Clash Magazine

literary magazine may 2015

A COLLECTION OF ESSAYS WRITTEN BY INCREDIBLE WOMEN ISSUE ONE clash.com

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TABLE OF CONTENTS PROFILES

FEATURE ANALYSES

the art of teching and more,10

tanya marinkovic

sorry, i’m not sorry,

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leona grier

getting graphic with tuan,13

the art of shifting through time,35

jaquelin hurst

samantha herd

and still she will rise,15

the true story of the yarnell hill fire,38

samantha herd

tanya marinkovic

analyzing the end,43

exercise: the new medicine,17

jaquelin hurst

leona grier

FEATURES

COMEDY COLUMNS

wide awake drunk in austin,texas,51

an open letter,23

jaquelin hurst

leona grier

budget jeopardy,55

5 reasons you can’t get the girl,25

leona grier

jaquelin hurst

an attitude adjustment,59

the adjusted hero’s journey of learning how to drive,27

samantha herd keeping austin weird one psychic at a

tanya marinkovic

time,63

how to be knee-deep in my afro,29

tanya marinkovic

samantha herd

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Dear Reader, First of all, thank you for picking up this abstract piece of literature and giving it a gander. We admit that the magazine appears cohesive and united. CLASH is an odd, delicious dissonance that brings the cords of multiculturalism and modernism in harmony -- unparalleled to any publication you’ve ever come across. The truth is that CLASH is a remarkable and unique compilation of conflicting material. Each writer contributing to this issue is different. The enthusiastic personalities of each writer meets at the crossroad of conventional lifestyle habits and compulsive lifestyle pet peeves. The content is just as spontaneous and intriguing as the cover, compiling beliefs, ideals, and interests of each writer who contributed.

Stay extraordinarily unique!

Clash Editors

LETTER FROM THE EDITORS 7

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PROFILES

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The Art of Teaching and More:

The making of a St. Edward’s Professor

tanya marinkovic

American Grammar, Revising and Editing, Advanced Editing, Writing for Advertising, PR, and Publicity, Introduction to Creative Writing, Media Writing and Rhetoric and Composition 2: Assistant Professor of English Writing and Rhetoric, Amy Root Clements, PhD, is a jack of many trades.

out of an envelope. Three students take their place at the front of the room next to her.

Her classroom becomes an open dialogue as students debate the proper uses of “while” and “although” and when to say “nauseated” versus “nauseous”. Perhaps this is the only audience that grammar’s “dirty words” might offend.

At 3:30 on a Thursday afternoon, Clements greets her Advanced Editing class with a smile. Her syllabus reads “Student panel discussion, GG, Dirty Words (it’s a very long chapter, but it’s a quick read because the tone is highly conversational)” for today’s class. Clements picks students’ names written on thin white strips of paper

Clements lists Advanced Editing and Writing for Advertising, RP, and Publicity as her “pet classes” because of that audience.

“The reason those are my favorite classes really has to do with the students who take them” she says. Each class is optional so “it attracts students who are really committed to the material, so that makes it really fun. And 10

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the material is tied to the career I had before I became a professor, so that feels great, to do something in the classroom that I know has a lot of practical applications outside.”

Before teaching, Clements worked as the Advertising Manager for the Doubleday Broadway Publishing Group at Random House in New York, as well as the Advertising and Promotion Manager for Broadway Books from 1997 to 2001. From 1995 to 1997, she was the Advertising and Promotion Manager at Farrar, Straus & Giroux. From 1992 to 1995, she worked as the Advertising, Publicity, and Promotion Manager for the University of Texas Press.

“I was working fulltime at random house and everything was pretty quantitative—lots of discussions about money. Did the book earn enough, what was our budget gonna be, were we spending too much on it, marketing, ROI?—and I had always been a creative writer” Clements explains. From high school through college, Clements has written several short stories, some of which were published. Although housed only on her shelf, Clements has even penned a novel, titled Still Time, told from the perspective of a woman in a coma in 70s.

Ultimately, it was her love for literature that led her to pursue an MFA in fiction at the New College of Social Research in New York.

Clements kept her fulltime job at Random House, taking evening classes at New College.

“It was just such a sanctuary to go and talk about the craft of fiction without any concern about whether it was a best-seller, how it was competing against similar titles, whether the agent was happy, you know. We just focused on the words, and I just loved that.”

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[ ] “I had no idea how much I was gonna enjoy being in the classroom, so that became a bigger part of my life and it kept getting a little bit bigger, a little bit bigger...”

Upon completing her MFA, Clements knew she could be a part-time instructor at a university. An Austin native, she turned to some friends who helped make a pathway for to leave New York and return to Austin with a teaching position at Concordia University. While teaching, Clements kept her job as a copywriter and editor by freelancing.

“You know, I had this vision that I would build a copywriting business and I would have people working for me—it still exists but I’m the only employee.” Her vision did not pan out, but she ended up “loving teaching.” She says, “I had no idea how much I was gonna enjoy being in the classroom, so that became a bigger part of my life and it kept getting a little bit bigger, a little bit bigger...”

Over the course of her 11 years at Concordia, Clements was promoted to a full-time position as Chair of the humanities division. However, “I found myself really managing staff. At that point I was drifting pretty far away from my field,” so she returned to her alma mater, the University of Texas, for her PhD in writing and rhetoric.

“Everyone who studies rhetoric needs

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a specimen. I was very interested in the rhetoric of publishing” she says as she explains the origins of her book, The Art of Prestige, published in May of 2014. “Knopf,” Clements emphasizes each letter. “That’s how you pronounce it, every letter is pronounced, no letter is silent.” The Art of Prestige analyzes the founding years of the Knopf publishing house. Clements was fascinated by how Albert Knopf, a recent college graduate in 1915, with his non college-educated wife Blanche, was able to develop a highly prestigious reputation within 15 years and created the most prestigious publishing house by his 50s.

“That was such fun work. Part of it, of course, there was nosiness involved, because you’re reading contracts and reading letters and all these things that are lost emails that don’t get saved, but at that point there were carbon copies of letters, you know. You get to see what the tensions were between the designer, the author, and the publisher. And sometimes the viewers and the critics,” explains, showcasing the uniquely expressive tone of her voice, the changing inflection of each word that makes her sound forever-engaged and foreverinterested.

Clements earned her doctorate in 2010, joining the St. Edward’s English Writing and Rhetoric faculty in 2012. “I felt really honored to get hired at St. Ed’s,” she says. “I was drawn to it first of all, because of this degree. It’s very unusual to have an English writing degree that focuses on professional writing at the undergraduate level.” She also appreciates the diverse student body

at St. Edward’s, believing “it’s much easier to have creativity when you have a lot of variety in the background of the students.”

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In 2015, Clements has proven that she fits the mold of a St. Edward’s professor perfectly.

In 2015, Clements has proven that she fits the mold of a St. Edward’s professor perfectly.

“[St. Edward’s professors are] drawn to teaching at a liberal arts institution, which means we want you to know the history of the field.

We want you to know the theories behind what’s happening. You know, we want you to be intellectuals in your approach, so it’s not just praxis,” she declares. “We’re also shaping you as a person. And of course, there’s an ethical foundation to what we’re doing as well.”

She commits her classes to the growth of her students, helping them create functional portfolio pieces while allowing open discussion and encouraging students to consider the moral baring of the work they do.

And she constantly strives to continue doing so.

Of her future plans she says, “In terms of the next big thing, I mean what I really have felt a little starved about is being able to just focus a lot deeper on my classes—I mean that’s what I’m really interested in right now and I’m just having such a good time with that.”

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Getting Graphic with Tuan design is a social project jaquelin hurst

“I like pushing the limits; [for me], designing is about people,” Tuan Phan, graphic designer and professor at St. Edward’s University shared with me during a chat in his office. As I looked around I noticed a deep maroon stenciling marking the words “let go” on a poster hanging next to his desk. The room was filled with piles of papers, and designs covered every inch of the walls. His calming manor seemed to contrast the chaos of the room.

“Recently, I’ve been working on a personal project, a poster series about reminders,” he said. “It had this whole campaign. I wanted people to contribute a 13

layer of stuff on top of it. I gave these posters out to people for them to print over again or draw on to add another dimension. So, in that way, it was a bigger project about community.” He showed me an image of the posters illuminated by his computer screen.

They were simple posters strongly focalizing one phrase. One stated, “be thoughtful,” another, “it is what it is.” I was intrigued by this idea of making art social and by the fact that seemingly intimate ideas on posters were going to be made a community project.

One writes, “Like My Back & Knees, My Soul Can Ache” and another “In the Mean Time, My Hair is Turning Gray & Falling Out.” For Tuan, these intimate

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[ ] I was intrigued by this idea of making art social and by the fact that seemingly intimate ideas on posters were going to be made a cummunity project.

One writes, “Like My Back & Knees, My Soul Can Ache” and another “In the Mean Time, My Hair is Turning Gray & Falling Out.” For Tuan, these intimate images matter.

“I like pushing the limits; [for me], designing is about people,” Tuan Phan, graphic designer and professor at St. Edward’s University shared with me during a chat in his office. As I looked around I noticed a deep maroon stenciling marking the words “let go” on a poster hanging next to his desk. The room was filled with piles of papers, and designs covered every inch of the walls. His calming manor seemed to contrast the chaos of the room.

“Recently, I’ve been working on a personal project, a poster series about reminders,” he said. “It had this whole campaign. I wanted people to contribute a layer of stuff on top of it. I gave these posters out to people for them to print over again or draw on to add another dimension. So, in that way, it was a bigger project about community.” He showed me an image of the posters illuminated by his computer screen.

They were simple posters strongly focalizing one phrase. One stated, “be thoughtful,” another, “it is what it is.” I was intrigued by 14

this idea of making art social and by the fact that seemingly intimate ideas on posters were going to be made a community project.

One writes, “Like My Back & Knees, My Soul Can Ache” and another “In the Mean Time, My Hair is Turning Gray & Falling Out.” For Tuan, these intimate thoughts were meant to be shared. He states, “Art is about people being together, talking, and sharing things.” For him, art isn’t intended to be hung for one pair of eyes to enjoy.

While still glancing at his computer screen, he explains to me, “[My website] is just to show work to people, not to get jobs.

What I like to design is stuff I couldn’t make money off of; no one would hire me [because] I like to push limits.” He says, “It’s like, how far can you go? That’s where interesting things happen.” He explains to me that it’s what he loves about being a professor, “Teaching is the place to push the limits because teaching allows for a steady income, and then you’re allowed to experiment with your design work.” He further clarifies, “I’m a research designer.”

“The stuff that you do doesn’t need to be pragmatic or practical. You’re experimenting; you’re trying things out to see how it falls apart, how it’s built, how people interface with it,” he said.

