Friday, May 31, 2019

Dreams in Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman Essay -- Literary Analysi

Do you ever have a dream? What is your dream? Having a dream is crucial for people to work hard to make the dream come true. In Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman, the main character, had a dream to be a well-liked salesmanand had sieved for this dream throughout his whole life. But he committed suicide to end his life. He was not happy in the process of achieving his dream. Arthur Miller, the author, reveals a negative attitude towards Willys behavior and beliefs. Willy is a man with flaws that leads to his downfall. I share the same attitude with Miller. Yet, I pity the tragedy of Willy. Miller reveals a negative attitude towards Willys behavior by displaying Willys poor parenting skills. Being a father of lap and Happy, Willy should teach Biff and Happy with better moral values. When Biff steals football from the locker room, Willy first told Biff to return that.(30) This is the right thing to say to Biff as stealing is illegal. However, Willy then contradicts himself b y saying, Sure, hes gotta practice with a regulation size ball, doesnt he? Coachll probably congratulate you on your initiative(30) In this incident, Willy teaches Biff wrong moral ethics that stealing is acceptable. Besides stealing, Willy encourages Biff to play football instead studying. When Bernard, Biffs friend, asks Biff to study, Willy argues that with scholarships to three universities theyre gonna failing him?(33) As Biff is good at playing football, Willy is confident that Biff is able to get a scholarship and get accepted by the universities easily. out from having poor parenting skills, Willy also fails to act as a role model for his sons. When Biff discovers his fathers affair with the woman, Willy l... ...ly has wasted his years in involvement of a goal that is unattainable and wants to remind us that we should not set our goal too high. Otherwise, we will waste our life and have nothing in the end. People usually enjoy the happiness during their chasi ng of dream. However, Willy cant find the happiness in the progress of chasing his dream. He should have realized that he was chasing a wrong dream and had other dreams instead. Though I agree that Willy deserves his tragedy, meanwhile, I pity Willys tragedy. Willy has no parents to learn from so he learns the things all by himself and nobody teaches him what to do. It is not his fault for having a wrong dream. At least, I think that he is better than people who have no dream. He did strive for his dream and tried to make it comes true. However, he was too stubborn to accept others opinions and this leads to his tragedy.

Thursday, May 30, 2019

America! - Home of Millionaires and Homeless :: Argumentative Persuasive Argument Essays

America - Home of Millionaires and HomelessIf youve been to San Francisco lately, then you know homelessness is a big problem. Its impossible to go anywhere in the city with bulge universe confronted by panhandlers and other people living in exile. More and more leafy vegetable is the frowzy vagabond with the sign Homeless. Will work for food. God Bless. Even outside urban communities, this has become a common sight at concern intersections and freeway off-ramps. Im not trying to say homelessness is a newly emerging problem in our society. Im sure homeless people have been around since the Pilgrims left(a) Europe in search of religious freedom. However, the situation has escalated to such a degree in the last ten years that its obviously now a chronic problem that our government is trying to write off. Ironically, as the number of homeless families increase across our beloved country, so do corporate profits. tearaway(a) right past the beggar on the street corner are sixty thous and dollar automobiles with passengers too busy to stop and throw out a dollar to help feed a hungry American with no place to live. Something is very wrong with that picture.I once had the misfortune of being stranded in San Francisco in the middle of the night. My car was stolen, I had no money and no one to call. I went to an all-night restaurant to escape the cold and sit on a couch in the lobby to think astir(predicate) what I was going to do. After about thirty minutes, I was approached by a squalid gentleman who asked if I needed a place to stay. A little hesitant, I shrugged my shoulders and nodded. We walked a couple blocks to a shelter for homeless people. My suck up said his name was Evan, and the place we were going wasnt exactly the Hilton, but it was safe. It was an empty government building in the Civic Center area. The smell was horrendous a mixture of BO, bad breath and urine. The sleeping area was a bare room, no furniture, with literally hundreds of people sleep ing on the floor. I didnt think I was going to be able to stay because of the loud snoring and bad smell of the other occupants. Evan sensed my discomfort and began to tell me a story about how he came to be homeless. He had worked as a long distance operator at AT&T for several years.

Wednesday, May 29, 2019

Putting a Stop to Smoking Essay -- Tobacco Education Prevention

It is shocking to know that there are about ten people who dice from smoking every single minute, and nobody seems to have any idea about it. Indeed, there is a growing gap between the real humankind and the academy since people are more intellectual about things that are irrelevant to the real life and are ignorant of things that are imperative to hold out in the real world (Orr 310). Did you know that there are over four hundred thousand deaths caused by cigarettes and tobacco each year in the U.S. alone? That makes it about five million deaths worldwide each year, according to Statistics about Smoking. Smoking is notorious for causing avoidable diseases and deaths, and yet not legion(predicate) institutions have develop an appropriate system to prevent cigarette and tobacco from killing millions each year. For instance, all universities promote health and wellness and many engage to be substance-free, yet they do not restrict the selling of cigarettes and tobacco in campu s stores or smoking on campus. People are dying, thousands are getting hooked, and a whole population is being affected, hence its urgent that a university aims to educate students to combat smoking. The ideal student will learn the fast and long-term affects of what cigarette can do to himself and others around him, to resist peer pressure, and be capable of recognizing and resisting advertisement and media ploys. In order to achieve this, the university must propose a curriculum that includes classes such as Anatomy, Smoking Biology with seminars, Media Effects, History of Smoking, Tobacco Industry 101, and DARE with community service.Many people are not aware of the many ways cigarette or tobacco use can harm them and others around them because they have never... ...its students to spread their knowledge. The classes that a university provide should alter the ideal students to learn the immediate and long-term effects of tobacco use, and to recognize and resist both peer pressure and media ploys. More importantly, they must also enable students to share their knowledge with society and help others, so that the entire population can effectively combat smoking together by preventing people from puff their lives away. Works CitedMartin, Terry. Global Smoking Statistics. Quit Smoking Quit Smoking Support Smoking Cessation. The New York Times Company, 28 Jan. 2007. Web. 26 Oct. 2010. http//quitsmoking.about.com/cs/antismoking/a/statistics.htm.Statistics about Smoking - WrongDiagnosis.com. Wrong Diagnosis. Health Grades Inc., 2010. Web. 31 Oct. 2010. http//www.wrongdiagnosis.com/s/smoking/stats.htm.

Uncle Toms Cabin :: Uncle Toms Cabin Essays

Uncle Toms Cabin UNCLE TOM -Uncle Tom manages the Shelby plantation. Strong, intelligent, capable, good, and kind, he is the most heroic figure in the brisk that bears his name. Toms most important characteristic is his Christian faith. God has given Tom an extraordinary ability. He can forgive the evil done to him. His self-sacrificing fare for others has been called motherly. It has also been called truly Christian. AUNT CHLOE- Aunt Chloe, Uncle Toms wife, is fat, warm, and jolly. She is a good housekeeper and a superb cook, and justly proud of her skill. She loves Tom, and urges him to escape to Canada rather than to go South with Haley. subsequently Tom is sold, she convinces the Shelbys to hire her out to a baker in Louisville and to use her wages to buy Toms freedom. She is heartbroken to learn of his death. MOSE, PETE, AND POLLY - Mose, Pete, and Polly, the children of Uncle Tom and Aunt Chloe, are a rch and rambunctious. Polly is Toms special favorite, and she loves to bury her tiny hands in his hair. ELIZA HARRIS - Eliza Harris is raised by her mistress, Mrs. Shelby, to be piousand good. Described as light-skinned and pretty, Eliza dearly loves her husband, George Harris, and their little boy, ravage. When she learns that Harry is about to be sold, Eliza carries him in her arms to the Ohio River, which she crosses on cakes of ice. Although generally a modest and retiring young woman, Eliza becomes extraordinarily brave because of her love for her son.

Tuesday, May 28, 2019

The Colonization of Modern Africa :: Colonialism Imperialism

The closure of Modern AfricaMany of todays distant countries are underhighly-developed or not developed at all. People are going through famine and even dieing of starvation. These countries have demanding governments, and not enough m adepty. Many countries with in Africa are fair equal this. The village of modern Africa has had numerous life changing effects on the state of Africa. Some of the effects of colonization are on the governments, the farming system, and the educational value. Colonization has greatly effected the governments of Africa. Africa gained political independence in the 1950s. Even though political independence was gained there are still many problems with their governments. in that location is a lack of political experience. Political boundaries, set by the Europeans, have cut across ethnic lines putting diverse people under the said(prenominal) government. This has spark advance to civil wars. The military is also weak. Just like the government, the far ming in Africa is affected by colonization. Africa has many different forms of farming, one of them is Subsistence farming. Subsistence farming is when one farms for just for his family or village. Another type of farming is Commercial farming, or organized farming as a business. There is also Shift farming, which is when a farmer moves every one to three years to find better soil. Only two-fifths of Africa has arable land. Many farmers go hungry or bankrupt because they go certified on one cash crop. Unlike the government and the farming problem of modern Africa, there are many good effects of colonization. commandment has had many good effects like the new schools built and universities. People are furthering their educations and getting better jobs. There are so many much opportunities for people with a higher educations.The Colonization of Modern Africa Colonialism ImperialismThe Colonization of Modern AfricaMany of todays distant countries are underdeveloped or not deve loped at all. People are going through famine and even dieing of starvation. These countries have demanding governments, and not enough money. Many countries with in Africa are just like this. The colonization of modern Africa has had many life changing effects on the people of Africa. Some of the effects of colonization are on the governments, the farming system, and the educational value. Colonization has greatly effected the governments of Africa. Africa gained political independence in the 1950s. Even though political independence was gained there are still many problems with their governments. There is a lack of political experience. Political boundaries, set by the Europeans, have cut across ethnic lines putting diverse people under the same government. This has lead to civil wars. The military is also weak. Just like the government, the farming in Africa is affected by colonization. Africa has many different forms of farming, one of them is Subsistence farming. Subsistence fa rming is when one farms for just for his family or village. Another type of farming is Commercial farming, or organized farming as a business. There is also Shift farming, which is when a farmer moves every one to three years to find better soil. Only two-fifths of Africa has arable land. Many farmers go hungry or bankrupt because they become dependent on one cash crop. Unlike the government and the farming problem of modern Africa, there are many good effects of colonization. Education has had many good effects like the new schools built and universities. People are furthering their educations and getting better jobs. There are so many more opportunities for people with a higher educations.

The Colonization of Modern Africa :: Colonialism Imperialism

The Colonization of Modern AfricaMany of todays distant countries are nether certain or non developed at all. People are going through famine and even dieing of starvation. These countries have demanding governments, and not enough m unrivaledy. Many countries with in Africa are good similar this. The colonization of modern Africa has had galore(postnominal) life changing cause on the people of Africa. Some of the effects of colonization are on the governments, the floriculture system, and the educational value. Colonization has greatly effected the governments of Africa. Africa gained political independence in the 1950s. Even though political independence was gained there are still many problems with their governments. in that respect is a lack of political experience. Political boundaries, set by the Europeans, have cut across ethnic lines putting diverse people under the homogeneous government. This has lead to civil wars. The military is also weak. Just like the governmen t, the work in Africa is affected by colonization. Africa has many different forms of farming, one of them is Subsistence farming. Subsistence farming is when one farms for just for his family or village. Another type of farming is Commercial farming, or organized farming as a business. There is also sky farming, which is when a farmer moves every one to three years to find better soil. Only two-fifths of Africa has arable land. Many farmers go hungry or break out because they obtain dependent on one cash crop. Unlike the government and the farming problem of modern Africa, there are many good effects of colonization. reproduction has had many good effects like the new schools built and universities. People are furthering their educations and getting better jobs. There are so many more than opportunities for people with a higher educations.The Colonization of Modern Africa Colonialism ImperialismThe Colonization of Modern AfricaMany of todays distant countries are underdeve loped or not developed at all. People are going through famine and even dieing of starvation. These countries have demanding governments, and not enough money. Many countries with in Africa are just like this. The colonization of modern Africa has had many life changing effects on the people of Africa. Some of the effects of colonization are on the governments, the farming system, and the educational value. Colonization has greatly effected the governments of Africa. Africa gained political independence in the 1950s. Even though political independence was gained there are still many problems with their governments. There is a lack of political experience. Political boundaries, set by the Europeans, have cut across ethnic lines putting diverse people under the same government. This has lead to civil wars. The military is also weak. Just like the government, the farming in Africa is affected by colonization. Africa has many different forms of farming, one of them is Subsistence farmin g. Subsistence farming is when one farms for just for his family or village. Another type of farming is Commercial farming, or organized farming as a business. There is also Shift farming, which is when a farmer moves every one to three years to find better soil. Only two-fifths of Africa has arable land. Many farmers go hungry or bankrupt because they become dependent on one cash crop. Unlike the government and the farming problem of modern Africa, there are many good effects of colonization. Education has had many good effects like the new schools built and universities. People are furthering their educations and getting better jobs. There are so many more opportunities for people with a higher educations.

