almost essay

Andrew Brown
English 1101
September 29, 2008

Ms. S. Aiken
Hammer of the Gods

Imagine a dark summer afternoon. The grass is crisp underneath your body and hands. There is

a soft murmur of passing people. Their chit-chat is distant and it is a loud and quiet environment. Before you is the most beautiful stage you have ever seen. It is wide and narrow so that all members of the band can be seen. There is a large screen for projected images in the background. In the forground, the stage is covered in a low flame. Spotlights, strobe lights, and speakers are strategically positioned around it. You are close enough to see, yet not at the compromise of your personal space. A gentle breeze is blowing and calming. It is the concert of your dreams.
Finally, after many hours of anticipation, a man appears on stage. It is Layne Staley, the front man of Alice in Chains. “Let’s start, shall we?” he says. The rest of the band joins him on the stage. They open with “Them Bones.” The sun is low and the sky turns orange. The thunderous power chords tear across the air. They proceed to play “Rooster,” “I Stay Away,” and “Man In the Box.” Their deep lyrics, coupled with heavy, distorted guitar stab the brain in excitement.
After a brief applause, nobody says a word. Jerry steps off the stage with the rest of the band. A flash of light soars out across the crowd leaving temporary blindness. Suddenly a hum in the amplifiers breaks the silence, and it is Soundgarden. Chris Cornell, front man, opens with “Rusty Cage.” Everybody is on their feet jumping. They follow with “Pretty Noose,” “Jesus Christ Pose,” and “Black Hole Sun.” Applause and the band takes a bow. Cornell points off stage and yells “Stone Temple Pilots!” Scott Weiland and the DeLeo boys come out. The stage is wide and narrow. The bands are spread so that they can all be seen. The band proceeds to play “Wicked Garden,” “Plush,” and “Interstate Love Song.” It is dark now, the concert goers all have their lighters out, swaying to the all too true lyrics of “Interstate Love Song”: “Leavin’ on a southern train, / Only yesterday, you lied.”
After the audience thought they could take no more amazing music, Pearl Jam joins the stage. Eddie Vedder, of Pearl Jam, and Scott Weiland, of Stone Temple Pilots, greet each other. In a meeting that could be almost unreal, Vedder thanks the audience. Stone Temple Pilots leave the stage and there is a silence again. Somewhere there is a sickly sweet sound of cicadas calling. The wind blows and some papers rustle by. The other concert-goers are wide eyed and mouth-agape. Vedder yells “God bless this land!”, and there is the rip of a slide down the guitar. It is the opening note of “Even Flow,” the sour sweet tale of the homeless community. You are on your feet again, screaming along with the lyrics, in your raspy voice you’ve developed. Vedder’s voice is like an angel sent from heaven, and the audience is like his holy chorus. The song ends and it immediately starts “Jeremy.” The innocence of a young boy against the odds is perfectly portrayed in this ballad. The guitar solo pulls repeatedly at your heartstrings, for you know the boy in the song has killed himself. Jeremy, the American hero, has fallen. The fields are filled with the rich and raw sound of Stone Gossard’s guitar. The notes playfully land on your ears, and your eyes glaze over from the excitement. Pearl Jam continues to finish their set with “Black.”
At the end of that song, Vedder is joined Cornell, Weiland, and Staley. They bow. The whole audience is screaming “More, more!” The bands bow once more. There is another flash of lights, and the stage is empty. It was almost as if the whole concert was a dream. The roaring is more than your ears can handle. Your voice is dead and your hands are reddened. Tears stream from your eyes as you are overwhelmed. The single greatest expirience of your life has come to an end.

News

This past week, while at work (Barnes & Noble, if you didn't already know), I met up with one of the old coaches from my high school. We had a brief discussion. The generic "how's school, how's work, whats your major" and so forth. Well after the mention of me majoring in journalism, he proceeded to tell me of how he writes for all these sports and local magazines. He then requested my email and said that he would put me in touch with the editor of the Across Town magazine and get me a spot to write. Pretty excited.

