Zafira
THE ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ
At exactly 9:30 PM on the night of June 11, 1962 three men named Frank Morris, Clarence Anglin, and John Anglin escaped Alcatraz. They were escaping their cells trying not to get caught. Did you notice that 2 of the people have the same last name? That’s because they are brothers, and the other man is their friend.
To escape, the three men dug the cement wall around the vent, and started to use a nail clipper, and then they figured out that they can use a spoon to dig out the vent. The weather at Alcatraz was cold and windy, the wind brought small water drops from the ocean and misting in the air so it makes the cement walls soft. It took the men a couple months to dig the wall, and the reason they decided to escape that day, was because the security lights were not on and it was easier to escape.
The 3 men took up a hobby of painting, so the guards were not suspicious that they ordered paint, paint brushes, and drawing boards, to hide the holes that they made in the walls. The three men made dummy heads with the materials they had, like: they used toilet paper, cardboard, cement chips, stolen hair from the barber shop, and the painting material, they also used pillows for the bodies and legs, they did this to buy some time in their cells before they could escape. After they were through the vent, they were in the Utility Corridor room and found a way to get to bay. They did their best to survive the coldest and roughest waters of the San Francisco bay. They made a raft out of 50 rain coats that helped them travel to Angel Island.
The three men escaped on the night of June 11, 1962 and were never were seen since that day. I think that they should keep the case open, because if someone finds them, jails now have security cameras, and there is more technology to keep the prisoners from escaping. I think that they are still alive suffering from hypothermia and they are there somewhere in the USA.
To escape, the three men dug the cement wall around the vent, and started to use a nail clipper, and then they figured out that they can use a spoon to dig out the vent. The weather at Alcatraz was cold and windy, the wind brought small water drops from the ocean and misting in the air so it makes the cement walls soft. It took the men a couple months to dig the wall, and the reason they decided to escape that day, was because the security lights were not on and it was easier to escape.
The 3 men took up a hobby of painting, so the guards were not suspicious that they ordered paint, paint brushes, and drawing boards, to hide the holes that they made in the walls. The three men made dummy heads with the materials they had, like: they used toilet paper, cardboard, cement chips, stolen hair from the barber shop, and the painting material, they also used pillows for the bodies and legs, they did this to buy some time in their cells before they could escape. After they were through the vent, they were in the Utility Corridor room and found a way to get to bay. They did their best to survive the coldest and roughest waters of the San Francisco bay. They made a raft out of 50 rain coats that helped them travel to Angel Island.
The three men escaped on the night of June 11, 1962 and were never were seen since that day. I think that they should keep the case open, because if someone finds them, jails now have security cameras, and there is more technology to keep the prisoners from escaping. I think that they are still alive suffering from hypothermia and they are there somewhere in the USA.
Shoes
Shoes are things that you put on your feet, you wear them for sports, and all sorts of activities. Shoes are mainly meant to wear with socks, and if you don’t wear them with socks your feet will more than likely stink. Shoes can also be in certain styles such as, boots, basketball shoes, hiking shoes or boots, also flip flops, and more. There aren’t just shoes for humans, but there are also shoes for animals; for example, horse shoes. My favorite kind of shoes are Jordans and Nikes because they are comfortable and sporty. Shoes are very useful!
Jack Eddy’s Encyclopedia of His Ordinary Life
A for Asthma
My wife and daughter have severe cases of the malady. Moving to Tracy with its walnut and almond trees and dry grasses and weeds unleashed the disease that had been dormant for years. Every spring and fall, my wife and daughter are forced to go to the emergency room of the local hospital because they are unable to breathe. Every so often, the ER doctor will send them to a hospital room for nearly a week of tubes and masks filled with antibiotics and steroids.
B for Boobs
Advertisers must think I am dumb. I refuse to buy any product in which the advertising is slanted to my testosterone, such as Carl’s Junior’s hamburger commercials. Like I’m going to go out on a date with one of the bikini-clad babes after consuming an all-American burger topped with hot dogs and chips?
C for confections
My Achilles heel are cookies, cakes, pastries - anything that is sweet and chewy. Add an extra 10 pounds to my physique. As much as I try, I cannot avoid my daily bread.
D for death
I fear dying. I refuse to dwell on those who die. Attending a funeral is a rarity. I was a no-show at my parents’ and sisters’ funerals. I enjoy the experiences of life so much that I never look backward. But as my mortality clock counts down, I fear what is ahead of me. Death. It’s not in my vocabulary.
E for Eddy
Family is important. I am proud of my last name although I was not given the opportunity not to bear it. I become irritated when someone misspells it as Eddie or jokingly yells out, “Jack Eddy; you’ve got two first names?” “No, I don’t,” I reply angrily in a futile attempt to dissuade that someone.
F for fanatic:
Legend has it that I was born with a Green Bay Packer helmet in my crib. I have been a Packer fan for 63 years, in the good and the bad times. So I only remember Bart Starr, Fuzzy Thurston, Jim Taylor, Willie Davis, Brett Favre and their greatness. Go Pack Go!
