An ode to My Beach House

My beach house is…
A place to relax,
A place where it’s never to sunny,
A place to have fun.

Riding bikes around town,
Relaxing on the beach,
Building Sand Castles,
Swimming in the ocean,
Going fishing.

But most importantly my beach house is a place where memories are made.
A time for the family to be together,
My beach house is the place to be.

ORB Review third Quarter

Third Quarter Outside Reading Book Review

What it Takes to be Number 1,Vince Lombardi Jr., McGraw Hill, 2001.

Genre: biography (son on father)

The story is about the life of Vince Lombardi. He is arguably the best coach in the history of the NFL. Therefore, the championship trophy is called the Lombardi trophy. This story talks about Vince’s life, what it was like to be his son, how he was as a coach and dad, and his thoughts on becoming a winner, on leadership, character, and integrity. Since it is a biography, there is not really a conflict or protagonist. Some of the settings in the story are New Jersey, Green Bay, Washington, West Point, and Fordham.

“[Vince Lombardi Jr.] distills the substance of the famous coach’s utterances and his living example into life lessons that anyone can use to become a better leader and better person… this book may inspire you to start a process of self discovery that could enrich your life and make you more effective at whatever you do.”

– Fort Worth Morning Star

Since the author is Vince Lombardi’s son, the way he writes has many opinions on his feelings. It has many life stories between him and his father like the time he dropped out of school. These stories make the book interesting. There are also many quotes from Vince Sr. in it. The author also adds in “Lombardi Rules”. These are thoughts that Vince thought such as Lombardi Rule 5- Align your values. Bring espoused values into congruence with practices- or else!

“Being considered a living legend was “embarrassing as the devil,” he told a Sports Illustrated writer. “No one really wants to be a legend,” he told another writer” (28).

After reading What it takes to be number one, I became a fan of Vince Lombardi. I figured out why they named the championship trophy the Lombardi Trophy. Also from reading this book, I learned what it really means to be a winner, not just on the field, but off the field as well. I now know what it takes to be a winner in all of the hard work and practice. As well, I learned how to be a leader dealing with motivation, character, and integrity. I also liked learning more about Lombardi and the true meaning of the Lombardi trophy. His life was interesting from starting at a high school, coaching at West Point, being an assistant for the Giants, going to the Packers and Redskins while raising his family of four. This was a great book!

Obstacles are good?

The word obstacle comes from the Latin root obstaculum meaning to stand in front of or barrier. In life, we face many struggles. Obstacles are what make are goals harder to get towards. Whether your obstacle is an injury, a relationship, or time, they all affect us. In Ernest Hemingway’s classic, The Old Man and the Sea, the main character Santiago faced obstacles that no ordinary man could overcome. During his venture of bringing the marlin back to his Cuban homeland, the Old Man is battling against the size of the fish, being lonesome, and a group full of hungry Mako Sharks.

The marlin hooked by Santiago was massive. “He is two feet longer than the skiff [18 feet and over a thousand pounds!]” (Hemingway 63). Santiago was facing the catch of a lifetime. Since the marlin was so large, the Old Man could not bring him in right away due to his strength. The process of catching the fish took three days, yet Santiago decided to stay with the hooked fish. He did this for pride since he had not caught a fish in 84 days.

The three-day journey created a toll on the Old Man’s body. This created a feeling like no other man has felt; he had to overcome this pain and made him fight for his life. The Old Man’s hand cramped up and became tense from trying to catch the fish. The Old Man decided to fight through the pain because he has a very strong heart and will. He will stop at nothing, even death. In addition, Santiago had to face hunger by staying with the marlin. He needed to catch fish along the way so he would have food to eat. He would not have the energy to catch the huge fish over a three-day span on an empty stomach. The Old Man may have tired himself to death. The size of the marlin was a challenge in itself, but along the way, it brought many other obstacles.

The experienced angler went on this journey by himself. As a result of flying solo, the Old Man played mind games on himself. He felt very lonely throughout the trip. “I wish I had the boy. To help me and to see this” (Hemingway 48). During the long trip, Santiago often referred to missing the boy. This obstacle caused a sense of melancholy in the Old Man. How would you feel being on a three-day trip by yourself without anything but the plain ocean? In addition to his loneliness, he had no one to help him. If Manolin had come along for the trip, the story would have been about fifty pages shorter because the Old Man would not have faced problems such as being lonely, getting pain, and having no help.

