Smoke

“We got one.” Those words rang in Frank Maher’s ears as his truck pulled out of the fire station. The thick, black smoke could be seen from the instant they pulled out of the station. His group, consisting of 3 firefighters instead of the usual 4, was going to be the first at the scene, where someone had reported a fire at an apartment complex. Having served as a firefighter for 34 years, Frank never stopped wanting to make a difference. Growing up, he had always admired firefighters, and…

Background and Significance The Council Bluffs (IA) Fire Department has a long, rich history of providing quality emergency response services to its citizens. The department was formed on January 5, 1883, by resolution of the city council to establish a full-time, paid department (Petersen, 1992). This resolution came after numerous devastating fires exceeded the capabilities of the several volunteer fire companies that had protected the city during the previous 29 years. In 1918, the…

of the reservation for high school and wanted to take up medical studies, but soon realized that he had a passion for poetry and writing. He has won numerous grants and awards for his writing such as the Sundance Award in 1998 for his indie film “Smoke Signals” and the National Book Award in Young People's Literature in 2007 for his book “True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” (The Ethics of Engagement, 41). Summary of “This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona” "This is What It Means to Say…

Are you Aware of how bad Second Hand Smoke is Really Effecting us? By the end of this year more people will die from second hand smoke related deaths than the average crowd at a Major League Baseball game. Secondhand, or passive smoke, is an insidious killer that is harming people, pets and, are environment. It’s of great importance to take note of the fact that second hand smoke can cause cancer. It is just as deadly if one is exposed to it for prolonged periods of time. A smoker should take…

Secondhand smoke contains thousands of harmful chemicals, that may cause cancer. Nonsmokers who breathe in secondhand smoke take in nicotine, by the same way smokers do. It may cause diseases in children and in adults who do not smoke. Secondhand smoke is a serious health hazard that causes 50,000 deaths per year. Secondhand smoke, also known as environmental tobacco smoke, is especially harmful to children and babies because their lungs are still developing. Millions of children breath in…

How dangerous is secondhand smoke? Is it a major issue that today’s society should be concerned about? Many people believe that being in the same environment as another individual who is smoking does not affect them because they are not the ones who are inhaling the smoke, however these misconceptions have been proven wrong and have shed light on the disastrous effects of secondhand smoke. According to the American Health Society, secondhand smoke includes more than seven thousand chemicals that…

Sherman Alexie 's "The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me" is a personal narrative in which he recounts his early life and how he started to appreciate reading. As he shares his experience with us, he weaves into his story a powerful truth about our society. Even though we refuse to admit it, we have certain expectations of different communities. In his essay, he focuses precisely on what it meant for him to grow up as an Indian child in an American society. By discussing the obstacles…

Sometimes forgiveness is a hard concept for people to grasp and others forgive too easily, but when do we know when to forgive or whom we should forgive? What happens when we do not forgive? In “The Powwow at the End of the World,” Sherman Alexie experienced several mishaps in his reservation and even the surrounding areas, for example, the water levels were raising, the dams were breaking, and the cities and towns were flooding. Even though all of those events were happening, Alexie was told to…

In the YouTube video called “PEN Banned Books Week Google Hangout on the Air with Sherman Alexie,” PEN representative Deji Olukotun and American Library Association Office Director Barbara Jones interview Sherman Alexie. This video highlights authors whose books have been banned; therefore, Sherman Alexie is a guest for this interview. Olukotun and Jones ask him a series of questions about his novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. In the interview, there are three intriguing…

In Sherman Alexie’s Story, This is What it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona, Victor is a complex character in ways. On the outside he is more closed off and and tries to act “normal” and that he is above others who aren’t in that definition of normal. But on the inside he knows that he shouldn’t be like that. He holds regret for treating Thomas Builds-the-fire the way he does growing up. They were friends when they were younger, but by their teenage years Victor had drifted away. One night, “when…