2/14/10

I prayed

As a teenager I dreaded going to my grandma Edna’s for the weekend. It reeked of cat urine, tacky decade old furniture and it always had that “old person smell.”  She stayed in a baby blue roach infested apartment building in Picayune, Mississippi, a small town in the middle of nowhere.  My parents would drop me off every weekend in our light green ’93 used ford torus so they could have “special mommy & daddy alone time” As if I didn’t know what that meant. Hello I’m 15 not 5. My grandmother and I never got along. See, she’s old fashioned and believes in that yes mam no sir crap. I am a believer in equality for all. Me calling her mam makes me feel that she thinks I am inferior. She thinks because she is the adult she is better than me and can tell me what to do? I think not. Well, me being the little rebellious teen that I am do not conform and just call her Edna.  Is it wrong that I don’t think it’s disrespectful?

Saturdays in the summer were the worst. She has this plastic covering on every piece of furniture in the living room. So not cool when you are wearing short shorts, your thighs are sticking to the plastic and you’re sweating like a 300 pound fat chick playing DDR. I never had to go to the spa to get a wax. The couch was kind enough to do it every time I stood up.

Edna and I disagreed on many things but the biggest thing we feuded on was religion. She was always trying to take me to church or read the bible to me.  I was never a real religious person growing up. Everyone in my family was a Baptist and I was raised to be one too. The bible never made sense to me. It just seemed like a poorly made Disney movie because of the magical powers. When I was six I went to Edna’s church and asked the pastor (Pastor Paton) some questions that I just had to have the answers to like: Why don’t we have magical powers anymore? Are the other religions wrong? And my personal favorite; if we all came from Adam and Eve how did I get here? I’m black and everyone else is white in this picture pastor Paton. He ran his charcoal colored fingers through his freshly permed hair, Sat down next to me in his $300 pink leisure suit with matching gators, put his arm around me and said with a chuckle, “oh darling don’t be retarded but I love your uniqueness” I felt completely insulted and Instead of Edna comforting me she looked down on me for even being a bit curious. I was so done with Christianity and made a promise to myself to never go back to church again.

Everyone in my family were devoted Christians and were not happy about my decision to not believe in god anymore. I remember my mother and father would call their close friends to come over and drink beer, smoke pot, listen to loud and vulgar music while playing dominoes and cursing like sailors. Oh yes I am the bad guy for not believing in god yet you do this before and sometimes after you come back from church. On family game nights we would sit in the living room playing around the table playing the only board game in the house, Monopoly. As I pass go I can’t help but over hear Grandma Edna whispering to Aunt Shelly that if I don’t start acting right I will burn in hell for all eternity. I just wanted to collect my $200 without being reminded of how much of an outcast I was in my own home.

I am starting to think that this is the reason why I have resentment towards Grandma Edna. I love her with all of my heart but it hurts every time I reminisce about how she made me feel when I was younger. I am completely content with not having a religion and that hurts her. I wish I knew how to make both of us happy.

One Sunday as I was riding my 10 speed bike down Dillinger road, I looked up at the sky and it was absolutely breath taking. Blue began to fade as violet and pink filled the sky. It was so beautiful that I sat down on a bench in the community garden down the street from Edna’s home and gazed at the sky. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and slowly started releasing the tension I had build up in my shoulders and face. When I opened my eyes the sky was dark. I got back on my bike and let the pattern of the stars guide back to Edna’s home. It was going to be such a beautiful night…..or so I thought.

I walked through the door and once again all the lights in the house were off. She said she did it because she cares about the environment but I know she only does it to save money. I lightly knocked on her bedroom door to let her know that I made it home. No answer. I knocked 2 more times. No answer. I knocked 2 more times and called her name. Still no answer. I’m getting a bit concerned because its 7:00 o clock and she’s not watching her favorite soap opera. She always watches her favorite soap at 7:00. I gently push open the wood door and see Grandma Edna laying face down on her satin sheets. I rock her but she doesn’t move. Then I check for a pulse. I feel nothing. I immediately run into the living room and dial 911. The operator could barley understand me because I was crying so much. The operator stayed on the phone with me until help arrived. I couldn’t believe what was happening

Two hours later I find myself in an emergency waiting room with my mother, father and Aunt Shelly. I suddenly started to feel guilty for saying and thinking the awful things about her for the past 8 years. I didn’t want her to leave me.  I loved her so much and I wanted her to know. Another hour goes by and the doctor calls my mother and father into Grandma Edna’s room. There’re in there for less than 40 seconds when I hear a loud scream. I knew exactly what it meant.

On Sunday December 19^rd 1994, Edna May Jefferson left this earth, 2 days before her 73^rd birthday. The doctors told us the cause of death was natural. What does that even mean? It’s natural for your heart to stop beating for no reason? I never even got a chance to tell her how I really felt or apologize for the way I treated her. On the day of her funeral I walked up to the casket, eyes almost blinded with tears, looked into my grandmother’s lifeless face and told her I was sorry. Sorry for everything I had put her through and I hoped that she could forgive me. I placed my hand on her cheek. It was ice cold. So cold that it sent chills thorough out my body.