The last thing standing in the way of Santiago and Cuba was the sharks. The once peaceful ocean brought a large threat to Santiago. The aggressive sharks took all of the meat of the marlin. During the process, the Old Man decided to fight off numerous sharks for his own pride and his respect for the marlin.

He did this with a lack of weaponry. He had one harpoon that was taken. “He had taken my harpoon and all the rope, and now my fish bleeds and there will be others [sharks]” (Hemingway 103). Therefore, the Old Man had to beat the sharks with wooden clubs in the middle of the night. The sincere and sympathetic Old Man tried to save his friend, but was unsuccessful.

In life, it’s all about the journey we make and how we get there. Most people would think of an obstacle as annoying or as a bad thing. I see an obstacle as an experience that makes a journey. Struggles are what make us stronger people and every obstacle defines us as a person and how we overcome them. After the journey, Santiago became a stronger person, gotten a stronger mind, and most importantly, had pride. “If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.”-Frank A. Clark

Vocab:

Tense, tired, melancholy, plain,, lonely, peaceful, threat, aggressive, respect, sincere, sympathetic, annoying

OMS obstacles

Sean Rondeau

C Block

OMS Essay: add 12 wordds

The word obstacle comes from the Latin root obstaculum meaning to stand in front of or barrier. In life, we face many struggles. Obstacles are what make are goals harder to get towards. Whether your obstacle is an injury, a relationship, or time, they all affect us. In Ernest Hemingway’s classic, The Old Man and the Sea, the main character Santiago faces the biggest obstacles; no ordinary man could overcome what the Old Man had overcome. During his venture of bringing the marlin back to his Cuban homeland, the Old Man is battling against the size of the fish, being lonesome, and a group full of hungry Mako Sharks.

The marlin the Old Man had hooked was massive. “He is two feet longer than the skiff [18 feet and over a thousand pounds!]” (Hemingway 63). Santiago was facing the catch of a lifetime. Since the marlin was so large, the Old Man could not bring him in right away due to his strength. The process of catching the fish took three days, yet Santiago decided to stay with the hooked fish. The three-day journey created a toll on the Old Man’s body. This created a feeling like no other man has felt; he had to overcome this pain and made him fight for his life. The Old Man’s hand cramped up from trying to catch the fish. The Old Man decided to fight through the pain because he has a very strong heart and will. He will stop at nothing, even death. In addition, Santiago had to face hunger by staying with the marlin. He needed to catch fish along the way so he would have food to eat. He would not have the energy to catch the huge fish over a three-day span on an empty stomach. The Old Man may have exhausted himself to death. The size of the marlin was a challenge in itself, but along the way, it brought many other obstacles.

The experienced angler went on this journey by himself. As a result of flying solo, the Old Man played mind games on himself. He felt very lonely throughout the trip. “I wish I had the boy. To help me and to see this” (Hemingway 48). During the long trip, Santiago often referred to missing the boy. This obstacle caused a sense of depression in the Old Man. How would you feel being on a three-day trip by yourself without anything but the ocean? In addition to his loneliness, he had no one to help him. If Manolin had come along for the trip, the story would have been about fifty pages shorter because the Old Man would have faced problems such as being lonely, getting pain, and having no help.

The last thing standing in the way of Santiago and Cuba was the sharks. The sharks took all of the meat of the marlin. During the process, the Old Man decided to fight off numerous sharks for his own pride. He did this with a lack of weaponry. He had one harpoon that was taken. “He had taken my harpoon and all the rope, and now my fish bleeds and there will be others [sharks]” (Hemingway 103). Therefore, the Old Man had to beat the sharks with wooden clubs in the middle of the night. He tried to save his friend, the marlin, but was unsuccessful.

In life, it’s all about the journey we make and how we get there. Most people would think of an obstacle as a bad thing. I see an obstacle as an experience that makes a journey. Struggles are what make us stronger people and every obstacle defines us as a person and how we overcome them. After the journey, Santiago became a stronger person, gotten a stronger mind, and most importantly, had pride. “If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.”-Frank A. Clark

short story. Seize Each Day.

Sean Rondeau

C Block

Seize Each Day

“Paul! Paul! Mr. White please get up before I kick you out of my class!” said Ms. Sullivan in truculent voice.

