To me, the drive felt like forever even though it was only 35 miles from Petoskey to Mackinaw City. As 10-year-old me sat in the back seat of my mom’s car, I remember repeatedly asking the question most parents dread to hear, “are we almost there?” Every time I asked she would shake her head in bemused frustration and respond, “you’ll know when we get there”. At the time, I was not sure what I was most excited for: the ride on the ferry, the big horses, the historical fort, the inevitable delicious ice cream; it all sounded whimsically amazing and I could not be more excited to arrive on Mackinac Island. When we finally did arrive to the port where we would board the ferry, my sister, my grandmother, my mom and I stepped out of the car into the windy May air. Immediately my mother’s eyes lit up, as well as my grandmother’s. My little 5-year old sister and I stood there, slightly confused until we finally noticed a giant man approach our family. He towered over everyone at an unimaginable 6’4”. His dark brown hair was cut short, almost like a buzz cut but not quite. I did not know who this man was. Next to him stood a much shorter Asian woman and she was beautiful. I still did not understand yet who they were. Perhaps moments later my mother finally whispered to me that he was my Uncle Eddy, her brother. My face lit up as I remembered stories my mom had told me of her childhood spent with her sometimes annoying big brother. I ran over and gave this strange man a big hug. The Asian woman, it happened, was his wife. I was a little shy around the both of them as I hadn’t really ever seen them in person before that I remembered. I remember my uncle introducing his wife, Jullianne, to my grandmother. She smiled very big as she rea... ... middle of paper ... ... again at any given time. Living in a time of war is not easy for anyone, and the expansive nature of the current war can make it even harder. Though many people in America may not feel as if they have been effected by the ongoing war, it is likely that everyone has in some way, shape or form. One group most effected are those who have loved ones serving in the military. People with family members that are serving have to face significant hardship and challenges as they cope with a person they care about being in danger. Being away means that family members often don’t have as deep of emotional relationships and while technology can sometimes make that easier, it can also be more frustrating. I don’t know where my uncle is now, and millions of others have the same issue. War truly is hell, for the people fighting and the families back at home. It effects everyone.
Today in America, people see the war zones of Syria, Iraq and Turkey with all the families torn apart and do not think twice about it but for those in the war zones the struggle to keep a family together is hard. “You don’t involve any more Meekers in this terrible war,” (Collier and Collier 149). Mrs. Meeker has already lost half of her
Growing up I always had to deal with the fact that my father was involved in the military. My father was deployed twice: once in Germany, and later to Kuwait. I was only four years old when he first traveled and almost every day I asked where dad was. The second time I was fourteen, and I was devastated that my best friend wasn’t going to be home for a year. Both times he left, it was awful for my mom, my brother, and me because he was the one person that kept us together as a family and once he was gone we were just broken. A military family goes through more than a regular family does in a year. Those veterans have families, how do people think they feel. Children who live in a military family have a higher risk of depression, anxiety, and other mental issues. Although many people believe that we should send our soldiers overseas to keep our country safe, there is no reason why our
I miss you very much. Since the last I wrote to you, it was awful. I hate it here. The trench we are currently in is old and worse than the one we were placed in before. The aroma here is very unpleasant. At times I feel as if I will become deafened by the constant sound of shells, being fired back and forth. It's always dark here, the sky is always filled with big black clouds. I miss it back home where the sky was blue and the clouds were white. Last time we left the trenches we marched 15 miles with not a lot of water, no food and the weather was very bad.Things are hard to describe but even harder to deal with. I haven't experienced anything as awful as this before. Life at home was so peaceful before this whole tragedy happened. We barely
In her adolescent years, Tan was around many influences from Chinese and American cultures. She wrote many pieces about “trying to assimilate into the mainstream, American world as a child, often at the expense of her Chinese heritage” (University of Minnesota). When Tan was entering young adulthood, her father and brother became ill, and eventually both died of brain tumors. It was during this difficult time that she learned of her mother’s secretive marriage to a different man in China and that she had three half-sisters from that marriage. “a situation not unlike June’s in The Joy Luck Club, her first novel” (University Of Minnesota). Tan’s mother then made the decision to relocate her living children to Switzerland, it was there that Amy finished her schooling and received her high school diploma, “but by this time mother and daughter were in constant conflict. Mother and daughter did not speak for six months after Amy Tan left the Baptist colleg...
Stephen Crane’s story “The Open Boat” concerns four people who are trying to reach land after surviving a shipwreck off of the Florida coast. During the course of the story, they face dangers that are real physical threats, but they also have to deal with trying to make sense of their situation. The characters in this story cope with their struggles in two ways: individually, they each imagine that Nature, or Fate, or God, is behind their experiences, which allows them to blame some outside force for their struggle, and together, they form a bond of friendship that helps them keep their spirits up. .
