Monday, March 21, 2016

Journal 8 by Matt Stock

1   I think that dreamers and eccentrics have a major part in our culture. People that are dreamers think of the world in a different way. They don't take no for an answer and keep pushing until they solve our worlds problems. Everything we have that plays a major role on our life was an idea of a dreamer. A dreamer sat down and said wouldn't it be cool if we had lights that just turned on by a switch. Now look at how much we use the light bulb. High five Mr. Einstein. The bad thing is people in our culture today are scared to be different. Different makes this world great and everyone pushes dreamers down and call them weird. Some dreamers will never stand out because our culture wont let them show their amazing passions. In school kids were judged for being different. During middle school there was a super smart kid that everyone made fun of because he would walk around singing gospel music in the halls at school. But at the end of high school he was the one going to college with a ton of scholarships and leading our class. Kind of makes me feel bad for watching the way the kids treated him in middle school. He never deserved to be treated like that for being a dreamer. He didn't let people get to him and he was successful in his own way.
2    I am up to date on Holding On. I feel like the reading is going very well and is an eye opening experience. I am still doing active reading and even started using nut shelling even more after each story. It is helping me more than the other books we have read because I have practiced it. The book is great in showing dreamers that the world doesn't know about. I have learned a lot about peoples lives way before our time. The people that the stories are about really pull me in and makes me want to know more. I think the only down fall I have is that the stories are all different and once I am pulled in the author doesn't write anything else. I would love to ask Robert Shields how in the world did he have a life while writing down everything that happened?
3     The story that stands out to me that most from Holding On would be "Steam Train". It is the very first story in the book but hands down my favorite. When Steam Train explains how Hoboes work for food and don't bum off of people really hit me. It showed me that Hoboes are hardworking, pride, and don't just take hand outs. I learned there is a difference in hobos and bums are way different. Stream train explained that hoboes traveling around would look out for other hoboes. Steam Train points out that hoboes wont ask you for money or food. They will ask if you had work for food. I find that very moving that the culture was so great that they don't belly ache over the littlest things they find a salutation. I have a NCO SGT Knotts that always tell us " don't come to me with a problem but come to me with a problem that has a salutation."  On the routes that would travel hoboes would find pans to cook in. Hoboes would wash them so the next group passing by would have something clean to eat out of. David Isay writes "And when they get through using those pans, they wash 'em and clean 'em. They don't throw them on the ground and leave them dirty- bums do that. Hoboes wash and shine those pits and get them perfectly clean and hang them." I feel like this is important because it shows even though hoboes don't have much they still care about their fellow man. Like that is very important when you don't have much is to lean on others. Its a different kind of teamwork but it just shows man is great.
    

6 comments:

  1. I also thought it was interesting to learn the differences between a hobo and a bum. As stated in the book, "I'm a class a little higher than that. Have you got any work I can do?" Haha.

    The other interesting part was how hobos apparently carry a few pebbles around with them and when they meet a new group, you should throw some of those pebbles on the ground to show you have been "passed by the hobo clan".

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  2. you know after reading this i understand a bit more about Steam train (which saddly most of it went right over my head) and it is interesting the differences they stated

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  3. steam train my favorite also it made me really think.

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  4. I also liked this story because I also considered hobos and bums the same thing and didn't ever realize they would try to find work everyday.

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