Tuan seemed to enjoy the idea of art as a social project or conversation. And, that made me think about art in social places, like an urban neighborhoods. Artists greatly shape the uniqueness of urban society, and, arguably, make those neighborhoods the highly desired places they become. But, then the artists are pushed out of the community they once created when the prices start to skyrocket. This concept, known as Gentrification, is a common thing to happen. clash magazine

And Still She Will Rise:

The Strength and Power of A Black Woman Samantha herd

A traditional undergraduate student takes classes, and probably has an internship.

They might be active in a student-run organization. Perhaps they work on the weekend.

They party with their friends. St. Edward’s University is over-run with eighteen to twenty-two year olds. But the hand in the air, in this class, is not that of a nineteen year old.

It’s Kellee Coleman.

She entered into the classroom talking to the professor, sat in the front row, and pulled out her notebook. She fiddled through the pages, searching for a blank one.

Scribbled circles were on one page and zig zags were on another. Finally, a clean blank page appeared, but it was shortly lived. Kellee started her notes.

Kellee isn’t an average student at St. Edward’s University. Instead of being active in a student-run organization, she’s active in multiple community organizations, traveling to different cities and states. Kellee doesn’t just work on weekends, she works 24/7 as a mother. She doesn’t party with her friends, but instead she parties with her books, her research, her children, and with the various 15

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other commitments she juggles. She’s always on the go and there’s not a sign in the world that she’s slowing down, even if she desperately needs it.

“I’m a mom first. I’m a single mother of three children.” Kellee doesn’t co-parent with anyone, but she does have her family and a community of women that support her.

Despite the help, Kellee remains the primary caretaker. Her oldest two children attend private school, so they get the best education.

But the best schools have significant pitfalls.

Her children are the only black children in their classes. They don’t see anyone like them and Kellee is concerned that this is seriously impacting her children’s self-esteem, especially for her son.

“I’m a full time student. This semester I had an internship, but I was already in the midst of 15 hours for classes and working 30 hours a week for my job.” Her job and internship are separate things. Unlike other students, Kellee has a family to take care of a steady income is critical.

“It was okay because the internship connects to the work that I do in my community anyway.” Kellee’s primary, full-time job is as a State Field Organizer for The National Network of Abortion Funds. Once or twice a month Kellee has to travel for her job as an organizer. Aside from her school, her internship, and her job Kellee is affiliated with other organization that do work in Austin and nationally. She’s part of the Austin Black Caucus. She’s also part of the National Collective for INCITE: Women and Trans People of Color against Violence. She co-founded Mama’s of Color Rising, an organization of dedicated working class and poor mothers of color based in Austin who organize other women and mothers of color around issues with accessing needs like food, housing, edu16

cation and safety. Kellee is also a coordinator of the Mama Sana Vibrant Women Clinic located in East Austin. Her work with mothers and women of color and their reproductive health and rights is directly connected to her work as a Brown Scholar. She applied for

[ ] “I’m a full time student. This semester I had an internship, but I was already in the midst of 15 hours for classes and working 30 hours a week for my job.”

and received the scholarship, which funded her project.

“My work with Mama Sana has been really intense lately because we’re trying to put out a report about Austin and how it’s really not family friendly.” Mama Sana is still a work in progress. The clinic offers free pregnancy testing and group prenatal care to African-American and Latina women. The needs of working class and poor women and mothers of color have long been ignored in the city of Austin. Kellee’s work in the community is extremely important to her and to the women it serves. Her work in the community is extremely important to her and to the women it serves.

It’s a lot for one person to handle. “I’ve had to step back from INCITE until I graduate...they’ve been really supportive. I chime in when I can.” She’s stepped back from the Mama Sana work a bit, so that she can work on her school work. She’s also cut her work hours in half, which has created more financial stress. But Kellee still has ambitious goals, and although she sets them aside for her family, they don’t go away. clash magazine

Exercise: The New Medicine leona grier

Stepping through the Victorian set doorframe of Coach Mo’s Elite Fitness, the feeling of warmth and familiarity filled the atmosphere. The fear of being judged for being late to the morning workout session, or chastised for wearing basketball shorts on that chilly morning, melted away as Mr. Maurice Harris introduced himself to me- Coach Mo, for short. The high ceilings and resonating walls painted with green and white stripes reminded me of a Slytherin House common room. Coach Mo later agreed with me, adding that the idea of his gym’s setup was from a set in the show Cheers. A wellknown and loved show that only a rare 90s baby as myself could barely recall. To think that this man was a personal trainer was far from my mind as I sat in his office, searching for the words to say just before a simple piece of information ignited our conversation - my Copperas Cove high school T-shirt.

Coach Mo has been involved with fitness and an overall healthy lifestyle since high school. His career journey began in college when he enrolled at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas in 1997. His main goal at that time was to be listed in the 2001 NFL Draft as a running back from Texas A&M. His stats proved worthy, but did not excel to the level the league desired. The feel17

ing of utter disbelief and lack of motivation led his trainer to encourage him to become a personal trainer. Coach Mo stepped up to the challenge but ran into the unexpected. In 2005, after obtaining his licensing to become a personal trainer at Sam Houston State, Coach Mo trekked door to door, apartment complex after the next, informing his community about his public service.

“[Those] were tough times. Living in Houston, I didn’t have any clients. I would hand out a thousand or so flyers and only have 2 or 3 calls.”

However, he continued his journey and worked at Bally’s in Houston for a few years before promoting to a higher pay and longer list of clientele at 1st Class Training in Houston as well. In the lieu of 2009 and 2010, Coach Mo moved to Copperas Cove with his family, commencing an hour and a half commute for a year and a half to establish the foundations of his own company, Coach Mo’s fitness - initially named Elite Fitness.

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Mr. Maurice Harris...

Coach Mo, for short.

Coach Mo’s journey endured long suffering and constant frustrations as he tried to stay ahead of the business curve with technology and exercise equipment. This brought his career of being a personal trainer full circle.

interacts with his clients at Coach Mo’s Fitness gym.

“The way it looks is not the way it seems.”

Insurance companies are beginning to host programs that may encourage people to exercise and treat themselves better. Coach Mo’s business has a partnership with Humana Insurance that allows his clients who have such insurance may accumulate points to either buy products, or reduce their premiums - since they are increasing the quality of their lives through exercise.

He believes that anyone can become a trainer, but not everyone can become a personal trainer. The key traits that he found most important in being a personal trainer is being persistent, engaging, dedicated, and being able to push through the tough times.

His words are not to discourage anyone from becoming a trainer, but to establish the honesty of his career, and what he endured to reach the level that he is currently maintaining - not to mention, keeping himself in check when he’s not with his clients. His clients thrive off of his bright and positive personality that he portrays physically and mentally - a mutual relationship between personal trainer and client. His goal as a personal trainer is to encourage others to exercise through persistence, determination, and compassion.

These goals supports how important Coach Mo sees exercise to be, agreeing that exercise IS the new medicine, a precursor to overall health. He claims that 20-30 minutes a day of walking or working out at the gym will add value to an individual’s lifespan. The American Heart Association recommends at least 150-minutes of moderate activity each week. An easy way to remember this is 30 minutes at least 5 days a week, but three 10-minute periods of activity are as beneficial to your overall fitness as one 30-minute session. Eating right - not dieting - and exercising are two suggestions that Coach Mo stands by and witnesses everyday as he 18

“The way I see healthcare is going - pretty soon - is the personal training business is going to be a necessity for everyone.”

[ ] “The way I see healthcare is going - pretty soon is the personal training business is going to be a necessity for everyone.”

For those who are not with Humana Insurance or do not have that luxury, Coach Mo encourages people to dedicate themselves to finding a way to incorporate healthy living into their lifestyle, however: “Take it slow.”

This is a constant reminder to his clients - a motto he places for those returning to the fitness lifestyle, or looking to begin a fitness routine. It’s not wise or safe to jump back into the lieu of bench pressing 105 pounds like you did in college or even high school. Injuries caused by exercise and exercise equipment increased almost 45% clash magazine

between 2007 and 2010, according to the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS), a database maintained by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The body adapts and molds into a new form, influenced by hereditary means and hormones, that prevent us from returning to our once beloved form we had in high school or college. Coach Mo informs his clients that they know their body and can acknowledge their limits when necessary - fitness is a gradual process.

“You don’t have to know what the future holds, but you have to know that you wanna succeed, and with that by itself, you

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can be successful.”

Coach Mo stands by this quote as a personal motto as he continues his business in Austin on Chimney Corners, one of Austin’s most fitness associated areas, and establishes his roots in Round Rock at his second location. Keeping in mind the struggles of managing our time around taking the kids to soccer practice, preparing our morning coffee, and completing our homework assignment for that one class we forgot about, a small increment of exercise for 20-30 minutes daily is all we need to keep ourselves in motion and improve the quality of our lives.

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COMEDY COLUMNS

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An Open Letter

to the passerby who left friendly advice on my windshield leona grier

To the passerby, who took the time to leave a message of advice on the back of my dust-covered Chevy Equinox, thank you.

Thank you for taking your grimy discreet finger, and smear in a message of advice to the back windshield of my vehicle. To think that a simple message of caution on a sheet of paper, or the simple action of being a passerby and “passing by” my vehicle did not dawn on you. I appreciate how you took the time to ensure that the message stuck in my mind as it was stuck on the dirty rear windshield like a painful reminder of hemorrhoids after riding the mechanical bull because your friends said it would be “fun”. How thoughtful of you to realize that I’ll need to reconsider my parking habits. Next thing you’ll tell me is to go to class early. What else will you suggest?

Do my homework and turn it in early. Please, dumbass. I can be proactive my damn self, as productive as that crooked finger and its peanut gallery scratching hideous, illiterate advice on my SUV. Kudos to you, asshole.

To think that an asshole as sincere as you would think of me so personally. “Lerm 2 purk” - how could you have known that Hiroshima was being bombed between my thigh gap, to the point that you offered purk.

You could be the most intuitive bastard I’ve ever met, besides my dog who thinks fish 23

are friends not food. I think that you’ve got a problem. The depicted male gentalia that accompanied your elaborate message has concerned me along with a few colleagues.

Do you ever feel like you are missing something, besides a clue? There’s nothing wrong with having one testicle, but I think you lost one or two while you were scribbling your illiterate bullshit across my windshield. Didn’t even have the audacity to acknowledge that I have a life outside of college and may have parked on the line purposefully.

Thank you for encouraging me to figure out ways to relieve my abdominal pain during my monthly cycle. I have no clue why you placed that on the back of my vehicle. A cycle is a very personal thing, my friend. Of course we both know that it’s a thing of nature, but I would appreciate it if I could share myself. I appreciate you looking out for me, but next time use the whole windshield. Never know when the next time I’ll be going to a car wash, or when I’ll start my next cycle.

Yours truly, Thankful Driver

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5 Reasons You Can’t Get the Girl – Dude, maybe it’s you.

