21-gun salute

drove down Broadway in our black attire, only silence filled the air. After arriving at the funeral home Chase was his usual, outgoing self, talking to all the relatives and being polite. Though you could see the blankness on his face as soon as someone would walk away and he was not occupied. By the time he had passed, Jim had withered away from a 250 pound man to a teeny 160. Luckily, he was cremated and there was a photo of his old self, the way he would want to be remembered, sitting next to the urn. We went into the service, Chase holding it together through all of it so far. The pastor begins to speak and I can see some tears forming on his somber face, but again, he holds it together. Jim was a veteran, so during the twenty-one gun salute tears poured down his face. He covered it up with his hand to try to conceal it as I gently rubbed his back to let him know I was there for him. Seeing someone I love so much be in so much pain and there was nothing I could made me break down as well. It’s now been four years since that day and he has mostly healed. We talk about Jim fondly a few times a year, and I’m always eager to listen to stories from their past. I know it will never be the same not having his papaw to talk to or spend time with, but we both know he is still around, checking in on us now and then. That day changed my perspective on life forever. Not having to deal with much death before this, I never had to deal with the pain of losing a loved one. It made me…

Here stands a little boy that, on his third birthday, has to bury his father. Although he may not have known much about his father due to his young age, it is obvious that he adores the father that he knew. As he salutes, he stands with pride and an expression on this face that exhibits reverence and adoration. With his mother standing beside him, as she appears broken and distressed, the little boy brings comfort and peace. Even though it seems that the mother’s world may be falling apart, that…

United under the flag of our country or under the God which watches over our country, which do you believe? The Pledge of Allegiance was written by Francis Bellamy in 1892, made its first appearance in the Youths’ Companion, a national family magazine and later the Pledge was edited by congress and the president at the time to include the reference to God. The Pledge was created to be the ultimate symbol of nationhood for the people of The United States of America. We remember The pledge as it…

During my time in my Kindergarten LAL/Math resource classroom I observed a student, who will be referred to as Ally for confidentiality reasons. Specifically, I observed Ally’s number recognition ability. Ally is currently five years old and is in her seventh month of Kindergarten. Ally lives at home with her mother, father, and older brother Mathew. Ally’s parents are very involved in her school life. They attend celebrations, meetings, and other events. Ally comes from a Russian family. Her…

Finally, at age forty-two, Neil appears to be putting his life together. He is working as a part time political counselor and carries those political ambitions through age fifty-six. Neil’s incredibly unstable development was heavily influenced by his genetics and the environment he grew up in. These practically unavoidable factors, along with some defeating losses, contribute substantially to Neil’s non-normative development. Neil’s familial environment as a child consisted of two overbearing…

Growing up, I never knew much about politics. However, more recently, I have researched on who I want to vote for in the upcoming presidential election, as well as having a US government class. To discover my political ideology, I took three surveys: The Pew’s Research Center’s Political Ideology Quiz, the Nolan Chart, and I Side With. I have determined that I am a strong liberal and will join the Democratic Party. I believe that we need gun control, the death penalty should not be allowed, more…

The Dangers of Guns Do you ever think about how quickly your life can be taken by a simple shot from a handgun? Do you know many innocent lives are taken daily by guns? Death by a gun is a huge ordeal in America. Thus far in 2015, according to the Gun Violence Archive, 10,843 deaths have occurred all over the Unites States due to gun violence. The number of children killed, ages 0-11, due to a handgun has reached 583 deaths. Today, many people have access to guns. Some who own a gun use it…

War on Guns There is not a year that goes by without an innocent life taken by gun violence within the United States. Each year we constantly argue the idea of whether we should ban guns or reinforce tighter restrictions on guns, especially with the NRA (National Riffle Association). Often as usual we never ensure a decision and the topic slips up again when another instance occurs. Many has brought up ideas such as securing our schools with the same weapons that we are fighting to ban. Arming…

As the audience studies the photo deeper, we see that the father is teaching the-what seems to be-two-year-old daughter how to hold a gun that she can barely wrap her tiny hands around. Society has a tendency to judge someone by their own actions, as well as their influences on others around them. Upon instinct, the audience is drawn to anger towards the father for putting a gun in the toddler’s hands, as well as towards the mother for not doing anything to prevent or stop the father from…

1981 the Army began by inviting several pistol makers to submit their 9-mm pistol to compete for a contract. Every pistol was to satisfy a list of definite requirements and had little leeway in others. With these requirements not being clear to the pistol manufactures every submission in 1981 was immediately rejected. The Army realized their requirement were not only too strict for a custom military made firearm but in disqualifying the commercially available guns they weren’t prepared to host a…