A Man Who Was Mean to His Dog

There is nothing more peaceful than lying on the beach in the sand, listening to the sound of the waves.  Anne Lamott’s metaphor on pg. 227 is right on point in my opinion; “The sound of the surf, the big washing machine of ocean, sometimes seems to rinse out my brain, or at any rate, it expands me and it slows me down.”  The beach is my number one favorite place to be.  The crashing sound of each wave on the shore is incredibly soothing and relaxing.  Everyone appears to be happy at the beach and there are no worries.  During her and Sam’s trip to the beach, her sense of relaxation was rudely interrupted by the violent dog abuser.  She was put in a tough position as a witness to this.  She wanted to raise her voice for the sake of the dog and Sam, but at the same time the man frightened her and she was unsure of what else he was capable of.  This is completely understandable because although she feels like a failure for not putting a stop to the animal violence, it is better to have made an attempt than to take it too far in the abuser’s eyes, which could have potentially put her and her son in extreme danger.

The Price We Pay

The way Adam Mayblum described his experience, was incredibly vivid.  I felt like I was reading a movie script of the terrorist attack.  Even though he mentioned they all remained calm, I could sense the feeling of nervousness and the fear for their lives.  However I feel they were able to remain calm because in a situation like this awful one, if you want to make it out alive, you need to have composure and act in an orderly fashion.  These men were smart and had quick reaction time, which is also necessary.  Adam narrated this tragedy so descriptively that I was able to paint a mental picture of each moment as I was reading it.  Once something this tragic happens to you, it’s almost impossible to forget each and every detail, no matter how much you may want to.  I’m sure he could have written this piece 2 years later, rather than the day after, and it would have still have been just as detailed.  I was shocked Adam was able to get in touch with his nanny at home, his parents, and also his friend Angel.  The last paragraph was probably one of the most moving paragraph’s I have ever read.  He couldn’t have put his feelings into words any better.  My favorite part is when he says, “The responsible ones are in hiding somewhere on this planet and damn them for making me feel like this. But they should know that they failed in terrorizing us.”  The men remain undefeated and there is no greater feeling than that because the terrorists’ were unsuccessful when it came to these two men.  They lived through it and are still able to pass their disastrous story on to others.

Reliving Memories

When you are missing something, go after it.  No matter how much trouble you may have to go through to get there, you will not regret it once you arrive.  Once you enable yourself to concentrate on past experiences, it makes it much easier to relive the memories.  As E.B. White mentions, I find it strange that at times we are capable of remembering such vivid memories from the past.  When I think back to certain stages of my life, it is like I have a photographic memory for the time being.  As soon as one detail is recalled, all of the sensory details from that specific moment start refreshing in my mind.  In my opinion the fact that this trip allowed White to realize “he is his own father”, and his boy is him as a child, makes the experience that much more meaningful.  I like the way White explained how some things never change.  “It was the arrival of this fly that convinced me beyond any doubt that everything was as it always had been, that the years were a mirage and there had been no years.” (pg. 403)  Throughout this piece I sensed a joyful tone.  E.B. White sounded happy and appreciative he was able to visit the lake with his son.  I enjoyed reading this besides the ending.  It was very random and bluntly put.  “As he buckled the swollen belt, suddenly my groin felt the chill of death.” (pg. 407)  I was expecting him to end this piece on a better note.   I am still not exactly sure what he meant by that sentence.

Anne Lamott

The first draft is the perfect time to record anything and everything that comes to mind.  No matter how crazy, foolish, or dreadful you find this draft to be, let the thoughts flow and keep writing.  The first draft is the root of creation to a beautiful piece of writing.  Writing is a time consuming process that needs to start somewhere.  It takes patience and persistence but a person with these characteristics is one who will end up successful.  It is very rare and in my opinion, unrealistic for a writer to finish a draft of perfection in one sitting. It is nearly impossible no matter how talented the writer may be, except maybe for the writer Anne claims we do not like very much.  It takes me a decent amount of time to write the opening paragraph, let alone a whole paper.  The act of writing multiple drafts is necessary if you want your work to improve.  After going back and reading over your first draft, you can decide what lines should stay and which should be eliminated from your piece.  If you want a line to stay, but you find it to be too wordy, you can simply rearrange the structure of the sentence.  All of these editing techniques in first, second, and final drafts, are the little improvements which can make a big difference in your writing.