A checklist making sure you’re ready to date jaquelin hurst 1. Do you refer to women as “bitches”?

This may come as a surprise considering its popularity in rap music, but be warned, women don’t like to be degraded. Urban dictionary defines “bitch” as a “Modern-day servant; A person who performs tasks for another.” Women are not ignorant of this definition and generally don’t like to be deemed as anyone’s servant. So, next time you catch yourself about to slip the word, try swapping it for her name or “girl”—essentially any term less insulting.

to be wrongly accused.

4. Do you hold a double standard when

2. Do you feel the need to touch women

press you?

who haven’t asked you to?

Believe it or not, some men feel the need to stroke a stranger’s hair or put his arm around her. Most women don’t like to be felt up by strangers, so to avoid a potentially awful situation for yourself, you should think twice before putting you grimy hands where they don’t belong. When observing someone you like, always keep this rule in mind: If you don’t have permission, DON’T TOUCH! 3. Do you feel women are too emotional

to make logical decisions?

Never misinterpret women’s superb ability to effectively express emotions as restricting access to the left side of the brain. On average, women can transfer data between the right and left hemispheres of the brain faster than men. So, next time you feel the need to believe that expressing emotions limits logical reasoning, think again, women don’t like 25

it comes to women and promiscuity?

No one likes a hypocrite, and surprisingly, that includes women. Though you may have certain philosophical beliefs when it comes to promiscuity, believing that your promiscuity is somehow an exception to those beliefs makes you an absurd person. Contradictions are never attractive, so please don’t be one.

5. Do you believe women dress to imI know this may come as a shock, so please take a deep breath—the world doesn’t revolve around you. This is good to keep in mind when judging women’s attire. As a functioning, cognitive human being, a woman is entitled to dress however she sees fit. And, she will express herself however she wants by deciding what to wear and how to wear it.

You are not at all considered in the decision.

So, don’t wrongly assume women are telling you something based on the clothes they are wearing.

When you have successfully answered “no” to all of the above questions, you have mastered this checklist and are ready to date.

Good luck to you.

Sincerely, Your Helpful Friend

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The Adjusted Hero’s Journey of Learning How to Drive tanya marinkovic

Stage 1: Call to Adventure.

You are the baddest bitch there ever was.

You are about to live out a 16-year (potentially longer) vision. You paid your dues, put in your hours, took some naps, and now it is your time to rise. It boils down to one last question, one last obstacle, one last hurdle, the finishing stretch. Does this sign mean turn right then go straight, or turn right then go left? Select the right answer and you claim your first victory in the fight for your inalienable right to teenage freedom: driving.

Stage 2: Meeting the Mentor.

You obtained your permit. You are riding the high of your most recent victory. And then your mom—err mentor—joins you. Everything is fine until your battle call is silenced.

How do you fight without a theme song? Is it because “Eye of the Tiger” is already taken?

The injustice cramps your style. Your mentor scrutinizes every move. Your every action receives a robust, emotional response. The screaming starts. The hollering never ends.

Your mentor grabs on to anything and everything—most alarmingly, you. You realize that never in your life have you felt so distrusted.

Stage 3: Refusal to the Call.

You realize you’re operating the vehicle of death. Your weapon is larger than you, stronger than you, and frequently overpowers you.

When your foot brushes the accelerator you realize you may be a killer, a public menace, a threat to children. Oh, the children.

When your foot hits the break, your weapon screeches to a halt and you jerk forward, re27

alizing you’re also a threat to yourself. You’re afraid. This war is making you a monster. Not even your new found understanding of inertia can justify the evil your steer.. You begin to think that perhaps driving is not an inalienable teenage right after all.

Stage 4: Test, Allies, Enemies.

Eventually, you persevere. You learn how to wield your weapon and fight your demons.

You also learn to fight trash cans. You both love and hate your mentor for this. One the one hand, the collateral damage of knocking one over is low. On the other hand, you’ve become far too adept at picking up trash; the neighbors just hand their trash to you now.

With each failure (and trash bag), you begin to wonder if you have what it takes to master your last challenge: parallel parking.

Stage 5: Tests, Allies, Enemies.

You begin your final test. You have none of the confidence you had during your first battle. You’re faith gone, you just hope for the best. You drive down the street in silence; a mark. You turn; a mark. You roll to a stop; a mark. Shit. Wait. Did you roll to or roll through that stop? As your adversary silently judges you from the passenger seat, you realize your overly vocal mentor wasn’t so bad.

Stage 5: Reward, Seizing the Sword “Congratulations,” you adversary tells you.

Victory is yours. You hold your head up high as you wave your medal of honor at your mentor. You enjoy this long-awaited moment of freedom far too briefly before realize your battle awaits you: convincing your mentor to buy you a car.

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How to be Knee-Deep in My Afro Samantha herd

The first thing that comes to mind when I wake up is, “Damn, I wonder what fingers, hands, elbows, and knees will land in my hair today.” So, for your convenience, I’ve compiled a list of what you can do to be knee-deep in my hair!

1. Don’t ask for permission. Nothing is more boring than respect, space, and consent.

Just go for it!

2. Dig around! I often hide coins and little presents for those who are feeling extra adventurous. It’s a gold mine.

3. Take a map. I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but I’ve grown a lot of hair and there’s so much to see. You might get lost.

4. This is a petting zoo! There’s so much satisfaction when people pet me like an animal. Don’t forget your hand sanitizer.

5. Please comb my hair. I appreciate your finger detangling method. I won’t need to bring my hair pick anymore. Thank heavens!

6. Put items in it! I like to pull things out of my hair when I get home. Hell, I can’t feel it anyway.

7. Lay on it! Obvious my life’s purpose is to be everyone’s personal pillow. I’m just so soft.

This list should serve you well if your goal is to be knee-deep in my hair, and of course, knee-deep in physical harms way.

Happy digging!

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FEATURE ANALYSES

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Sorry, I’m Not Sorry

Legal Slavery, and Apologetic Discourse leona grier

We shouldn’t apologize for slavery.

Many would oppose such a statement from the view of the majority view that see those words on the front of a The Atlantic magazine; the mere need of satisfaction to see that the title was merely a marketing pitch to get a reaction from the target audience of this magazine. Although the first sentence may have been a great pitching title to encourage people to open the cover of The Atlantic magazine, the author titled the article “How to Apologize for Slavery”. This title already imbues the pure essence of the mission of The Atlantic - a literary and cultural collection of works focused on politics, foreign affairs, and the economy.

The piece focuses it’s scope on the three major slave trade countries that participated the brutal extraction of West Africans

by Europeans to America - Nigeria, Ghana, and Benin - in their approach to th question of apologizing for slavery. Each country was analyzed on how effective their apology was, and what their main purpose was for commencing an official apology to the generation who were forced from their home into a foreign land. Each method attempts to encourage people to make an effort to apologize, but the means become a question of the ethical and sincerity of such an apology - for liberty or for profit. This analysis will show how I believe it would be appropriate for those leaders who were involved - company 32

built on slave trade dollars - with the Transatlantic Slave Trade to apologize for slavery on behalf of the America’s life and liberty claims, how this article effectively presented a well-rounded presentation of apologetic discourse, and the purpose of upholding one’s values for the sake of their country’s reputation - not directly in that order.

The Atlantic focuses on an audience that “looks outside the box”, otherwise known as seeing through a kaleidoscope. The analogy implies the vast variety of perspectives individuals look at when interacting with the world around them - target audience being majority college students. College students are looking to find that scope at which the world is presented in different aspects and categories to them. The thought of not being held down by the author’s beliefs or values when reading a piece, but being supported by the author as the foundation of a discourse community is being created. This article reels its audience in with a brief history lesson that many college students could recall from a history lecture in that one class they never stayed awake for - lost

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We shouldn’t apologize for slavery.

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cause unless it involved a major event or historical discriminatory stage in the American timeline. A young African Ambassador Malik Sow makes his way down the streets of Washington, D.C. for a meeting and makes a regretful stop in a restaurant for a meal and is denied abruptly for the color of his skin.

“He looked like just an ordinary run-of-themill nigger to me. I couldn’t tell he was an ambassador.” NB: The attire of an ambassador is specifically designed to be bright, esteemed colors - brighter than the color of a said ambassador’s skin color. Another important thing that the reader may recall or refer back to is the year - 1961. This ambassador’s visit accounting with many others to Washington, D.C. had brought the discriminatory stench that continued to overwhelm America.

A common conjunctive phrase is ever present throughout this piece that I found summed up the issue of slavery - “a product of political and economic calculus, not born of moral imperative”. This phrase is continually said in different ways to show that the movements to end the Transatlantic Slave Trade and reduce the amount of racial discrimination toward those of African descent were required for international politics and national interest. Thought dwellers must now research and think on how deep this insincerity goes with America and is claim of life and liberty. The author is not wanting to inflict pain or remorse to the races that may read his article, but create awareness.

This leads to the purpose of this article. Thompson R. Johnson’s work is in the interest of the company - The Atlantic - he works for, but also in the interest of revealing deeper aspects of African American history - this is the eighth piece he has published with The Atlantic that focuses on imbalances of political interest in racial discrimination.

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Johnson focuses on the apologetic acts the major countries of the Transatlantic Slave Trade - Nigeria, Ghana, and Benin - commenced for slavery. An ethics class would show how it is morally required for someone to apologize for a hurtful or disrespectful gesture - golden rule: “Treat others how you want to be treated”.

[ ] Nigeria took a hard pass on apologizing for the atlantic slave trade, claiming that by law it was “very, very legal” when they’re ancestors were involved.

Nigeria took a hard pass on apologizing for the atlantic slave trade, claiming that by law it was “very, very legal” when they’re ancestors were involved. This brings the question of how much their loyalty would match such a law, if they were the ones being separated from their loved ones and forced into slavery - no one would want to experience that.

Ghana’s Ministry of Tourism and Diasporan Relations acknowledged that healing and reconciliation would play an important role in their 50th anniversary in 2007, telling a local news organization, “[Slavery] something we have to look straight in the face because it exists. So, we will want to say something went wrong, people made mistakes, but we are sorry for whatever happened”. This one quote showed sincerity toward the afflicted generations, responsibility of their country’s involvement, and conviction in acknowledging how their ancestors

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were stamped in history.

Johnson points out that Nigeria took a marketing strategy and forged a strong tourism economy, giving African Americans the chance to return to their roots and “start anew”, offering “ceremony of apology” packages as souvenirs for when they visit the ancient slave castles. This was a great country to focus on as this was most likely the worst way of going about an apology - a basic attempt to please the “American” in African Americans. Ghana’s efforts were successful however, despite the market pitch due to the country’s act of confessing their ancestors’ fault and working to forge a new objective of “healing and reconciliation”.