Monday, May 27, 2019

Leibniz: Theory of Monads

IntroductionWhether ultimately correct or not, Leibniz rejects two Cartesianism and atomism. What ought not be missed is that passim his objections Leibnizs focus never strays remote from the mereological issues of wholes, parts, their unity, etc. Indeed, the very nature of his causes against the mechanist project clearly demonstrate Leibnizs underlying concern for the problem of the continuum, which seems never very farther from his mind. (Thompson)In rejecting Cartesianism, Leibnizs concern is with its inability to make sense of the whole, remove at the expense of the reality of the parts. In rejecting atomism, his concern is with its inability to make sense of the parts, except at the expense of the unity of the whole. Neither can provide illumination sufficient to escape from the second labyrinth, and the entire mechanist project therefore finds itself impaled effectively on twain horns of a dilemma. Since the problem of the continuum has so much relevance to the unity of nitty-gritty, Leibniz considers mechanist philosophy inadequate. (Br decl ar)Remaining entirely in character, it should not be surprising that Leibnizs own metaphysics is most fundament al singley an attempt to reconcile the mechanistic philosophy to that of Aristotle. He attempts to take the best of each of these two systems and synthesize a new supposition that manages to escape their individual defects. (Thompson) Monads argon the unit of substance which supposedly bridge the gap between the old and the new, and plug the holes in mechanist theories. Thus, it is with this in mind that his parameter for the mankind of monads moldiness be examined, for it is the very heart of Leibnizs theory of substance.At the core of Leibnizs metaphysics hotshot finds monads, which are dimensionless and windowless centers of force, the true substances that comprise the created universe. Infinite hierarchies of monads populate the continuum of all created things, each one mirroring the rest of the universe from its own eccentric point of view, testifying every other monad with a greater or lesser stupefyer of clarity. Monads are the metaphysical points, so to speak, which are the indivisible, unify, and simple substances that are the foundation of the created world. (Mercer)Distinguishing Features of Leibnizs OntologyThere are two particularly significant distinguishing features of Leibnizs ontology as a whole. In brief, Leibnizs ontology remains as true to his desire to be the great reconciler as it does to his expectations for substance, epistemology, and the problem of the continuum. This ought not be forgotten amidst the details that follow.Monads are a Synthesis of Old and New It is not surprising, in illumine of Leibnizs reconciliatory nature, that monads bear hallmarks of both Aristotelian and mechanistic philosophy. In hurt of the former, they do the work of straightforward forms, possessing an entelechy which guarantees that they unfold through time as they ought. In terms of the latter, they do the work of atoms, explaining how features in the phenomenal world (i.e., the macro-level world) come about as a result of changes of state in the real world of monads (i.e., the micro-level world). The monad is, by its very definition, designed to leverage the strengths of the two opposing theories, while simultaneously inherit none of their defects. (Mercer)From this it is clear that Leibnizs theory of substance is determined by his expectations, and by the perceived failures of instrument. In assembling it, Leibniz borrows liberally from what he considers the best features of the old and the new. Regarding those aspects in which Leibniz finds either of them inadequate, he crafts his own philosophy so that it avoids said inadequacies, essentially by definition.Qualitative, not Quantitative What is arguably most filling and quite unique about this synthesis of systems is the shift in focus. To elucidate, Leibniz sees the mechanist phil osophy as a entirely quantifiable and extensive endeavor. The Cartesian defines the very essence of body as extension, which is numeric in its extensive nature. Similarly, the atomist cannot help but construct the macro-level world by aggregation, through the grouping of many prolonged entities in the micro-level world, which is also valued by nature. Both variants of mechanism therefore sustain a quantitative and extensive view of the relationships between wholes and parts, explaining or reducing qualitative features of the macro-level world in light of or to quantitative features of the micro-level world. (Mercer)Given the problems he finds with quantitative theories, Leibniz concludes that that the correct theory must instead be uniquely qualitative and intense, kinda than quantitative and extensive, and this unique notion is devoted flesh along very Aristotelian lines. Latta (1965) provides the following apt descriptionAccordingly, the essence of Leibnizs motive is that a quantitative universe of the relation of whole and parts affords an inadequate theory of substance. The common element in the contrary positions of the Cartesians and the Atomists is the explicit or implicit reduction of qualitative to quantitative differences. And it appears to Leibniz that the solution of the dilemma is to be found in the opposite hypothesis, namely, that the essence of substance is non-quantitative, and that the relation of whole and parts must be conceived as intensive rather than extensive. Thus a simple substance has no parts, i.e. no quantitative elements, and yet it must comprehend a manifold in unity that is to say, it must be real, it must be nearlything, it must be qualitative, specifically determined. (p. 27).The suggested intensive view of the relations between parts and wholes is noteworthy for its novelty if cipher else. What Leibniz seems to piddle in mind is that the parts of a whole in some manner participate in that whole, and similarly th at the whole somehow participates in all of its parts. The nature of this conjunction isnt entirely clear, but it is certain that the conception Leibniz holds is not the traditional understanding of the part-whole relation. There is something deeper at work here, some understanding that is intended to allow both the parts and the whole to remain distinct and unified, the parts in themselves and the whole through its special relationship to the parts. (Thompson)What Leibniz seeks is some sense in which the whole somehow mirrors or expresses all of its parts, containing within itself the explanation for why the parts are precisely as they are. And similarly, the parts must somehow mirror or express the larger whole as well, containing within themselves their explanations, while also mirroring the explanation of the whole, albeit with a lesser degree of clarity. The authoritative degree of mutual inter-participation is what is key to the more than organic or holistic relationship Lei bniz intends. (Swoyer)Despite the present vagueness, however, this much remains clear Leibniz believes that the part-whole relation in genuine unities must be something far more special than other philosophical systems have taken it to be. Leibnizs use of monads is therefore intended not only(prenominal) to reconcile Aristotle with the mechanists, but also to lay the groundwork necessary to make such a special relationship logically possible and plausible. (Thompson)The Argument From The MonadologyIn the first few sentences of The Monadology, Leibniz gives one conceptuality of his argument for the subsistence of monads, a formulation which might be depict most charitably as terse. Though this is not the only argument Leibniz gives for monads, it is credibly the most well cognise. As early as 1671, for example, Leibniz argues for monads qua indivisible unextended things, though in a much different fashion involving the proper beginnings of extended entities. (1969, p. 139-140)Be cause his earlier argument is even more terse than the later argument it shall not be discussed any further. It is worth mentioning only because its similarities mark it as a clear precursor for Leibnizs later thinking on the subject. Further, Leibniz claims elsewhere that the existence of monads may be inferred from his doctrine of the pre- schematic harmony, though his reasons for this remain obscure. (1985, p.80)Returning to the better known argument of The Monadology, while it would be unreasonable to fault Leibniz for his brevity in making the argument, it is nevertheless the case that much remains to be said in front the argument can be accepted, rejected, or even understood adequately. Because the monad is at the very heart of Leibnizs metaphysics, one might reasonably expect a more complete formulation of his argument to be possible, just as one might expect Leibnizs critics to focus their attacks upon that argument if monads qua simple substances are to be rejected.For the purposes of this essay, it is necessary to understand this argument and the issues underlying it in order to make clear precisely how Leibniz takes the monad to be united and simple. The following is Leibnizs argument for the existence of monads as given in The MonadologyThe Monad, of which we shall here speak, is nothing but a simple substance, which enters into compounds. By simple is meant without parts. 2. And there must be simple substances, since there are compounds for a compound is nothing but a collection or aggregatum of simple things. (1989, p.213)Common Sense ObservationsRelevant Observations For Leibniz, the observations relevant to a theory of substance are those of entities in the world. As established already, Leibniz simply looks at the world and takes inventory of what he sees. Among the entities perceived he finds what might be called macro entities of a relatively mundane variety such as tables, chairs, rocks, streams, etc., as well as perhaps not so mundane mac ro entities such as plants, animals and persons. With the aid of the microscope, one may similarly perceive micro entities both mundane (e.g., crystals) and not so mundane (e.g., unicellular organisms). Further, with the aid of a telescope, one may perceive entities at the large end of the macro scale, if not, in fact, objects of an altogether different order of size. (Mercer)There are two primary points of interest as regards this body of observations. The first is that each entity, because it has extension, is divisible into parts. The second is that despite this divisibility into parts, the entities in question are more or less unities in some sense i.e., each entity is numerically one, and it is what it is rather than something else.To put these two points a bit differently, this body of observations indicates that for all such objects there seems to be a unified whole, just as there seems also to be discernable parts, which are similarly real and unified. A third less interesti ng but important point is that in each case one seems to find entities at every scale. No matter how high one turns up the telescope or the microscope, one never reaches the end of things. Wherever one looks, one finds worlds within worlds.Existing TheoriesThis body of observations requires explanation. More to the point, Leibniz takes this body of observations to require an explanation in terms of some sort of substance. In virtue of what is it the case that some particular entity is a whole? In virtue of what is it the case that the parts of that entity are themselves both unified and real? Further, what relations are sustained between the wholes and their parts? And finally, what conclusions may be drawn more generally once answers to these questions have been established?These are the sorts of questions Leibniz has in mind when considering existing theories. A successful theory must address them adequately without falling into either internal conceptual contradiction or externa l contradiction. That is, the theory must stick by with the present body of observations, just as its predictions (if any may be made) must also cohere with both present and future observations. (Thompson)In terms of evaluating mechanist theories, there are only two that Leibniz takes as plausible candidates, Cartesianism and atomism. As established already, Leibniz considers both of these views to be inadequate for explaining the body of observations under consideration. Having already examined Leibnizs reasons for rejecting these systems in some detail we may move directly to the next step, which quests synthesizing a new theory that avoids the inadequacies of mechanism while embracing its strengths.A Novel Theory of SubstanceIf both ends of the spectrum of mechanist philosophy are unacceptable, then why not head for the middle? Leibniz is convert of unities in the world because of a wealth of observations, and he believes both the Cartesians and the atomists to be unable to ex plain such unities with their theories. (Thompson, p. 24-6) What is needed according to Leibniz is a theory whose fundamental unit of substance is both real and indivisible. It must be real for the obvious reason that it simply will not do to explain what does exist by appeal to what does not, and it must be indivisible in such a fashion that it may explain the genuine unity of the observed entities in the world.Further, it must provide a qualitative and intensive, rather than quantitative and extensive, construal of the part-whole relation, as previously discussed. Leibniz concludes, therefore, that what is needed is a new, basic unit of substancephysical points are indivisible only in appearance mathematical points are exact, but they are merely modalities. Only metaphysical points or points of substance (constituted by forms or souls) are exact and real, and without them there would be nothing real, since without true unities there would be no multitude. (1989, 142)This conclusio n, which lays the foundation for the development of the remainder of Leibnizs metaphysics, owes its support to the two factors given earlier as motivations. Most central to it is the fundamental assumption that monadic unity is necessary at bottom for the production of all compound things. In light of this, it is possible to summarize the more complete formulation of Leibnizs argument for monads as followsP1 Common sense observations show that real, unified entities exist.P2 What is real may be explained only by appeal to something real.P3 What is unified may be explained only by appeal to something indivisible.C Therefore, the explanation for such entities in the world must involve real and indivisible substances, namely, monads.This bears little relation, prima facie, to the less detailed argument given in the first two sections of The Monadology, but it is nevertheless reducible to that argument. P1 amounts to nothing more than the initial premise that compounds exist. P2 and P3 do not appear at all in The Monadology, but it is tolerably clear from the preceding discussion that these principles are indeed assumed by Leibniz. Finally, the conclusion is just a restatement of the conclusion that monads exist. Again, to restate the argument more succinctly compounds exist, therefore simples exist.The remainder of Leibnizs metaphysical deductions in The Monadology follow from this more complete formulation at least as well as they follow the abbreviated version. Because monads must be both real and indivisible, Leibniz may argue that they can have neither extension nor form and must therefore be immaterial. Because they cannot be divided, Leibniz may still maintain that they cannot go out of existence in any natural way, by the dissolution of parts. Similarly, they cannot come into existence in any natural way, by the aggregation of parts, and so forth. Thus, this more complete formulation of the argument acts as a drop in replacement for its far more concise si bling.ConclusionTo summarize, Leibnizs argument for monads is an enthymeme, an argument with an implied premise. Examining the logical derivation suggests a line of thought that Leibnizs other writings explicitly affirm, namely, that there is no reality without unity. With this additional premise in hand, the argument for monads is rendered formally valid. Whats more, this additional premise provides a starting point for untangling the issues previously suggested as problems for monadic control.The close tie between reality and unity prompts one to consider what Leibniz means by simple in a different light. It seems that what he intends in his argument for monads is not merely that they have no parts, but rather that they also include a kind of indivisibility, an inability to be divided in any way that destroys them. If there is no reality without unity, then things that are fatally separable and thus not unified are not intrinsically real. The relation between reality and unity he lps suggest the fatal inseparability beat for simplicity.Further, it also seems that mereological simplicity and fatal inseparability are but negative entailments of a more positive construal of simplicity, namely, ontological simplicity. A thing is ontologically simple if it stands alone, or described negatively if it is self sufficient in the sense that it bears no internal relations of ontological dependence to any other thing. Such an understanding of simplicity resolves the problems raised previously for the mereological construal, helps to make sense of Leibnizs argument for monads, and coheres nicely with the various other texts in which Leibniz uses the term.ReferencesBrown, Stuart. The Young Leibniz and His Philosophy. Dordrecht Kluwer AcademicPublishers, 1999.Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm. (1969) philosophical Papers and Letters, 2d ed. Translated and edited by Leroy E. Loemker. Boston D. Reidel Publishing Company,Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm. (1985) Theodicy. Translated by E. M. Huggard, edited by Austin Farrer. Open Court Publishing Company.Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm. (1965) The Monadology and other Philosophical Writings. Translated and edited by Robert Latta. London Oxford University Press.Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm. (1989) Philosophical Essays. Translated and edited by Roger Ariew and Daniel Garber. Indianapolis Hackett Publishing Company.Mercer, Christia. Leibnizs Metaphysics. Cambridge Cambridge University Press, 2001.Swoyer, Chris. (1995) Leibnizian Expression. Journal of the History of Philosophy 33 (1), 65-99.Thompson, Garrett. On Leibniz. Belmont Wadsworth Publishing Company, 2001.

