The Ignorance of Thirty Eight Steals The Life Of One

     Thirty Eight Who Saw Murder Didn't Call The Police  by Martin Gansberg is the unfortunate story of  Catherine Genovese, a woman who was stabbed thrice by a psychologically unstable man, and left to die by the thirty eight neighbors in her apartment building. Miss Genovese was stalked by her assassin upon returning from her place of employment at her bar nearby. The time was approximately 3:35 AM in the residential area in Queens when Miss Genovese was first attacked. Upon being attacked she yelled out " Oh, my God, he stabbed me! Please help me! Please help me!" despite her cries for help the apathetic citizens simply ignored the commotion some assuming it was " a lover's quarrel" (Gansberg 103). After the woman was stabbed three times she finally died on the doorstep of her apartment. Only after she passed away did her neighbor decide to call the police. The police arrived in two minutes, if someone had called earlier that woman might be alive today. 
     Upon reading the story of Miss Genovese and the thirty eight witnesses to her murder I felt sickened at the lack of humility and apathy the thirty eight demonstrated. Personally I do not know how I would react in the situation if it were 3 AM and I heard blood curdling screams from outside of my window. It did not help to know that the police arrived so quickly but only after Miss Genovese had been fatally stabbed. Overall this passage saddens me and only further fuels my pessimistic view of humanity.
     In my opinion the theme of Gansberg's passage is to do the right thing when your fellow man is in trouble. For example call the police when someone is being attacked, help someone who is stranded on the side of the road, or help a child find his lost mother. Too often do we just pass others in trouble without giving them a chance. Who knows you could save someones life just by dialing 911.

-Alex Simpson

"Behind the Formaldehyde Curtain"

           Written by Jessica Mitford, I would say this is a very informative essay. In this reading she goes through the step-by-step process of preparing the body of Mr.Jones, after he has passed. She tells of how when embalming first came about that a family member was required to be in attendance for this procedure, and now "all others are excluded by law from the preparation room"(73).
          The author then goes on to tell of the preparation room what it holds such as scaples, forceps, clamps, needles, chemicals, cosmetics, and so on. But as I am reading it has yet to gross me out. The blood is drawn out from the body before the embalming begins, I wonder what do they do with the blood. Do they donate it? Or do they simply descard it? As I continue reading I learn something new, even though this whole essay is unfamiliar, I did not know that they sewed the mouth together and tweaked to to form a slight smile.
           "The object of all this attention to the corpse, is to make it presentable for viewing in an attitude of healthy response"(76). We learned that alot of work in the body and cosmetically goes on when embalming is in full process. I am still confused on wether the person who embalms the body also handles the cosmetic side. I ask this because in the movie "My Girl" her dad is a mortician and embalms the bodies but hired a women to do the cosmetics and hair after his part was finished. This reading may have been a little to informative but not enough to make me squimish.

"How To Mark A Book"

In "How To mark A Book" by author Mortimer Adler, he disects the reasoning for writing while

you read a book. He tells that if you as he says, "write between the line"(68), it help for you to better understand what your are reading and to connect you more with the book. Personally I dont write as I read because of the simple fact that I do not undrstand how it is done and what exactly I should be writing as I read.

       He then goes on to discuss the "Three types of book owner", which I found quite true and funny. The first one he discusses is the "deluded individual who owns wood-pulp and ink, not books"(68). I know you've seen those houses that have the office with one of the four walls covered in a massive full perfectly stocked bookshelf, and you stop and think wow they reead all of these? The second kind he talks about just dabbles in books here and there never really finishing an entire book. And the third on is the one that actually "owns" the book, has marked in each of the few or many books he has digested.

Though as you continue to read this persuasive/informative essayhe begins to tell you how and where to write or scribble notes in your book. The best places are the margins, the front and back blank pages, and even inbetween the lines as you read. And if marking your book is not something you can do the get a notepad and write as you go.

This was surprisingly interesting for me to read. Alder seemed detemined to get the reader's of this essay to start marking your book. It was not something I hold interest in doing in the near future. But it does seem like a great tool for a study mechanism.

Why Leaves Turn Color In The Fall

    

      "Why Leaves Turn Color In The Fall" is an informative essay by Diane Ackerman describing how and why leaves change colors in the fall. Ackerman first starts by giving us some scenery of the outdoors and how our surroundings makes us fell at times. She gives us an introduction of how the season Fall feels and looks when it first begins saying that it has a baggage of chilly nights and spectacular, heart-stoppingly beautiful leaves.
       She begins by asking us "Where do the colors come from?" Of course we all know that sunlight is in control of most living things. All summer long, trees feed leaves so that they can process sunlight, but in the dog days of summer the trees begin pulling nutrients back into its trunk and roots, pares down, and gradually chokes off its leaves. This then causes the leaves to be undernourished which causes the leaves to lose their color. When leaves are undernourished, they stop producing the pigment known as chlorophyll, and photosynthesis ceases. The tree survives by dropping its dead leaves and by the end of autumn only a few fragile threads of fluid-carrying xylem hold leaves to their stems.
      Leaves that start to turn stay partly green at first, then they reveal splotches of yellow and red as the chlorophyll gradually breaks down. The color that seems to stay the longest is dark green which outlines and defines the veins in the leaf. Even though in the summer, chlorophyll dissolves in the heat and light, it is also being steadily replaced. In the fall, unfortunately no new pigment is produced and that is why we notice other colors.
      Not all leaves turn the same colors. Elms, weeping willows, and the ancient ginkgo all grow radiant yellow, along with hickories, aspens, cottonweeds, and poplars. Basswood turns bronze and birches turn bright gold. Sumacs, flowering dogwoods, black gums, and sweet gums turn red. Maples tend to display scarlet. Though some oaks yellow, most turn pinkish brown. Farmlands change colors too depending on which way the sun shines.
      Children love to play in piles of leaves. I know as a child, my sister and I would pile a whole bunch of leaves up and leap into them as if they were soft mattresses. We would also help my dad rake up the leaves so they could be disposed of in eco-friendly environments. Yes, as a child I have always wondered how leaves got their color and now I know thanks to Diane Ackerman.