I Lost the Chance
My father and I are made from much the same mold. As my brother resembles my mom, I resemble my father. I inherited his enjoyment for puzzles, words and wit. I share much of his eclectic musical tastes. As I grow older, I see more and more of his traits consciously and subconsciously exhibited in me.
I have spoken with my father one time in the past 8 1/2 years.
Divorced parents are always a messy situation for the kids, and our family was no exception. My younger brother and I had our ups and downs with both parents, fortunately mostly ups. The time came when my father decided that he wanted us to live with him. He was very convincing... but never convincing enough to gain a commitment from us. Unfortunately, he refused to let it alone at that. I was, at the time, a sophomore in high school, my brother in 8th grade. Eventually, we cracked. Agreed to move in with him. All was right in his world. Except one thing. We could not bring ourselves to tell my mom. Eventually, though, it happened.
A long, late-night discussion ensued with my mom, discussing the motivations for our decision, his request, and our feelings on the entire matter. That discussion was the difference. As alike as my father and I are, he never gave us that choice. Despite the enormous emotional stress this sudden announcement must have put on mom, she never once tried to coerce us to stay for one reason or another... and in the end that is why she won.
The shoe on the other foot again, we were horribly hesitant to approach our father on the issue. One day it just happened. "We're not going to move in with you." I remember nearly everything about that evening. It was Thanksgiving weekend. My father told us to gather anything we wanted from his apartment. He berated us nearly the entire drive from his place to mom's house. "You'll fit in well in the business world... completely cold-hearted." He pulled up and we stepped out of the car. For seven years, the last words I heard my father speak were "Have a nice life" as he pulled away.
Over the past four years, my brother and I have made attempts to contact him or meet with him, always with the same utter avoidance in response.
I was awful young enough to not fully be aware of the entire situation. What I did know was that I didn’t want to move into a new house, attend a new school, and definitely not live without my dad. Adapting to my new and different surroundings was very hard for me. I was upset with my dad for his actions because he was the cause of all the changes. I was mainly angry with my mom though for her decision. To my eight year old self, I felt as if it wasn’t fair. I was her precious girl and entire world and I knew she would do anything to see my happy. For that particular reason was why i couldn 't comprehend her decision. I wasn 't happy with the outcome, I hoped she would forgive him and we could be a family
The book, The Spirituals and the Blues, by James H. Cone, illustrates how the slave spirituals and the blues reflected the struggle for black survival under the harsh reality of slavery and segregation. The spirituals are historical songs which speak out about the rupture of black lives in a religious sense, telling us about people in a land of bondage, and what they did to stay united and somehow fight back. The blues are somewhat different from in the spirituals in that they depict the secular aspect of black life during times of oppression and the capacity to survive. James H. Cone’s portrayal of how the spirituals and the blues aided blacks through times of hardship and adversity has very few flaws and informs the reader greatly about the importance of music in the lives of African-Americans. The author aims to both examine the spirituals and blues as cultural expressions of black people and to reflect on both the theological and sociological implications of these songs.
Southern, Eileen. The Music of Black Americans. 2nd ed. 1971. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1986. 367, 404-5, 407, 430, 437. Print.
Both ragtime and blues originated from African musicians that incorporated the music and dance of Africa with European music and culture. Some aspects of African music that influenced both styles was emphasis on percussion and the use of an overlay of beats and rhythms to create an additive process (Waldo 9). The work songs of slaves as well as hymnals from African churches influenced both styles, as well. Also, the “suspended” tones that characterize jazz music were devised from the influence of black folk singers who tended to slur or break the third and seventh notes of the musical scale (Haskins). In addition, many of the musicians that played either ragtime or blues was influenced by other musicians they heard. Because there was a lack of musicians and a large amount of work available, musicians who played one style of music often chose to perform other styles in order to make some extra money. In this way, all styles influenced each other and there was a blending of popular genres that influenced the way each style was performed. Although blues and ragtime are two very different styles of music, they emerged around the same time and had an influence on each other’s growth in popularity all throughout
“The Blues are the roots; everything else is the fruits”-Willie Dixon. The blues has deep roots in American history, particularly African-American history. How can something so simple become a massive tree whose roots transcended through different genres? According to Biography.com, W.C. Handy, “the father of the Blues,” brought the Blues to the mainstream in1912 with the hit “Memphis Blues.” After the public heard the twelve note structure with the deep bass lines, the tree began to bear fruit. The Blues tree produced pioneers in all forms of music, from the haunting sound of Robert Johnson to the “King of the Juke Box” Louis Jordan. After all, where would other forms of music be if the “Carter Family” did not hook up with Lesley Riddle, Jelly “Roll” Morton did not get the message, and the “King” did not have the Blues?