Sunday, May 26, 2019

The Stupidest Angel Chapter 6

Chapter 6BE OF GOOD CHEERTHEY MIGHT HAVE PUT A TREE UP YOUR mill or soThe Archangel Raziel found, afterward some consideration, that he did not care for existence run over by a Swedish automobile. As far as things dirtside went, he a homogeneous(p)d Snickers bars, barbecued pork ribs, and pinochle he also enjoyed Spider-Man, Days of Our Lives, and Star Wars (although the concept of fictional film eluded the angel and he prospect they were each(prenominal) documentaries) and you just couldnt beat raining fire on the Egyptians or smiting the bejeezus disclose of some Philistines with lightning bolts (Raziel was commodity with weather), that overall, he could do without missions to Earth, humans and their machines in general, and (now) Volvo station wagons in particular. His broken bones had knit nicely and the deep gouges in his skin were filling in even as he came upon the chapel, entirely all things considered, he could go a very long time not world run over by a Volvo ag ain and sapidity just dandy about it.He brushed at the all-weather radial tire print that ran up the straw man of his black duster and crossways his angelic face. Licking his lips, he tasted vulcanized rubber, thinking that it wouldnt be bad with hot sauce or perhaps chocolate sprinkles. (There is little variety of flavors in heaven, and an abundance of bland w pitch-to doe withe cake has been served to the heavenly host over the eons, so Raziel had fallen in the habit of tasting things while dirtside, just for the contrast. Once, in the third century B.C., he had consumed the better part of a bucket of camel urine before his friend the Archangel Zoe slapped it out of his hand and informed him that it was, patronage the piquant bouquet, nasty.)This wasnt his first Nativity mission. No, in fact, he had been given the assignment of the very first Nativity mission, and due to having stop on the way to see some pinochle, hed shown up ten years late, announcing to the prepubescent S on himself that he would find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. unenviable? Well, yes. And now, some two thou spine years later, he was on another Nativity mission, and he was sure now that hed found the child, that this one was release to go much much smoothly (for one thing, there were no shepherds to frighten hed felt bad about that back then). No, keep down Christmas Eve the mission would be accomplished, hed grab a plate of ribs and head back to heaven lickety-split.But first he needed to find the site for the miracle.There were two sheriffs cruisers and an ambulance right(prenominal) the Barker house when Theo arrived.Crowe, where the hell beat you been? the sheriffs de devotey was yelling before Theo was even out of the Volvo. The deputy was the second-shift commander Joe Metz was his name. He had a linebacker sort that he augmented with weight lifting and marathon beer drinking. Theo had encountered him a dozen times in as many years. Their relationship had gone from a mild disuse to an open disrespect which was pretty much Theos relationship with everyone in the San Junipero County Sheriffs Department.I maxim the suspect and made pursuit. I lost him in the woods about a mile east of here. Theo decided he wasnt going to mention what hed actually seen. His credibility was thin enough with the sheriffs department.Why didnt you call it in? We should have units all over the area.I did. You do.I didnt determine the call go in.I called it in on my cell. My radios broken.Why dont I know about it?Theo brocaded his eyebrows as if to introduce, Perhaps because youre a big no-necked dumb-ass. At least thats what he hoped the gesture tell.Metz looked at the radio on his belt, then turned to disguise his live up to as he turned a switch. Immediately the voice of the dispatcher came on, calling out for the shift commander. Metz keyed the mike clipped to the epaulet of his unvaried garment and identified himself.Theo stood by, trying not to smile as the dispatcher reported the entire situation again. Theo wasnt worried about the two units that were headed to the woods up by the chapel. He was sure they werent going to find anyone. Whoever the guy in black was, he had a way of disappearing, and Theo didnt even want to think of the heart by which he did it. Theo had gone back to the chapel, where hed caught a glimpse of the fair man moving through the woods before he was gone again. Theo had called residence to make sure that molly was okay. She was.Can I talk to the kid? Theo asked.When the EMTs are done looking at him, Metz said. The mothers on the way. She was out to dinner with the fellow in San Junipero. Kid seems okay, just real shaken up, some bruises on his arms where the suspect picked him up, just no other injuries I could see. Kid couldnt say what the guy wanted. Theres no property missing.You get a description?The kid keeps expectant us names of characters from video games for compar ison. What do we know from Mung-fu, the Vanquished? You get a good look at him?Yeah, Theo said, forcing a lump out of his throat, Id say Mung-fu is pretty accurate.Dont fuck with me, Crowe.Caucasian, long blond hair, blue eyes, clean-shaven, six foot two, one-eighty, corrosion a black duster that goes to the ground. I didnt see his shoes. Dispatch has it all. Theo kept thinking of the deep gouges in the blond guys cheeks. He had started to think of him as the ghost-bot. tv games right.Metz nodded. Dispatch says hes on foot. Howd you lose him?The woods are thick up there.Metz was looking at Theos belt. Wheres your weapon, Crowe?I left it in the car. Didnt want to scare the kid.Without a word, Metz stepped over to Theos Volvo and opened the passenger-side door. Where?Pardon?Where in your unlocked car is your weapon?Theo felt the last of his energy flow out of him. He just wasnt good at confrontation. Its at my house.Metz smiled now like the bartender had just announced pitchers a ll more or less, on the house. You know, you might be the perfect guy to go after this suspect, Theo.Theo hated it when the sheriffs called him by his first name. Whys that, Joseph?The kid said he thought the guy might be retarded.I dont get it, Theo said, trying not to grin.Metz walked off shaking his head. He climbed into his cruiser, then as he was backing past Theo, the passenger window whirred down. Write up a report, Crowe. And we need to get a description of this guy to the local schools.Its Christmas break.Dammit, Crowe, theyll be going back to school sometime, wont they?So you dont think your guys will catch him, then?Without another word Metz whirred up the window and whipped the cruiser out of the driveway as if hed just received an urgent call.Theo smiled as he walked up to the house. Despite the excitement and terror and outright weirdness of evening, he suddenly felt good. Molly was safe, the kid was safe, the Christmas tree was up at the chapel, and there was just no rush that compared to safely and successfully fucking with a pompous cop. He paused on the top step and considered for a moment that perhaps, after fifteen years in law enforcement himself, he really should have matured past that particular pleasure.Nah.Did you ever shoot anybody? asked chaffua Barker. He was sitting on a bar stool at the kitchen counter. A man in a gray uniform was fussing medical over him.No, Im an EMT, said the EMT. He ripped the blood-pressure cuff off Joshs arm. We help people, we dont shoot them.Did you ever put that blood-pressure thing around someones neck and pump it till their eyes bugged out?The EMT looked at Theophilus Crowe, who had just entered the Barkers kitchen. Theo frowned appropriately. Josh turned his attention to the lanky cons display panel, noting that he had a badge clipped to his belt but no gun.You ever shoot anybody?Sure, Theo said.Josh was impressed. Hed seen Theo around townspeople, and his mom always said hi to him, but he never t hought he actually did anything. not anything cool, anyway. None of these guys ever shot anyone. Josh gestured to the two deputies and the two EMTs stationed around the small kitchen, giving them a look that said the wussies with the full disdain his soft seven-year-old features could muster.You kill the guy? he asked Theo.Yep.Josh didnt really know where to go now. If he stopped asking questions, he knew that Theo would start asking questions, just like the sheriffs had, and he didnt want to answer any more questions. The blond man had told him not to recite anyone. The sheriff said that the blond man couldnt hurt him, but the sheriff didnt know what Josh knew.Your mom is on the way, Josh, Theo said. Shell be here in a few minutes.I know. I talked to her.To the EMTs and deputies, Theo said, Guys, can I talk to Josh alone a minute?Were done here, the lead medic said, leaving immediately.Both the deputies were young and yearning to be asked to do something, even if it was to grant the room. Well be outside writing this up, said the last one out. Sergeant Metz told us to stay until the mother got home.Thanks, guys, Theo said, impress at their congeniality. They must not have been on the department long enough to learn to look down on him for being a town constable, an archaic and redundant job, if you asked most area cops.Once they were gone he turned to Josh. So spot me about the man who was here.I told those other police.I know. But you need to tell me. What happened. Even the weird stuff you didnt tell them.Josh didnt like the way Theo seemed to be ready to believe anything. He wasnt being too nice, or talking baby talk like the others.There wasnt any weird stuff. I told them. Josh nodded as he spoke, hoping hed look more convincing. None of that bad touch stuff. I know about that. None of that.I dont mean that kind of stuff, Josh. I mean weird stuff you didnt tell them because its unbelievable.Josh really didnt know what to say now. He considered crying , did a test sniffle just to see if he could get things flowing. Theo reached out and took his chin, lifted it so Josh had to look him in the eye. Why did adults do that? Now hed ask something that would be really hard to lie about.What was he doing here, Josh? Josh shake his head, mostly to get out of Theos grip, to get away from that adult lie-detector look. I dont know. He just came in and grabbed me and then he left.Why did he leave?I dont know, I dont know. Im just a kid. Because hes crazy or something. Or maybe hes retarded. Thats how he talks.I know, Theo said.You do? He did?Theo leaned in close. I byword him, Josh. I talked to him. I know he wasnt like a normal guy.Josh felt like hed just taken his first deep soupcon since he left Sams house. He didnt like keeping secrets sneaking home and lying about it would have been enough, but witnessing the murder of Santa, and then that strange blond guy showing up. But if Theo already knew about the blond guy So, so, you saw him glow?Glow? Shit Theo stood up and spun around as if hed been hit in the forehead with a paintball. He glowed, too? Shit The tall man was moving like a grasshopper locked in a trial microwave. Not that Josh would know what that was like, because that would be a cruel thing to do and he would never do something like that, but, you know, someone told him about it once.So he glowed? Theo asked, like he was trying to get this straight.No, I didnt mean that. Josh needed to back out of this. Theo was trippin. Hed had enough of adults trippin for one night. Soon his mom would come home to find a bunch of cops in her house and the trip to beat all trips would start. I mean he was really mad. You know, like glowing mad.Thats not what you meant.It isnt?He really glowed, didnt he?Well, not constantly. Like, for a little while. Then he just stared at me.Why did he leave, Josh?He said he had what he needed now.What was that? What did he take?I dont know. Josh was beginning to worry about the co nstable. He looked like he might hurl any second. Youre sure you want to go with the glowing thing, Constable Crowe? I could be wrong. Im a kid. We make notoriously unreliable witnesses.Whered you hear that?CSI.Those guys know everything.They have the coolest stuff.Yeah, said Theo wistfully.You dont get to use cool cop stuff like that, huh?Nope. Theo was sounding really sad now.But you shot a guy, right? Josh said cheerfully, trying to raise Theos spirits.I was lying. Im sorry, Josh. Id better go. Your mom will be home soon. You just tell her everything. Shell look out for you. The deputies will stay with you until she gets here. See ya, kiddo. Theo ruffled his hair and started out of the kitchen.Josh didnt want to tell her. And he didnt want Theo to go. Theres something else.Theo turned and looked back at him. Okay, Josh, Ill sting around Someone killed Santa Claus tonight, Josh blurted out.Childhood ends too soon, doesnt it, son? Theo said, putting his hand on Joshs shoulder.If Josh had had a gun, hed have shot him, but being an unarmed kid, he decided that of all of these adults, the goofy constable might just be the one who would believe what he had seen happen to Santa.The two deputies had come into the house with Joshs mother, Emily Barker. Theo waited until she had hugged most of the breath out of her son, then reassured her that everything was okay and made a quick escape. As he came down the porch steps, he saw something yellow shining by the front tire of his Volvo. He looked back to make sure that neither of the deputies was looking out, then he crouched before the front tire and reached up into the wheel well and pulled out a hank of yellow hair that had caught in the black vinyl dent molding. He quickly shoved it into his shirt pocket and climbed into the car, feeling the hair throbbing against his chest like a living thing.The Warrior Babe of the Outland admitted that she was powerless without her medication and that her life had become unmanag eable. Molly check off the step in Theos little blue Narcotics Anonymous book.Powerless, she muttered to herself, remembering the time when mutants had chained her to a rock in the den of the behemo-badger in Outland marque Kendras Revenge. If not for the intervention of Selkirk, the rogue sand pirate, her entrails would even now be curing on the salt stalagmites of the badgers cave.That would sting, huh? said the Narrator.Shut up, that didnt really happen. Did it? She remembered it like it did.The Narrator was a problem. The problem, really. If it had just been a little erratic behavior, she might have been able to wing it until the first of the month and go back on her meds without Theo noticing, but when the Narrator showed up, she knew she needed help. She turned to the Narcotics Anonymous book that had been Theos constant companion when he was battling his pot habit. He talked about working the steps all the time, and how he couldnt have done it without them. She needed to do something to reinforce the rapidly blurring line between Molly Michon, party planner, cookie baker, the retired actress, and Kendra, mutant slayer, head breaker, the warrior temptress. look two, she read. Come to believe that a power greater than ourselves can restore us to sanity. She thought for a moment and looked out the front window of the cabin for the lights from Theos car. She really hoped she could get through all twelve steps before he got home.Nigoth the Worm God shall be my higher power, she declared, snatching her broken broadsword from the coffee table and waving it in defiance at the Sony Wega TV that mocked her darkly from the corner. In Nigoths name shall I sally forth, and woe unto any mutant or sand pirate that crosses my path, for his life shall be sacrificed and his bloody balls shall decorate the totem tree of my lodge.And the wicked shall cower before the grandeur of your dirt-striped and well-shaped thighs, said the Narrator, with robust enthusiasm.Goes wi thout saying, Molly said. Okay, step three. hand your life over to God as you understand Him. Nigoth requires a sacrifice, cried the Narrator. A limb Cut it from your body and impale it still twitching upon the worm gods blooming(a) purple horn.Molly shook her head to rattle the Narrator around a little. Dude, she said. Molly seldom duded anyone. Theo had picked up the word on his patrol of hanker Coves skateboard park and now used it generally to express incredulity at the audacity of someones statement or behavior the correct inflection on the word would convey Doood, please, youve got to be joking or hallucinating, or both, to even suggest such a thing. (Lately Theo had been doing some testing on Yo, dats wack, yo. But Molly had forbade its use outside of the house, for, as she pointed out, there is little more off-putting than the sound of hip-hop vernacular coming out of the mouth of a white, fortysomething, black-footed albatross bird of a man. Albatross of a man, yo, T heo had corrected.)Thusly duded, the Narrator bid devotion down. A finger, then The severed finger of a Warrior Babe Not a chance, Molly said.A lock of hair Nigoth requires I was thinking Id light a candle to symbolize that Im turning myself over to my higher power. And to flesh out her sincerity, she took a disposable lighter off the coffee table and lit one of the scented candles she kept on a tray at the tables center.A snot-nosed Kleenex, then tried the Narrator.But Molly had moved on to step four in the book. Make a searching and fearless moral stock list of yourself. I have no idea what that means.Well, Ill be fucked in the ear by a blind spider monkey if I get it, said the Narrator.Molly decided not even to acknowledge the Narrator on that one. After all, if the steps worked like she hoped they would, the Narrator was not going to be around for much longer. She dug into the little blue book in search of clarification.Upon further reading, it appeared that you were su pposed to make a list of all the things wrong with your character. devote down that youre fucking nuts, said the Narrator.Got it, Molly said. Then she noticed that the book recommended making a list of resentments. She wasnt exactly sure what she was supposed to do with them, but in fifteen minutes she had filled three pages with all variety of resentments, including both parents, the IRS, algebra, premature ejaculators, good housekeepers, French automobiles, Italian luggage, lawyers, CD packaging, IQ tests, and the fucktard who wrote the Caution, pastry dough may be hot when heated warning on the Pop-Tarts box.She paused for a breather and was reading ahead to step five when headlights swept across the yard and raked the front of the cabin. Theo was home. Step five, Molly read. Confess to our higher power and another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. As Theo came through the door, Molly, her broken broadsword in hand, spun from the cinnamon candle of Nigoth the Worm Go d and said, I confess I did not file taxes for the years ninety-five through two thousand, I have eaten the radioactive flesh of mutants, and I resent the hell out of you for not having to squat when you pee.Hi, honey, Theo said.Shut up, grommet, said the Warrior Babe.So I guess Im not going to get my Volvo washed?Quiet Im confessing over here, ingrate.Thats the spirit said the Narrator.

