A Modest Proposal

                                 A Modest Proposal

  People from other countries always admire Canada’s free medical treatment. Even our neighbor---- The USA does not have free medical treatment. Canadians are always proud of their good welfare provided by the government. This is also one of the main reasons my family immigrated to Canada. However, after spending almost two years in Canada, I realized that Canada’s free medical treatment is not as good as it looks.

  

  Half a year ago, I first “enjoyed” Canada’s medical treatment. It was a Saturday, and I sprained my ankle badly while playing tennis. My father and I decided to go to hospital to make sure that I did not break my bones. So we went to the ER of a hospital. We registered at the front desk, and the nurse told us to wait. So we waited patiently for almost three hours. The doctor only spent 10 minutes to check my ankle. Well, the treatment is free, but I would rather pay for the treatment instead of waiting three hours. I told my experiences to my friend who was born in Canada. He told me that it is totally normal to wait for three hours in an ER in Canada. In China, the medical treatment is not free, but patients NEVER have to wait in an ER!

After thinking hard, I figured out a method that can help you get free treatment as soon as you walk in an ER. This method requires some acting skills. The main point of this method is to act as painfully as you can. You have to infinitely exaggerate your pain in order to get attention from nurses. For example, even though you sprained your ankle slightly, you have to act like your bone is broken or your foot is no longer connected to your leg. You must not walk in the ER, you have to crawl. Scream and groan are also necessary. Once you get people’s attention, you are half way succeeded. You do not even have to register at the front desk. The only things you have to do are lying on the ground and wait for people to treat you. Please relax, the wait would not take you more than two minutes.

I really think this is a good method. It requires no money and preparation. You do not have to be very good acting. Actually, if you can scream, that will be enough. If you really worry about your acting, you can practice at home. The only thing you need is a mirror. You want professional guidance? That is easy, too. You can watch action movies to learn how to act from professional actors.

There are some things that you have to pay attention when you are acting at hospitals. If you have a backache, please do not act like your ankle is in violent pain. It sounds ridiculous, but it is possible. When you are acting, you may get too excited and forget what you are doing. If the doctor finds out that you are acting, you are in trouble. Also, do not act too exaggeratedly. If you act too much, people may think you have mental diseases. Remember that you are in a hospital, once your diagnosis says you have mental diseases, you are in big trouble.

Medical treatment is a serious problem in Canada right now. Many diseases are acute, and people die in ERs because of missing the golden hours of treatment. It’s not because they go to hospital too late, but the waiting hours in ERs are too long, which is ridiculous. The government should really do something to solve this problem. If the problem is not solved, patients may really start to act in ERs, which could cause more and more serious problems.          

To My Love----Juliet

To My love----Juliet

I cannot stop

thinking about you

You

are the most enchanting woman

I have ever ever seen

you are so beautiful

and so graceful

Your lips

are so tempting to me

I know that

I've known you for less than two days

However

I already see you as

the only love

of my life

I know that

our families are against each other

However

no matter what happens

we will not separate

I love you

I love you

A Paragraph Response to I KNOW WHY THE GAGED BIRD 
SINGS By Maya Angelou (Chapters 10-15)


  From chapter 10 to chapter 15, Maya Angelou talked about her experiences in Saint Louis. She and Bailey lived with their grandparents for half an year, and then they moved to their mother's place. Their mother was living with his boyfriend named Mr. Freeman. Eight-year-old Maya was raped by Mr. Freeman. He was found guilty but escaped jail time. He was murdered later, presumably by Maya's uncles. After the one-year experience in Saint Louis, Maya and Bailey got sent back to Stamps.

  These five chapters fit with the rising action in the plot. Maya's experiences in Saint Louis was definitely the most miserable ones in her childhood, because she got raped by her mother's boyfriend. After the rape, she was well treated in the hospital, and her mother and the family tried to make her happy by giving her toys and flowers. Also, her uncles probably killed Mr. Freeman----the man who raped Maya. However, all these "cares" were material. No one ever asked her how she feels. The toys given by her mother, or Mr. Freeman's death caused by her uncles, were more like their compensations to Maya. They knew they were responsible, and they felt guilty of themselves, so they gave Maya these material compensations to make themselves feel better.