Benin is the last but most important to acknowledge in a top notch apology to a country that has endured one of life’s most tragic events. President Mathieu Kérékou’s efforts proved successful by political interest but had a sincere silhouette that covered his main objective for his country - “foreign aid money”. “We cry forgiveness and reconciliation,” said Luc Gnacadja, Benin’s minister of environment and housing on visiting Virginia in 2007, “The slave trade is a shame, and we do repent for it.”

[ ] “We cry forgiveness and reconciliation,” said Luc Gnacadja...“The slave trade is a shame, and we do repent for it.”

This quote is beneficial in showing how sincere an apology must be to show the audience that they acknowledge the issue, ask for forgiveness, - of their country AND ancestors, I might add - and proclaim an abundance of faith in their religion. This confession of wrongdoing laced with spiritual terms was the epitome of sincerity that excelled other eloquent apology speeches made in the past.

Johnson quoted a psychologist who spoke of apologetic acts as liberating, making “feel better about themselves than those who take no action after making a mistake”. The author shows that is not a negative thing or inappropriate for someone to apologize for slavery, but shows the key elements to creating a discourse community of “life and liberty” is acknowledging our mistakes, apologizing for them, and having a sincere tone.

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tion and rage the fueled Jordan’s career and pushed him to “legendary” and “iconic” have no place in retirement. Jordan admits to struggling, but attempts to enjoy his life after basketball because he’s constantly thinking about his younger self. It remains to-be-determined whether Jordan finds peace in his retirement.

The Art of Shifting Through Time Samantha herd

“Michael Jordan Has Not Left the Building” is a thought-provoking piece about that humanizes our iconic view of Michael Jordan. It really captures the crippling after-math of a career filled with fierce competition, fame, and money. This feature is written by Wright Thompson for the ESPN The Magazine’s Analytical Issue, a consumer magazine. A complex piece like this found in a sports issue may be shocking for some.

A typical assumption is that sports-related content is void of quality meaning and substance. However, ESPN has been recognized for it artful, enticing, and exceptional writing time and time again. This Michael Jordan feature is no exception.

Wright Thompson uses multiple strategic rhetorical techniques that display a fluid and moving story on Michael Jordan. The most effective of the techniques is Thomson’s use of memories which incite anecdotes, all of which are elaborately weaved in a chronologically cyclical pattern, rather than just a simple linear order. The article could have started at the peak of MJ’s career and moved in order to the Michael Jordan turning 50 in just five weeks. If we look that the structure of the article on a macro-level we a see a more complicated series of memories and “present” moments weaved throughout the feature.

This feature, written in the wake of his 50th birthday, follows Michael Jordan as he reminisces and comes to terms with his competitive rage, which has had no place to go since the basketball icon’s retirement.

The piece explores Jordan’s relationships with associates, friends, and family: most notably his father, who was robbed and killed before making it to Chicago.The article also explores Jordan’s attitude. Toggling between Jordan’s endearing, kind side and competitive, rage-filled side, the author alludes to a deeper problem that successful athletes often face once they’re retired. The competi35

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It begins in Mj’s office in Charlotte, NC. Then, it moves to later that evening in MJ’s loft, where he’s surrounded by close friends and his fiancè. We transition to the day before when he landed in Charlotte for that last time. That transition brings about an anecdote about the start of the packing years ago, and the one night in his mansion in Chicago. The reader is tossed memory after memory, but it’s interrupted with narration and quotes of Jordan. For example, after a memory losing two of his Bulls championship rings. Thompson breaks narration with Jordan screaming “Who stole my rings? Who stole No. 5?”

Thompson adds a second quote from Jordan, except this time, the quote comes from the present, signaling to the reader that Jordan is reflecting, “You talk about a mad f---ing panic,” he says. Thompson does this on several occasions within the article and it’s effective because it moves the reader through time with Michael. Michael is still in his Charlotte loft, but he’s also remembering. The writer doesn’t quote Michael describing the memory.

He lets the memory unfold itself.

Charlotte, but is a setup for Jordan’s father’s tragic death. This shift serves two purposes. It takes the reader back in time, and it shifts the mood of the present as Michael remembers his father. The reader reminisces with Jordan. This scene, including the dialogue about the western movies humanizes Jordan. It turns him into a boy with a caring father.

[ ] The reader is tossed memory after memory, but it’s interrupted with narration and quotes of Jordan.

Positive memories of Jordan are also juxtaposed with memories of Jordan’s not so nice side. Memories of Jordan at the peak of his career being a bully, being self-centered, are shared in an honest manner. Jordan tearing apart other people’s shoes that weren’t Nike, spitting in his food because he thought someone would take his food.

The reader is introduced to the side of Jordan that is not so positive, however, it’s a side that was further provoked by the conditions of his career. We see is in the memories at his peak as a basketball star. The memories further down the timeline, just after Jordan retires from basketball, are ones that show the consequence of his attitude.

One area where this is especially obvious is the author’s use of rhetorical questions that seem to mimic Jordan’s own internal interrogation: “Could he

After the memories in Jordan’s Chicago mansion, we know that stories and remembering are still happening in the Charlotte loft because Thompson describes everyone crowding around Jordan’s ipad looking for Jordan’s townhouse on Essex Drive where George Koehler is introduced. Reader is taken back to Essex Drive. Then, the reader is briefly taken to the year Whitney Houston died and back to Essex Drive and Jordan’s father is introduced. “Present” dialogue between George and Jordan bring us back to 36

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play at 50? What would he do against LeBron? What if?”

Wright Thompson does a great job of evoking the feeling of nostalgia using mood. Early in the feature Thompson mentions that, “Despite all the things that had been gained in the year since, that person had been lost.” Thompson then lists several things that made Jordan seem like a “kid” in his letter, and we end with “P.S. Please send stamps.” We associate seriousness with that particular line because it represent that kid lost in Jordan. We return to that mood again, when the “Please send stamps” return immediately after we learn that Jordan’s father was always there for his son. It also foreshadows a serious mood, the one we encounter with the story of Jordan’s father’s death.

Thompson does this again, except using the western films. More specifically, “Unforgiven.” We learn this is James Jordan’s favorite western film. Unforgiven shows up again at the end of the article, when Jordan goes to

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bed. It’s a slightly melancholy ending because we learn that Jordan isn’t comfortable with silence, even when he tries to sleep, so he plays Unforgiven. “It’s just like the old days, him and pops.” Thompson writes.

Rather than a typical feature that walks the reader from childhood to adulthood, Wright makes the reader jump in time. The organization does not follow a linear structure, which works perfectly for the themes of memory, nostalgia, age, and reminiscing.

I’ve argued organization to be the most effective rhetorical technique aside from other techniques used because it reflects the process of reminiscing and the feeling of nostalgia. It forces the reader to reminisce with Jordan, and allows the reader to sit in his shoes. This works in Wright Thompson’s favor as he attempts to paint Michael Jordan as a complicated human struggling with his inner demons, and not just a glorified legendary icon.

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The True Story of the Yarnell Hill Fire Tanya marinkovic Introduction

June 30, 2013, the Yarnell Hill Fire killed 19 of the 20-member crew of the Granite Mountain Hotshots. The following day, Kyle Dickman, a former hotshot himself, reported the tragedy on Outside Online. The piece is short and consists mostly of quantifiable facts about the fire and the tragedy.

With the release of the Arizona State Forestry Division’s Serious Accident Investigation in September, Dickman draws on the report and interviews with family and colleagues to piece together the 19 hotshots’ final hours in a tightly woven and haunting narrative for Outside magazine. “19: The True Story of the Yarnell Hill Fire,” reads somewhat like a novel. Dickman transforms the facts into a very personal retelling of the event, successfully engaging with Outside’s adventurous and curious audience.

Demographics

Outside magazine caters to “active, affluent, educated professionals.” Seventy percent of Outside’s 2.5 million readers are college educated, and about 209,000 of them have a post-graduate degree. The median HHI of an Outside reader is $90,518 a year, but about 177,000 readers make over $100,000 a year and 146,000 readers have a net worth of $1 million or more. About 148,000 readers hold professional/managerial positions. The median age of Outside readers is 40 years old. The male/female ratio 38

Outside’s audience is 72/28.

Outside magazine seeks to “inspire participation in the world outside” by offering long form, literary journalism coverage of sports, people, places, adventures, discoveries, environmental issues, health and fitness, gear and apparel, trends, and “events that define the active lifestyle.” Outside prides itself on its “epic, award-winning storytelling” and “hard-nosed reporting.”

Analysis

Dickman opens the piece by introducing readers to Yarnell, Arizona and its surrounding land:

“Rising above it are the 6,000-foot peaks of the Weaver Mountains, and nearly 2,000 feet below are the flatlands and cactus of the Sonoran Desert…Weekend drivers coming into Yarnell from the south know they’ve hit town when they see the Ranch House Restaurant, a greasy spoon where the waitresses all look related and the clientele ride Harleys or horses.”

Dickman’s description of Yarnell not only introduces the Weaver mountain range where the fire takes place, it also acquaints Outside’s outdoorsmen readers with the outdoors. The Ranch House Restaurant reappears later in the story, but Dickman’s opening description of the “greasy spoon” peers clash magazine

the Yarnell lifestyle as it confronts Outside’s high-brow, poll-identified epicurean readers.

Dickman’s countdown begins on the night of June 28 in Glen Illah, a subdivision across the street from the Ranch House, where Lois Farrell was sitting “in her usual spot by the grape trellises and koi pond” on her patio. Dickman describes how Lois watched “a dry thunderstorm hung up on the range’s crest. She saw lightning strike the ridgetop and, a short while later, wispy blue smoke drifting toward the clouds.”

When Lois points the smoke out to her husband Truman, a 73-year-old Air Force veteran and the town’s two- years-retired volunteer fire chief, Dickman notes that Truman “thought little of it.”

Dickman introduces the Farrells as a plot device. He uses Lois to show how and when then Yarnell Hill Fire started, while utilizing Truman’s firefighting experience to highlight that the beginning of this tragedy was deceptively banal for the Yarnell townspeople. Dickman’s descriptions of Lois’s spot on the patio and the wispy blue smoke add the details that make this piece read more like a novel rather than straight journalism.

He uses the Farrells’ telling of the incident throughout the feature piece to represent the townspeople’s side of the story.

The account moves forward to around 7:30 p.m. the following night in Robert Caldwell’s home. At 23, Caldwell is the youngest of the Granite Mountain Hotshots’ three squad bosses and he is the first member of the hotshot crew Dickman introduces.

He dedicates a page to describing Caldwell interact with his family. Caldwell “lifted his five-year-old stepson into his arms, kissed his wife, Claire, and flopped down in a chair at the kitchen table with a can of Coors.” This is how Dickman makes the story personal.

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Though this article is a factual retelling of the Yarnell Hill Fire tragedy based on a state report, Dickman artfully weaves together the report’s findings with family and colleague interviews to bring the deceased to life, allowing readers to invest in them during their last hours.