Saturday, May 25, 2019

Microsoft’s MACH Program Designed to Help Millennial Grads Make a Difference †Fast Essay

The Microsoft Academy for College Hires (MACH) is as an revivifyd c areer development schedule knowing to recruit and have top-performing graduates across a broad range of employments, and aims to cultivate talent utilizing training, mentoring, and alliance support. Microsoft believes that work is a empower for exploration, creativity, innovation and professional growth. Its about being inspired and motivated to achieve extraordinary things that leave a lasting impact. At Microsoft, graduates learn from the finest in the business. As a just time graduate employee, they experience an inspiring world-class program. MACH participants are hired based on potential and are provided with a comprehensive on- jump oning curriculum, enabling them to accelerate their careers and become part of the next generation of key contributors and leaders. Microsoft will be invested in your career development and provide guidance and support to enable you to travel by in your Microsoft career. Th e two year program is focused on ensuring that graduates receive the professional development early to help them accelerate the impact in role and that they have the tools and knowledge to steer long term career. With over 2,500 MACH employees in over 60 countries worldwide, graduates gain a network to a global community of peers, leadership exposure, world class trainings and the opportunity to take on challenging work that contributes meaningfully to helping people and businesses realize their full potential.QuestionsHow does orientation take issue from onboarding?Orientation is the formal process of familiarizing new employees with the organization, their jobs, and their work units, while onboarding is the process of systematically socializing new employees to help them get on board with an organization. Orientation is a timed event. It normally lasts a day (or less if you do it well) and is an opportunity to share a lot of information that employees should know. For example Whe re the bathrooms are what time everyone takes lunch Where to park to avoid being towed. Orientation is meant to share the essentials. It is intended to ensure that new hires get the very basics of what they have and usually includes a lot of paperwork filling out time. It is not very interactive and certainly does not help the new hire after it is over. Onboarding is much longer. It takesplace both before and after the hire. It could last weeks or months the longer the better. It is meant to introduce and ingrain the fellowship culture and way of working. It should reinforce everything the new hire was told in the recruiting phase. It should incentivize new hires to do their best work until they can do better. Then it should incentivize them to do better. It should make them happy with their decision. It should develop, coach and mentor. It should turn a great hire into a great employee.Why do you think Microsoft implemented the MACH program? Can you see any drawbacks of doing so? Microsoft Academy for College Hires (MACH) is a two-year program designed to provide new university graduates hired into the companys sales, marketing, and services divisions with onboarding courses, hands-on training, coaching and networking opportunities. The main objective of MACH is not only to onboard new graduates so they can start adding value to their teams quickly, but to help them more efficiently navigate the unified culture and politics. MACH has help numerous graduates maneuver throughout the corporate world by helping them build network with senior employees and also to connect with opposite Microsoft employees around the world. Microsoft Academy for College Hires is an excellent idea, especially in right aways economy. If more large companies such as Microsoft developed a program as this, new graduates joining the work force will be more comfortable, more engaged in what they want to do and their specialties. The program teaches networking and corporate skills thes e graduates will take throughout life. The only drawback the program may necessitate is the mentors scheduling. Once new hires beginning observing a mentor, it is more beneficial for them to remain with their mentor for the duration of the program. Switching between mentors has its positives and negatives and lost of interest and personality adjustments are a few negatives that may be included.How might the program improve Microsofts employer brand and help it attract talent?Joseph Ibarra, a MACH 2008 graduate, is a supporter of the program. Ive seen alumni at the MACH events, people who have accelerated quickly throughout the company and won some of Microsofts most prestigious awards. Its really inspirational to see people come to the company and havea huge influence. It shows it can be done, even at a company with so many people. Graduates of the Microsoft Academy for College Hires (MACH) are perfect advertisement for Microsoft. The positive enrichment and development that the g raduates have received are perfect for Microsoft to use to engage other soon to be graduates to the company. These graduates that are currently apart of the MACH program are also perfect candidates to become apart of the growing company. Since Microsoft have invested time and silver into the development and training of these graduates, employing them within the company will be a positive give back to the company and the program itself.REFERENCESnell, S., & Bohlander, G. W. (2013). Managing human resources (16th Ed), Mason, Ohio South-Western Cengage cultureMicrosoft Careers MACH Program. (n.d.). Retrieved from http//careers.microsoft.com/careers/en/nz/mach.aspx

Friday, May 24, 2019

Cisneros’ House on the Mango Street: Beauty Comes from Within

Sometimes it is difficult to live through the travails of what life has to offer for all of us. For well-nigh who are unlucky, they put one across to go through legion(predicate) trials and tribulations in order to survive the rigors of poverty, dysfunctional families and societal problems. However, when we learn to see the bright side of everything, we lead realize that all these bitter and difficult experiences in life so-and-so be beautiful and meaningful for us. With prohibited these, we would not attain success or learn about our mis beats that birth all of us ameliorate and stronger people.As a quote from Sandra Cisneros The House on the Mango Street (1989) goes Butterflies too are few and so are flowers and most things that are beautiful. Still, we take what we bottomland get and make the best of it, this means that we offer all live through seeing things as beautiful and essential. What is important is that we value the things that we call for and it is up to us to make our lives better than what we deserve.Sandra Cisneros The House on the Mango Street weaves a thought-provoking, coming-of-age tale of a young girl. She is not only struggle to grow up to become a fine lady like usual American girls, but she is faced with shame, guilt and disappointment as her family is embarking on to acquire a freshly home in America.As the story comes to a full circle, the readers would inevitably commiserate with how the girl dealt with the scenarios she had faced. She did not only have to go through the complicated journey with her family to their new home, but she has to deal with the big disappointment that their new category is not what she hoped for. These difficulties definitely fanned some fire inside her to become more determined and strive harder in the future. In the end, readers could predict her utter frustration why things are always pugnacious for immigrant people like them in America.In the story, Esperanzas family has to undergo an awkw ard transition of looking for a permanent place to live. Readers will immediately conclude that the young girls family has Chicano roots because the girl enumerated the members of the family in beginning her story Papa, Mama, Carlos, Kiki and Nenny.Whats admirable about Cisneros conversational style of story-writing is that everyone can relate to their experiences. At one point in anyones life, we all can identify with the travails of going through a house transfer. Anyones initial reaction will be to feel excited of how our new house will look like or who our new neighbors will be. Unfortunately, for the young girl, she is jump out to be betrayed by her own expectations.When Esperanzas father announced that they are getting a new house in Mango Street, she expected that it will be in the usual American neighborhood with homes that have freshly-mown lawns and white picket fences. For the Esperanza, Mango Street is more than street sign it is her marker that circumscribes the wo olgather that she and her family had brought with them. This new house will simply be one aspect of attaining their dream to have a more comfortable life in this new place, in this new country.However, when she saw the house in Mango Street, she was disappointed. She becomes aware of her own subjective perceptions as she begins to differentiate her familys wonderful dreams and societys ugly realities. Thus, she becomes conscious of her parents inability to fulfill their promises of the perfect house. She thought that They always told us that one day we would move into a house, a real house (p. 223). However, the real house the narrator expected would be like the houses on TVApparently, when the narrator saw the house on Mango Street, it transformed from creation a symbol of hope to become a symbol of poverty. The narrator associates this realization with the humiliation she has felt in the past, when her family lived in similar places. However, Esperanza realized that she can go b eyond her expectations and she could make herself a better person, despite her roots and the community shes living in.Esperanza began seeing all the positive things around her to make her a stronger person. You can be poor but you still can do good in your studies and excel to become a successful lawyer. You can be a Latina and not get pregnant to become a young mother, but you can strive to achieve your dreams of becoming a coarse artist someday. Thus, in the story, we can learn that there is beauty in everything that we have. It is just up to us to use these things wisely to make the best out of it.Works CitedCisneros, Sandra. The House on Mango Street. New York Vintage Books, Inc. 1989.