Paul evasively replied, “I’m up, I’m up don’t throw a fit.” Paul had just got to his first class after showing up thirty minutes late. Paul just didn’t care about school. He was failing most of his classes, skipping classes, talking back, and not showing up to school. Throughout the rest of the day, Paul created his usual distractions and disturbances in class. At lunchtime, he ran into the person he hated most, Dexter Winfield. He and Dexter nearly got in a fight before it being broken up by teachers. Dexter and Paul had been best friends until a couple of years ago when Dexter tried to vilify his reputation. Both are too obstinate to apologize.

After cutting school a bit early with his pal John, Paul went to his house to drink even though he was only a senior. Seven beers later, Paul was drunk and had past out in his room. After being unconscious for a couple of hours, he had heard the phone ring. It was his grandma. He and his grandma had been very close until Paul became aloofed from her and started doing drugs. Ever since, his grandma has been doleful. He heard Grandma’s voice say, “Paul, I haven’t seen you in a while. I was wondering if you could come visit me at the nursing home. I need some company.”

Paul responded with a bit of a slur, “Yeah sure grandma, I’ll be there in two hours. See you then.” Paul once again blew off his grandma for the second time this week. Paul’s wizened grandma, in her late eighty’s, was diagnosed with cancer and is in the process of dying. That night, Paul didn’t even bother to attempt his onerous homework.

The next day after Paul was late again, the principal of Northwest High, Mr. Jenkins called Paul into his room. Mr. Jenkins said, “Paul, you are failing almost all of your classes, showing up late, and cutting school. It just doesn’t seem like you care.”

He replied, “Mr. Jenkins I don’t care about school.”

“Mr. White, you also don’t care about life. I’ve heard rumors about what you have been doing outside of school. How do you plan on getting into college on the way your going?”

“Mr. J., I don’t plan on going to college.” Mr. Jenkins’s harangue went on for about ten more minutes. After the rebuttal, Paul stormed out of the room and slammed the door. Mr. Jenkins knew he couldn’t do anything about this because he thought Paul was incorrigible. When Paul got home from school he watched TV until it was midnight when his beaten up phone rang. It was John. Paul then grabbed his wallet and snuck out of the door while his parents were sleeping. He was going to John’s to smoke.

On the walk there on the foggy night, Paul decided to take a shortcut through the park. As he was walking, he saw three men with hoods approaching him. Paul just kept walking. Once he got closer to the three mysterious men, they converged on him and the man in the middle said, “Give me everything in your pockets!”

Paul then trying to be tough said, “What if I don’t?” The man in the middle then pulled a gun out of his pocket and put it to Paul’s head. Paul was scared out his mind and his fear pervaded throughout his whole body. Paul pleaded him not to shoot. He was coerced to pull everything out of his pockets including his wallet that had 150 bucks in it, his cell phone, a pack of lifesavers, and even his pocket lint. The man put his gun away and the three men beat Paul until he was unconscious. In the morning, a man walking his dog saw Paul on the ground and immediately called the police. Once Paul woke up, he realized he needed to cherish life everyday and live each day like it was his last.

Over the remaining five months of the school year, Paul got to school on time, participated in every class, and didn’t talk back to his teachers. Paul even apologized to Dexter and they became friends again. Paul said to himself, “Life’s too short to have enemies.” Each day when Paul got home, he did all of his homework and even studied for his tests. He then called his grandma back and went to visit her before she was gone. He watched the sunset with her and loved every moment. From the day he was jumped until his grandma died a month later, Paul watched the sunset with her everyday. The day before she died, she told Paul to live life to the fullest and seize each day. Paul also made an oath to himself to quit drugs and alcohol. Paul also brought his grades up and got accepted into the local state college. Paul turned his dull future into something sanguine. Paul finally started to appreciate life.

2nd Quarter ORB

Second Quarter Outside Reading Book Review

Football Genius by Tim Green. Harper Trophy, 2008. Genre: Realistic fiction


The book Football Genius is about a young boy named Troy White. Troy has a great ability where he can predict a football play before it happens. It is like a gift. Troy also is a huge Atlanta Falcons fan. Star linebacker Seth Halloway meets Troy and finds out about his great talent. They try to get people to believe him but struggle with it at first. Troy is invited to the Falcons game to test his abilities. After a while, he shows his talents and helps the Falcons win the next few games. Troy is offered a job by the manager for 10,000 dollars a game. Meanwhile, Troy is battling with his enemy Jamie Renfro throughout the book with his two friends Tate and Nathan.

