A Dozen Roses

Above, applauding his students in the mid-1970s. Prof. Duckworth, who started her career as a public school math teacher and just won a 2013 MacArthur "genius grant," developed a "Grit Scale" that asks people to rate themselves on a dozen statements, like "I finish whatever I begin" and "I become interested in new pursuits every few months." When she applied the scale to incoming West Point cadets, she found that those who scored higher were less likely to drop out of the school's notoriously…

Shadow yawned deeply, crawling to all fours and stretching out her back like the feline she was. Last night had been fun. Detrimentally lacking in actual sleep, but fun. She crawled out of bed, kicking aside her dark, silken sheets and padded over to the window, pulling up the blinds and letting the new day sun wash over her fur. It was fortunate the building’s windows had already been given a reflective filter to prevent people looking in. She loved being admired, but it was best not to…

navy base in Pearl Harbor. But then time took over. At 7:55 AM, Japanese fighter planes carrying deadly bombs flew in, ready to destroy the American naval base. In as little as two hours, there were four battleships destroyed and four more damaged. Dozens of more heroic war stories were born. And America had entered the second war of the world. THE BEGINNINGS OF WAR: World War II did not begin with America and Japan. As with the first war, the second began with Germany. In 1939, the German…

Carter Pon GS 2 8/23/2014 Things Fall Apart Summer Reading Assignment 1. How would you describe Okonkwo’s life and background as portrayed in the beginning of the novel? What role did his father play in this? A. After reading the beginning of the book, I am confident to say that Okonkwo's life has been spent attempting to shy away from his father's legacy, and create his own, from his own ideals. From Okonkwo's perspective, his father Unoka was an unsuccessful man, lazy and improvident.…

could hear the gun shooting again and again over the hill. She walked on. The shadows hung from the oak trees to the road like curtains. Then she smelled wood smoke, and smelled the river, and she saw a steeple and the cabins on their steep steps. Dozens of little black children whirled around her. There ahead was Natchez shining. Bells were ringing. She walked on. In the paved city it was Christmas time. There were red and green electric lights strung and crisscrossed everywhere, and all…

For other uses, see Parrot (disambiguation). Scarlet Macaws. One is eating using a foot to hold a walnut, while the shell is broken with its beak.Parrots are birds of the roughly 350 species in 85 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most warm and tropical regions. Also known as psittacines (pronounced /?s?t?sa?nz/),[1][2] they are usually grouped into two families: the Psittacidae (true parrots) and the Cacatuidae (cockatoos). Parrots have a pan-tropical distribution with…

Millions of dollars were spent on luxury homes, private jets, ranches, and even historical artifacts (Drug). In 1984, Pablo Escobar was named the seventh richest man in the world (Gangster). Pablo even had his own zoo on one of his estates. It was complete with elephants, buffaloes, lions, rhinos, gazelles, hippos, camels, ostriches, and a herd of zebras. Pablo was also known for his immature, frivolous spending. He would have beauty queens to come and entertain some of his closest friends. He…

“There was a silly [old] bird called a Phoenix… everytime he burnt himself up he sprang out of the ashes, he got himself born all over again,” (156). This quote perfectly represents the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury by showing us that from an ignorant society, a phoenix in the form of the character Guy Montag can arise. This book was published in 1951 by author Ray Bradbury who was also known for the novels Dandelion Wine, Farewell Summer, and A Graveyard for Lunatics, along with many…

The life of a Burmese in the 1980s was a constant struggle of oppression and violence as the Red Scarf Army ruled Burma, ingesting fear in its people. There was no peace, no safety, and no freedom as Burma was faced with a chaotic political system. However, the Burmese quest for freedom and independence was realized when Aung San Suu Kyi emerged, finally leading Burma into democracy. Without a doubt, Aung San Suu Kyi is the voice of hope for Burma, and proves to be an effective leader, who will…

wages were justified by David Ricardo (1772-1823) by “iron law of wages” argued raising wages would only increase working population & availability of workers which would cause wages to fall, thus creating cycle of misery & starvation. - Real wages rose steady (late 1800s), but still bad. d. Working Women. ~ 1/5 women in 1900 worked for wages, who were young & single since 5% married worked outside home. - 1900, men & women believed economically feasible for women to stay at home raising…