Dickman shows that Caldwell is a father and man’s man, having a beer after a long day at work. Although Outside’s audience may not identify with Caldwell’s line of work, the majority of readers are mean at an average of 40 years old, who likely identify with Caldwell as a professional, a husband, and a father. It is easy to forget Dickman never met Caldwell as he writes how Caldwell “felt that getting paid to camp work fires in the most beautiful places in the West was closer to selfish than heroic.” It is a sentiment that adventurous and nature-oriented Outside readers might appreciate.

Dickman is invisible as he transports readers to Caldwell’s last night with his wife and stepson:

“After putting Zion to bed, Robert drank a cup of coffee while Claire did the dishes, then he pulled her into the bedroom.

Before nodding off, Robert removed his wedding ring. “It’s filthy,” he said, showing it to Claire, who lay in the crook of his arm.

Ash covered the edges, and the silver was scuffed from the handle of his Rhino, the hoe-like tool he used to dig on fires. Claire took the band and rolled it between her fingers and thought, What if someday this is all I have left?”

Dickman assumes the role of storyteller so well that it seems like he was actually in the Caldwells’ home that night. He proves Outside’s claims to “epic, award-winning storytelling” and “hard-nosed reporting” true by

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creating a vivid narrative. Again, Dickman’s writing is adventurous and novel-like as Claire’s closing thoughts foreshadow, “What if someday this [ring] is all I have left?”

Dickman moves the scene across town to the Whiskey Row Pub, where Christopher MacKenzie, Garret Zuppiger, and Brendan “Donut” McDonough sat by the pool tables in the back of the bar. He describes banter between the trio—“‘Donut, what the fuck are you wearing?’ Garret asked. He had on a pink tank top: an easy target—before segueing into “the assignment.” Dickman’s choice to quote Zuppiger sets up the coworker’s playful relationship, but also gives the article a rougher tone as the curse jars readers.

Dickman uses the trio’s shift in conversation to the assignment to explain how the fire started, reintroducing the Farrells: “Seven small blazes had ignited in the mountains around Prescott during the thunderstorm the previous night. One of them, sparked by the lightning strike Lois and Truman had seen on Friday, had become a higher priority blaze after growing to 100 acres.

It had been given a name: the Yarnell Hill Fire.” This paragraph is yet another example of Dickman interlacing material from his interviews with information about the fire to provide readers with facts while keeping them engaged with the Granite Mountain Hotshots on a personal level.

Dickman cuts to 5 a.m. the next morning with 43-year-old superintendent of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, Eric Marsh.

Marsh crashed at the crew’s quarters after eating dinner with his wife, Amanda, the night before. Dickman describes Marsh as the father of the hotshot crew—they called him “Papa” and he often referred to the 19 young men as his kids. He details how Marsh turned “the Granite Mountain fuels crew from a wide-eyed group of 20 men not even 40

allowed to set foot on the fire line into certified hotshots” within five years, “an evolution that takes most crews twice that, some even longer.” Dickman also spends ample space discussing Marsh’s experience and in doing so, he builds Marsh up as a leader, attempting to impart on readers the kind of reverence his crew had for him. This also enables Dickman to juxtapose how Marsh seemed to neglect his experiential knowledge in a decision that ended up costing his crew their lives later in the article.

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In both, elite firefighters had been killed battling small blazes that grew with terrifying and unexpected speed.

Dickman goes on the described the crew’s station and the ready room, where the crew met in the mornings:

“On one wall hung a poster common in wildland fire stations. It shows pictures of wildland-fire fatalities, including the two biggest: Montana’s 1949 Mann Gulch Fire (13 deaths) and Colorado’s 1994 South Canyon Fire (14 deaths). In both, elite firefighters had been killed battling small blazes that grew with terrifying and unexpected speed. In both incidents, the crews burned to death after being caught off guard with no time to escape. HOW IS YOUR SITUATIONAL AWARENESS TODAY? the poster asks.”

The poster is both foreshadowing and tragically ironic. Dickman’s inclusion of the poster is divisive as readers realize by the end of the article that the Yarnell Hill Fire is a repeat of the previous two tragedies. Unfortunately, the Granite Mountain Hotshot’s situational awareness was off that day.

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Dickman continues his narrative, though far less conversational, as the story moves to the mountains. His experience as a former hotshot helps him explain how the men set out to work and the implications of their surroundings—like the chaparral, which he writes, “is a mix of scrub oak and brush that grows so dense it’s a struggle to walk through. When it’s dry, it’s a tinderbox.”

Through his explanations, Dickman helps readers navigate the situation.

As the article continues, it becomes clearer who the lone survivor of the Granite Mountain Hotshots. Marsh designated Donut as the lookout, separating him from the crew.

As Dickman describes Donut performing his lookout duties, he delves into Donut’s past with the sentence, “Donut can trace his interest in firefighting to a fire-science class he took as a 14-year-old kid.” The sentence contrasts the “‘It’s the brush that scares me most,’ [Caldwell] used to tell his dad,” Dickman wrote a few paragraphs earlier.

Dickman makes it clear: Donut can still but Caldwell used to.

Dickman switches between talking about the hotshots, the Farrells, and Claire, using them to make note of the weather changes that cause the Yarnell Hill Fire to become so severe. By doing so, Dickman breaks up the story but draws a more complete picture of the community that was impacted by the hotshots’ deaths. He mentions a text Claire sent to Robert: “Hope this rain helps you guys out! You coming home tonight? Love you.” Underneath the quote, in a line all on its own, Dickman wrote, “It irritated her that he didn’t respond.” The standalone lines carries momentum because in that moment that readers know something that Claire did not. It also makes Claire’s irritation seem trivial and tragic at the same 41

time, because she had no idea her husband was going to die that day.

The action picks up as the fire intensifies and Dickman describes how “twofoot flames had grown to twelve, and within moments the fire was running up a ridge on the east side of the valley and then south, directly at Donut.” He keeps the narrative personal while also keeping pace with the tension of the embarking fire by writing out the last conversation crewmember Scott Norris had with his girlfriend, leading up to the last line, “And finally, when the fire was racing straight at Donut, Scott texted a final photo of flames filling the valley below them: ‘Holy shit! This thing is running at Yarnell!’”

A pivotal moment in the article is when Dickman describes the possibility of Donut deploying his fire shelter:

“He’d bring a liter of water and his radio under the shelter, lie facedown and grab the fiberglass handles, and then, as he’d been instructed, he’d sing or hum or yell to anybody within earshot—just something to take his mind off the pain. He’d have to paw at the ground beneath his mouth and bury his nose in the cooler air below.”

Ultimately, Donut was rescued and did not have to deploy his shelter. However, Dickman’s detailed run-through of what shelter deployment gave readers a way to experience fire shelter deployment. In turn, this helps the readers understand the severity of the situation the rest of the Granite Mountain Hotshot crew found themselves in when they realized deploying was their only option.

Dickman continued to emphasize the severity of the deployment through the end of the article, which is what made the overall story so haunting. The end consisted mostly

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of family member and colleagues finding out about the deployment and uncovering that their men had died. Dickman’s depiction of Claire’s reaction is particularly powerful:

“The boys deployed today.”

“My boys? Not my boys.”

“Your boys.”

She fell to her knees. No. It’s not true. Deployed? She knew what that meant. But no, she thought. They’re fine. They have to be.

They’re Granite Mountain. Claire’s thoughts express what most of the Yarnell community member and family, friends, and colleagues thought and felt. Everyone respected the Granite Mountain Hotshots and believed in their ability to safely, successfully navigate their way through a fire. In the last couple of sentences, Dickman conveys Claire’s frantic thoughts, allowing readers to tap deeper into the emotion and the drama of the situation.

Conclusion

Dickman’s style throughout is straightforward, giving it a masculine quality. He

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includes firefighter jargon here and there (rhino), but always explains it with an appositive. Either way, his style is highly accessible to Outside’s readers, who are mostly college educated.

In terms of accomplishing Outside’s mission to tell a riveting story while also conveying the cold-hard facts of a situation, Dickman is highly successful. However, Outside also seeks to inspire readers to interact with the outdoors. Although Dickman tells an engaging and emotional yet factual story, it certainly does not encourage readers to go out to the Weaver mountains in Arizona.

Ultimately, it is not so much a question of whether or not Dickman’s style fits Outside’s readership (because it does), it is more a question of whether the story’s subject is the best fit for Outside? The subject is brave, daring, and adventurous by nature, but it also tragic and certainly not trendy. While Outside readers will enjoy “19: The True Story of the Yarnell Hill Fire” because of Dickman’s intense and informed storytelling, other audiences are likely to enjoy it for the same reasons.

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Analyzing The End Jaquelin hurst Introduction

Feature writing is a great art. Rather than a traditional news story, in which the author strives to tell the facts directly, a feature strives to show the reader a perspective.

Features allow readers to draw their own conclusions based on the way the author displays a topic. Features are great for instances in which a topic could be judged from multiple perspectives. Feature writing is an art because the author constructs a perspective and, without telling readers directly, allows them to realize it themselves.

Writers are able to construct a particular perspective in their writing by strategically using voice, tone, diction, syntax, and other stylistic devices to frame their feature.

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In the article “The End.” published in Los Angeles Magazine in November of 2010, author Ben Ehrenreich illustrates a unique perspective of death by taking the readers on a journey through the process that occurs when they are no longer here. Because of the stylistic choices he makes, Ehrenreich creates a mockery of society’s general views on death.

Analysis

Ehrenreich’s introduction to “The End.” is incredibly intriguing and would grab any reader’s attention. Its playful nature and absurd idea of “bargaining” with death sets the reader up with the tone of the rest of the feature. The first sentence, “You’ve made some bargains,” is powerful and funny

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because everyone knows you can never really bargain with death, though many don’t like to accept it. It will come for you, and the author tries to get readers to accept that for themselves through his construction of this feature.

He starts off by calling out the reader directly, which is an incredibly smart way of achieving a reader’s attention. Every subject in every sentence in the introduction is “you.” If people think the author is speaking to them directly, they will turn their heads and listen. Ehrenreich also relies on repetition in the introduction to build up intensity. All of the sentences are short, fast, and straight to the point. Lastly and very effectively, Ehrenreich relates to a wide range of people by stating that they do things to better themselves. The general public generally tries to better themselves by not smoking, looking both ways before crossing the street, and going to yoga. By referring to these topics, the author allows a broad range of people to be intrigued by his introduction.

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In the feature, Ehrenreich informs the readers of exactly what happens after they die.

