Earthling

I found this poem interesting because of the unimportance that Billy Collins finds with his weight and his physical appearance.
In today's society, many people, including myself, are concerned about their weight and the idea of being fit. People obsess everyday about how they look and if the number on their scale is fluctuating or staying constant.
He shows society's obsession by saying how "the fat ones linger on the Mars scale and the emaciated slow up the line for Neptune". People find such interest in being different than they really are. If we were all only skinnier, more muscular, prettier, smarter, or had more money. The world would be "happier" if everyone had just more stuff or if we could just change one aspect of our lives. However, Collins speaks of how he has contentment with his own life. He recognizes that although on different planets we would all be different weights and possibly different personalities, living on Earth and being who he is on Earth is exactly how life is supposed to be and he is going to enjoy that. He is going to enjoy the life he has and all the aspects of life that people normally look over but are not found on any other planet, such as the distance from the sun and the presence of water.
If the Earth was any further away from the sun, planet earth as we know would freeze over. However, on the other hand, if the sun was any closer to Earth the planet would burn up. Everyday we take advantage of this fact. Also, the presence of water is perfect for supporting wildlife and human life here on Earth and we rarely consider this on a daily basis.
People often wish their lives were different than they are but do not take the time to appreciate what is around them.

Cross Country Snow

While reading this short story all I could think about is how I, and many students feel, when a school break is ending. Most of the times we have just encountered an amazing experience and at the end of the week we do not want to go back to school and continue classes but we know we have to. We wish that we could just continue on with no worries and no obligations for just a little longer so that we could satisfy ourselves, but would we ever really be satisfied?
Nick and George have just experienced an amazing trip doing something that they love, skiing. Right before their last run they discuss the realities that they are going to have to face after they return home from their vacation. George has to return to school and Nick has a baby on the way. They so badly want to go off and ski for the rest of their lives and not deal with their current situations but both know that is not even an option. They have prior commitments and responsibilities to attend to.
I know that just coming back from Spring Break was a lot like this for me. I enjoyed a break full of sunbathing at the beach, sleeping in late, and going on leisurely walks. I missed my friends from school enough that I wanted to come back to Fort Worth, but actually going back to the school part was something I was dreading. Normally the side effects of break are not as severe on me, but after tasting that little bit of summer and relaxation the last thing I wanted to do was come back to school where I have to sit through classes, go to meetings, and do homework that I do not want to do. However, you have to do what you have to do. This is exactly what Nick and George do. They dream of better things, talk about the realities, and then continue on because they know that is the only option.
I think Hemingway is saying that it is okay to dream, and it is okay to want something different for your life, but when it comes down to it your life is waiting for you and you cannot just leave it. The responsible thing to do is make the most of it and continue living actively in it.

Blast from the Past

I decided to look at an October 25, 1937 issue of Life magazine. While glancing through the pages, deciding on what to write my response about, an article about miners on strike caught my eye. The title of the article read, “Life on the American Newsfront: Miners Stage a “Stay-down” 1,250 ft. Underground”. This touched my interest because of the recent incident in which 33 Chilean miners were trapped inside their mine for more than two months. 

In this article, the miners at Coaldale in eastern Pensylvania decided to go on strike to receive more pay for opening a new, deeper level of their mine. The thought that really blew my mind was that these miners, chose to stay down their. They put themselves and potentially their families at risk by protesting in this mine. Knowing the devastation that has occurred to others because of being stuck in a mind, I think every person today would say that striking outside of the mine by simply not going down or working would be a lot safer and smarter of an option.  However, these 43 miners decided to stay down in their mine playing a game called Pinochle for seven days. The miners refused to come out of the ground until Governor George Earle flew into Coaldale and went down into the mine to negotiate with the miners. After three days of negotiation and persuasion the miners finally agreed to come out of the mine. 

Although this method was an extreme way to get their pay raised, it worked as they had planned. The only question that goes through my mind is, would it have been worth it if circumstances took a turn for the worst? As society today knows, mines are dangerous and the mine they were in could have easily tumble and caved in at any moment while they were down there. Was the want of a higher pay worth the miner’s possible death? For me today I would say no, but in the 30’s these miners may have felt that their pride and good treatment were worth it.

This is hard for me to understand, because for the most part people have good and fair working conditions today. Earlier in America’s history, however, this was not the case. Strikes were frequent, because people began to realize that the work they were doing was not worth the cost of being wronged. I cannot imagine how it is for people in other countries who have bad working habitats or for the people that had to go through this in America’s past. Thank goodness times have gotten better.