Amber Burg's Blog

This article was found in the New York Time Magazine. It’s about a man’s technique to help infants survive in the case of a drowning. He taught infants how to swim with his methods.

Lead 1:

Big brown eyes opened wide with shock as the cool water hits her five-month-old body. Her mother stood nearby panicked and nervous. Her little baby was dropped in the water with the hope that this swim lesson might save her life someday.

Lead 2:

Everyday two children younger than 14 die of drowning. Some parents are taking a precaution by teaching their infants how to survive and self rescue themselves when in danger in water. Almost 300,000 infants have been taught to self rescue themselves in water by holding their breathe and flipping on their backs to float until help can find them.

Lead 3:

Not many mother’s would condone dropping their infant child in water. Most would have a shocked look slapped on their face if a person recommended that they drop their infant into water. However, almost 300,000 infants have been dropped into the water with the intentions of saving their lives by teaching them self rescue swim.

Lead 4:

A young man with a dream to save infants from drowning. At just the young age of 18, Harvey Barnett, had the determination to create a method to teach babies how to survive if their life becomes endangered in water.

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The song story I found was ‘I Hung My Head’ by Johnny Cash. It tells the story of a man that pretends to shoot a man on a horse but the gun ends up firing. The man on the horse dies. The song continues on with the story of how the man felt guilty and what he did. It goes to court and talks about how guilty he felt. How he wished he was dead because he widowed a wife and orphaned the man’s children.

Link

Not many people expect to see a person sitting in their doorway writing and watching them. They expect even less for their to be a 12 pack of Coke sitting by the doorway with a sign decorated with multicolored lettering creating the phrase, “Free to good home, ask me about it,” taped to the red box.

The hallway was in a v shape with this particular door right in the middle. Traffic was always flowing down this hall since it was the only one that connected to the 2nd floor lounge and the stairwell. It was a little before 9 P.M. when I started chilling in the doorway with my Coke and free to good home sign. People were either just getting in for the night or just getting ready to leave so their were frequent confused faces pointed my way.

The first girl who wandered by was a slight little blonde girl with a white laundry basket. She came from the right heading towards the stairwell. She didn’t seem too concerned with the fact there was a 12 pack chilling in the hallway. I stopped her. “Would you like a Coke?” I asked her. “I don’t drink pop, but I can find someone that does if you want?” She didn’t seem to really question it at all. Just thought I needed to get rid of Coke and was trying to help.

The next person to come by was an RA, which was hilarious in my opinion. She came from the left with a red headed guy. She looked at me confused and then at the pop and then back at me. It was like she couldn’t decide which to be more confused with, me sitting in the doorway or the 12 pack of Coke in the hall. Her walk was slow as if unsure what was going on. Her hands clucked the straps of her gray and black backpack that bulged out from behind her with books. Her mouth was slightly opened as if she couldn’t think of a word to explain this or a question to ask. “Would you like a Coke?” Her face framed with her blonde hair got a confused look but she still said “Oh sure!” in her bubbly personality that contradicting her facial expression. She grabbed a coke from the box. She stood there watching me scribbling notes down in my notebook. She asked the fellow that she came in with if he wanted a Coke. He just stood their silently and shook his head no. It was like he was silently judging the scene taking place in front of him. “Oh… its a study, right?” The blonde still standing there but a smile coming a crossed her face that could of been mixed with realization of what was going on, happiness because she has a Coke in her hand, or maybe even a slight bit embarrassed because I was documenting her reaction. She then proceeded to reenact the whole thing which was funnier to watch the second time around with her knowing what I was doing. They soon left and I could hear the faint click of the pop tab being opened from a few doors down.

Following the last RA was another. She wore a gray t-shirt and dark purple shorts. She was all smiles and jolliness rolled into one very tall lengthy girl. She just laughed and smiled when she saw me and the Coke box. “What are you doing?” She said with some confusion but more entertainment showed on her face than confusion. Her hands went straight her hips like a mother who thought her kid was doing something they weren’t suppose to but they thought it was still funny. She turned down my Coke offer but her grin never shrunk in size. She laughed and walked away leaving me with the parting words of “have fun!”

A popular answer with most people that I asked if they wanted a Coke was I don’t drink pop or I don’t like carbonation. Pop drinking seems to be a surprising thing of the past in this generation. They have either not liked the taste of pop or just think it’s not healthy for them to be drinking. This led to many rejections, which is hard to not take to heart sometimes. Especially when the rejections start piling up one after another. Not many people gave it a second thought. It was usually just a short and quick no.