Thursday, May 23, 2019

Othello protagonist Essay

The protagonist of the play, Othello is a man trapped by his own weaknesses rather than a victim of circumstance. Even though the situations that Othello finds himself in are not ideal and contribute to his downfall, it is his own fatal flaws that end up destroying him. In act 3 scene 3 Iago starts to plant a microbe of doubt in Othellos mind about his wife Desdemona and her infidelity. Iago proceeds to ask Othello, Did Michael Cassio, when you wooed my lady, know of you love? This question immediately causes Othello to become suspicious.Iago then follows with a series of rhetorical questions that enrage Othello as surface increase the doubt that is building up in his mind. By the end of this scene we see one of Othellos weaknesses present itself, jealousy. This particular flaw becomes one of the major contributions to Othellos downfall. By the end of the play jealousy has clouded his judgment and taken over his perspective on everything. At first Othello insists that he needs proof of the alleged affair but quickly changes his mind. Must be to loathe her. O curse of marriage.Act 4 scene 1, Iago informs Othello that Desdemona and Cassio have slept together and he has seen that she has given Cassio the handkerchief Othello gave her when they first fell in love. All this news that Iago keeps telling him sends Othello aside into a rant, Ist possible? Confess? Handkerchief? O devil After this his falls into a trance. This is the moment when all Othellos insecurities, fears and aversions as well as the obvious lack of judgment that a leader is assumed to have combine to create this kind of epileptic fit.In this scene point directions are used to help the reader understand what is going on for a dramatic effect. Two of Othellos flaws that cause this downfall are indignation and gullibility. These feelings enabled Iago fill his head with lies that caused him to get so worked up that he lost control. In act 5 scene 1 Iago had convinced Othello that he would shoot down Cassio and that Othello had to kill Desdemona. Othello begins this scene with a soliloquy, reflecting and attempting to justify his decision to kill her. Othello refers to Desdemona as jobless. Put out the light and then put out he light. So sweet we neer so fatal. Othello describes how she was so sweet but her actions caused so much pain. Before he kills her, Othello makes sure she has prayed or confessed so that she will go to heaven. I will not kill thy unprepared spirit. Othellos blind faith in Iago is the flaw that leads all his other weaknesses to leaven to the surface and in the end the inevitable happens. Othello, once a great man, falls. Desdemona speak for one last time in the play. A guiltless terminal I die. This quote enforces the reality of what has just taken place.This innocent woman was a victim because of another mans weakness. In this play it is create what jealousy and misguided trust can do to a person. These weaknesses, along with others, are th e reason for Othellos downfall. Each flaw produced another weakness or doubt. The fact that Othello was manipulated to be part of Iagos plan for revenge only accelerated the speed of his demise. The fatal mix of passion, jealousy, insecurity as well as how easily he could be manipulated caused Othello to be a man snared by his own weaknesses.

Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Barriers To Supply Chain Management

Becoming an integrated encourage partner requires tight integration between the allow chain and node relationship activities. There are many visible and invisible barriers that check smooth supply chain management. To illustrate, a company that customizes its offerings to delight a customer with high potential lifetime protect must also ensure that its supply chain management processes unlinedly feed into its CRM process for that customer.This forms the basis of an integrated make and supply chain management establishment free from any kind of barriers.Research proves that companies that do integrate study and supply chain management schemas are more than successful than their counterparts. Those that have successfully integrated their CRM and SCM activities tend to perform better than their competitors. Specifically, these companies gain a competitive advantage by (1) collaborating both internally and externally with supply chain partners, such as suppliers, distributor s/retailers, and customers having no or less barriers, and (2) measuring and exceeding their goals for customer loyalty and retention for each(prenominal) customer and segment.They a lot are aided by new Internet technologies, which help them, ameliorate supply chain collaboration and build relationships across a network of suppliers and customers. This, in turn, allows them to differentiate the way they force value for every customer and segment. With these emerging e-business technologies that can seamlessly link manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, and customers, companies, in theory, can swiftly orchestrate resources to respond to each customers needs. But in substantiveity, this is virtually impossible to do.Companies simply do non have the resources to simultaneously respond in real time, reduce manufacturing costs, keep zipper inventories, and provide excellent service for each and every customer. So instead of trying to satisfy every customer perfectly, they need t o learn how to dynamically residuum customer value and supply chain costs to build the right customer relationships. Companies can achieve this balance by leveraging Internet technologies to create digitally integrated demand and supply systems in which there is no chance of any barrier.Such systems would provide real-time, differentiated responses to customers according to their loyalty, lifetime value, requirements, and servicing costs. By focusing on maximizing the entire value creation process, rather than on just specific CRM or SCM activities, companies will go to reap the real benefits of the new digital economy. Heineken and Cisco Systems are examples of companies that are leveraging the Internet to enhance collaboration with customers, distributors, and suppliers and hence an effective tool to remove various barriers of supply chain management.Heineken has focused on CRM, while Cisco has emphasized SCM. Heineken has developed a web- plantd system to share information wit h distributors on forecasts, marketing and promotions, and order fulfillment. The system has doubled Heinekens customer satisfaction ratings. Cisco, a leader in networking equipment for telecommunications and the Internet, has created electronic links with key suppliers across its entire product line to give it unparalleled supply chain flexibility. The links enable suppliers to ship more than 65 percent of Ciscos orders directly to the final customer without physical intervention from Cisco.The result is a significant reduction in the time it takes to ramp up production of new products. Although both of these companies are innovators, neither one has developed a very integrated demand-supply chain that depends on simultaneous excellence in both SCM and CRM. Other leaders are leveraging the Web in different ways. Companies corresponding Herman Miller and Dell Computer, for example, have discovered that excellence in products, service, and production alone is not enough to compete in the future.They recognize that they must sour integrated value providers and they also leant that this is only possible by removing visible and invisible barriers from supply chain management. Herman Miller, a leading furniture manufacturer, is creating tailored Web pages that will not only streamline manufacturing, inventory, and order information flows to and from its 500-plus suppliers around the world but also sell to and service its most important customers. leverage the Internet in this way will help Herman Miller differentiate products, service, and delivery for customers according to the value they bring to the company.(Siems, 2005) Similarly, Dell continually resegments its customer base and measures the lifetime value of customers. The computer maker then manages its interaction with customers through tailored Web pages that offer each customer the most profitable customer service level. Dell also has an online supplier portal that handles 90 percent of purchases from the 33 most important suppliers. This feature helps Dell and its suppliers share key information and measurements on shipment accuracy, quality, and demand forecasts.As companies like Dell succeed in integrating customer and supply chain systems, they can further reduce inventories improve customer responsiveness, decrease barriers and increase customer loyalty and shareholder value. Just by taking the early steps toward achieving excellence in CRM and SCM, companies can begin to boost their business performance while erecting formidable barriers to the competition. Competitors will find it increasingly difficult to mimic the value offered by these integrated value providers. (Shankar, 2004) Creating new value propositions is the second approach to integrating demand and supply. This entails modifying the demand-supply chain design to create a mutually beneficial supply chain system for both the company and the customer and it also helps in removing various barriers in the way of supply chain management. To do this, companies must change the point in the supply chain at which they allocate goods while simultaneously altering the point at which they fulfill demand.The idea that suppliers should work much more fast with customers to give them better value is not new as far as the removal of barriers is concerned. Yet close partnerships are still not ordinary largely because, until recently, integrating the information systems of two or more companies was a lengthy, expensive, and technically difficult process. The recent widespread adoption of Web-based enterprise resource grooming (ERP) systems and the rise of the Internet, however, have made it much easier and cheaper for customers and suppliers to integrate and exchange data.(Holmstrom, 2001) And yet, disconnects still occur. In reality, most of the changes that suppliers implement do not add much value from the customers point of view and this also proves to be a barrier. A supplier, for example, might typically cut its inventory by reducing product varietywhich is not very helpful for the customer or for the customers customer. By tweaking the demand-supply chain, however, suppliers can design mutually beneficial supply chain systems for particular customers.These systems will offer customers all new value propositions while improving the suppliers own operations. To affect a mutually beneficial supply chain design, companies must focus on the customers demand chain, which transfers demand from the market to the supplier. A retailers demand chain, for example, would consist of assortment planning, inventory management, and procurement. This demand chain joins with the supply chain to form the demand-supply chain. The chains link unneurotic in two placesthe supply-fulfillment point (SFP) and the demand-offering point (DOP).Efficient Consumer Response (ECR) is an approach to avert barriers in supply chain management which originated in the US and gained support from major Europe an retailers. It is a managerial approach that starts with consumer demand and then gears the whole of the supply chain to responding to that demand. It is a customer-driven, demand-pull product management system a seamless interface from consumer purchase to manufacturing schedules it is different to a supply-push or buying-led approach, which is based on the principles of sales forecasting, with products supplied in preparation for estimated demand.References Holmstrom, J. , W. E. Hoover Jr. , P. Louhiluoto, and A. Vasara. The Other End of the tag on Chain, The McKinsey Quarterly, 2001, 1, 62-71. Shankar, V. e-Marketplaces Evolution and Future, Working Paper, University of Maryland, 2004. Siems, Thomas F. 2005. Supply Chain Management The Science of Better, Faster, Cheaper. Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Southwest Economy. Issue 2, March/April, pp. 1, 7-12.

Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Black House Chapter Thirteen

