Friday

The personality test that I took told me that I was an expressed introvert.  I believe this is somewhat true based on the fact that I do tend to analyze situations in my head before I act on them.  But I don't think this totally embodies the fullness of who I am as a person.  These tests can give you an idea of who you might think you are but letting them dictate the way you feel about yourself can lead to dangerous self esteem issues.  The uniqueness of every individual cannot be contained into the simpleness of a test on the internet.  Rather, deep social and individual analysis along with extended time thinking about the basics of who each person is as an individual can give the best insight into the soul of yourself.

Principles

Hard work, dedication, and a desire to be the best all exemplify some of the most vital traits that can be associated with a student-athlete.  Louie, a second string football player, displays these qualities into his summer workouts with the star quarterback, Carter.  He strives to get a respect that he thinks can only be attained through sports glory; life revolves around football.  As the team works through two-a-days, and the season is fast approaching, the team is anxious for an unbelievable record: 10 and 0.  After they blow out the team in their first game, their coach begins to act oddly, at least a little more than usual.  The next game they play is against a team that has a new kid from California: a black kid.  In the town of Trout, people are known for their kind spirits, but there are still hints of racial tension among the citizens and players.  The coach informs the team that he wants this kid out of commission early.  As gametime rolls around, the players are hyped and ready to continue their soon to be incredible season.  Boomer, Louie's arch enemy, a man-child mean enough to act on the coach's malicious gameplan.  He tackles the star of the other team into the bleachers, bruising 3 of the kid's ribs and ultimately putting him out of commission.  This infuriates Louie.  He lashes out at first the referee and then the coach, telling them about the evil gameplan instituted before the game.  He rushes off the field and quits the team.

I think what Louie did was right.  He took a stand for something he believed was right.  He had put in hours upon hours of work into putting his body in the best physical condition of his life, and yet he was willing to throw all of that away based on principle.  All I can say is whatta trooper...

Currently

This is the cover of the book I just finished.

Page Count for this Week: 296

Sentence of the Week

1. 'Not what looks like the center; what feels like the center."
2. They let me figure it out for myself; demanded that I figure it for myself; but they never deserted me.
3. I guess what I'm saying is that my life is more valuable because I got knocked out of my favored spot.

I picked these sentences because of what they say to the human condition.  People decide the way they are going to live there life, or their center, based on what the previous definition of what was expected. But this is not how we should live; every person is different, independent in their own way.  Too many times we let people dictate too much of our persona, thus destroying the unique personality with which we were all born.  It's sad that sometimes people have to be knocked off their pedestal in order to realize the uniqueness that they possess, but it allows people to see both sides of the life they lead.

Pimp got Feelings

Lacey's son is a topic that I think really complicates the whole plot of the story.  His son is living in a mental institution, basically brain dead and out of it, waiting for life's ticker to fade away.  Lacey feels horrible for how his son has become because he beat him into this living coma.  Lacey's ex-wife continually calls and harasses him and not until now does it become apparent the reason for her rants and raves.  Obviously, his son is a rough spot in Lacey's life and causes him to act in ways that will allow him to forget about the pain that he has caused his wife and son.  Willie is a redemption for Lacey; a way for him to earn some brownie points back with God.  By taking care of a crippled kid, Lacey believes he will at least have something to offer when he dies in order for him to get into heaven.

Day One of "The Crazy Horse Electric Game"

Life for Willie Weaver was a game: a hero to all in his small hometown.  When he is involved in a water skiing accident and receives brain damage from the crash, his whole life is turned upside down.  He can't talk correctly, his parents distance themselves from him, and his girlfriend leaves him.  When he leaves for San Fransico, Willie expects to start over in a totally different world, but finds himself trapped in a situation that changes his vantage point on life and his disability.

Willie lives with a man named Lacey Casteel, a bus driving pimp from Oakland.  Mr. Casteel is a complex individual, not fitting into his all of his expected social stereotypes and behaviors.  When he first meets Willie, he attempts to save him from a group of gang members.  Although, instead of helping him when he really needs him, Lacey comes to Willie's aid after the gang disperses with Willie's money and dignity.  Then, he offers to pay for Willie's bus trip back to Montana, and when Willie refuses the offer he lets him crash at his place.  Even after Willie breaks Lacey's arm and sends him to the hospital for beating one of the girls that work for him, Lacey seems to forgive and forget and allow Willie to continue to live with him.  When Willie mentions his ex-wife and her phone calls, Lacey seems to feel a genuine remorse or as much remorse as he can muster.  Drinking is another one of the activities in which Lacey is involved.  I believe drinking for Lacey is not out of the shear pleasure of the alcohol, but rather to wipe away the pain and suffering that plague his life.  His ex-wife calls constantly and destroys his self confidence by tearing him down bit by bit.  His life is one of complication and as I read I hope to discover an inner truth behind the actions and life decisions made by Mr. Casteel and the effect that those choices will have on Willie and his attempt at rehabilitation.

As I read this novel, I begin to contemplate the possibilities of this situation happening to me.  How would I act toward my friends? Would they continue to treat as the person I was before or would they become so enveloped in sympathy and sorrow that they would blind themselves to my true pains and sufferings?  Would my family treat me the same way? How would I treat them?  All questions that filled my mind as I read the pages in this book.  I would like to think that I would continue to have good relationships with the people around me and keep a positive outlook on life, but nobody really can answer those questions unless the circumstances actually occur to them in their own life.