“As close as you can come to NFL action without putting on the pads. Filled with excitement, suspense- and great football!”
- Bill Parcells, Dallas Cowboys head coach

Throughout the book, Troy battles with Jamie. They are on the same football team and do not like each other. Jamie’s dad is the coach. Even though Troy is a better quarterback than Jamie is, Jamie still starts. Jamie also makes fun of Troy and his favorite football team, the Atlanta Falcons. Troy does not have a father. His mom gets a job with the Falcons. Troy is introduced to Seth Halloway by stealing one of his footballs in his backyard and his mom makes him return it. This toss-up happens because Troy tells Jamie his mom works with the falcons when she did not have a job yet. Jamie then tells him to bring back an Atlanta Falcons football.

Tim Green writes the book in Troy’s point of view. You are often reading Troy’s thoughts and personality. The way he writes it sounds like his has a true passion for the game of football. He seems very passionate about his writing. I would compare Tim Green’s writing style to that of Mike Lupica, one of my favorite authors.

“All the tendencies and formations that we study and plug into computers, his brain just calculates it all. Instantly. But he does it better than computers. He calculates it all. What yard line they’re on. The positions of the players…” (141).

As I am a huge football fan, I can really relate to this book and the writing of Tim Green. I have not read any of Green’s other books, but I plan too. I really enjoyed this book because I can relate to it. From reading this book, it makes me want to analyze a play more and think about why they ran it.


Sean Rondeau C Block

Value Essay draft

Sean Rondeau

10.13.2009

C block

Value Essay

What is value? It is perhaps more complex than most people think. Value can be measured in many ways. Is it monetary worth, material worth, or significance to oneself? It all depends on the person. In today’s society of expensive cars, clothes, and electronics, people tend to forget about the priceless moments that they have each day. People often take these moments for granted, but in reality everyone needs moments like their morning coffee or family parties. In my opinion, the most valuable things in life are the priceless memories or “Kodak moments.”

I wake up to the sound of my alarm clock at 3 am (did I even sleep that night?). Enthusiastically, I force myself up out of bed. My family and I are going to Rosemary Beach, Florida! This is our fifth trip to this beautiful paradise and each time it feels like the first. After a quick plane ride, we arrived at our destination. As we arrive, there is nothing but clear skies and amazing weather that follows us. The town is a rather small, filled with relaxed people in a carefree type of lifestyle. I could tell these people didn’t mind to watch the sunset, smell the roses, or ride bikes all day. Immediately, my parents adapted into this way of life. Both being business owners, they are often under a lot of stress. It is nice to see them so carefree with no schedule to follow.

I look into the horizon of the beautiful sunset and enter the beach. I see a purple, orange sky and a glowing orange sun setting. I also see the purest white sand that squeaks as you walk through it. There were not any shells in the sand. It was flawless, sugar sand. As I peacefully wade in the crystal clear blue water, admiring the nice weather and scenery, there is no feeling that can compare to it. I must also mention the water feels like bath water, almost 80 degrees. Even my sister isn’t afraid to jump in. Our time there is very relaxing and enjoyable. It is the nicest beach I have ever been too. I not only enjoy Rosemary for the beautiful beaches, scenery, and weather, but also for the quality time I get to spend with my carefree family (well at least until they go back to work). These moments are truly priceless to me.

I feel it shiver through my body; my cell phone is vibrating. I place my hand in the crisp pockets of my new jeans. I take out my gray Samsung Alias 2 cell phone to read a text from my friend asking to hang out. It is equipped with a dual keyboard opening two ways with an interchangeable QWERTY keyboard, a 2.0 megapixel camera/camcorder, 16 GB to hold music, and a front screen telling the time. Using E-ink technology, my cell phone is able to switch keys from numeric to alphabetic with a touch of a button. The technology is amazing. This phone is fit for me.

With money saved up, I bought my phone at about two hundred dollars. I think it was worth every penny. My phone is not only valued to me by price, but also for the piece of mind it brings me. My phone is like a friend. It can provide me with a source of comfort knowing that at any time I can call my family or friends. If I am bored, I can use my Alias 2 to text or call my friends to chill. If I am sad, I can call my parents or sister. If I am angry and need to vent, I can talk with another friend. It is always there for me.

The days spent at Rosemary Beach and my phone are both very valuable to me. Even though they are both very different things, they both bring me a sense of comfort. When I think about the moments at Rosemary, I feel elated and it lifts me up if I am having a bad day. My phone also brings me the same feeling knowing that I will always have someone.