Acceptance

Acceptance: The Final Stage of Death

Many of my days have been bland and uneventful. Childhood came and went like the waves of the sea. Unfortunately, I’ll never forget the death of my best friend.
He sat there and an amorphous body floated over to him. This strange figure had lanky arms and big round belly. The hairs on its head were combed to one side and it reminded him of cornfields. He remembered the corn maze he had went to the previous year and he frowned. Getting lost can be so frustrating. The shape came and sat next to him.
“Go to bed son”
He was in his bed, nestled in his covers. He pulled the covers over his head and he was weightless in space. He soared past the stars and the Milky Way; he passed Luke Skywalker and Superman. His toys were pioneers and his bed was a spaceship. He left Earth, never to return. The blankets were pulled out from above him and he was back in his room.
“Good morning”
The sun was shining that morning. Who could ever forget that day when tragedy struck.
The cars were all in a row outside of his house; each one spaced evenly apart from the previous. He started to count them: one red, two red, two red and one blue, two red and one blue and one grey. The cars were varying in size. Each one they passes grew bigger and bigger. Finally he was surrounded by a group of many giants; each one with its metal teeth and its white eyes. They were going to eat him. He began to speed up his walking pace. Finally he arrived at the bus stop. The doors closed behind him and the bus began to move. It was a cheetah and they were moving faster and faster. They were running away from the giants.
The lady came into their class and they were all sitting down. He began reading the Hardy Boys. They were searching for a lost little girl. He lead the Boys on a wild chase around town. Finally, they found her.
“Pack up your books; it’s almost time to go”
He was standing in the entryway to him home. He was standing in his room. He checked to make sure nothing was touched while he was out. All his toys were in place, all his books in order, bed was neat. There was something different though.
“Mom, where’s Goldie?”
His fish tank was missing. She looked away and he knew what had happened. He ran up to his room and slammed the door behind him. There was no happiness. They world had lost its brilliance. Grey clouds filled the sky. He threw a toy at the wall. He yelled. He lied in his bed with his face in a pillow. He was in his room and everything seemed so huge. He was swimming. He swam in circles for a bit. He couldn’t understand. And then a familiar face came to him.
“What’s the matter?”
It was Goldie. Goldie had risen from the toilet and was never leaving. He was on vacation, of course! He never should’ve doubted his mom. So that’s what he meant by ‘he’s in a better place.’
He sat up in his bed. It was night time out and it was dark in his room. He turned on the lights. Goldie wasn’t there. A wet spot on his desk took the place of his best friend. He sat at his desk, not upset, anymore. He went back downstairs. He hugged his mom, and he ate dinner.

Conflagration

Burn. She stepped away from what once was a house. Ashes glowed to make her face red. Now he could see the hatred inside of her. Burn. The lights flashed blue and red in her face. She smiled. They can come take me away, Im happy now. Burn. I hope you like hell. I hear it's nice and warm. You and your new girl can go make love there. Burn. They slapped handcuffs on her, read her her rights. The deed was done. Burn. They read the charges: Two accounts of manslaughter, posession of illegal drugs, and, of course, arson. Burn. The bars closed behind her. Life in jail without parole rang in her ears. She had known what she had done, and she was proud of it. Who knew that gas stove would ever come in so handy? Burn. She got out of her car and ran her fingers through her hair. What the hell? He was in bed with another girl. They lie naked together, embarassed. Burn. He and her were kissing on the bed. I love you she told him. He said the same to her. They had a bond that could never be broken. They took each other's clothes off and he surveyed her. Burn. She had a date tonight. Boy, was she excited. She was gonna wear her new red dress and red lipstick. He was cute. She liked him. They met at work. Burn. The house still lay in ashes. She smiled. She was happy with her new home.

Failed attempt at an essay!

I'll never forget that day, it was a Monday and the doors were locked. The schoolbus had just let us off. Shit, I thought, I didnt have my house key with me. I walked down the street to the near by playground and sat in the swing. The wind was blowing pretty hard. I pulled my sweatshirt up around my neck. I reached into my backpack and pulled out my copy of Catcher in the Rye. I can still remember that day, it snowed. I sported my new Pink Floyd hoodie and a pair of tattered jeans. At a slim 110 pounds, I was looking pretty sickly.
As long as I can remember, my family always had problems. Dad was an alchoholic, stupid fuck. My older brother killed himself when I was three. I failed the fifth grade, but that's nothing to brag about. Yup, just your regular American family. It was the best of days, it was the worst of days, right? Well, that night the phone rang.
"Your mother's in the hospital."
Happiness had just went to hell in a handbasket. Ma had led a pretty significant role in my life. When Jeff put the gun against his head and pulled the trigger, Ma was the one who kissed me on the forehead. I'm not one for mushy stuff, but hell, that's just about the best it could get. When Dad hit the booze again, it was Ma he hit. She still loved him, that crazy bitch. The world can be a cruel place for nice people.