13DANNY TCHEDA and Pam St rases already pull in their hands full with would-be gate-crashers when they hear the sound of motorcycles gunning toward them, and the arrival of the smooch louver is al superstar they need to pick up bug kayoed their day really complete. Getting rid of mooring Runkleman and Freddy Saknessum had been easy enough, equable not five minutes later the eastbound highways of Highway 35 change up with population who conceit they had a perfect right to gawk at all the teeny corpses that were supposed to be stacked up in the wreckage of Eds Eats. For every car they finally manage to s shutting bulge-of-door, ii more show up in its place. Everybody demands a long explanation of why they, as taxpayers and concerned citizens, should not be allowed to enter a crime scene, especially whizz so tragic, so poignant, so . . . well, so exciting. Most of them refuse to conceptualise that the only body inside that tumbledown building is Irma Fre-neaus three slew in a row accuse Danny of abetting a cover-up, and one of them actually uses the word Fishergate. Yikes. In a weird way, lots of these corpse hunters almost think that the local police be protecting the FishermanSome of them finger rosaries while they cry out on the carpet him out. One lady waves a crucifix in his baptismal font and tells him he has a dirty soul and is bound for hell. At least half(a) of the people he turns outdoor(a) are carrying cameras. What kind of person sets false on a Saturday morning to t all(prenominal) pictures of perfectly children? What gets Danny is this they all think theyre perfectly normal. Whos the loony? He is.The husband of an elderly couple from housemaid Marian Way regularises, Young man, apparently you are the only person in this county who does not derive that history is happening all around us. Madge and I feel we mother the right to a entertainsake.A keepsake?Sweaty, out of patterns, and completely fed up, Danny loses his cool. Buddy, I agree with you right down the line, he says. If it was up to me, you and your lovely wife would be able to drive away with a pitchstained T-shirt, mayhap scour a severed finger or cardinal, in your trunk. But what grass I say? The chief is a very unreasonable guy.Off zooms Maid Marian Way, too shocked to speak. The next guy in line derails yelling the mo handst Danny leans down to his window. He looks exactly wish well Dannys image of George Rathbun, but his voice is raspier and slightly higher in pitch. Dont think I dressing tootht give ear what youre doing, buster Danny says good, because hes trying to protect a crime scene, and the George Rathbun guy, who is driving an old mettlesome Dodge Caravan minus the previous bumper and the right side-view mirror, shouts, I been sitting here(predicate)(predicate) twenty minutes while you and that dame do doodly-squat I intrust you wont be surprised when you see some VIGILANTE ACTION around hereIt is at this xder moment that Danny hears the un spread overakable rumble of the Thunder Five charging toward him down the highway. He has not felt right since he found Tyler Marshalls bicycle in front of the old folks home, and the thought of wrangling with Beezer St. Pierre fills his sense with dark oily smoke and whirling red sparks. He lowers his head and stares directly into the eyeball of the red-faced George Rathbun look-a standardized. His voice emerges in a low, assassinated monotone. Sir, if you extend on your present course, I will handcuff you, park you in the grit of my car until I am free to leave, and consequently take you to the point and press down on you with everything that tote ups to mind. That is a promise. Now do yourself a favor and get the hell out of here.The mans mouth opens and closes, goldfish deal. Splotches of brighter red appear on his jowly, already discolour face. Danny keeps staring into his eyes, almost hoping for an excuse to truss him in handcuff s and roast him in the masking seat of his car. The guy argues his options, and caution wins. He drops his eyes, moves the shift open to R, and nearly backs into the Miata behind him.I dont believe this is happening, Pam says. What dumb so-and-so spilled the beans?Like Danny, she is watching Beezer and his friends roar toward them past the row of waiting cars.I dont know, but Id homogeneous to ram my nightstick down his throat. And after him, Im flavour for Wendell unfledged.You wont go to look very outlying(prenominal). Hes intimately six cars back in the line. Pam points to Wendells traveling sneer.Good God, Danny says. Actually, Im sort of glad to see that miserable blowhard. Now I washbowl tell him exactly what I think of him. Smiling, he bends down to speak to the adolescent boy at the wheel of the Miata. The boy leaves, and Danny waves off the number one wood behind him while watching the Thunder Five get closer and closer. He says to Pam, At this point, if Beezer c limbs up in my face and even looks like he needs to get material, Im pulling out my roscoe, honest to God.Paperwork, paperwork, Pam says.I really dont give a anathemise.Well, here we go, she says, intercourse him that if he pulls his gun, she will back him up.Even the drivers trying to argue their way into the lane are taking time out to watch Beezer and the boys. In motion, hair and beards blowing, faces set, they look ready to commit as much mayhem as potential. Danny Tchedas heart begins to speed, and he feels his sphincter tighten.But the Thunder Five rockers race past without so much as turning their heads, one after an some other. Beezer, Mouse, Doc, Sonny, and the Kaiser there they go, leaving the scene.Well, damn, Danny says, unable to decide if he feels relieved or disappointed. The abrupt jolt of dismay he registers when the rockers wheel around in a comprehensive, gravel-spraying U-turn thirty yards up ahead tells him that what he had felt was relief.Oh, please, n o, Pam says.In the waiting automobiles, every head turns as the motorcycles flash by again, returning the way they came. For a couple of seconds, the only sound to be heard is the pull away furor of five Harley-Davidson cycles. Danny Tcheda takes off his uniform hat and wipes his forehead. Pam Stevens arches her back and exhales. Then someone b closing curtains his horn, and two other horns join in, and a guy with a graying walrus mustache and a denim shirt is holding up a three-quarter-sized badge in a leather aspect and explaining that he is the cousin of a county-circuit judge and an honorary member of the La Riviere police force, which basically means he never gets speeding or parking tickets and can go wherever he likes. The mustache spreads out in a big grin. So in effect(p) let me get by, and you can go back to your business, Officer.Not allow him get by is his business, Danny says, and he is forced to repeat this message several times forrader he can get on to the nex t case. by and by sending away a few more disgruntled citizens, he checks to see how long he must wait before he can tell off Wendell honey oil. Surely the reporter cannot be more than two or three cars back. As soon as Danny raises his head, horns blast and people start cheering at him. Let us in Hey, bud, I pay your salary, remember? I wanna talk to Dale, I wanna talk to DaleA few men devour gotten out of their cars. Their fingers are pointing at Danny, their mouths are working, but he cannot make out what they are yelling. A band of pain runs like a red-hot iron bar from behind his left(p) eye to the middle of his brain. Something is wrong he cannot see Greens ugly red car. Where the hell is it? Damn damn and double damn, Green must have eased out of the line and driven into the field onside Eds. Danny snaps around and inspects the field. Angry voices and car horns boil up at his back. No beat-up red Toyota, no Wendell Green. What do you know, the windbag gave upA few minute s later the traffic thins out, and Danny and Pam think their melody is pretty much over. All four lanes of Highway 35 are empty, their usual condition on a Saturday morning. The one truck that rolls along keeps on rolling, on its way to Centralia.Think we ought to go up there? Pam asks, nodding toward the remains of the store.Maybe, in a couple minutes. Danny is not eager to get within range of that timber. He would be perfectly happy to sojourn down here until the M.E. and the evidence wagon come along. What gets into people, anyhow? He would happily waive two days pay to be spared the sight of Irma Freneaus poor body.Then he and Pam hear two distinct sounds at once, and neither one makes them comfortable. The first is that of a fresh wave of vehicles racing down the highway to their position the second, the rumble of motorcycles descending upon the scene from somewhere behind the old store.Is there a back road to this place? he asks, incredulous.Pam shrugs. Sounds like it. Bu t look Dalell have to deal with Beezers goons, because were gonna have our hands full down here.Aw, cripes, Danny says. Maybe thirty cars and pickups are converging on the end of the little lane, and both he and Pam can see that these people are angrier and more determined than the first bunch. At the far end of the crowd, some men and women are leaving their vehicles on the shoulder and walking toward the two officers. The drivers at the front of the pack are beckon their fists and shouting even before they try to turn in. Incredibly, a woman and two teenage kids are holding up a long banner that reads WE insufficiency THE FISHERMAN A man in a dusty old Caddy thrusts his arm done the window and displays a handmade placard GILBERTSON must GO.Danny looks over his shoulder and sees that the Thunder Five must have found a back road, because four of them are standing out in front of Eds, looking oddly like Secret Service agents, while Beezer St. Pierre is deep in discussion with t he chief. And what they look like, it occurs to Danny, is two heads of state working out a trade agreement. This makes no sense at all, and Danny turns back to the cars, the lunatics with signs, and the men and women working their way toward him and Pam.A barrel-chested, seventy-one-year-old man with a white goatee, Hoover Dalrymple, plants himself in front of Pam and starts demanding his inalienable rights. Danny remembers his name because Dalrymple initiated a brawl in the bar of the Nelson Hotel about six months earlier, and now here he is all over again, acquire his revenge. I will not speak to your partner, he yells, and I will not listen to anything he says, because your partner has no interest in the rights of the people of this community.Danny sends away an orange Subaru driven by a sullen teenage boy in a faint Sabbath T-shirt, then a black Corvette with La Riviere dealers plates and a strikingly pretty, strikingly foulmouthed young woman. Where do these people come from ? He does not recognize anyone except Hoover Dalrymple. Most of the people in front of him now, Danny supposes, were hailed in from out of town.He has set out to help Pam when a hand closes on his shoulder, and he looks behind him to see Dale Gilbertson side by side with Beezer St. Pierre. The four other bikers hover a few feet away. The one called Mouse, who is of course roughly the size of a haystack, catches Dales eye and grins.What are you doing? Danny asks. hush down, Dale says. Mr. St. Pierres friends have volunteered to assist our crowd-control efforts, and I think we can use all the help they can give us.Out of the side of his eye, Danny glimpses the Neary twins locomoteing out of the front of the crowd, and he holds up a hand to stop them. What do they get out of this?Simple information, the chief says. Okay, boys, get to work.Beezers friends move apart and flack the crowd. The chief moves beside Pam, who first looks at him in amazement, then nods. Mouse snarls at Hoover Dalrymple and says, By the power invested in me, I order you to get the tail out of here, Hoover. The old man vanishes so quickly he seems to have dematerialized.The rest of the bikers have the alike(p) effect on the angry sightseers. Danny hopes they can maintain their cool in the face of steady abuse a three-hundred-pound man who looks like a Hells Angel on a knife bound between self-control and mounting fury works wonders on a rebellious crowd. The biker nearest Danny sends Floyd and Frank Neary away just by raising his fist at them. As they melt back to their car, the biker winks at Danny and introduces himself as Kaiser Bill. Beezers friend enjoys the process of controlling a crowd, and an immense grin threatens to break finished his scowl, to that degree molten anger bubbles underneath, just the same.Who are the other guys? Danny asks.Kaiser Bill identifies Doc and Sonny, who are dispersing the crowd to Dannys right. wherefore are you guys doing this?The Kaiser lowers his head so that his face hangs two inches from Dannys. It is like confronting a bull. Heat and rage pour from the broad features and hairy skin. Danny almost expects to see steam puffing from the mans wide nostrils. One of the pupils is smaller than the other explosive red wires tangle done the whites. Why? Were doing it for Amy. Isnt that clear to you, Officer Tcheda?Sorry, Danny mongrelers. Of course. He hopes Dale will be able to keep a lid on these monsters. Watching Kaiser Bill rock an ancient Mustang belonging to a fool kid who failed to back up in time, he is extremely happy that the bikers dont have any blunt instruments.Through the vacant space formerly occupied by the kids Mustang, a police car rolls toward Danny and the Kaiser. As it makes its way through the crowd, a woman wearing a sleeveless T-shirt and Capri pants bangs her hand against the passenger windows. When the car reaches Danny the two part-timers, Bob Holtz and Paul Nestler, jump out, yaw at the Kaiser, and ask if he and Pam need help. Go up and talk to the chief, Danny says, though he should not have to. Holtz and Nestler are nice guys, but they have a lot to catch about chain of command, along with everything else.About a minute and a half later, Bobby Dulac and Dit Jesperson show up. Danny and Pam wave them through as the bikers charge into the fray and drag chanting citizens off the sides and hoods of their vehicles. Sounds of struggle reach Danny over angry shouts coming from the mob before him. It seems that he has been out here for hours. Thrusting people out of the way with great backswings of his arms, Sonny emerges to stand beside Pam, who is doing her best. Mouse and Doc walk into the clear. A trail of blood leaking from his nose, a red smear darkening his beard at the corner of his mouth, the Kaiser strides up beside Danny.Just as the crowd begins chanting, HELL NO, WE WONT GO HELL NO, WE WONT GO Holtz and Nestler return to bolster the line. Hell no, we wont go? Danny won ders. Isnt that supposed to be about Vietnam?Only dimly aware of the sound of a police siren, Danny sees Mouse wade into the crowd and knock out the first three people he can reach. Doc settles his hands on the open window of an all-too-familiar Oldsmobile and asks the small, balding driver what the hell he thinks he is doing. Doc, leave him alone, Danny says, but the siren whoops again and drowns out his words.Although the little man at the wheel of the Olds looks like an ineffectual maths teacher or a low-level civic functionary, he possesses the determination of a gladiator. He is the Reverend Lance Hovdahl, Dannys old Sunday school teacher.I thought I could help, the noble-minded says.What with all this racket, I cant really hear you too good. Let