  The overtone or mood of these five chapters serious. They are successful, because Maya was talking about her miserable experiences. It is inappropriate to make this part funny. However, it is still good to read.

A Paragraph Response to I KNOW WHY THE GAGED BIRD SINGS By Maya Angelou (Chapters 1-9)

  In Maya Angelou's I Know Why The Gaged Bird Sings, she talked about her childhood experiences. When she was three and her brother Bailey Johnson was four, they got sent to their grandmother----Mrs. Annie Henderson's home in Stamps, Arkansas by her father. Her father's name was also Bailey, who had already made a consensus with his wife----Maya and Bailey's mother, to end their marriage. Maya and Bailey lived in Stamps with their grandmother and Uncle Willie----who had been crippled as a child. Their life was simple: They went to school, went to church, and helped their grandmother to do some chores. When she was seven, their father came to the town and brought them to Saint Louis to see their mother.

  The first nine chapters I have read fit with activating circumstance and rising action in the plot. Because Maya and her family were Black Americans, she talked a lot about racial discrimination in this novel. In her description, back in time during the 1930s, black Americans were treated very unfairly. They lived in a special area in the town, which was the area for black people. They even got mock from white kids. White people did not think they deserved to be called Ms or Mr. Certainly, Maya felt unfair and sad, and she was hoping for a change. I was very surprised when I was reading the part that the grandmother was mocked by the white kids, because I did not realize before that the racial discrimination was so grave and vile. 

  The overall tone and mood of this book is pretty serious, but not dry. I think they are very successful, because racial discrimination is a serious topic, but the stories and the realistic emotions make it fun to read. It has the power to make readers keep reading and reading. You can feel the characters' emotions and feelings when you are reading, and you laugh when the characters laugh, you cry when the characters cry. The word "momma" stuck out to me. "Momma" is how Maya and her brother call their grandmother. Their grandma played the role of mother, and by using this word, I can feel how sad Maya felt when they left Stamps to Saint Louis to see their real mother.  

A journal response to Harper Lee's To Kill a Mocking Bird told from Jem's perspective


Dear Journal:

Time goes so fast and it's almost time for school to start again. The summer vocation has been great. It was so fun to had Dill to hang out, and he was a really cool friend. He made the summer much more fun than before in this old boring town. Both me and Scout appreciated for that. We did a lot of things together this summer. We built the tree house and told each other stories in there. The most exciting thing was we actually got into the Radley Place. I touched the house and ran away as soon as possible, left Dill and Scout behind me.  I was so scared at that time, and I tried not to show that in front of Dill and Scout, but I think they knew it. It was a great adventure even though we were scared. It was so miserable when Dill left us to return to Meridian a few days ago.

Scout is going to have her first day of school tomorrow. I know she is not going to like it. I already told her to keep distance from me and hang out with the first grades. I really do not want her to bother me at school, because it is going to be embarrassing in front of my friends. I am going to take her to school tomorrow, because Atticus does not have time for that. It is a good thing, because I get paid by doing that for him.

Maple Trees near the Old Barn

TO MISS HANCOCK

  (a poetic response to"The Metaphor" by Budge Wilson)

In my life

I have never thought 

to travel back in time

because 

I always believe 

tomorrow will be better

However

now

 the first time of my life

I am not sure

I am not sure if tomorrow will be better

I am not sure if I will meet a teacher 

as great as you

Ms. Hancock

I wish

I was always there for you

but I was not

I wish

I could go back to grade 7

the happiest year of my life

but I could not

I wish

you did not slip under the school bus

but you did

I wish...

I miss you

Miss. Hancock

I am really really 

sorry