The next person to walk by my colorful Coke sign was a medium sized thin guy. This one was my all-time favorite of responses. “Would you like a coke?” He stood their confused and concerned. “Why?” he replied. “Because I have Coke.” At this point I’m laughing on the inside because his face is just full of concern. “I don’t want to take your guys Coke, thats highway robbery.” He was really awkward and skeptical. He shifted from one foot to the next.  “Don’t you guys want the Coke?” he asked again. Still confused. he was caught between really wanting a Coke but not wanting to take one from us. He eventually did take a Coke from the box but he was really concerned with taking one because he didn’t want to steal one from us.

The last group that walked by was a group of four guys. They were loud and all of various shapes and heights. They looked at the sign but they didn’t even blink an eye at it and kept going.

I picked an article from the Omaha World Herald about the Glam Squad who goes into cancer units to cheer people up. The ladies go in at certain times and offer hand massages and manicures to the patients in the unit.  Many different stories could be written about this. For instance, their could be a story done to focus just on Sami’s experience with cancer, one from a doctor’s perspective on what helps patients in this unit feel better or gives them strength, one could be done from a patients perspective on what makes them brighten up during the day or how getting a little makeover makes them feel, a story with Sami and a doctor on what is allowed to be used for lotions and makeup on cancer patients, and one from a families’ perspective on how this effects their family member and the difference they can see.

I would pick to do an article about Sami and how she lived her life fighting cancer. It would be interesting to hear about her struggle and how she overcame it. I feel like that level that that interview would get into would be emotional, interesting, and make a great story that would inspire others of her struggle and determination.

One might say we need stories as a way of passing on tradition and history from generation to generation. Others that get stories for news related purposes would say to stay connected with society and what is happening in the world around them. Then their might be some others that would say for entertainment purposes. I for one think that it is all of those reasons. We need stories because if they were to cease to exist then a part of our society would lose an important perspective of the world surrounding them and the history of it.

A story is a form of telling something that has happened or is happening. It can be from one person’s perspective or multiple. Their are many different ways to tell a story. It all depends on the perspective, details, narrative, and form of the story as to what shape and kind it’s going to become.They’ve advanced from the telling of the stories by word of mouth to the writing down of stories in newspapers, on the internet, and on paper. They keep our history, traditions, tragedies, and life’s greatest moment all alive and heard of. It spreads the knowledge of the news and events, keeping people informed and aware. If they didn’t exist we would never be aware of problems that need attention, what’s happening and where, or be able to expand our knowledge of ideas and information.

Stories are going to be around for a long time. They’ll change and adapt but they’ll still be stories.

This article caught my attention with the photograph. It looked interesting and i was curious to see how much the price of stitches were at a hospital.

The stories in the intro that introduce the two people in need of stitches made me pay more attention because it tells you about them, what they were in town for, how they got hurt, and a little about their personality. It makes the story more relatable and person I think. It was interesting to read about all the different cases with prices at the end. I also like how it compares it with other countries medical bills but it would of been nice to see an actual number for different countries instead of just saying that all developing countries charge less than 4 times as us. I like how it includes why they are so high and the different facts that play into the high prices. The quotes from doctors saying why they needed all this money for the hospital was an interesting part to be included. The article does cover the who, why, what, and where. The charts and pictures throughout the article were interesting to look at and provided good information.

I want to know why the mark up on the items is so high when they can get them for a low cost. Why is one hospital higher than another when they offer the same care? Why does the price differ so much between states and country areas? How and why are the hospitals able to give discounts sometimes instead of just offering it at that price in the first place?

Read it here.

A man walked through the town of Fontanelle, Iowa on a mission, but then he would have to stop because he got lost. He could not remember where he was or what he was suppose to be doing. He walked into the nearest Casey’s General Store seeking to find out where he was at or how to get home.

His youngest daughter, Kaylene Whittlesey, had to explain to him information he couldn’t recall or just forgot about. “I remember having to talk with him about his checking account and how one worked and that you could only write checks for the amount of money in your account.” His life changed as his memories beginning to fade from him as he was diagnosed with Dementia.

Edgar Lawrence Frank was known to many as a man of many smiles, a man willing to talk to anyone, and a man who was willing to help. Towards the end of his life he changed. He was not able to help others as much and had to focus on himself. He was diagnosed with Dementia. He faded from reality and took his memories with him. Leaving the people around him to watch their beloved father, grandfather, brother, and friend disappear.

He was born February 7, 1912 to Jacob George and Florence Bakerink Frank in Adair County, Iowa. His life was a full one. He graduated high school from Fontanelle High School with the class of 1932. From there he started his years as a farmer. He was married to his first wife, Bertha Sears, at the end of summer in 1933. They had one child, Louise before his wife passed away. His second marriage to Ruth Edwards led to four more children, Karen, David, Dennie, and Kaylene.