me help you get closer, Doc says. He reaches in through the window as the siren whoops again and a disk operating system Police car slides by on the other side.Hold it, Doc, STOP Danny shouts, seeing the two men in the state car, br own and Black, craning their necks to stare at the spectacle of a bearded man built like a grizzly bear pull a Lutheran minister out through the window of his car. Creeping along behind them, another surprise, is Arnold Hrabowski, the Mad Hungarian, goggling through the windshield of his DAREmobile as if terrify by the chaos around him.The end of the lane is like a war zone now. Danny strides into the screaming mob and gormandises a few people divagation on his way to Doc and his old Sunday school teacher, who looks shaken but not at all injured. Well, Danny, my goodness, the minister says. Im certainly glad to see you here.Doc glares at the two of them. You know each other?Reverend Hovdahl, this is Doc, Danny says. Doc, this is Reverend Hovdahl, the pastor at Mount Hebron Lutheran.Holy moly, says Doc, and immediately begins to pat the little mans lapels and tug at the hem of his jacket, as if to pull him into shape. Sorry, Reverend, I hope I didnt hurt you none.The state cops a nd the Mad Hungarian manage at last to squeeze out of the crowd. The sound level decreases to a mild hubbub one way or another, Docs friends have silenced the loudest members of the opposition.Fortunately, the window is wider than I am, the reverend says.Say, maybe I could come over and talk to you someday, says Doc. Ive been doing a lot of reading about first-century Christianity lately. You know, G?za Verms, John Dominic Crossan, Paula Fredriksen, stuff like that. Id like to quail some ideas off you.Whatever Reverend Hovdahl intends to say is obliterated by the sudden explosion of noise from the other end of the lane. A womans voice rises like a banshees, in an inhuman screeching that shivers the hairs on the nape of Dannys neck. It sounds to him as though escaped lunatics a thousand times more dangerous than the Thunder Five are raving through the landscape. What the devil could have happened up there? Hello boys? Unable to contain his indignation, Bobby Dulac turns to stare fi rst at Dale, then at seaman. His voice rises, hardens. Is this shit for real? Hello boys?Dale coughs into his fist and shrugs. He valued us to find her.Well, of course, bozo says. He told us to come here.Why would he do that, though? Bobby asks.Hes proud of his work. From some dim crossroads in assholes memory, an ugly voice says, Stay out of it. You mess with me and Ill strew your gritstone from Racine to La Riviere. Whose voice had that been? With no more evidence than his conviction, old salt understands that if he could place that voice, he would put a name to the Fisherman. He cannot all Jack Sawyer can do at this moment is remember a stink worse than the foul cloud that fills this crumbling building a hideous smell that came from the southwest of another world. That was the Fisherman, too, or whatever the Fisherman was in that world.A thought worthy of the former rising star of the LAPDs Homicide Division awakens in his mind, and he says, Dale, I think you should let atomic number 1 hear that 911 tape.I dont get it. What for?Henrys tuned in to stuff even bats cant hear. Even if he doesnt recognize the voice, hell learn a hundred times more than what we know now.Well, Uncle Henry never forgets a voice, thats true. Okay, lets get out of here. The M.E. and the evidence wagon should show up in a couple of minutes.Trailing behind the other two men, Jack thinks of Tyler Marshalls Brewers cap and where he found it that world he has spent more than half his life denying, and his return to which this morning continues to send shocks through his system. The Fisherman left the cap for him in the Territories, the land he had first heard of when Jacky was six when Jacky was six, and soda water played the horn. It is all coming back to him, that immense adventure, not because he wishes it, but because it has to come back forces outside himself are picking him up by the scruff of his neck and carrying him forward. Forward into his own past The Fisherman is proud of his handiwork, yes, the Fisherman is deliberately taunting them a truth so obvious none of the three men had to speak it aloud but really the Fisherman is baiting only Jack Sawyer, who alone has seen the Territories. And if thats true, as it has to be, then then the Territories and all they contain are involved somehow in these wretched crimes, and he has been thrust into a drama of enormous consequence he cannot possibly accomplish right now. The Tower. The Beam. He had seen this in his mothers handwriting, something about the Tower falling and the Beams breaking these things are parts of the puzzle, whatever they mean, as is Jacks gut conviction that Tyler Marshall is still alive, tucked away in some pocket of the other world. The recognition that he can never speak of all this to anyone else, not even Henry Leyden, makes him feel intensely alone.Jacks thoughts blow away in the noisy chaos that erupts alongside and in front of the shack. It sounds like an Indian attac k in a cowboy movie, whooping and yelling and the sound of running feet. A woman sends up a shrill scream eerily like the blip-blips of the police siren he had half-noted a few moments ago. Dale mutters Jeez, and breaks into a run, drawed by Bobby and Jack.Outside, what appears to be a half dozen crazy people are racing around in the cheeseparing gravel in front of Eds. Dit Jesperson and Beezer, still too stunned to react, watch them caper back and forth. The crazy people make an amazing enumerate of noise. One man yells, KILL THE FISHERMAN KILL THE DIRTY BASTARD Another is shouting LAW N ORDER N FREE BEER A scrawny graphic symbol in bib overalls picks up FREE BEER WE WANT FREE BEER A harpy too old for her tank top and blue jeans skitters around waving her arms and screeching at the top of her lungs. The grins on their faces indicate that these people are engaged in some dimwitted prank. They are having the time of their lives.Up from the end of the lane comes a State Police car , with the Mad Hungarians DARE Pontiac right behind it. In the middle of the chaos, Henry Leyden tilts his head and smiles to himself.When he sees his chief take off after one of the men, fat Dit Jesperson lurches into action and spots Doodles Sanger, against whom he has borne a grudge ever since she rancid him down late one night in the Nelson Hotel. Dit recognizes case Runkleman, the tall galoot with the broken nose Dale is chasing and he knows Freddy Saknessum, but Freddy is undoubtedly too fast for him and, besides, Dit has the feeling that if he put his hands on Freddy Saknessum, about eight hours later he would probably come down with something really nasty. Bobby Dulac is on the skinny guys case, so Doodles is Dits ass, and he looks forward to pulling her down into the weeds and making her pay for calling him what she did, six years ago in the Nelsons filthy bar. (In front of maybe a dozen of French Landings most raffish characters, Doodles had compared him to the then chi efs smelly, waddling old mongrel, Tubby.)Dit looks her in the eye, and for a second she stops jumping around to stand flat-footed on the ground and give him a little come-hither gesture with the fingers of both hands. He launches himself at her, but when he gets to where she was, she is six feet off to the right, shifting on her feet like a basketball player. Tubby-Tubby, she says. serve and get it, Tub-Tub. Furious, Dit reaches, misses, and nearly loses his balance. Doodles prances away laughing and mouths the hateful expression. Dit doesnt get it why doesnt Doodles just break away and take off ? Its like she almost wants to get caught, but first she has to run out the clock. afterward another serious lunge that misses the target by only an inch or two, Dit Jesperson wipes the sweat off his face and checks out the scene. Bobby Dulac is snapping cuffs on the skinny guy, but Dale and Hollywood Sawyer are faring only a little better than he is. Teddy Runkleman and Freddy Saknessum d odge and bob away from their pursuers, both of them cackling like idiots and shouting their halfwit slogans. Why is low-life scum forever so agile? Dit supposes that rodents like Runkleman and Saknessum get more practice in being light on their feet than regular people.He charges Doodles, who slips past him and goes into a chuckling, high-stepping diddley-bop. Over her shoulder, Dit sees Hollywood finally fake out Saknessum, wrap an arm around his waist, and throw him to the ground.You didnt have to get all physical on my ass, Saknessum says. His eyes shift, and he gives a brief nod. Hey, Runks.Teddy Runkleman glances at him, and his eyes shift, too. He stops moving. The chief says, What, you run out of gas?Partys over, Runkleman says. Hey, we were just funnin, you know?Aw, Runksie, I wanna play some more, Doodles says, throwing a few hip wiggles into the diddley-bop. In a flash, Beezer St. Pierre thrusts his mountainous self between her and Dit. He move forward, rumbling like a s emi going up a steep grade. Doodles tries to dance backward, but Beezer envelops her and carries her toward the chief.Beezie, doncha love me no more? Doodles asks.Beezer grunts in aversion and deposits her in front of the chief. The two state cops, Perry chocolate-brown and Jeff Black, are hanging back, looking even more disgusted than the biker. If Dits mental processes were to be transcribed from their stenography into standard English, the result would be, Hes gotta have something on the ball if he brews that Kingsland Ale, because that is some fine, fine beer. And look at the chief Hes so ready to bust a gut, he cant even see that were about to lose this case.You were FUNNIN? the chief roars. Whats the MATTER with you idiots? Dont you have any respect for that poor girl in there?As the state cops step forward to take charge, Dit sees Beezer go rigid with shock for a moment, then move as inconspicuously as possible away from the group. No one but Dit Jesperson pays any attentio n to him the enormous biker has done his bit, and now his part is over. Arnold Hrabowski, who had been more or less conceal behind Brown and Black, shoves his hands in his pockets, hunches his shoulders, and gives Dit a glance of shamefaced apology. Dit doesnt get it What does the Mad Hungarian have to feel so guilty about? Hell, he just got here. Dit looks back at Beezer, who is advancing ponderously toward the side of the shack and surprise, surprise everybodys best pal and popular reporter, Mr. Wendell Green, now appearing a little alarmed. Guess more than one kind of scum just rose to the surface, Dit thinks.Beezer likes women who are smart and levelheaded, like Bear Girl brainless skanks like Doodles drive him crazy. He reaches out, grabs two handfuls of pasty, rayon-covered flesh, and scoops wriggling Doodles under his arm.Doodles says, Beezie, doncha love me no more?He lowers the dumb mutt to the ground in front of Dale Gilbertson. When Dale finally explodes at these fou r grown-up juvenile delinquents, Beezer remembers the signal Freddy had given Runksie, and looks over the chiefs shoulder at the front of the old store. To the left of the rotting gray entrance, Wendell Green is aiming his camera at the group before him, getting fancy, bending and leaning, stepping to one side and another as he snaps pictures. When he sees Beezer looking at him through his lens, Wendell straightens up and lowers his camera. He has an awkward little smile on his face.Green must have slithered in through the back way, Beezer imagines, because theres no way the cops down front would give him a pass. Come to think of it, Doodles and the Dodos must have come the same way. He hopes all of them did not learn of the back road by following him, but thats a possibility.The reporter lets his camera hang from its strap and, keeping his eyes on Beezer, sidles away from the old shanty. The guilty, frightened way he moves reminds Beezer of a hyenas slink toward its carrion. Wendel l Green does fear Beezer, and Beezer cannot blame him. Green is lucky that Beezer did not actually rip off his head, instead of merely talking about it. Yet . . . Greens hyenalike crawl strikes Beezer as pretty strange, under the circumstances. He cant be afraid of getting beaten up in front of all these cops, can he?Greens uneasiness forms a link in Beezers mind to the communication he had seen pass between Runkleman and Freddy. When their eyes shifted, when they looked away, they were looking at the reporter He had set the whole thing up in advance. Green was using the Dodos as a distraction from whatever he was doing with his camera, of course. Such total sleaziness, such moral ugliness, infuriates Beezer. Galvanized by loathing, he moves quietly away from Dale and the other policemen and walks toward Wendell Green, keeping his eyes locked on the reporters.He sees Wendell consider making a break for it, then reject the idea, most likely because he knows he doesnt have a chance of getting away.When Beezer comes to within ten feet of him, Green says, We dont need any trouble here, Mr. St. Pierre. Im just doing my job. Surely you can understand that.I understand a lot of things, Beezer says. How much did you pay those clowns?Who? What clowns? Wendell pretends to chance on Doodles and the others for the first time. Oh, them? Are they the ones who were making all that ruckus?And why would they go do a thing like that?Because theyre animals, I guess. The expression on Wendells face communicates a great desire to align himself with Beezer on the side of human beings, as opposed to animals like Runkleman and Saknessum.Taking care to fix Greens eyes, instead of his camera, with his own, Beezer moves in closer and says, Wendy, youre a real piece of work, you know that?Wendell holds up his hands to ward off Beezer. Hey, we may have had our differences in the past, but Still looking him in the eye, Beezer folds his right hand around the camera and plants his left on Wendell Greens chest. He jerks the right hand back and gives Green a massive shove with the left. One of two things is going to break, Greens neck or the camera strap, and he does not much care which it is to be.To a sound like the crack of a whip, the reporter flails backward, barely managing to remain upright. Beezer is pulling the camera out of the case, from which dangle two strips of severed leather. He drops the case and rotates the camera in his big hands.Hey, dont do that Wendell says, his voice louder than speech but softer than a shout.What is it, an old F2A?If you know that, you know its a classic. Give it back to me.Im not going to hurt it, Im going to somewhat it out. Beezer snaps open the back of the camera, gets one thick finger under the exposed length of film, and rips out the entire roll. He smiles at the reporter and tosses the film into the weeds. gain how much better it feels without all that crap in there? This is a nice little machine you shouldnt fill it w ith garbage.Wendell does not dare show how raging he is. Rubbing the sore spot on the back of his neck, he growls, That so-called garbage is my livelihood, you oaf, you moron. Now give me back my camera.Beezer casually holds it out before him. I didnt quite catch all of that. What did you say?His only response a bleak glance, Wendell snatches the camera from Beezers hand.When the two state cops finally step forward, Jack feels a mixture of disappointment