Short Works 1

  After reading Maya Angelou’s “Champion of the World” a lot of memories of past history and recent history came to mind. These memories not only affected the world but also affected a small personal community that I was a part of.

   InChampion of the World” Maya Angelou depicts how one man had made an impact on not only an entire racial community but on an entire world.

    On April 19, 1989, the USS Iowa (BB-61) had an explosion in Turret 2 which killed 47 sailors on board during a training mission. At the time I was a navy wife and my husband was stationed on board the USS Coral Sea (CV-43) stationed in Norfolk. The USS Coral Sea was accompanying the Iowa during their training mission.

    W ithin hours after the explosion I found myself with fellow navy wives entering the gym on Norfolk Naval Base. Upon entering the gym it was dim and quiet. There were cots lined up on either side of a make-shift walkway. As I entered further, I could see a chapel area to the right with chaplains standing by. At the time, no one knew whose husband had survived the explosion and the chaplains were there not only for support but to comfort the widows later on that evening.

    My fellow navy wives and I had come bearing supplies such as diapers, baby food, snacks, drinks and blankets. We were approached by a sailor and asked, “Why are you here? What is all this stuff for?” I responded, “We are wives of sailors on the Coral Sea and we are hear to help the wives of the Iowa. We have brought supplies so that they would not have to worry about feeding and diapering their babies in this time of crisis. We all hope that if the tables were turned that they would be here for us.” The sailor stood there in surprise and then thanked us for our help. Many more navy wives and sailors appeared through out the night bringing their support and supplies.

    Even though this was one of the saddest experiences of being a navy wife for 24 years, it was also one of the proudest. The explosion on the USS Iowa not only brought the navy community together; it brought the state of Virginia and the nation together. The outpouring of support for the sailors and families of the USS Iowa was tremendous. The grief and sorrow was as large as a nation.

Short Works 2

    Alone I sit cold, craving a touch of warmth. My purpose is multiple but my usage is always the same. I am decorative and beautiful, yet practical and plain. I am one of many but unique in my own way. I am delicate yet I can persevere throughout the years. I am organic in nature, synthetic in process and can be dangerous to work with. I am the personification of the light and represent a way out of the darkness. My form is mutable and ever changing but easily recognizable to all. I am a want and a need. I am all about imagination and inspire creativity. I am a chore to be completed. I have a simple recipe but add anything you like. Make me, destroy me. Buy, sell or trade me. I am a gift requiring thought but can be the last minute item on your Christmas list. What am I?

What am I?

Short Works 2

“    Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.” –Albert Einstein

    If Martians were to create a travel agency at TCC it would be disastrous. Tuition at TCC would increase because of the attention the agency would bring to the college. TCC would have to decide who was fit to travel in space and most of the students I have seen are not physically fit enough to enter space. The cost of such a trip would be somewhere in the hundreds of millions. It is not the best investment for a college student. Even if there were a way to afford the trip, humans would have to trust an alien species to take them to another planet in a vehicle they know nothing about.

    Since Martian technology would be foreign to humans, humans would try to steal it. Scientists would be out to kidnap and dissect the Martians that run the organization and in turn inform the government. The government would try to find out everything they could about the Martians and their technology. It is human nature to take something apart to see how it works especially because it is different from our species. The government would take the technology and use it in our armed forces, thus bringing war into space.

    A travel agency to the stars is a wonderful idea but in human society it would not work. People are too curious for their own good. Curiosity killed the cat for a reason. Anything that is superior will try to conquer anything less superior. If the Martians are more advanced than humans one of three things would happen: We would become their food. We would become their slaves. They would attempt to live cohesively amongst humans. It is not human nature to accept differences or change. Therefore if Martians were to come to Earth and establish a travel agency at TCC it would be cataclysmic.

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