Cancer Sucks!

With my English Composition project completed, we return, now, to your regularly scheduled programming.  Today’s topic:  CANCER SUCKS!  My dad passed away seven years ago today from the awful “C” word.  I find it strange that I can barely even bring myself to say that word out loud anymore?  Cancer, I HATE YOU, and Daddy, I miss you more than words can say.  The memory of your jumbo sized, bag of Skittles smile still warms my broken heart.  However, it is a constant battle for me not to cry because it is over, but to smile because it was.   

Dad & my sister Casey.

Summer of 2000

One of my favorite pictures EVER!

Chapter Ten: My Opinion of the Future... PHOOEY!

Chapter Ten
My Opinion of the Future... PHOOEY!
Posted August 14, 2012

While reading every single excerpt in chapter ten, I realized one of two things were happening:  Either a) the reading material was well above my comprehension level; or b) there are just too many distractions in my life to allow my mind to calm itself long enough to digest even one single ounce of it.  If this is the direction the future is going, I really do not want to play.  Oftentimes, I would rather throw the “conveniences”  of 2012 right out the window of my car as I am traveling seventy-five miles an hour, westbound on I-4 towards home; and, by “conveniences,” I am referring to cell phones, computers, televisions, etc…  Honestly, I cannot even begin to imagine where technology and the future will be taking us twenty years from now.  I would much rather rewind to the days of Spaghetti-O lunches with my sister and lemonade stands with my kids.  However, longing for “the good ‘ole days” is not going to accomplish anything.  All we can do is cherish the memories as long as we can, (until Alzheimer’s sets in, anyway) and buckle our seatbelts for the ride into our future.  PHOOEY!

K.J. Brubaker
Keiser University
Professor Fischetti

Chapter Nine
Do NOT Leave Your Mind Alone With Yourself...
Posted August 13, 2012

The mind, in of itself, cannot be trusted.  It is imperative that you incorporate your heart, past experiences and instinct before reaching any formal decision.  The mind alone falls victim to exhaustion, overload, and at times, mental disorder.  All of these can be overcome, but can one truly clear his mind of all potential idiosyncrasies in order to do make solid critical decisions?  The mind is a vast canyon of mysteries that I admittedly do not know a lot about; but, in the end, is very black and white, almost mechanical.  The world we live in is not black and white, nor are ninety percent of the decisions we make.  Therefore, one should not simply trust his mind alone, but follow his heart and his spirit as well.  Use every bit of information, and feeling, and instinct you have within you to reach your destiny.  Holistic leaders teach the theory of one mind, one body, and one spirit.  I believe this is the key to finding your way in this life, as everything is interconnected. 

K.J. Brubaker
Keiser University
Professor Fischetti

Chapter Eight: Hip Hop Generation

Chapter Eight
Hip-Hop Generation
Posted August 12, 2012

While it is true that Hip-Hop music has become increasingly popular throughout the years, I do not agree with author Jeff Chang in that it has become the way an entire generation sees the world.  In my opinion, that is a narrow minded view of the Hip-Hop genre as well as society as a whole.  Hip-Hop, in recent years, has taken a different direction in regards to the message it tends to send, veering away from the passion it once embodied to a more commercially driven genre.  Parental control is absolutely necessary in governing what we will allow our children to listen to.  There are as many flavors of music as there are Life Savers; and, there is a taste in Generation Y for every single one.   If you like Hip-Hop music, then listen to it.  If you do not, turning off your radio is as simple as turning the dial counterclockwise until you hear a click. It really is that easy; but, to say that mainstream Hip-Hop dictates the way an entire generation views the world, is ridiculous.  

References

iDejANCE. (2012, May 30). Usher - Lemme See. (D. Tubic, Editor, & D. Rodriguez, Producer) Retrieved August 12, 2012, from You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUiTn4ybaQE&list=FLauhx6FDyQYzCjJYKfHPQMA&feature=mh_lolz

K.J. Brubaker
Keiser University
Professor Fischetti

Chapter Seven: Environmental Awareness

Chapter Seven
Environmental Awareness
Posted August 10, 2012

7943

(The Story of a young African girl and the daily six mile trek she makes to retrieve water for her parents and younger siblings.)

