won’t make the pray better it just sounds good and if you’re trying to sound good is it really what God wants out of you. Sitting here observing the rain first I will say I’m kind of scared the lighting is fierce and the thunder rolls and shakes my truck. This was good coming to lake bonny park the only thing is I can’t get away from the ball fields. I feel I am one with nature when I play ball the smell of the grass, the touch of the clay hitting your body. When it rains like this being on the field is amazing hear the rain hitting home plate and the field turning into a swamp land. lol kind of a lot better drainage on the field though. I want to say thank you for giving this assignment I usually don’t say this much so take it for what it is worth. I really liked this whole thing being one with nature reading it’s relaxing. I don’t feel no stress and that’s a good thing. Lord God, mercy is in your hands, pour me a little.