As time went by, living in Massachusetts, my close knit family started to part. There were many events added to this, but, the biggest of them was learning who my father really was. My father always had an air of mystery to his character. I finally figured out what that was. My dad has bipolar depression and also suffers from alcoholism. The move to the north was very difficult for him, money was tight, which made his symptoms worse.
Jimi Hendrix is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer who is widely considered to be the most important electric guitarist in the history of music. Although Hendrix is known for his outstanding ability to play the guitar, he is also a very famous name in Blues music. He played the acoustic guitar but is known for his outstanding ability to play the electric guitar. With songs such as Red House, Here My Train A Comin', and Born Under a Bad Sign, Hendrix is considered to be in the Chicago category and quickly made his way into the history of Blues music.
feel better looking back on your choice? I definitely know it is the right choice, and yes your
This is something that occurred over ten years ago but it still plagues me to this day. One moment I thought that we had a perfect family unit. Everyone was happy and everyone got along great. Then, the next thing I knew, my parents were in court everyday trying to get custody of my older sister and myself. This left me hurt and confused. The worst part was after the divorce was over. My father got custody of us- which I preferred because it meant I didn’t have to move away and I didn’t have to live with my mother’s new boyfriend (her boyfriend while she was married). My mother got visitation rights two days of the week and every Sunday. So, instead of seeing my mother everyday when she would come home from work and having her tuck me in at
Censorship is the act of strictly examining books, movies, and other media and suppressing unacceptable parts. But this implores the question, who attains the right to decide what is acceptable and what is not? Kenneth Donelson, author of “A Few Safe Assumptions about Censorship and the Censor,” bluntly declares that any book, idea, teaching method, etc. could be censored by anyone, anywhere, anytime, for any reason (1973). This idea that anybody and everybody can censor anything and everything for whatever reason puts any and every book, movie, etc. in danger. Many sources of media are censored for what seem like illogical or even
My parents did not discuss their reasons for the divorce with me, they didn't have to, and I knew the reasons. I had lived the reasons for as long as I was old enough to remember. The arguments, the name calling, the accusations, the past threats to move out. I was well aware of the reasons. Although there was never any physical violence there was enough screa...
American Journalist, Helen Rowland said, “ When two people decide to get a divorce, it isn’t a sign that they don’t understand each other, but a sign that they have, at last, begun to” (1). Divorce means the ending of a marriage by legal separation, thus, a couple that were once bonded together have now separated for opposing reasons. Divorce has hurt and destroyed many families across the world and can cause a lot of negativity. Teens often do not know how to deal with the fact that their family is no longer whole and they will transition into a depression. Teens may experience emotional damage by seeing the two most important people in their lives fight constantly. There is a good side and a bad side to seeing parents go through a divorce as a teen. Quite often teens tend to see that, since they are so unhappy, that it is better for them to separate because they do not want to see their parents get hurt. Even when separated, they learn to communicate and bond between one another. The negative side of divorce is that families sometimes stay torn apart, therefore: There is a lot of anger, rage that happens because going through a situation like this is not something that is easy, and many emotions become involved. Dealing with their parents can be difficult for some teens, but for many others, they feel as if a divorce will make their family happier without seeing all of the fighting.
21st century, we live in the era of technology-driven world. Human never stopped the development of technology, because we always have a natural tendency to pursue a higher level of human being. Technology is the best evidence of human intelligence, has shown that we are different from other animals. We live with technology since we born. Although it has intervene our daily life heavily that we can’t no longer live without, nobody can deny the achievements it has brought to us.
I was faced with the first choice of staying with my mother in her new home. Her
I live in a small town and the word gotten out pretty quickly. I guess a person would say my parents were #goals. The biggest surprise to me was how my church reacted. Everyone constantly asked me if my sister and I was ok. No one really asked my Mom. Everyone mainly went to my Dad. When my Mom got pregnant, during her sophomore year of college, she moved in with my Dad. So my hometown is basically fill up with my Dad side of relatives. So, when my parents announced they are getting a divorced, everyone assumed that my Mom wanted the divorce. However, it was my Dad who wanted the divorced .My Mom really wanted to work it out and go to therapy. My parents kind of put on a front and said it was a mutual decision, but my sister and I really knew it was my Dad that wanted it. A few of my aunts on my Dad side still considered my Mom as family. During this transition, I often stayed with them a few nights until my parents officially moved out and got their own