The second thing the author does that caught my eye is the fact that before discussing the topic of death any further he chooses to give it a gender. He refers to death as “Lady Death.” I thought this was a smart idea because the topic is so depressing he didn’t want to warn off any readers from further reading, so he made it less scary by making it a girl. Though some may argue this is sexist, the stereotype (girls are weak44

er, softer, and more nurturing than men) is still thought by many, so he potentially saved many readers from tossing this depressing article before really getting into it due to its scary topic. By making it a “she” the author softens the blow for his next devastating line when he states, “she will know where to find you.” Though the author strives to tell his audience that death is a very real thing, in this paragraph, he reassures the readers not to be scared, which is necessary when choosing to discuss such a sad topic.

In the feature, Ehrenreich informs the readers of exactly what happens after they die. Well, not for the dead (of course), but what happens to the living when you die.

He takes the reader on a journey stopping at every professional a dead person may come across including detectives, pathologists, people who make coffins, etc. Structurally, Ehrenreich cuts up his feature into seven sections. The first, which he doesn’t name, is the introduction. The second section he labels as “Power Words,” where he discusses how people will define you when you have passed. If detectives find you they will search for your ID. If you have no identification you will either be labeled a “soft Doe” or “hard Doe.”

This section also deals with communication between family members and professionals. It was effective for the author to start off with this section because this section is the last place you’re treated like a human. Maybe that’s a little dramatic, but in the following sections you are thought of in terms of money, how to go about cutting you open and deposing of you. The “Power Words” section is expected by the readers; because, most people think about their family’s reaction to their death instead of how their autopsy will begin. Giving the expected part up front forces the reader to think clash magazine

about all the other things death brings that they never gave much thought to.

The other sections include “All the King’s Horses,” where the cost of your death is discussed, “A Happy Life,” where your funeral arrangements are made, “Euphoria,” where the option of a casket is discussed, “1,550 Degrees,” where the option of cremation is discussed, and “The Moment You’ve Been Waiting For,” where you are finally buried. Throughout all of the sections, Ehrenreich rarely allows the professionals to speak. The author’s voice is incredibly present throughout the feature and only at very selective moments does he quote whomever he is in contact with. When the author lets them speak, it drives his goal to mock the general public’s perspective of death. These professionals are so normalized by death that the words that come out of their mouth are so casual and often times funny because of the context.

David Smith, who supervises the Department of Identification and Notification, tells Ehrenreich that a major problem he deals with is “extremely overweight bodies that have to be cremated.” Normal people never think about this stuff. Whether or not a dead person had one too many burgers in their life isn’t something you think about as being a problem after they have died. It’s kind of a silly problem; someone just died and Smith is worried about how fat the person is. The fact that the author included this quote gives the readers some kind of comic relief.

Later, the author talks to Patrick, whose job is to drive and pick up dead bodies and drop them off wherever they need to be. In the paragraph where the author describes Patrick’s job, he stylistically uses asyndeton to build up the pace and intensity of the reading. The author states, “He drives 45

to the address, knocks on the door, rolls you into a sheet, ties off the ends, hoists you onto a gurney, wheels you to the van, drops you at the mortuary, and waits for his next call.”

The build-up makes the reader believe that Patrick must have a mentally stressing job, but then the author lets him speak. Patrick states, “There’s never any funny stuff. The dead, they don’t say anything.” And then the readers don’t feel so bad for Patrick – which makes it bearable to keep reading.

[ ] If you dragged something out and out the punch line or climax isn’t as intense as if it were to build quickly.

The author speaks causally and descriptively throughout the feature as if his words could be confused with the ramblings going on in readers’ heads. The description he uses is almost disturbingly real. In one section he describes how you smell and the colors of your insides as a pathologists performs your autopsy. This kind of language would seem impolite anywhere else besides in your own mind. This descriptive and casual diction builds a relationship with the readers and allows them to get lost in the reading (it easily happens due to the author referring directly to the reader the whole feature).

When jargon is needed, the author emphasizes that he is in no part related to that jargon by putting the words in quotation marks. In doing this, he makes fun the jargon that is used in times of death. When Patrick has to pick up a body that is been particular-

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ly smelly it’s called “decomp.” The in-crowd also refers to dead bodies found in water as “floaters.”

Throughout the whole feature the author uses short, simple sentences. This is important because intensity builds only in short, quick spans of time. If you dragged something out and out the punch line or climax isn’t as intense as if it were to build quickly. The author strategically builds the intensity for the finale, when you are finally shoved six-feet underground.

nally tells the reader, “Your lid is closed, and you’re dead…The show is over…They leave you there. You’re done.” This harsh ending is exactly what the author intended. Sometimes people need to be told in such a harsh way that death is a very really thing.

Conclusion

What the feature does is puts the reader under a spell. It draws in the reader and builds up intensity and then shows the reader that there becomes a time when you’re finally done. Specifically, Ehrenreich’s strategic use of presence, tone, rhythm and syntax is what makes the readers get lost in the reading and finally get shocked by the ending.

In his closing paragraphs, Ehrenreich tells the reader things they would never expect to hear from someone. And, at this point, the readers are so lost in the reading that the words strike fear within them. The author builds this grand finale and then fi46

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FEATURES

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Wide Awake Drunk

in Austin Texas

jaquelin hurst

“Coffee is a lot more than just a drink,” Gertrude Stein said. “It’s something happening. Not as in hip, but like an event, a place to be, but not like a location, but like somewhere within yourself. It gives you time, but not actual hours or minutes, but a chance to be, like be yourself, and have a second cup.”

Gertrude Stein attempted to make sense of the brown, bean soaked water that seems to have such presence in many of our lives. She explains that coffee is an experience. That, for her, coffee is about being somewhere and just that, being. It has no 51

ulterior motif. Coffee is a time to experience the drink and be yourself. Though you may drink coffee for a very different reason, both you and Stein share at least one thing in common, the same drink. Coffee has tied together wildly different groups of people for about five centuries, but what is becoming clear is the different role coffee plays in each culture. Because coffee is so incredibly popular within many cultures it is interesting when I found it to be used for many different purposes, and somehow the culture surrounding coffee (i.e., coffee culture) seems to relay the identity of each region.

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It was my first cup of coffee since I returned from France. As I pulled my cup from the Keurig, I smelt the aroma of Starbucks’ rich, dark French roast. My hands warmed as I held the steaming mug. I really needed coffee that morning; I was about to face Austin’s northbound 9 a.m. traffic. I pulled the mug up to my lips and sipped, and soon I felt the warm liquid takeover my mouth. It was right about that moment when I quickly ran to the sink to spit it out. Yuk. It looked like coffee, it smelt like coffee, it tasted like butt. I guess you could say my action was a bit dramatic, but when you’ve gotten used to beautiful coffee cups with perfectly fitting saucers filled with rich, decadent coffee and chocolate powder sprinkled across the foam, sitting alongside a cookie, Keurig coffee just didn’t seem to fill its void.

In France, coffee was my Sunday outing. Not France as in Paris, France, but France as in the small city of Angers, where on Sundays the citizens were on lockdown, forced to relax from the demands of life. These quiet days left only two things to choose from: visit the McDonalds or relax at the local coffee shop, which also had live music. The choice was clear, since it would have been ridiculous for me to sit in McDonalds as the purpose of my trip was to immerse myself in the French culture. It was then that my taste buds enjoyed an exceptional quality of coffee unheard of by the Keurig.

Many regions have seemingly defined coffee cultures. During my time in Italy, coffee was the break in the day that allowed for reflection, a seemingly unmotivated consumption of the drink. In Seattle, coffee shops are what get you out of the rain and keep you awake during the uncountable number of rainy days. But for me, what was most riveting is that I couldn’t explain Austin’s coffee culture. Austin. The city I have 52

lived in for many years. The city I have explored to the depths and experienced differently on numerous occasions. It is the city I call home. So, naturally, this curiosity set me off on a search.

As I set out to understand Austin’s coffee culture, only one thing seemed to be apparent across the board. Everyone here is pounding it down because they need the legal stimulant. I wait in line to be handed a paper cup filled with the liquefied drug that will allow for my work to get done. Next

[ ] Everyone here is pounding it down because they need the legal stimulant.

to me stands two businessmen dressed like important people. On my left, I see college students sitting in front of screens throwing back the drink. This is its purpose. It is our drug. But coffee isn’t the only drug Austin’s serving up, many coffee shops here also serve alcoholic beverages.

If I wanted to truly see where Austin’s coffee culture is going, I needed to visit its newfound companion, Mr. Booze. An incredibly large amount of coffee shops in Austin also sell booze, so I decided to experience clash magazine

that culture.

Paul, the brother of the owner of Houndstooth Coffee here in Austin talks about his experience with selling booze in addition to coffee. “The decision to sell alcohol in addition to coffee just sprung out of the fact that we like good beer, and we like good wine, and we like good coffee, so in our minds, it seems natural to pair those things together. Uh, Austin also drinks more than most towns, just on the whole, the alcohol consumption per capita is pretty high here.”

[ ]

The culture surrounding coffee seems to project a larger story about identity. We’re all just a bunch of tweaker’s loading up.

We’re all just a bunch of tweaker’s loading up.

“I think Austin’s coffee culture is a lot like the city of Austin, it’s in a real serious adolescence right now. It’s still growing. It’s still looking for an identity, so it’s trying certain things out,” he said.

Like an adolescent experimenting with drugs, like an adolescent still developing, Austin’s coffee culture is undeveloped. Similar to the fact that Austin doesn’t have the roads to support the growth. This city is still under development. Only time will tell where the city’s coffee culture is headed. But, for now, we’ll enjoy it while it’s young.

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Maniac Magazine attn: Submissions 33 Terminal Way, Suite 533a Pittsburgh, PA 15219

Query Letter leona grier

Subject: Budget Jeopardy: Newborn Tract or Furry Pact?

Dear Editor,

Newly wed couples begin their journey with plenty on their mind as they enter their newly bought home, layered with boxes of memories to mend and create. But in a few months, after setting up their new home, finances, and scheduled lifestyles, the couple will be eager to have an addition to their wonderful dreamland - child or pet? Without the experience or inkling of either of their choices, they choose to explore their finances, question their parents, and weigh their options, without worrying about the details of each choice.

It will cost a middle-income couple just over $245,000 to raise a child born in 2013 to the age of 18 , according to newly released estimates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “That’s up $4,260, or almost 2%, from the year before,” CNN Money states. The figures are based on the cost of housing, food, transportation, clothing, health care, education, child care, and miscellaneous expenses, like haircuts and cellphones - college expenses are not included, as we know that keeps rising. Overall, the good news is that “overall costs have grown more slowly in recent years thanks to low inflation,” said economist Mark Lino, who has written the annual report for the USDA since 1987. But recently more families have had to deal with less as the country’s median income remains more than 8% below where it was before the recession, while child care and health care costs continue to climb faster than inflation. It will cost a middle-income couple just over $12,000 to raise a dog to the age of 14, according to Drs. Foster & Smith Educational Staff.

