Speech Competition

Gandhi screwed us. Brian was in the finals for a speech competition which he did not win due to horrendous judging. Let's start at the beginning, though. The competition was for the best speech written about someone who touched many lives. The top 15 orators in his middle school all performed for a panel of judges today, and the top three were to receive awards. Now, since two English teachers from his school organized the competition, they'd of course choose credible judges. Wrong! I think we had a rent-a-cop, a crossing guard, and an "active" community member. I mean, can't we bring in a librarian or a professor; I'll take a Barnes and Noble employee over the ragtag group they presumably dragged in off the streets 15 minutes before the competition. Before the first word was spoken, this event had lost its creditability.

Then, we move on to the speeches. Brian should have placed merely on the fact that he had one of the three speeches that responded to the prompt! Most of the students resorted to biographical information unrelated to the topic. One girl did her speech on Walt Disney and listed her favorite rides at Disneyland! Another girl's whole speech focused on Bill Gates creation of the Internet! Can we please have a little fact-checking before we advance these students to the finals!? I can't imagine the speeches that didn't make it this far.

Anyway, I thought 4 students did a very good job, and two of them actually placed. But, I would not be posting this entry if there had not been a tremendous injustice: the second place winner had a terrible speech! It sounded like she copied the first few paragraphs from Wikipedia on Gandhi, sprinkled a foreign language greeting, and presto, a second-place speech!

Brian, on the other hand, had an amazing speech and could have won first place, but definitely should have placed. I mean, he had a lot of help from quite a talented writer (wink, wink).

Check out the speech we came up with below.






He never won any major awards nor can you read about him in a textbook, and he certainly is not the first Black president of the United States, but my brother, Kevin, touched many lives, and certainly mine.

He had a remarkable career in the Air Force and helped many people by his service.. I have heard of many of his heroic actions while serving in the Air Force in Iraq as well as where he was stationed in Anchorage, Alaska. One, for instance, was when he was working a guard patrol on the base. He noticed a suspicious car pulling up and decided to search it. During the search he found a young girl stuffed in the trunk. He noticed she had several injuries and rushed her to the hospital immediately. The doctors said his quick actions ended up saving her l ife. I could stand here and list instance after instance, but I am kind of on a tight schedule up here.

Along with his career in the Air Force, it is his personal life that has truly affected others. My brother was a sports fanatic, loving hockey the most. He loved playing on the same hockey team with my brother, Andrew. They were always the best hockey players in the league. Come to think of it, they were two of the best baseball players in the league, too. Sometimes I wonder if they are actually my brothers because I am, well, I just get a participation trophy every year. Since I am such a sports fan, I wish I had the natural ability that my brother Kevin did.

In addition to playing, he also had the opportunity to coach a youth hockey team. He was very influential in their success. They started out the season similar to ‘The Bad News Bears’ and by the end of the season, they became the team to beat. Kevin loved coaching and assisting youth players, and the kids loved him.

Another reason I admire my brother is always because he lived life to the fullest and influenced it on everybody around him. If there was ever anyone who was willing to do anything at anytime, it was him. From hunting to fishing, to traveling and sporting events. He even saw the Anaheim Ducks win the Stanley Cup…live! And if you knew Kevin, then you knew this guy liked to have a good time. He was always in the middle of the action. Though my parents wouldn’t necessarily list this as one of his admirable qualities, I always enjoyed having my brother spice up the party as well.

Even though my brother was twelve years older than me, he always spent quality time with me. His spare time was always spent with friends and family. I can’t even remember the amount of video games we played or how many episodes of the Simpsons we enjoyed together. What I can remember, though, is how we still kept in touch even after he moved away. We would have phone conversations about hockey, baseball, school, and other random things that came to mind. He always mad e time to joke around, and not only with me, but everyone.

But, what sticks out the most, is the amount of fight and courage he showed. A few years ago, he was diagnosed with cancer and had to endure hardships I can’t even imagine. It was a struggle every day. But, he always tried to stay positive and believed he could beat it. I wish I could stand here and tell you he did. But, my other brother, Andrew, once told me that “sharing tales of those we lost is how we keep from really losing them.”

Netflix

To appease our impatient readership, we will be posting two entries today. You know, I was going to write about my substitute teaching job, but I really have no interest in doing so. I want writing to be fun again, and not feel like a chore. Hence, I'm only going to write about subjects that interest me, as mundane as they might be.

Ally and I subscribe to Netflix and can receive up to three DVDs at a time. We make sure to always have one documentary, one movie, and one television show. We're about to watch Ralph Nadar: An Unreasonable Man, The Reader, and the last season of the Sopranos. I think we should also institute a rating system, so our faithful readers can see what we're watching and how we liked a particular film. Also, it's a nice little journal of our personal filmography. Let's use a five-star system, with three indicating average. Below are a few of our most recent views.

Frost/Nixon ****
Religulous ***
Sopranos ****
The Wrestler ****
Rachel Gettting Married **

Wow, we've had good luck as of late. Though, as you can see, we're touring the 2008 Oscar circut. Wait until we start watching some of the tradional terrible movies that come out at the beginning of a year. I haven't felt the urge to see a movie in about 5 months!

My Fantasy Life

Wow, I am a college graduate. Even though I have received my nursing pin, walked across stage and have had numerous celebrations, it still feels surreal. And as I begin my strenuous review for the NCLEX, I don't feel school has ended, but it has. Looking back now, it feels as if nursing school flew by. But as I recall the emotions and stress I felt throughout my four years of clinical hours, nursing care plans, medication cards, endless number of papers, projects and presentations, it seemed to last forever. Even just a few months ago, graduation still felt like a small speck on my horizon. Yet here I am, a college graduate.

There are moments in life that feel more fantasy than actually part of my real life. Moments that take your breath away and make you feel that you are living in a perfect, harmonious world. This moment is just one of a few moments this year that will take place in my "fantasy life." I anxiously look forward to the others...

Our First Post!

I'm officially back to the world of blogging. Some of you may remember Catcher in the Rye, Part 2, cataloging my college days. I hope this blog generates as much attention and critical acclaim as my previous work. I've even added a writer to my staff: Ally. Some of you may have heard of her. We plan to post at least one entry per week. So stay tuned for exciting posts about our life and interesting commentary on any and everything!

Good night and good luck.