G for gum:
Wrigley’s spearmint would stick to my teeth as a teen-ager. Now, my love is any super sour chew. I chew it as a sugar rush, that spark to stay on a higher activity level. I can chew and swallow an 8-ounce bag of gumballs in one setting.
H for hair:
My hippy hair days died when I met my wife-to-be. Forty years later, I still have a graying batch on top even though my hairline recedes on my forehead daily. The old wife’s tale is true: as you age, your hair growth is more predominant in your earlobes, your nose, and the back of your neck, chest, and points below.
I for intelligence:
My IQ is higher than normal, although my brain is lazy at times. I don’t challenge it enough. I think more today as a school teacher than I ever did as a journalist. I must be on my game every weekday because, yes, I have students who are more intelligent than me; same goes for my wife. That’s one reason why I married her.
J is for Jack
My birth certificate reads: John William Eddy. Yet ever since birth, I have been called Jack. Why? Because my uncle has the same first name, and to avoid a mix-up of names, I got “Jack,” and he got to stay with “John” as a first name. It’s been a hassle ever since when half of my teachers, professors, and bosses call me “John,” and the other half call me “Jack.”
K is for Kirstin:
My daughter is my “babe,” the love and joy of my life. She is the homemaker of our family since my wife became an invalid. Kirstin was a premie baby, born four weeks early. Hence, her mental capacity does not include the ability to think at a high level. She can not wonder why. For her, what is is what is.
L is for liquor:
When I became a school teacher, I stopped consuming alcohol. It was a healthy move. Besides, no lost brain cells, no weight gain. I have never felt better.
M is for money:
I don’t worry about my income. My wife takes care of the monthly bills. She gives me a $5 allowance each Monday. I will use my Visa credit card on more major needs. The way that credit card bill has risen recently, I expect my wife will soon restrict its use by taking a pair of scissors to mine.
N is for Nancy:
My wife is perfect. She looks and acts at least 20 years younger. She manages me, she comforts me, she supports me.
O is for optimistic:
That’s an attitude I have every morning as I unlock my classroom door. I can honestly declare that every day I come to school with a smile on my face and every night I leave school with that same smile.
P is for perfection:
I always have been a perfectionist; I’m always making sure the last t is crossed and the last i is dotted. A fault is that I expect everyone else to have the same value in their effort. I’m disappointed when they don’t.
Q is for quick:
A favorite nursery rhyme line of mine is: Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack jumped over the candlestick. I’ve always been quick; many times, I regret being too quick in my judgment and my response to an issue.
R is reading:
One of my pastimes is reading. I carry my Kindle e-book nearly everywhere. I remember as a child reading the sports section of newspapers every morning at the kitchen table, of course, after my dad read them.
S is for survivor:
I survived the Great Recession that eliminated my 30-year job as a newspaper editor by becoming a teacher; an occupation I should have chosen after college graduation 41 years ago.
T is for time:
At age 63 going on 64, there isn’t much time left for me to make a mark on Earth. I hope I do in the classroom with my students. I feel fulfilled every time I turn the light bulb on in their brain.
U is for unique:
How many other people have had my up and down life? No one. Just me.
V is for victim:
I could feel that I am the victim of disease and of circumstance. I don’t live that way. I don’t feel sorry, I don’t blame anyone, i don’t want any assistance. I will conquer life on my own terms.
W is for Wisconsin:
That’s where I was born. It was in a small fishing village on the coast of Lake Michigan. I would be the second sibling in a family of eight. Luckily, I didn’t have to wear hand-me-down clothes or sleep in beds that other children had slept in. Almost everything was a new possession for me.
X is for X-rays:
I never have broken a bone and been forced to wear a cast. Although I have been hospitalized twice for my multiple sclerosis, after each stay I want back to work and my family life immediately.
Z is for zero:
I see too many of these scores in my student gradebook. I am the type of teacher who gives lazy students second and sometimes third chances to finish their homework. However, the longer my tenure as a teacher goes, the shorter my patience is for procrastinators.
A for Asthma
My wife and daughter have severe cases of the malady. Moving to Tracy with its walnut and almond trees and dry grasses and weeds unleashed the disease that had been dormant for years. Every spring and fall, my wife and daughter are forced to go to the emergency room of the local hospital because they are unable to breathe. Every so often, the ER doctor will send them to a hospital room for nearly a week of tubes and masks filled with antibiotics and steroids.
B for Boobs
Advertisers must think I am dumb. I refuse to buy any product in which the advertising is slanted to my testosterone, such as Carl’s Junior’s hamburger commercials. Like I’m going to go out on a date with one of the bikini-clad babes after consuming an all-American burger topped with hot dogs and chips?
C for confections
My Achilles heel are cookies, cakes, pastries - anything that is sweet and chewy. Add an extra 10 pounds to my physique. As much as I try, I cannot avoid my daily bread.