Starting a timeline for the life of a child and a shelter dog or cat would begin with the newly wed couple moving into their new home and unpacking their bags. The feeling of placing photo frames on the fireplace and pots and pans on the hanging rack above the island bring about the sense of responsibility as they sped their first few months settling into a routine of work and possibly school. The thought of an addition to the family will cross their minds as they feel a void that needs to be filled, providing the title of my feature.

Resources: http://money.cnn.com/2014/08/18/pf/child-cost/ http://money.cnn.com/interactive/pf/cost-of-children/?iid=EL http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2106&aid=1543

I am a senior at Saint Edward’s University pursuing a Bachelors in English Writing and Rhetoric and a minor in Biology. This piece is a satire of lifestyle choices that incidentally cross the minds of many newlywed couples and bring about the realization of stepping into reality. The responsibility of parenting is a common feat in th humankind lifestyle. Getting ahead on the lifestyle plan of a newlywed couple is a great step into becoming a responsible adult.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Leona C Grier 3300 Parker Lane Apartment #288 Austin, TX 78741

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Budget Jeopardy: Newborn Tract or Furry Pact?

leona grier

Hey, kids! Welcome to the wonderful existence of adulthood. You’ve got a partner, a place to live, and some real grownup decisions to make, like work, school, and rent.

Considering adding another responsibility to your list to adult? Human baby or dog? Let’s look at the facts and see what’ll work for you.

In the few months that you have blossomed into a mediocre adult, you will find yourself becoming familiar with a scheduled lifestyle, from unpacking the dishes into the china cabinet to listing out your finances and yearly pay plan. Finances are key in the addition of another being into your home, especially a child. It will cost a middle-income couple just over $245,000 to raise a child born in 2013 to the age of 18 , according to newly released estimates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Apparently the USDA measures 55

the cost of living in all living mammals, not just livestock - kids are animals. “That’s up $4,260, or almost 2%, from the year before,” CNN Money states. The figures are based on the cost of housing, food, transportation, clothing, health care, education, child care, and miscellaneous expenses, like haircuts and cellphones - college expenses are not included; which is constantly on the rise. The good news is that “overall costs have grown more slowly in recent years thanks to low inflation,” according to economist Mark Lino, who has written the annual report for the USDA since 1987. Since 2008, more families have had to deal with less as the country’s median income remains more than 8% below where it was before the recession, while child care and health care costs continue to climb faster than inflation. It will cost a middle-in-

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come couple just over $12,000 to raise a dog to the age of 14, according to Drs. Foster & Smith Educational Staff.

Let’s look into the life of a child. The starting cost will begin with a $12,000 deposit to ensure that the child has something to defecate in, something to cry about, and something to cry with.

The overnight trips to care for the crying infant will be the last of your worries as you turn down the $40 baby monitor you found on Amazon that your friend, mother of 5 children, referred you to.

People have different views, opinions, and decisions when it comes to children, as every child is different. Seeing the neighbor jog herself back into shape with her Louis Vuitton baby stroller can not compare to your Walmart stroller you ordered online so you didn’t have to hassle it into the husband’s truck and set up alone while he works the night shift. Putting sarcasm and jokes aside, it is a gift. A newborn brightens the lives of many and shows a glint of hope to those in need of a boost when it seems that the married life does not fit them. In Seattle, Britta Gidican and her boyfriend spend $1,380 each month on daycare for their 17-month-old son, just $20 less than they spend on their mortgage each month.

“When I was pregnant I knew daycare would be expensive,” said Gidican, a public relations manager. “But I didn’t expect to pay two mortgages.”

Rising transportation and food costs are eating up a big chunk of family budgets.

Gas prices have nearly doubled since 2004, according to the American Automobile Association. Meanwhile, food prices have increased more than 13% since 2008, according to the USDA, and make up the third biggest child-rearing expense in the agency’s estimate. These factors are most familiar in

A puppy has an instant effect of loving kindness that comes automatic when someone sees a picture or picks one up for a cuddle.

The same effect occurs with infants but infants become toddlers and then teenagers - the cuteness stops at a certain degree.

Not to say that dogs are better than children but there has to be a line drawn. The beginning price of a dog at any age can range from $10,000 to $12,000 depending on the age.

For fairness we will have to being at an infant stage for both parties. Seeing that same neighbor with the Louis Vuitton stroller and dalmatian on a diamond-decked harness and leash is enough to make any person just gag at the thought of the bill on her social status.

To think of how that dalmation feels being constantly blinded by the glinting jewels distracting him from the next fire hydrant he can urinate on or the next bystander he can cover in his saliva of charm.

This is the cost for a 50-pound dog that lives in the Midwest. It is not uncommon to see some of these numbers double or triple in places like New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and Dallas. Now granted most people do not end up spending $40,000 on their dog,

[ ] In Seattle, Britta Gidican and her boyfriend spend $1,380 each month on daycare for their 17-month-old son...

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but some spend a whole lot more. A dog with hip dysplasia or severe allergies can have significantly higher veterinary expenses and I routinely see people who spend over $2,000 on a single veterinary problem. Chances are your costs will be similar to those I incur, but even with the minimum required care, it is still over $13,000.00. On the flip side of the thousand-dollar puppy is the puppy that ends up in the shelter and needs a home or ‘else.’ There are some real diamonds in the ‘ruff’ to be found at the local animal shelter.

Remember the love for both are equal amounts and the appreciate of both are important before making any rational decisions to be involved with either subject. Budgeting before any ‘major’ purchase is essential in parenting and adulthood, don’t be the one to add another child or pet to the adoption list.

Be a pal and adopt a dog, take the time to become closer with your mate, and familiarize yourself with how a lifestyle would be when caring for a third party in your newlywed household.

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Bitch Magazine attn: Submissions 4930 NE 29th Ave. Portland, OR 97211

Query Letter samantha herd

Subject: An Attitude Adjustment: The Diva Cup Dear Editor, Why do women reject the menstrual cup? Unlike tampons, which put you at risk for toxic shock syndrome, vaginal dryness, ulcers, exposure to dioxins, pesticides, and neurotoxins, a menstrual cup poses no health hazards.

Pads and tampons are also disposable products that pollute the environment, in contrast with the non disposable, reusable menstrual cup.

Perhaps the answer lies in the way our culture and society has responded to and treats menstruation. Women internalize cultural messages surrounding women’s bodies. Our treatment of menstruation has always been at a distance, with disgust. Tampons and pads allow us to throw away the mess. A menstrual cup, on the other hand, requires women to deal with menstruation directly. It requires a rejection of the view that menstruation is an embarrassing and shameful problem needing active management using disposable products. It requires full transformation away from self-objectification and an acceptance of the body.

This feature would be a first person narrative essay critiquing the culture surrounding menstruation as I attempt to use a menstrual cup. The research interweaved in this feature is on the history of the menstrual cup.

I’m pitching this story because it is closely related to the Blood and Guts issue #64 for fall of 2015. It is a first person narrative essay about the relationship between cultural menstrual etiquette and menstrual products.

While not extensively published, I have four years of professional writing experience, as well as published articles in my university’s newspaper and published a research paper in an undergraduate research journal.

I hope this has peaked your interest, or if I can edit the piece to make it a perfect fit for Bitch Magazine. Enclosed is a draft of the essay and samples of my previous work.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Samantha K Herd 4700 E Riverside Dr Apartment 1327 Austin, TX 78741 samantha.k.herd@gmail.com 412.378.8083

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An Attitude Adjustment: The Diva Cup samantha herd

When I go to the bathroom and pull down my pants, the last thing I want to see is blood. Yet, it happens every month. Sometimes it’s early. Sometimes it’s late. Most times, I never get the timing right and I stain a good pair of underwear. I just put on a pad or, if I’m not being lazy, a tampon. I don’t have to touch anything, and when it’s time to change, I roll it up and toss it out. No prob59

lems.

Then I heard of menstrual cups.

What’s the big deal? Perhaps the deal is that a menstrual cup is an eco-friendly and healthier alternative to pads and tampons.

Tampons, a cleanlier alternative to pads, come at a risk. They can lead to toxic shock syndrome, vaginal dryness, ulcers, and leaves you exposed to dioxins, pesticides, and neu

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rotoxins.

Menstrual cups aren’t a new invention, I learned. For centuries women (and the occasional adventurous man) have been looking for ways to manage the product of menstruation: blood. Mum.org and Menstrualcup. co provide an extensive timeline following the changes and developments of feminine care products. Soften papyrus, lint wrapped around small pieces of wood, and soften wool were used as tampons. This was the ancient world. In 1839, Charles Goodyear devised technology to vulcanize rubber, leading to the creation of the diaphragm. The 1850s provided women with catamenial sacks, bandages, receptacles made of springs, wire, buttons flaps, and girdles. Not surprisingly, almost all of these didn’t make it to the market.

In 1873 The Comstock Act was passed.

This act labeled pornography and conception-related materials and texts a federal crime to sell or distribute, in the US. The term “feminine hygiene” was coined as a response. Johnson & Johnson sold the first commercial sanitary pads in 1896. Kotex’s disposable pads were featured in stores by the 1920’s.

Finally, in the 1930’s Lenoa Chalmers patented and produced the first reusable menstrual cup. However, disposable products were the leading purchases among women who enjoyed the convenience of simply throwing away the product. The cup made a comeback near the end of the 1950s, well after the development of the tampon, but women remained uninterested.

Many women, including myself, still cling to pads and tampons today. I remember the days in junior high and high school, when I needed to change my pad. It felt like everyone else knew with me. Boys would 60

make snide comments each time a girl asked to go to the bathroom. During swim days in PE it was embarrassing to have to sit by the pool, while other students swam. It was like being on display.

Perhaps the problem wasn’t just me.

We live in a society and culture that hasn’t always been friendly to menstruation. Menstrual cups have been around for a long time, but this product was news to me. Although the idea of a menstrual grossed me out, I was intrigued and fascinated to see if it could work for me.

The first time I tried it on, I treated it much like a tampon. I just stuck it in and crossed my fingers. I was very wrong. Barely an hour later I was leaking everywhere.

Blood on the bed. Blood trailing on the floor leading to the bathroom. Blood on the toilet.

My hands. The sink. The roll of toilet paper.

Everywhere. I was completely embarrassed, even by myself. It reminded me of the first time I had my period. I was only allowed to wear pads. I learned the hard way that pads could only take so much blood.

[ ] Blood on the bed. Blood trailing on the floor leading to the bathroom. Blood on the toilet. My hands. The sink.

The roll of toilet paper.

We were warming up before volleyball practice, by running two laps around the school. I was just fine until a girl, who ran up next to me, said I had blood all over the back of my shorts. When I checked for myself, it was a huge stain. I cried and went home clash magazine

early. I didn’t know my body very well then, and even now this cup was showing me that I hadn’t learned much.

