The Poetry Inside Creation and Pollution

I am one to admit that poetry is not my strong suit.  I enjoy good poetry and am moved by it, however finding the original interpretation of it is a struggle for me.  I most always come away with an interpretation, but most of the time not the one that the poem was written about.  “State of the Planet” tripped me quite a bit.  I felt that I was all over the place reading it, finding it hard to follow.  In these next few paragraphs, I will unpack my experience in reading it.

Some of the poem did make sense to me even though I struggled with it.  I believe the author, Robert Hass, was commenting on the beauty and significance of nature and humankind, both individually and our relations.  For both to maintain beauty and elegance, maintenance and proper care are in order, which I also believe Hass was trying to point out.  In one stanza he wrote, “It will seem to be poetry forgetting its promise of sobriety to say the rosy shinings in the thick brown current are small dolphins rising to the surface where gouts of the oil that burns inside the engine of the car I’m driving oozes from the banks.”  This relates the pollution he causes to the suffering of the dolphins as a result.  I assume that when he wrote “rising to the surface” he meant that the dolphins were lifeless and floating to the top of the water.  It seems that he is pointing out the harm that we are doing to our environment.

I would like to point out one passage that particularly caught my eye.  Hass wrote, “…regarding a black outcrop of rock in the desert near a sea, charcoal-black and dense, wave-worn, and all one thing:  there’s no life in it at all.”  I have not even come up with a meaning for this passage, yet it still caught my attention.  I do love the wording and the way that it caused me to think over and over again on its meaning, yet I don’t have a solid understanding of it.  As I write about it now, I am pondering thoughts in my head and writing them freely on this page.  Perhaps the rock that is “charcoal-black” and lifeless is a result of constant pollution.  Previous to this passage, Hass talks about a bird.  He says, “…the bird that can’t know the amazement of its being there, a human mind that somewhat does…”  That makes me say “Wow!”  We have the ability to think and be free-willed.  A bird is a creature of habit with no soul, yet it is amazing.  God created this world in all its beauty and splendor and meaning and we are destroying it.  Perhaps Hass is getting the reader to think on deeper levels to better understand the sheer beauty and splendor of creation at its roots.

Encountering Nature, Reflecting on Life

On Friday night, March 25, I received the privilege of attending a presentation on the Hillsborough River given by Professor Laura Runge.  She visited five different spots on the river over a period of 13 months, visiting each spot once per month.  She then wrote an essay after each monthly visit.  Last night, she read to us the essay on her November visit.

I learned that the Hillsborough River provides most of the drinking water for Tampa, thus it is important to take good care of it.  I also learned that it was named after a British governor.  On this trip in November, she took her son, Spencer.  It provided good bonding time, yes, but she took him for his incredible eyesight and curiosity for nature.  On this trip, Spencer seemed excited seeing the wildlife and doing the things that his mother did.

One thing that primarily stuck out to me was the conversation between Professor Runge and her son about life.  This conversation was initiated by Spencer when he asked his mother, “Does it seem like forever?”  He was asking about her forty-four years of age.  He then stated that his eleven years of age seemed like forever.  This conversation caught my attention because God is the creator.  God created life and he created nature and I believe that since Professor Runge and Spencer were taking in nature, it caused him to reflect on life and the beauty that it beholds.  After all, nature is streaming with abundant life and beauty that shows God’s creativity at its’ finest.

Nature is a gift from God.  As a gift, we need to take care of it and protect it.  I believe that “green” is a good thing.  I’m not an extremist or as the world defines it as “tree hugger,” but I believe doing the little things that count are important, such as recycling, turning lights off in a room that isn’t being used, unplugging power chords that aren’t in use, and many other things.  Doing the little things is what makes a big difference.  Attending the presentation broadened my understanding of the beauty and significance of nature.  I must admit my intentions for attending the presentation were solely to receive extra credit, but I did get something out of it.  So kudos to Professor Runge for grabbing the attention of a young man whose mind was elsewhere.  I benefited.  Also, I believe that the presentation has served as a good transition for the time we are going to spend on learning about nature in Intro to Literature.

A Growing Mind

This entire experience in learning about people who are mentally handicapped has been very challenging and eye-opening.  First reading “The Boys Next Door” and talking about it in class several times, reading Dr. Fettke’s article about his son and his experiences and thoughts, and then visiting AFI and talking with the class about that has really opened my mind to the world that the mentally handicapped experience.  Each of these things brought new and different thoughts and opinions to my mind that helped me to learn and grow.

Reading “The Boys Next Door” opened up the experience for me.  I wasn’t really too sure what to think after reading the First Act, but after finishing the story and talking about it in class, it really set the tone.  Reading Dr. Fettke’s article brought all of this into perspective personally.  As he talked about his son, I was reminded of whom I consider my little sister, Eva.  My mom has been babysitting her for quite some time now.  Then visiting AFI and talking with the class really pulled it all together.  My heart now goes out to the mentally handicapped more than it did before this experience in Intro to Lit.  My heart already went out to them, considering Eva, but I have developed a better understanding and passion now.

Reading “The Boys Next Door” again tonight, I had a different understanding and different thoughts as I was reading as I did before.  It seems that AFI and the situation in “The Boys Next Door,” with four mentally handicapped people living together in an apartment with a supervisor who checks up on them regularly, are very similar.  Both of these situations present an atmosphere that encourages and teaches independence.  That way, the mentally handicapped can learn to go throughout normal daily activities on their own.

This experience has been a good one, thus far, and has really touched my heart.  Though they may be impaired in the mind, the mentally handicapped can challenge you to think harder and more creative than you ever have before.