The journey seemed longer today than yesterday.  
7941… 7942… 7943. Nope.  Still the same;
7943.  The exact number of steps my feet had taken me,
Every day for the past three years.
My tired back bends to fill my can to the very top,
Before placing in steadily upon my head.
In all my years I have gotten very good at this,
And a sense of pride revealed itself within the upturned corners of my mouth.
I turned as sudden and graceful as a ballerina,
Then, the return trip begins;  
1, 2, 3 4…

Halfway home, night fell upon the withered path my shoeless feet had left.
Scared and alone with nothing to keep me company but,
The African sky sprinkled with stars.
The glowing eyes and growling stomachs of the unknown longed for me.
Once in the impending distance, they now appeared hauntingly closer.     
3497… 3498…3499! 3499!  3499!  I could not move. 
I found myself frozen as they surrounded me.
Then, as I fell to the ground, the water meant for my family was lost,
Watering the greedy dirt instead.
My name was Afua as I was born on a Friday.
I died on a Friday, too.   
I was eleven. 

K.J. Brubaker
Keiser University
Professor Fischetti

Chapter Six: Prison

Chapter Six
Prison
Posted August 7, 2012

There are so many things wrong with our prison system today.  While I applaud the attempt at rehabilitation, I agree with Foucault in that it is, more often than not, an epic failure.   In 1983, the recidivism rate in the United States was 62.5 %.  In 1994, that rate jumped to 67.5% where it holds steady today (Recidivism, 2012).  With that being said, I do not believe the answer is to do away with the current penal system altogether; however, it certainly is in need of a major overhaul.  In Foucault’s Illegalities and Delinquency, he tells of a worker convicted twice of theft; and, upon his release from prison, he found himself unable to take up his trade as a gilder.  Living on the street with no food and no money, he met a fellow pauper named Lemaitre, and it was then that wicked thoughts of thieving came back to them (Foucault, 1975). My point is that the entire criminal and penal process is nothing more than a revolving door.  How do we correct this?  Although I am not claiming to know the answer,  I do believe our attempts at rehibilitation have been, historically, futile.  Perhaps the answer is a restructuring of the rehabilitation process; but, perhaps it is to increase the penalty phase of justice in order to prevent these crimes in the first place.  

References

Recidivism. (2012). Retrieved August 7, 2012, from Bureau of Justice and Statistics: http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm?ty=tp&tid=17

Foucault, M. (2010). Illegalities and Delinquency. In M. Krasny, & M. Sokolik, Sound Ideas (pp. 456-461). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

K.J. Brubaker
Keiser University
Professor Fischetti

Chapter Five: War

Chapter Five
War
Posted August 6, 2012

While reading John Crawford’s Handouts, and his reflections on the war in Iraq, I was immediately wrought with the overwhelming pain of September 11th, as if it had happened just yesterday. The tragic scenes played themselves over and over in my mind like a scratched vinyl record, and no matter how hard I tried, I could not still my sense of foreboding. Then, I remembered going to war after the attack and the pride and patriotism all Americans felt that day. The dichotomy within my heart confuses me as much today as it did back then. Ten years later, we are still a nation at war. I remember waking up that rainy day in May, 2011, to hear the triumph of Seal Team 6. “Finally,” I thought to myself, “We can bring our boys home.” Yet still, a year later, the war remains constant. I will always support our soldiers, no matter what; but, I long to end this chapter of American history. There will always be an “Osama Bin Laden” out there somewhere, just as there will always be brave men and women to fight him.