The Vietnam War tore some families apart (Olson). Some families were getting divorced. Being gone for so long can be hard on families and soldiers. The War lasted up to at least 15 years with United States involved. Loved ones were gone and not being able to take care of their families and loved ones. The deployment of loved ones was hard to comp with some families (Logan). Children were sad to see their dad have to leave and not knowing if he will come back. During the war many terrifying images were being showed (Friedman). The images made families and loved ones worried and scared if their loved ones had died (Friedman). The families with soldiers that had lived had to deal with their loved ones having Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (Logan). Not only do the families have emotions during the war so do the soldiers. Soldiers who had lived were feeling guilt over them living and their friends dying (Friedman). Soldiers were wishing it was them that had died and not one of their brothers. Some soldiers had committed suicide years after war had ended because of the guilt they had felt for living. (Fallstrom). The soldiers didn’t only have emotions after war they had some during war. A war veteran had said “every time I pull the trigger, I was killing a little bit inside me. “ (Friedel).Even knows he wasn’t physically killing a little bit of himself, mentally he was.
At eight years old, I realized the danger my dad was facing shortly after he was first deployed. I was terrified for my father, crying myself to sleep for months and only slept on his side of the bed the entire deployment. Although, I’m older and have experienced three deployments with my family, the subject of deployment is still very sensitive. Deployment is a vulnerable period in the family and the soldier, there were times where I knew nothing of my father, and we’d constantly checked the lists of soldiers killed in
Soldier’s on the battlefield or just away from home all deal with homesickness, they are taken away from their families, sent to a place with a culture they know little about, and try to learn a language they have never heard before. Soldiers suffer from homesickness a lot harder than
I always feared when my husband was deployed, this men in uniform possibly walking into my work or to my home, carrying that little folder under their arm. No one wants to think about losing their husband or wife or anyone close for that matter. Unfortunately, when it comes to being married to the military it seems as if the unknown is placed in our eyesight more frequently. It's a hard sight for any person to see a service member killed in action or from complications of war, but it’s even harder when you know your spouse is in a combat zone or is suffering from the after effects of combat. It can be downright stressful, both for spouses and for children. After a certain point, I could no longer watch the news. My friends and family would ask if I had seen what is going on now with Afghanistan, and I kindly had to rely many times, that I cannot watch the news anymore, that if I needed to know anything important I would find out through other means.
Temporarily Closed, that’s all I needed to hear from my mom to learn that we weren't going to Mackinac Island. The Arnold Ferry Service, our usual ferry line to get to the island, were closed after the owner backed out on the company while taking the money he got for himself by making unnecessary budget and worker cuts. There was another ferry line that my family had NEVER taken the 17 years going to the island, so we decided to give it a shot. I was bummed but the worst of my problems were yet to come.
While father was trying to care for us, he got sick. Father died. I have never been so depressed. I lost mother and father. So, Loretta and Drago and Me, try to make it to the deck of the ship. We saw the most beautiful thing in our whole lives. It was the statue of liberty. I have never been happier to see such a sight in such a long time. I know the trip was grueling and sad but it needed to happen. So when the ship pulled onto shore they let down a gangplank and several men wearing all white came onto the ship and gave out papers to answer with the some questions on them. I was confused with the questions, but I was able to fill it out pretty well.
I awoke at 4:00 A.M. on the dot, that day; excitement ran through my body like electricity, twelve hours in a car had never sounded so appealing. South Carolina was the destination of the long ride, to be more specific Myrtle Beach, with its sandy beaches and its pleasant salty ocean aroma. I had never seen the ocean before, nor had I met my step father’s sister, Mandi, and her family, but I knew in my gut the torture from spending time with people I didn’t know would be worth feelings the sand between my toes and the ocean breeze on my face. Yes, this was going to be a great week.
I recall in vivid detail the scenery around us as we embarked on our perilous journey down the Nantahala. We arrived at the drop-off point in the early afternoon the next day. The sweet smell of fresh pine trees was floating in the air and a soft midsummer breeze was brushing against our faces. After receiving directions and safety precautions from our rafting instructor, we geared up, boarded our raft, and set out for our voyage down the treacherous Nantahala. Sharing the experience with me were my mother, aunt, uncle, and cousin; along with out rafting guide. We were all ready for a fun and safe ride down the Nantahala.
I was on the other side of this two years before. I was in the crowd waiting to see my older brother on his graduation day. I didn’t even think about what he had gone through for those two months away from his friends and family, until I went through it all myself. Now I’m aware. Now I know what he was feeling the day he stood there, completely still, waiting for us to come down to the crowd of soldiers and find him spec...
The loud grumbling noise from the ferry boat reminded me of a car’s engine complaining of old age. Most people around us took no notice of it and went about relaxing and enjoying their time. The soft rocking of the boat made my stomach squeaky and my head dizzy. I felt a mixture of excitement and apprehension since that was our first trip as a married couple to an unfamiliar island. As I looked outside the window, I saw the blue ocean glistening in the sunshine like tiny crystals. I looked up to the sky and saw no trace of a cloud. “This would be a beautiful day”, I thought to myself. Suddenly, a deep friendly voice overhead announced we were about to reach our destination.