D for death
I fear dying. I refuse to dwell on those who die. Attending a funeral is a rarity. I was a no-show at my parents’ and sisters’ funerals. I enjoy the experiences of life so much that I never look backward. But as my mortality clock counts down, I fear what is ahead of me. Death. It’s not in my vocabulary.
E for Eddy
Family is important. I am proud of my last name although I was not given the opportunity not to bear it. I become irritated when someone misspells it as Eddie or jokingly yells out, “Jack Eddy; you’ve got two first names?” “No, I don’t,” I reply angrily in a futile attempt to dissuade that someone.
F for fanatic:
Legend has it that I was born with a Green Bay Packer helmet in my crib. I have been a Packer fan for 63 years, in the good and the bad times. So I only remember Bart Starr, Fuzzy Thurston, Jim Taylor, Willie Davis, Brett Favre and their greatness. Go Pack Go!
G for gum:
Wrigley’s spearmint would stick to my teeth as a teen-ager. Now, my love is any super sour chew. I chew it as a sugar rush, that spark to stay on a higher activity level. I can chew and swallow an 8-ounce bag of gumballs in one setting.
H for hair:
My hippy hair days died when I met my wife-to-be. Forty years later, I still have a graying batch on top even though my hairline recedes on my forehead daily. The old wife’s tale is true: as you age, your hair growth is more predominant in your earlobes, your nose, and the back of your neck, chest, and points below.
I for intelligence:
My IQ is higher than normal, although my brain is lazy at times. I don’t challenge it enough. I think more today as a school teacher than I ever did as a journalist. I must be on my game every weekday because, yes, I have students who are more intelligent than me; same goes for my wife. That’s one reason why I married her.
J is for Jack
My birth certificate reads: John William Eddy. Yet ever since birth, I have been called Jack. Why? Because my uncle has the same first name, and to avoid a mix-up of names, I got “Jack,” and he got to stay with “John” as a first name. It’s been a hassle ever since when half of my teachers, professors, and bosses call me “John,” and the other half call me “Jack.”
K is for Kirstin:
My daughter is my “babe,” the love and joy of my life. She is the homemaker of our family since my wife became an invalid. Kirstin was a premie baby, born four weeks early. Hence, her mental capacity does not include the ability to think at a high level. She can not wonder why. For her, what is is what is.
L is for liquor:
When I became a school teacher, I stopped consuming alcohol. It was a healthy move. Besides, no lost brain cells, no weight gain. I have never felt better.
M is for money:
I don’t worry about my income. My wife takes care of the monthly bills. She gives me a $5 allowance each Monday. I will use my Visa credit card on more major needs. The way that credit card bill has risen recently, I expect my wife will soon restrict its use by taking a pair of scissors to mine.
N is for Nancy:
My wife is perfect. She looks and acts at least 20 years younger. She manages me, she comforts me, she supports me.
O is for optimistic:
That’s an attitude I have every morning as I unlock my classroom door. I can honestly declare that every day I come to school with a smile on my face and every night I leave school with that same smile.
P is for perfection:
I always have been a perfectionist; I’m always making sure the last t is crossed and the last i is dotted. A fault is that I expect everyone else to have the same value in their effort. I’m disappointed when they don’t.
Q is for quick:
A favorite nursery rhyme line of mine is: Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack jumped over the candlestick. I’ve always been quick; many times, I regret being too quick in my judgment and my response to an issue.
R is reading:
One of my pastimes is reading. I carry my Kindle e-book nearly everywhere. I remember as a child reading the sports section of newspapers every morning at the kitchen table, of course, after my dad read them.
S is for survivor:
I survived the Great Recession that eliminated my 30-year job as a newspaper editor by becoming a teacher; an occupation I should have chosen after college graduation 41 years ago.
T is for time:
At age 63 going on 64, there isn’t much time left for me to make a mark on Earth. I hope I do in the classroom with my students. I feel fulfilled every time I turn the light bulb on in their brain.
U is for unique:
How many other people have had my up and down life? No one. Just me.
V is for victim:
I could feel that I am the victim of disease and of circumstance. I don’t live that way. I don’t feel sorry, I don’t blame anyone, i don’t want any assistance. I will conquer life on my own terms.
W is for Wisconsin:
That’s where I was born. It was in a small fishing village on the coast of Lake Michigan. I would be the second sibling in a family of eight. Luckily, I didn’t have to wear hand-me-down clothes or sleep in beds that other children had slept in. Almost everything was a new possession for me.
X is for X-rays:
I never have broken a bone and been forced to wear a cast. Although I have been hospitalized twice for my multiple sclerosis, after each stay I want back to work and my family life immediately.
Z is for zero:
I see too many of these scores in my student gradebook. I am the type of teacher who gives lazy students second and sometimes third chances to finish their homework. However, the longer my tenure as a teacher goes, the shorter my patience is for procrastinators.