That night when I arrived home I went into my toy box and pulled out one of my old stuffed animals. It was stuffed puppy dog named penny given to me by Grandma Edna when I was four. Penny was named after the 1^st puppy Grandma Edna ever had. I held her tightly against my chest closed my eyes and reminisced. I opened the curtains of my bed room window and looked up towards the night sky. I did something that I have never done and promised myself I would never do. I closed my eyes put my hands together and I prayed.

A Time to Kill is an interesting movie based on the novel by John Grisham. It tells the story of a 10-year-old black girl who gets brutally raped and beaten by two drunk white men and how her fathers seeks revenge. Want an in-depth analysis of the entire story? Then check out these five websites

1. Wikipedia article

2.Memorable quotes from the movie

3.Imdb. com movie info

4.Short summary and movie review

5.Short summary of Ford County, A novel by John Grisham

Thanks Wiki!

I believe its safe to say that Wikipedia Knows all! If you have never seen the movie this is a great article to read before you watch it. It tells just about everything you need to know about the movie without giving too much away.

Website includes:

1.Summary of the plot

2.Cast and Crew

3.Box office performance

4.Awards

Wikipedia Article

Memorable Quotes

This sites contains  memorable quotes from the film

It includes:

1. Over 100 quotes from the film

2.The characters name before each quote

3.The year the film was made

Memorable quotes from the movie

More Movie info

This site may not be as in-depth as Wikipedia but it still tells you what you need to know. Unlike Wikipedia, imdb has a list of each character in the movie. With just one click you can go their profile and get information on that actor

It shows:

1.A very brief summary of the plot

2. Writer

3.Director

4.Release date

.Imdb. com movie info

Movie Review

this site also gives you a very brief plot summary but the author also gives his or her opinion.

.Short summary and movie review

More literature from John Grisham

Ford County is another novel from writer John GrishaM. Read more about the novel at this web site:

Short summary of Ford County, A novel by John Grisham

       Grant was able to help Jefferson realize that he was a man and not a hog. After being convicted for crime he did not commit, Jefferson sits hopeless and alone in a  jail cell waiting for death to arrive. In court Jeffersons’ own lawyer explained to the jury that he was nothing but a fool, worth less than a hog and couldn’t possibly have the intelligence to carry out such a crime. In conclusion, Grant was able to be by his side in his final days encouraging him to believe that he was man and that he must die like one.

(2) Who is the greater hero–Grant or Jefferson & Why

        I believe that Grant is the bigger hero because he was able to help Jefferson die with dignity like a man which was not an easy task to perform for man who wanted no help to begin with. Grant, who was reluctant at the beginning as well, created a friendship with Jefferson, broke down the barriers and eventually changed him.  In conclusion, Jefferson realized that death was inevitable and he wouldn’t have been able to die with dignity if It wasn’t for Grant Wiggins words.

(3) What did you like most in the movie? 

        It was beautifully written & the actors did a fantastic job. I love movies that can get me lost in the plot and really feel for the characters. My favorite part was when Jefferson and Grant were sitting together in his jail cell the day before the execution. I think it was very powerful when single tear fell down Grants cheek  as he began to weep. I was proud of Jefferson for being so brave and fully excepting the fact that those were his final hours alive and, most importantly, that he was a strong black man and not an animal.

Link:

http://sharisax.com/2009/08/07/listening-redux-first-rule-to-success-in-business/comment-page-1/#comment-936

Link to website:

http://www.allbusiness.com/company-activities-management/company-structures/12271264-1.html

2. Sophomoric (adj)- Very silly and unreasonable: Sophomoric humor

3.Venison (n)- The meat of a deer

4. Destitute (adj)- Having no money, no place to live, no food etc.: The floods left thousands of people destitute

5. Parquet (n)- Small flat blocks of wood laid in a pattern that covers the floor of a room

6. Vacillate (v)- To continue your opinions, ideas etc. Because you cannot decide between two choices

7. Guise (n)- The way someone or something seems to be, which is meant to hide the truth: In/under the guise of being protectors, the army took over the government

8. Attaché (n)- Someone who works in an EMBASSY, and deals with a particular area of knowledge: a military attché

9. Braggart (n)- Someone who brags

10.Frigate (n)- A small fast ship used especially for protecting other ships in war

1.Demisemiquaver- a thirty-second note.

2.Imago-An insect in its sexually mature adult stage after metamorphosis.

3.Gastropod-any mollusk of the class Gastropoda, comprising the snails, whelks, slugs, etc.

4.Solfeggio-a vocal exercise in which the sol-fa syllables are used.

5.Wigwam-an American Indian dwelling, usually of rounded or oval shape, formed of poles overlaid with bark, mats, or skins

6-Emblazon-to depict, as on an escutcheon in heraldry.

7.Amice-an oblong vestment, usually of white linen, worn about the neck and shoulders and partly under the alb.

8.Quinsy-a suppurative inflammation of the tonsils; suppurative tonsillitis; tonsillar abscess.

9.Quibble-an instance of the use of ambiguous, prevaricating, or irrelevant language or arguments to evade a point at issue.

10.Vociferous-crying out noisily; clamorous.