Short Story2

I read " When I Lay Down My Burden" by Maya Angelou. This short story was based in the segregated days. Maya was three years old when her parents divorced. She moved with her grandmother Annie Henderson and her uncle. They worked at a store. Maya didn’t like it. She didn’t like her grandmother and uncle having to listen to what "the white people" said. She didn’t understand why.

One day while Maya and Annie was sitting in the front of the store admiring Maya’s rake job that she had just completed, a group of girls came down to the store. Mind you, these girls are white. They stop and stand in front of Annie, mocking her, humming, the way she pocked her lips out, the way she stood, and they made faces at her. Throughout the disturbing behavior, Annie just stood there as if they weren’t bothering her. When the girls left they all told Annie bye. Her response was "Bye, Miz Helen, ‘bye Miz Ruth, ‘bye Miz Eloise." This made Maya extremely mad. She was confused; she wanted to know why her grandmother was calling them Miz after the way they treated her.

I think that in this story Maya is showing the difference in today and back then. Then, black people weren’t treated with much respect. She also shows you how ignorant people can be. She shows a better way to handle the worst situations. Her grandmother ignoring those girls was a good thing because if she would’ve responded, who knows what might’ve happened. I believe what she wanted readers to get out of this story was appreciation of freedom and showing that you don’t always have to react to negativity.

What I think Maya is also teaching her readers is that you will run into some things sometimes that you may or may not know how to handle. The best way to handle it may be "holding your tongue." In the story Maya said, "Whatever the contest had been at the store, I knew Momma had won." I agree with her. I agree with that, because she didn’t let the girls get the best of her. Ignoring someone’s ignorance may be the best response.

People's autobiographies are important to read because you can relate to some of the things they have lived through. Seeing how they handled their problem may give you an idea of a way to handle yours. You can also learn very much from others. Knowing their accomplishments sometimes influence you to want to do more with your life. Reading about some things that might have hurt them can be helpful. Sometimes it may be you who is hurting someone. Knowing or reading how it makes someone else feel might change the way you view your own opinions. Sometimes you don’t realize the things you do are wrong.

I read " Poker: A harmless activity for teens? Wanna Bet? It's pretty interesting. I didn't think that many teens were gambling underage these days. I didn't think the percentage would be that much. Gambling has never been one of my habits and I don't plan on doing it either. First of all, you lose unexpected amount of money not realizing that you are doing so. Even though there is chance of winning, it doesn't always come so easily.

I think what stuck out to me the most is when it said something about teens' parents letting them do it in their homes because they think it's safe or because they think it's better than them doing it on the outside. Either way it goes, gambling is wrong. It leads to violence sometimes. When you get to the point where you owe people money, they come looking for you for comfrontation about their money, and that sometimes lead to physical fights. Parents are not always around when their child is gambling. If they get caught by the police it's a possibility that they can go to jail. Who's responsible?

The main idea that the writer wanted readers to see is poker isn't all what it's made out to be. Getting addicted to poker can cause other addictions. The writer included that boys and girls who gamble before they legally can, are likely to become addicted to gambling as those who didn't start until after they were twenty-one. Teens who become addicted to gambling, fifty percent are likely to drink alcohol, and seventy-five percent smoke marijuana. The point is poker is like a gateway addiction, meaning it's the first addiction leading to others.

"Kids are gambling with their health (when they play poker), because for some people this can get very serious indeed," says Keith Whyte. I think this is true because as I said before, when it gets to the point where someone owes another person money, that causes trouble. People die over these silly things everyday.
Scott Magerer, a father of a thirteen year old says,"You can't stop them, right? Time-outs don't exactly work. At least this is a controlled envirnment." I don't agree with this father. His child is only thirteen, meaning he still has rules to obey, and his father still has authority but isn't using it properly. If his father doesn't allow him to do it at home then that sometimes can influence what he does outside his home. His father making him think that gambling is okay is what's not okay.

I want to know why parents think it's okay to let their children gamble inside their homes. If they gamble at home there's no telling what they do when they leave. Gambling is just one addiction, the other addictions may not be approved by the parents, gambling is not a children game, sport, or hobby. If you are under twenty-one I don't think you should be allowed by anyone to gamble knowing it's against the law. Another thing I want to know is, if you let your child gamble underage inside your home, what if he wants a beer, would you let him drink one? Parents are riduculous with stretching rules. Gambling should not be one of those rules you let your child break.