K.J. Brubaker
Keiser University
Professor Fischetti

Chapter Four: Love & Hate

Chapter Four
Love & Hate
Posted August 5, 2012

One afternoon, while hiking through the mountains of Blairsville Georgia, I stumbled upon a lonely rock pile in the middle of a riverbed.  It was strong yet vulnerable.  Independent.  Balanced.  Beautiful.  I said a quiet thank you to the unknown hiker that left it there for me to find, and then to Mother Nature for aligning the stars and tides so that it could remain standing until I found it.  I snapped a picture of my rock pile, and it remains my favorite shot to this day.  Several years later I met, and became friends with, an American soldier.  And so began the intimately surreal long-distance relationship that touched my heart and hugged my soul.  I included this photograph in one of my letters to him, not knowing the impact it would have until his return.  I met him in his office one afternoon and there, framed on his desk, was my rock pile photograph.  The edges were as tattered and torn as my soldier had been, for they had both been through hell and back; yet, there they both stood, strong yet vulnerable.  Independent.  Balanced.  Beautiful.  I came to learn that, since the day he received it, the photograph never left his pocket.  Reflecting on it now, the entire experience was an interdisciplinary lesson in love which revealed itself in the subtlest of ways; through the beauty of the mountains, the impeccable balance of the rock pile, the wonder of the unknown hiking predecessor, my soldier, our handwritten letters exchanged, and… The photograph which, to this day, is the only evidence remaining that any of this ever even happened.    
    

K.J. Brubaker
Keiser University
Professor Fischetti

Chapter Three: Education

Chapter Three
Education
Posted August 4, 2012

A Will, Undestroyed

Of all the things I might attempt,

Knew I that I could not fail,

Would be a college degree, or two, or three,

As a wind to fill my sail.

The Journey may lead me to and fro,

And far, and wide, or near,

But the closer I get to the goal I’ve set,

The less I have to fear.  

Yet somehow, now, the ebb and flow,

Of the tide that rises still,

Preys upon my insecurities,

And fights to destroy the will. 

When all at once I breathe in deep,

Inhaling what is true:

Strength, and support of those I love,

This sparks my faith anew.

By: K.J. Brubaker
Keiser University
Professor Fischetti

Chapter Two: Memorable Family Event

                        Photo By Ava Bell West

Chapter Two
Memorable Family Event
August 3, 2012

September 28, 1974.  Going to school that morning was torture.  I begged Grandma to let me stay home, but she refused.  As we pulled up to St. Matthews’s preschool, she called me her “Kelly-Girl,” and promised that mom would be home when I got back.  Even at the young age of four, I vividly remember that being the longest day of my entire life.  At the end of the day, and after what seemed like an eternity, Grandma picked me up in her little blue Volkswagen bug driving like Miss Daisy all the way home. I ran up the drive (tripping only once), flung open the front door, and there she was, the most beautiful thing I had ever seen:  my new baby sister.  I remember holding her for the very first time and what it felt like to love someone other than myself.  To this day, my sister, Casey, is just as beautiful, but when I “hold” her now, I am not just holding my little sister; I am also holding my best friend.     

K.J. Brubaker
Keiser University
Professor Fischetti  

Chapter One: Gender Differences

Chapter One
August 2, 2012
Gender Differences

Growing up, Dougie was one of my very best friends.  We spent a lot of time together in the summer of 1978 recreating the entire Grease movie, playing Odyssey (the 1970s version of Xbox and Playstation,) and dancing in the rain in nothing but our underwear.  After all, in our eight and nine year old minds, he was not a boy and I was not a girl.  We were merely genderless friends in this endeavor called life.  That is, until the day he asked me what my favorite candy bar was.  “Well, duh! Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups!” I exclaimed.  His question did not compute until an hour later when I found myself playing Spin-the-Bottle with him and several friends.  As I spun the empty green Perrier bottle, it conveniently landed on Dougie.  In an instant I found myself tasting the familiar palate of peanut butter and chocolate in his mouth.  In that very moment I realized we were different from each other.  His boy tongue touched my girl tongue and forever separated the species.    

K.J. Brubaker

Keiser University
Professor Fischetti 

WARNING... College Project Alert : )

Hello Everyone,

At 41, I have finally decided to go to college.  I am currently enrolled in English Composition II and in the midst of a Creative Critical Assessment Project.  Over the next two weeks, I will be exploring topics ranging from gender differences, education, criminal justice, and environmental awareness, just to name a few.  In order to incorporate the "Creative" aspect of this project, I have chosen to utilize my photography blog as my project venue.  If you can bare with me over the next ten to fourteen days, we will eventually return to our regularly scheduled programming : )

Peace, Love & LiveSTRONG;
KJ