My Terrible Bowling Trip

We drove through the many neighborhoods and the large streets that I knew around Memphis heading for I-78 towards Mississippi. This was not the first bowling trip I had been. Actually, there were many before this, so I was used to the long boring drives we were forced to go through. I started getting motion sickness, so I had to take some medicine to help stop the nausea. The medicine also made me drowsy, so it was tough for me to stay awake. Everything became a blur after about 30 minutes as I struggled to keep my eyes open. It was as if I could hear, but not see what I was listening to outside and inside the car. After about ten minutes of trying to fight the power of sleep, I gave up and let it take over my body. I woke up to a horrible cow manure smell, and looked outside the window to see a sign that said Mississippi, Welcome Home. I knew then why it smelled so disgusting, because of all the cows and farms that started showing up on the side of the road as we passed into Mississippi. I quickly turned the air conditioner from outside air to inside air in order to block out the terrible odor. I could feel the cold air attacking my defenseless skin until I was forced to turn the knob to create a warmer climate in the car. Everything started passing by so fast because I would fall in and out of consciousness until we arrived in Foley, Alabama, about one hour and 45 minutes from Ft. Walton Beach, Florida. We decided to stop at a McDonalds to get a quick bite to eat. Somehow we could not find a McDonalds anywhere in Foley, so we stopped at place I had never eaten at, Whataburger. After we finished eating, we hopped back in the car and were on our way. We arrived in Ft. Walton Beach at 11:00 p.m. and we checked into a hotel nearby the bowling alley. Then we started unpacking all our belongings from our car, starting with the all the stuff in the backseat. We took our clothes into our room, then our food and drinks, then all our expensive belongings such as cell phones and the Garmin. I opened the trunk to get my bowling balls out in order to keep them in a controlled climate in the hotel room. When I opened the trunk I gasped at the sight of the emptiness.

The Host with the Most

The man stomped back up to the host stand after a mere five minutes of him being sat. He asked us if he could speak with the manager, so we nicely stepped away to fetch our manager from the kitchen. She swiftly walked up to the host stand and with a friendly voice asked the man what she could do for him. Without any hesitation at all the man started screaming at our manager, making odd accusations about us not caring about our guests. She tried to calm him and get him away from the host stand so all our remaining waiting guests did not have to hear this belligerent man scream at the top of his lungs about nonsense. He refused as he questioned why we should care about the other guests if we did not care about him and his family. She finally got him away from the front door and he was demanding numbers. He wanted her number and our corporate manager's number. The best and easiest thing she could do was just give him what he wanted, the same thing that she taught us to do. He then decided to call the corporate manager right there on the spot. It was funny that he did not pick up the phone, but he angrily told us he was going to eat and if he did not get a phone call back in the next few days there was going to be hell to pay. Our corporate manager made us write letters of apology to this man, and inside the envelopes were coupons that allowed him to get a certain amount of free meals. We wanted so badly to yell and scream back at this man, but there was an unwritten rule that we knew held us from doing so. We knew if we did that we would be in heaps of trouble and could ultimately lead to us getting fired. It is hard to hold back your emotions some time, but when dealing with Customer Service it is part of the job.

I wish I woke up like this every morning......

My father yelled “Wake up Trevor, we have to leave in 45 minutes!” as he swings my bedroom door open slamming it into the wall and turning all the lights on in my room. I got up slowly as my eyes had to adjust from dark to light.  Everything was blurry looking in my room due to the fact I just woke up, so I staggered into the kitchen and the smell hit my nose like a freight train. I could smell a huge breakfast already cooked and ready to eat. There were two plates sitting on the counter holding fried eggs, hash browns, bacon, toast, and orange juice to drink. It was the ultimate breakfast. I quickly ate my breakfast and jumped into the shower to clean off and wake up. After I got out of the shower I went over to the sink, where there was a mirror above it in order for me to look at myself after I have cleaned up. I grabbed my toothbrush and scrubbed for about 2 minutes. I trampled back into my bedroom and headed to my closet to pick out some fashionable, but comfortable clothing. When I was rather happy with my outfit, I grabbed all of my necessities that belong at the pit of my pants pockets every day. These included that of a pen, my phone, my wallet, my keys, and Chap Stick. Cannot forget the Chap Stick, because my lips get chapped way too easily. Finally I was ready to go, so I blasted through my front door, unlocked my car and started it up with the radio blasting. I sped off down the road to get on with my day.

Super sized Obsession

              America has a wide variety of rituals, fads, and obsessions that help sum up what the country is about, and how it functions. Some of them are interesting, and some are weird, but we all have different reasons of why we find a space in our lives for them. One of these obsessions that people have been celebrating for over forty years is the Super Bowl. We all grow up wondering what is so fascinating about the Super Bowl. It is almost as if it is a holiday in the United States, because we celebrate it like it should be a holiday. People watch the Super Bowl for an abundance of reasons. For some people, the Super Bowl is just another football game, but people still watch it just because they like football. Others like it because they just want to watch the infamous halftime show. Some people like the commercials that are specially made just for the Super Bowl. Most Americans use this day to have huge Super Bowl parties, which is the reason why people treat the Super Bowl day as a holiday.  Football has been an American pastime for many years, and it has become a large reason of why people love to watch the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl is an obsession of America that will go on for many decades to come because it is a great description of America and what the people in the United States love to do. Sports, entertainment, comedy, and parties are the heart of the American people. There is not one American that does not like one of these four things, and these are the perfect description of the Super Bowl itself. So, why is the Super Bowl so super? Some people just watch the Super Bowl because it is another sporting event, and Americans love sports. Some people love the halftime show because it is great entertainment through music. The commercials also play into a large part of why people watch the Super Bowl, because many Americans love comedy. Also, Super Bowl parties are always a great way to get away from everyday life and to just have fun with friends and family. This American super sized obsession has been around for decades, and it is not going anywhere.

My Short Term Hero

Clayton closed the door behind us and we sat down at the table as instructed. One of the two people sitting down was Dr. Martin, the director of the upper school. The other, Janice Carney, was a secretary and a mother of one of our friends. I started wondering what could have possibly happened that was important enough for Dr. Martin to have to tell me. Then, he just went straight to the point, and I was not expecting what I heard.

Dr. Martin stated, “Doug King died last night,” standing up and heading to his desk.

Janice quietly told us, “The only details we know are that he had a heart attack in his sleep and was found dead this morning in his bed.”

I was extremely shocked, and had no idea what to say. So, I did not say anything to them. I just sat there and listened to them talk to each other for the next thirty minutes about what was going to happen over the next few weeks. Doug King was one of the two men that began to coach our varsity bowling team junior year. I did not really know him that well because I only had been around him for less than 6 months. I just knew that he was a great bowler himself, and he was very easy to listen to when he told you something about bowling. Our bowling team would not have made it anywhere if our new coaches did not come along. More importantly, I would not have made it anywhere as a bowler. He taught me everything I needed to know about bowling junior year, well all the simple things at least. But, that was enough to make me a whole lot better and understand the game much easier. I know that one of the most cherished things in his life was our bowling team. He never missed a practice or a game that whole year. He dedicated that year of his life to the team, and decided that it would be his most important project. He got Clayton and me to the state tournament that year, and he was my personal coach for that weekend. I never thought I would see myself getting third place in the state tournament. I knew after this year, that I would have never made it that far without him.