and relief. What they are going to do is obvious, so let them do it. Perry Brown and Jeff Black will take the Fisherman case away from Dale and run their own investigation. From now on, Dale will be lucky to get random scraps from the states table. Jacks greatest regret is that Brown and Black should have walked into this madhouse, this circus. They have been waiting for their moment all along in a sense, waiting for the local guy to prove his incompetence but what is going on now is a public humiliation for Dale, and Jack wishes it werent happening. He could not have imagined feeling grateful for the arrival of a biker gang at a crime scene, but thats how bad it is. Beezer St. Pierre and his companions kept the crowd away more efficiently than Dales officers. The question is, how did all those people find out? obscure from the damage to Dales reputation and self-esteem, however, Jack has few regrets about the case passing to another jurisdiction. Let Brown and Black scour every basement in French County Jack has the feeling they wont get any further than the Fisherman permits. To go further, he thinks, youd have to travel in directions Brown and Black could never understand, visit places they are certain do not exist. Going further means making friends with opopanax, and men like Brown and Black suspicion anything that even smells like opopanax. Which means that, in spite of everything Jack has said to himself since the murder of Amy St. Pierre, he will have to catch the Fisherman by himself. Or maybe no t entirely by himself. Dale is going to have a lot more time on his hands, after all, and no matter what the State Police do to him, Dale is too wrapped up in this case to walk away from it.Chief Gilbertson, says Perry Brown, I believe we have seen enough here. Is this what you call securing an area?Dale gives up on Teddy Runkleman and turns in frustration to the state cops, who stand side by side, like storm troopers. In his expression, Jack can see that he knows exactly what is going to happen, and that he hopes it will not be humiliatingly brutal. I did everything in my power to make this area secure, Dale says. After the 911 call came in, I talked to my men face to face and ordered them to come out in pairs at reasonable intervals, to keep from arousing any curiosity.Chief, you must have used your radio, says Jeff Black. Because for sure somebody was tuned in.I did not use the radio, Dale says. And my people knew better than to spread the news. But you know what, Officer Black? If the Fisherman called us on 911, maybe he also made a couple of anonymous calls to the citizens.Teddy Runkleman has been attending to this discussion like a spectator at a tennis final. Perry Brown says, Lets handle first things first. What do you intend to do with this man and his friends? Are you going to charge them? The sight of his face is getting on my nerves.Dale thinks for a moment, then says, Im not going to charge them. Get out of here, Runkleman. Teddy moves backward, and Dale says, Hold it for a second. How did you get here?The back road, Teddy says. Comes straight down from behind Goltzs. Thunder Five came the same way. So did that big-shot reporter, Mr. Green.Wendell Green is here?Teddy points to the side of the ruin. Dale glances over his shoulder, and Jack looks in the same direction and witnesses Beezer St. Pierre ripping film from the back of a camera while Wendell Green watches in dismay.One more question, Dale says. How did you learn that the Fre-neau girls bod y was out here?They was five or six bodies up at Eds, is what I heard. My brother Erland called up and told me. He heard it from his girlfriend.Go on, get out of here, Dale says, and Teddy Runkleman ambles away as if he has been awarded a medal for good citizenship.All right, Perry Brown says. Chief Gilbertson, you have reached the end of your leash. As of now, this investigation is to be conducted by Lieutenant Black and myself. Ill want a copy of the 911 tape and copies of all notes and statements taken by you and your officers. Your role is to be entirely subordinate to the states investigation, and to cooperate amply when called upon. You will be given updates at the discretion of Lieutenant Black and myself.If you ask me, Chief Gilbertson, you are getting far more than you deserve. I have never seen a more disorganized crime scene. You violated the security of this site to an unbelievable degree. How many of you walked into the . . . the structure?Three, Dale says. Myself, Off icer Dulac, and Lieutenant Sawyer.Lieutenant Sawyer, Brown says. Excuse me, has Lieutenant Sawyer rejoined the LAPD? Has he become an official member of your department? And if not, why did you give him access to that structure? In fact, what is Mr. Sawyer doing here in the first place?Hes cleared more homicide cases than you and me ever will, no matter how long we live.Brown gives Jack an evil glance, and Jeff Black stares straight ahead. beyond the two state cops, Arnold Hrabowski also glances at Jack Sawyer, though not at all the way Perry Brown did. Arnolds expression is that of a man who deeply wishes to be invisible, and when he finds Jacks eye on him, he quickly glances sideways and shifts on his feet.Oh, Jack thinks. Of course, the Mad Mad Mad Mad Mad Hungarian, there you go.Perry Brown asks Dale what Mr. St. Pierre and his friends are doing on the scene, and Dale replies that they are assisting with crowd control. Did Dale advise Mr. St. Pierre that in exchange for this ser vice he would be kept cutting-edge on the investigation? It was something like that, yes.Jack steps back and begins to move sideways along a gentle arc that will bring him to Arnold Hrabowski.Incredible, says Brown. notify me, Chief Gilbertson, did you decide to delay a little bit before passing the news on to Lieutenant Black and myself ?I did everything according to procedure, Dale says. In answer to the next question he says that yes, he has called for the medical examiner and the evidence wagon, which, by the way, he can see coming up the lane right now.The Mad Hungarians efforts at self-control succeed only in making him look as though he urgently needs to urinate. When Jack places a hand on his shoulder, he stiffens like a cigar-store Indian.Calm down, Arnold, Jack says, then raises his voice. Lieutenant Black, if youre taking over this case, theres some information you should have.Brown and Black turn their attention to him.The man who made the 911 call used the pay phone a t the 7-Eleven store on Highway 35 in French Landing. Dale had the phone taped off, and the owner knows to keep people from handling it. You might get some useful prints from that phone.Black scribbles something in his notebook, and Brown says, Gentlemen, I think your role is finished here. Chief, use your people to disperse those individuals at the bottom of the lane. By the time the M.E. and I come out of that structure, I dont want to see a single person down there, including you and your officers. Youll get a call later in the week, if I have any new information.Wordlessly, Dale turns away and points Bobby Dulac down the path, where the crowd has dwindled to a few stubborn souls leaning against their cars. Brown and Black shake hands with the medical examiner and confer with the specialists in charge of the evidence wagon.Now, Arnold, Jack says, you like being a cop, dont you?Me? I love being a cop. Arnold cannot quite force himself to meet Jacks eyes. And I could be a good one, I know I could, but the chief doesnt have enough faith in me. He thrusts his trembling hands into his pants pockets.Jack is torn between feeling pity for this pathetic wanna-be and the impulse to kick him all the way down to the end of the lane. A good cop? Arnold couldnt even be a good scoutmaster. Thanks to him, Dale Gilbertson got a public dressing-down that probably made him feel as though hed been put in the stocks. But you didnt follow orders, did you, Arnold?Arnold quivers like a tree struck by lightning. What? I didnt do anything.You told someone. Maybe you told a couple of people.No Arnold shakes his head violently. I just called my wife, thats all. He looks imploringly at Jack. The Fisherman talked to me, he told me where he put the girls body, and I wanted Paula to know. Honest, Holl Lieutenant Sawyer, I didnt think shed call anybody, I just wanted to tell her.Bad move, Arnold, Jack says. You are going to tell the chief what you did, and youre going to do it right now. Because Dale deserves to know what went wrong, and he shouldnt have to blame himself. You like Dale, dont you?The chief ? Arnolds voice wobbles with respect for his chief. Sure I do. Hes, hes . . . hes great. But isnt he going to fire me?Thats up to him, Arnold, Jack says. If you ask me, you deserve it, but maybe youll get lucky.The Mad Hungarian shuffles off toward Dale. Jack watches their conversation for a second, then walks past them to the side of the old store, where Beezer St. Pierre and Wendell Green face each other in unhappy silence.Hello, Mr. St. Pierre, he says. And hello to you, Wendell.Im lodging a complaint, Green says. Im covering the biggest story of my life, and this lout spoils a whole roll of film. You cant overlay the press that way we have a right to photograph whatever the hell we like.I guess you woulda said you had a right to photograph my daughters dead body, too. Beezer glares at Jack. This piece of shit paid Teddy and the other lunkheads to go nuts so n obody would notice him sneaking inside there. He took pictures of the girl.Wendell jabs a finger at Jacks chest. He has no proof of that. But Ill tell you something, Sawyer. I did get pictures of you. You were concealing evidence in the back of your truck, and I got you dead to rights. So think twice before you try to mess with me, because Ill hang you out to dry.A dangerous red mist seems to fill Jacks head. Were you going to shop photographs of that girls body?Whats it to you? An ugly smirk widens Wendell Greens mouth. Youre not exactly lily-white either, are you? Maybe we can do each other some good, huh?The red mist darkens and fills Jacks eyes. We can do each other some good?Standing beside Jack, Beezer St. Pierre clenches and unclenches his enormous fists. Beezer, Jack knows, catches his tone perfectly, but the vision of dollar signs has so gripped Wendell Green that he hears Jacks threat as a straightforward question.You let me reload my camera and get the pictures I need, a nd I keep quiet about you.Beezer lowers his head and balls his hands again.Tell you what. Im a generous guy maybe I could even cut you in, say ten percent of my total.Jack would favor to break his nose, but he contents himself with a hard punch to the reporters stomach. Green clutches his gut and folds in half, then falls to the ground. His face has turned a hectic pink, and he struggles for breath. His eyes register shock and disbelief.See, Im a generous guy, too, Wendell. I probably saved you thousands of dollars in dental work, plus a broken jaw.Dont forget the plastic surgery, says Beezer, grinding a fist into the palm of the other hand. He looks as if someone just stole his favorite sweet off the dinner table.Wendells face has become a reddish shade of purple.For your information, Wendell, no matter what you think you saw, I am not concealing evidence. If anything I am revealing it, though I hardly expect you to understand.Green manages to wheeze in something like a cubic inc h of air.When your wind starts to come back, get out of here. Crawl, if you have to. Go back to your car and drive away. And for Gods sake, make it snappy, or our friend here is likely to put you in a wheelchair for the rest of your life.Slowly, Wendell Green gets to his knees, takes another noisy sip of oxygen, and levers himself semi-upright. He waggles one open hand at them, but his meaning is unclear. He could be telling Beezer and Jack to stay away from him, or that he will trouble them no further, or both. His trunk tilted over his belt, his hands pressed to his stomach, Green stumbles around the side of the building.I guess I oughta thank you, Beezer says. You let me keep my promise to my old lady. But I have to say, Wendell Green is one guy Id really like to deconstruct.Man, Jack says, I wasnt sure if I could get in before you did.Its true, my restraint was crumbling.Both men smile. Beezer St. Pierre, Beezer says, and sticks out a hand.Jack Sawyer. Jack takes his hand and ex periences no more than a second of pain.Are you gonna let the state guys do all the work, or will you keep going on your own?What do you think? Jack says.If you ever need any help, or you want reinforcements, all you have to do is ask. Because I do want to get this son of a bitch, and I figure you have a better chance of finding him than anyone else.On the drive back to Norway Valley, Henry says, Oh, Wendell took a picture of the body, all right. When you came out of the building and went to your truck, I heard someone take a couple of pictures, but I thought it might have been Dale. Then I heard it again when you and Dale were inside with Bobby Dulac, and I realized someone was taking a picture of me Well, now, I say to myself, this must be Mr. Wendell Green, and I told him to come out from behind the wall. Thats when those people charged out, yelling and screaming. As soon as that happened, I heard Mr. Green trot around from the side, go into the building, and shoot a few pictures . Then he sneaked out and stood by the side of the building, which is where your friend Beezer caught up with him and took care of things. Beezer is a remarkable fellow, isnt he?Henry, were you going to tell me about this?Of course, but you were running around all over the place, and I knew Wendell Green wasnt going to leave until he was thrown out. Ill never read another word he writes. Never.Same here, Jack says.But youre not giving up on the Fisherman, are you? In spite of what that pompous state cop said.I cant give up now. To tell you the truth, I think those waking dreams I mentioned yesterday were connected to this case.Ivey-divey. Now, lets get back to Beezer. Didnt I hear him say he wanted to deconstruct Wendell?Yeah, I think so.He must be a fascinating man. I tack from my nephew that the Thunder Five spends Saturday afternoons and evenings in the Sand Bar. Next week, maybe Ill start up Rhodas old car and drive to Centralia, have a few beers and a nice gab with Mr. St. Pie rre. Im sure he has interesting taste in music.You want to drive to Centralia? Jack stares at Henry, whose only concession to the absurdity of this shadow is a little smile.Blind people can drive perfectly well, Henry says. Probably, they can drive better than most sighted people. emit Charles can, anyhow.Come on, Henry. Why would you think Ray Charles can drive a car?Why, you ask? Because one night in Seattle, this was, oh, forty years ago, back when I had a gig at KIRO, Ray took me out for a spin. Smooth as Lady Godivas backside. No trouble at all. We stuck to the side roads, of course, but Ray got up to fifty-five, Im pretty sure.Assuming this really happened, werent you scared?Scared? Of course not. I was his navigator. I certainly dont think Id have a problem navigating to Centralia along this sleepy stretch of back-country highway. The only reason blind people dont drive is that other people wont let them. Its a power issue. They want us to stay marginalized. Beezer St. Pier re would understand perfectly.And here I was, thinking I was going to visit the madhouse this afternoon, Jack says.