Even during his farming years, Edgar worked multiple jobs. He was a janitor at a nursing home and a school and he ran heavy construction equipment. He also fought in World War II in the Navy. His obituary states, “Even after, when most people would have retired, Edgar kept active by providing rides to people for doctors appointments, took needed medical information from the nursing home to the hospital so the proper tests could be done and took a great deal of pride in making lawn ornaments.”

Edgar lived his life well up until the moment he begin to lose his memories but he still wore his friendly smile on his face. Even though he could not always remember what he was doing, where he was, or who people were.

Edgar’s memories started to leave him and become unreachable in 1993.  He was diagnosed with Dementia, which according to the Alzheimer’s Association is a general term used to describe a fall in mental ability that is serious enough to affect daily life. The most common type of Dementia is Alzheimer’s. The symptoms include memory loss, impaired communication, troubles with visual perception, not able to focus or use reasoning skills. Edgar showed symptoms of memory loss and confusion. He had trouble with remembering the money in his checking account and how to do daily tasks.

Granddaughter of Edgar, Cindy Burg, would visit him in the nursing home. “We would go visit him and he would set and have conversations with people he was in the war with or he had worked with many years ago” says Cindy. He did not even know they were there most of the time visiting him or who they were.

However, in 1993 when Edgar had most of the signs of Alzheimer’s he couldn’t be diagnosed with it until after his death. Back then, doctors had no way to test if it was Alzheimer’s or not. The test would be performed after death on the brain of the deceased to determine the final cause. Edgar did in fact have Alzheimer’s but it was not determined until after he was gone. Him having Alzheimer’s meant that in his brain there were high amounts of proteins outside and inside brain cells. These high amounts of protein make it hard for communication to happen between brain cells which led to the symptoms that Edgar had. According to the Alzheimer’s Association,”Alzheimer’s accounts for 60 to 80 percent of Dementia cases.” Unlike the time when Edgar was going through this, doctors today diagnose Alzheimer’s based on family history, daily functions, lab test results and behavioral changes.

Some patients that are diagnosed with Dementia or Alzheimer’s may either get to the point where they need around the clock care or their family doesn’t have the ability to take care of them any longer and need to go into a home. Edgar voluntarily put himself in a home.

His favorite part of being in a home according to his youngest daughter, Kaylene, was being able to see and visit all the people there and the people that worked there. When he did get worse with memories in the later years the home required him to wear an ankle bracelet to prevent him from wondering off. A few times before the bracelet was in place, he would wonder off and get lost out of the home.

Edgar had Dementia for six years until his death when he was final diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. “It was very hard to see him basically disappear from you. It got to the point he did not even know who you were” Kaylene says.

Edgar Lawrence Frank was put in his final resting spot at the age of 86 on Monday, January 11, 1999. His children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, his sisters, in-laws, nieces, nephews, community members and friends were at a loss that day burring a well loved, smiley man. He received full Military Graveside Rites  by the Fontanelle American Legion Carlson Post No. 247.

A man with many titles: janitor, construction worker, father, husband, grandfather, and friend. The same man who would go into town on an errand or just passing through. He would have to stop because he got lost. He could not remember where he was or what he was suppose to be doing. He walked into the nearest Casey’s General Store seeking to find out where he was at or how to get home. His daughter having to explain to him how his checking account works. “I remember having to talk with him about his checking account and how one worked and that you could only write checks for the amount of money in your account.” His memories beginning to fade from him.

I was curious of this article because of the picture and what the title suggested they were doing with robots. It just caught my attention.

The lead made me curious as to what could actually go wrong? I don’t exactly know what they are talking about but it makes me curious. I like all the different quotes from scientists and parts of the presentations they gave there at the conference. It gave the who was talking at the conference and the what they were talking about.

It is slow getting to the point, it gives a lot of non-important leading into what the article is about. I feel like it goes off on military information which doesn’t seem on topic at the begin. If it was moved towards the end to show how robots behave and may have better ethics than human soldiers or just deleted out of the article. I would of moved the paragraph about the robotics conference to the beginning so that readers know what this is about. They need more information on why this was taking place and what is going to happen with all of the use of robots. I wanted to know more of what robots are capable at this moment and what they plan on using them for in the future.

Read it here. 

This article caught my attention mostly because of the title. I’ve never really heard of any test done on reptiles before to determine their intelligence. It’s always been dolphins or apes or rats. I was curious about their findings.

They covered what specific animals they tested, what tests they used on them, how they did, and why. They had past test results and why they didn’t work which was nice to know. They also go in to the different kinds of tests for each animal and how it worked. They state how they changed the tests to fit reptile needs and how they act differently than mammals. I like how they include information from the different research and include their location of where they are working on it at. I like how they include results of the mammals that were considered smart and what they did to prove that in the opening because it was interesting.

I would like to know more about the different test and test results. Also, more in-depth information about how the brains of each animal work and learn.

Read it here.