American Song

The song that I chose to write that I thought reflects America greatly is The 8th of November by Big & Rich. I think that this song is a huge part in most American homes today because the lyrics talk about a soldier leaving his home to go and fight the war.
In 1965, on November 8th, there was an Airborne Brigade in Vietnam. 48 soldiers lost their lives that day, and this song reflects what happened to one of the soldiers, but at the same time includes those who died.

"Said goodbye to his mama, as he left North Dakota, to fight for the red, white and blue". As the first few lines of the song, I think that it's powerful to start out with. As it goes into the chorus, the song acknowledges that there is not only one soldier that is a hero; it's all soldiers. Although it does talk about one specific soldier, I believe that the song can relate to most that come back from being at war and fighting for their country.

"On the 8th of November, the angels were cryin' as they carried his brothers away. With the fire raining down, and the hell all around, there were few men left standing that day." I can't even imagine what it would be like being in the war, having to go over seas to continuously risk your life. However, I am so grateful that there are people that not only are willing to, but want to defend America.

I think that although this song contributes to one date in time specifically, it can relate to every-day soldiers that leave or come home from the war. I also think that this song will always reflect America because in the majority of homes there are people that risk their lives for America, and there will always people that do so. We should always give contribution for those people.

What I failed to mention earlier was the part of the song that talks about the 1200 (pronounced as twelve hundred in the song) Viet Cong attacked the unit of soldiers that were in Vietnam:
"He was dropped in the jungle, where the choppers would rumble, with the smell of napalm in the air, and the Sergent said, 'look up ahead'. Like a dark evil cloud, 1200 came down, on him and 29 more. They fought for their lives, but most of them died, in the 173rd Airborne."
Here's the link to the song on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozpdBvB0hek&ob=av3n&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1

Writing Styles

Everyone's writing syles are certainly different, no one's being the same.
My writing style is unique, and actually kind of complicated. Although when I do my homework I sit at the table--so I can have everything spread out and whatnot--when it comes to writing, I usually end up sitting on the couch or recliner, writing in a notebook. Most of the time I have the radio on, or if there are commercials on most radio stations, I'll turn on my computer and let Pandora play. Even though I'll have all my work written out, when I open Word so I can type it up I actually turn a whole new direction, using parts of what I have written earlier but not really going the direction I had intended to in the first place. Sometimes it works out, but sometimes I have to rewrite what I typed, which is okay. All in all I enjoy writing, and even if I don't stick the my first thought, who does?

Skunk Dreams

When I first started reading this article written by Louise Erdrich, I really got into it because I thought that she was telling a story about something that happened to her, which she was. But the more I read the more distant I became with the article because I felt like Erdrich was drifting away from the story. Later in the article Erdrich mentioned a fence and elk on the other side of the run-down, multiple wired fence. When she did, I thought, Where in the world is this article going? Erdrich had talked more about the fenced-in area, stating that the nature, the animals inside were only there for the hunters to have fun, which saddened Erdrich as well as me. I don't think that wild animals should be used for that purpose--brought in from other areas or captured only to stay there til they are hunted, although at least they had 25,000 acres to roam free, so to speak. At the end of the article Erdrich had gone back to the skunk and stated how skunks are free wherever they are. They cannot be captured, and when threatened, they do not hesitate; they simply turn around and unleash their powers. Erdrich had also said that if she could choose any animal, she would be a skunk. When I was little, my friends and I would talk about our favorite animals and how we would want to be a dog or cat. But when Erdrich had stated that if she had to pick she would be a skunk beacuse they are independent as well as free, I would want to be a skunk as well; as crazy as that sounds.