Mental Disabilities: A Blessing

Steven M. Fettke’s article on mental disabilities in the light of Christian faith was very insightful.  It allowed me to view mental disabilities in a new and more appropriate way with more respect for those who are affected, both the mentally handicapped and their families and friends.  Fettke presents mental disabilities as a gift of God.  God has a reason and a plan for why those who are mentally handicapped are the way that they are.  Even still, mentally handicapped people are created in the image and likeness of God.

As I was reading the story and as we have been talking about mentally handicapped people in class, I couldn’t help but be reminded of whom I consider my little sister, Eva.  Eva is seven years old and has Down syndrome.  She is not biologically my sister, but my mom has been babysitting her for quite some time now and my brothers and I have bonded with Eva.  I had never really had a personal experience with mentally handicapped people and I honestly admit my view on them has changed since I have been spending time with Eva.  She has emotions, she responds to things by presenting her own opinion, she knows what she does and does not want to do.  She laughs, she cries, and she loves.  I have come to a realization that Eva is perfectly there and not absent-minded as many people assume that’s just the way mentally handicapped people are.

Professor Fettke was right.  In his article he said, “In our own experience of our son and his condition, my wife and I have often remarked about his potential healing as something we might actually regret.”  Those words repeatedly rang in my ears.  He went on to say that he doesn’t mean that their faith is too little that he can’t be healed, but that their son will not be the same person that he and his wife have come to know and love over the past 23 years.  I know and love Eva just the way she is.  If she was to be healed, our time together during babysitting hours wouldn’t be the same.  That bond, that connection that we have now will be diminished.  And this is not to say that a new bond cannot be established, but there is nothing wrong with the one that we have now.  I view Eva as a gift.  She has blessed my life, changed the way I think, changed the way I feel, and changed the way I view God’s creation, just as Professor Fettke talked about.  Fettke references Hauerwas’ modernity view.  This view is that people with mental disabilities are better to be nonexistent.  Eva is not somebody who is better to be nonexistent by any means!  She is a beautiful creation who never fails to bless those around her.

The church has a responsibility to God’s creation:  those who are mentally able and those who are mentally handicapped.  Are we not responsible for ministering to the needs of the world?  Mentally handicapped people live on the earth just as well as those who are mentally able.  The church needs to be Christ’s hands extended to the world, reaching every kind of people.

From left to right:  Me, Emily (Eva's baby sister), Taylor, Eva, and Zachary

In response to Act II of "The Boys Next Door"

The ending of “The Boys Next Door” was a little bit different than I predicted.  I predicted that Jack would be changed, and he was, but not quite in the way that I thought he would be.  He was changed in that he came to the conclusion that he needed to move on, to get another job.  I thought that he would in some way be changed internally in an obvious way, such as realizing a deeper passion for mentally handicapped people, specifically Arnold, Lucien, Barry, and Norman.  Saying this, however, I was surprisingly pleased with the ending.  I thought that Jack and Arnold at the train station exchanging good friendship was a good way to end it.  I felt throughout the story that Jack had a closer, more personal relationship with Arnold than with the other roommates.

I was surprised to see how Barry reacted to his father when he visited.  I felt when Barry was curled up on the couch in the fetal position after his dad had slapped him,  that childhood memories were taking place all over again—sore childhood memories.  I wasn’t pleased to see that the father-son relationship stayed the same after so many years.

Jack made a statement that I thought was very key to the story.  He said, “You see, the problem is that they never change.  I change, my life changes, my crises change.  But they stay the same.”  Poor Lucien doesn’t have much hope.  Will he change?  Can his mind grow?  Will he progressively learn to comprehend more complex thoughts and ideas as his life progresses?  He is 50 years old, yet still contains the mind of 3-year-old.  It doesn’t seem that he will change.

Norman contains the mind of a young child as well, but he has found love, so he thinks.  I think that it’s good that he is interested in Sheila.  It will help him learn things about life, such as relationships.  With a supervisor, his relationship with Sheila can help him grow as a person.

Arnold is very much stuck in his ways, but he does have hope.  I believe that everyone has hope, even Lucien.  Though it is a play, situations and people such as the ones in the play do exist and God is very much capable of transforming minds and producing unexpected miracles in difficult situations.

In response to "The Boys Next Door"

Act 1 of the play “The Boys Next Door,” by Tom Griffin, was interesting and very different to me.  I have never read or seen a story with quite this situation.  Basically, four mentally handicapped men are living together in an apartment and have a supervisor named Jack.  The play offers a story for each main character, helping the reader understand better what is going on.

Arnold is one of the men living the apartment.  He is marginal.  The little things about people aggravate him and get to him.  I believe that he, along with Barry, have less severe cases than Norman and Lucien, who are retarded.  Arnold is easily persuaded (as indicated at the beginning of the story when he goes to the grocery store) and can also trick people quite easily.

Barry thinks he is a pro golfer.  He is a grade A schizophrenic.  His case seems mild though by the way he acts.  I believe that there is promise for Barry and that he can one day lead a fairly normal life.

Norman is mentally retarded.  He has a problem with eating too much doughnuts and loves his key chain.  When things get out of order or when something makes him nervous, he panics frantically.  He works at a doughnut shop, which will be good for him to live as normal of a life as possible, but I believe that Norman would need to be under supervision at all times.

Lucien is also mentally retarded.  I believe he has the worst case of the four men.  His speech is poor and he doesn’t think straight.  He also gets easily distracted.  I do not believe that Lucien will ever be capable of living on his own, unfortunately, but he does have a good heart.

To me, these four men living together under supervision is a good thing.  It will help them grow and develop maturity.  I believe that it will also help them cope with their mental diseases.  I believe that in the second act (mainly at the end),  that I will see that each of these four men have matured and have learned.  I also believe that Jack will learn some lessons about life having supervised these four men.