The menstrual cup requires that you familiarize yourself with your cervix. A strong muscular passage leading to the uterus, the cervix is a bit of a trickster. It moves depending on your cycle, and it can be hard to guess where. For example, the cervix may be higher in the vagina during ovulation. I had to feel around for my cervix, so I could place the cup below it to catch the blood. At this point, putting my own fingers inside my vagina, while I was bleeding was the least of my worries.

Two days later, I believed I was getting the hang of it. As a precaution, I wore a pad to combat my paranoia of leakage. It was like adjusting to a tampon. I wondered if I put it in right every time I had to empty the cup.

Did I shove it to far? Would it get lost? Would walking make it slip out? But paranoia was far worse with a tampon. I knew about toxic shock syndrome, and I was terrified that something would happen to me. I’d change that tampon every two hours despite the directions saying “between four to eight hours.”

I didn’t want to take any chances. By the last day–go figure–I was more comfortable and confident with the cup. I was aware of when I needed to empty the cup, and I wasn’t leaking.

I confided in a student, Willa, who uses the product herself, and one of her greatest wishes was that she had started using it earlier. “Using the cup is a learning experience,” Willa recounts. “You’re very up close and personal with your period and with yourself.” Although I share the same sentiment, I believe any time is a great time to learn about your body.

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Culture Map - Austin attn: Submissions 1200 E 11th Street, Ste. 105 Austin, TX 78702

tanya marinkovic

Subject: Keeping Austin Weird, One Psychic at a Time Dear Editor, Beverly Henson is a medium, clairvoyant, healer, and realtor. Yes, a realtor.

“You’re thinking ‘this lady doesn’t look crazy’,” she says to me as I welcome her into my home. And it’s true.

What’s strange about Henson is that there is nothing noticeably strange about her at all. She is a working professional, a single mother of two, and a mother-in-law to be. She puts her company at ease in an instant with her straightforward, uncalculated attitude. Henson, quite frankly, fits the stereotype of a proud and independent southern lady more than any image of a psychic. Her personality is vibrant. She is outspoken and honest.

Inundated by our own culture’s stereotypes, it is easy for us non-psychic Austinites to forget that the people even we perceive as weird are just regular people. They are family members, family makers, coworkers, professionals, and everything that falls under the spectrum of “normal.” They just happen to have a few extra-sensitive talents.

Henson presents an interesting and uncommon, although likely more accurate, vision of a psychic, which is the focal point of this feature piece. I interviewed Henson, as well as Leslie MacDonald, someone who consults psychics, to illustrate the true psychic/fortune-telling scene in Austin. I include outside commentary from spiritualists and authors to develop out a better understanding of psychics in reality versus psychics with the stereotypical persona.

I think this piece will make an interesting addition to your “Society” section, which explores the stories of Austin’s unique, memorable and/or notable community members. After reading this piece, I think you will find that Henson certainly fits that criteria.

Enclosed is a draft of this feature piece. If you find this a good fit for Austin Culture Map, please let me know and I will work with you to ensure you publish a good read.

Thanks for your consideration,

Sincerely,

Tanya Marinkovic 7119 Redmond Rd. Austin, TX 78739 tmarink@stedwards.edu

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Keeping Austin Weird

One Psychic at a Time

tanya marinkovic

Envision this: a middle-aged woman in a MuMu. Her long, frizzy hair cloaks her shoulders while the top of her head is skillfully wrapped in a turban. A white quartz crystal dangles from a gold chain around her neck. Several bangles encircle her wrists. Her fingernails are long and pointy. You notice she smells of burnt sage and catnip. Is this who you thought of when you read “psychic”? Well, think again.

She doesn’t smell of anything in particular Henson is a medium, clairvoyant, healer, and realtor. Yes, a realtor.

Think Beverly Henson: a middle-aged woman in a ruffled white top and bluepatterned maxi skirt. The only thing around her head is her shoulder-length golden blonde hair. No crystal charms dangle from her neck; just a small gold pendant off of a delicate chain. Her nails are clean and trim.

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“You’re thinking ‘this lady doesn’t look crazy’,” she says to me as I welcome her into my home. And it’s true. What’s strange about Henson is that there is nothing noticeably strange about her at all. She is a working professional, a single mother of two, and a mother-in-law to be. She puts her company at ease in an instant with her straightforward, uncalculated attitude.

Henson, quite frankly, fits the stereotype of a proud and independent southern lady more than any image of a psychic. Her personality is vibrant. She is outspoken and honest. “No question is too hard,” she reassures

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me as I begin to ask about her supernatural experiences.

Henson was born in Kingsville, Texas but grew up in the Austin-Lockhart area.

“When I was a child” she starts, “I had an imaginary friend.” That was what her mother called it at least. After all, most children do.

“Well it wasn’t. Apparently it was a little ghost.” At three years old, Henson didn’t notice that her friend, Peggy, didn’t have a home to go to or that she wore the same thing every day. She simply enjoyed playing with Peggy. “Everything was fine until one day my mother took me to this really fancy dress shop.”

“Mother was very concerned with appearances,” Henson tells me. As she and her mother left the shop, Peggy got stuck in the revolving doors. “She was banging on the walls. I told Mother we have to go back to get Peggy.”

“That’s enough,” Henson’s mother replied. “Enough of the imaginary friend thing.”

Three-year-old Henson threw herself to the ground, arms flailing and legs flying.

From the dress shop’s windows, the people inside could see her, hysterical, crying and screaming to her mother. “They probably thought, ‘that poor woman dealing with that kid’,” Henson admits.

Unable to pacify her crying child, Henson’s mother walked back into the dress shop, opened the door to the side, and let Peggy out. “No more imaginary friend stuff,” she muttered in the car. “I mean it! Peggy leaves now.” And Peggy did.

“Throughout my life growing up I always knew when someone in my family had died because they came to say bye.”

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Asleep one night, Henson felt a thump on her shoulder. She felt it again. And again.

Opening her eyes, Henson saw her Aunt Wanda. “See you kid; I’m out of here! I’ve got two dancing buddies waiting for me. Love you; bye,” she exclaimed before disappearing as quickly as she had appeared. That night, Aunt Wanda passed away.

“My mother would always say, ‘You’re making that up! You heard me talking on the phone.’” Unable to explain herself, Henson shut down. “I thought there was something wrong with because I would always know this stuff. I didn’t know how I knew, but I knew.”

Raised in the Church of Christ, or “the Baptist church on steroids” as she describes it, Henson was taught that “woo-woo stuff” was of the devil. She was taught that “those people” take advantage of others and their grief. “And that’s true. You can tell [grieving people] anything and they’ll believe it,” she says. “But that’s so wrong and karma’s gonna be a bitch for those people who do that.”

[ ] “I’m not the light,” she says. “I’m just a light worker.”

And true to her words, Henson hasn’t made a business out of her abilities. “I’ve tried to quit. Do my job, I don’t want to do it,” she admits. “I’ve asked God so many times to take this away from me,” but it never goes, just lessens. Despite struggling to come to terms with her sensitivities, Beverly has clash magazine

appropriately adopted the title of “healer.”

“I’m not the light,” she says. “I’m just a light worker. I’m somebody who can point you in the right direction.” And maybe that is why people seek psychics out.

MacDonald tells me that most often, she goes after major life events. Her mother’s passing last July, while MacDonald was on vacation, is what brought her to her most recent encounter. “It was unexpected. Before I left, her condition was stable. Otherwise I wouldn’t have gone.” The incident left her feeling guilty, as if she should have known and should have been there for her mother.

“People seek fortune tellers for many reasons,” writes Gita Saraydarian, a writer for the online, new age spirituality magazine, Mystic Banana. “They want a quick fix to a problem they are having. They are hurting.

MacDonald recounts the experience They are vulnerable” or, “they may simply be searching and a fortune teller or psychic is an to me: “[The medium] would ask for my mother and my mother came through. My easy way to find answers.” mother said she didn’t want me there when

Whatever the case, the word “closure” she died. She didn’t want me to see that, but she said she was fine, the afterlife was cool, comes to mind when thinking about why and she was having fun. For me, that was people seek psychics and fortune tellers. In closure.” which, is it even possible to typify the kind of people to consult psychics and fortune

MacDonald also sought closure when tellers, given that loss and desire for closure her brother unexpectedly passed away are largely universal experiences. Perhaps years earlier. “My brother and I weren’t this is why people—all kinds of people— talking when he passed away,” she admits. consult psychics: to be healed.

The medium called for him and “he came through. He said ‘I’m very sorry.’” She tells

People, like Leslie MacDonald.

MacDonald is a conservative Christian, a wife me that the two “were close as children but then through disagreements and lifestyles, he and mother, and the operations manager of went in one direction and I went the other.” a business consulting firm. She too, does not fit the image of someone interested in “woo-woo stuff.” But, MacDonald has been a long-time connoisseur of the paranormal “She said that she arts. “When I was much younger my mother took me to see a fortune-teller type thing,” was fine, the afterlife she tells me.

Born and raised in rural Vermont, MacDonald reveals that psychics and fortune tellers were a rarity. However, since moving to Austin 17 years ago, she’s found more options.

“I’ve been to your basic palm readers, I’ve been to psychics, I’ve also been to shaman readers,” MacDonald counts the experiences off. “Every now and then I go to see how accurate they are, and sometimes they are, sometimes they aren’t.”

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[ ] was cool, and she was having fun.”

“Some people just have a sense more so than others,” MacDonald tells me, trying to make sense of psychic-related experiences.

Her explanation is quite

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fitting considering the definition of psychic ranges from “sensitive to non physical or supernatural forces and influences marked by extraordinary or mysterious sensitivity, perception, or understanding” to simply “of or relating to the soul or mind.”

Maybe, in those terms then, “woowoo stuff” isn’t quite so incredulous. I mean, some people are just denser than others, right? Maybe it’s us non-seeing, non-hearing, non-perceiving individuals who are indignant to the sensitivities of the world we inhabit?

Maybe we’re taking our lack of perception out on psychics when we stereotype them?

“The label limits us,” asserts Colette Baron-Reid, an internationally renowned intuitive counselor, educator, and best-selling author. In an interview with Omega Institute for Holistic Studies, Colette discusses the importance of breaking down the stereotypes of what it means to be a psychic in order to find the balance between intuition and logic that exists within each one of us. “It presents us with a stereotypical persona that everybody expects.”

Henson seems to prove the point that psychics, mediums, healers, clairvoyants, and whatever else have you, aren’t the irrational cooks we often make them out to be. “I still don’t put it together, you know. I still don’t get it because that’s ridiculous.”

Inundated by our own culture’s stereotypes, it is easy for us non-psychic Austinites to forget that the people even we perceive as weird are just regular people.

They are family members, family makers, coworkers, professionals, and everything that falls under the spectrum of “normal.” They just happen to have a few extra-sensitive talents.

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