For Angela ..

This wasn't a comedy, or fiction, or anything besides the truth. I bet this has happened in real life, because a long time ago, Indians couldn't be Indian's and up to this day, I bet they're still made fun of. Watching this movie made me think of how that women and little girl must of felt for being made fun of just for what race they are. It made me think of what I would have felt like if I was in that position,  if I was being made fun of for my race or background. It wouldn't be good, or funny, it'd be painful and harsh. That boy that influenced it all, I bet he never stopped and thought about what that little girl would do, he never thought that she would want to stop being Indian , hence cut off her braid. He problaly never thought that one of the simplest things could harm someone even if it was just a "joke" to him.

The Outsiders Book Trailer

Present Day Niagara Falls Attractions .

Heritage Fair Essay . ; Niagara Falls .

Niagara Falls ; Thunder Waters.

    

By ; Steffany Mejia .

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Canadian heritage is different than any other places heritage, it tells us about our past, and what brought us here. People in other countries can come here and see our culture and they would know nothing about it, but it’s everything to us. It helps us remember who we are, and that we are unique because there is no other country in the world that has the exact same history we have. Heritage is about the past history, traditions, cultures, and memories. In Canada there is so much history that it takes us back millions of years ago, from when it was created to today, from when people discovered it to when it became known to everyone. There are so many things that other countries would only dream of having, places that are only on Canada and nowhere else. One specific place that is known by many people would be Niagara Falls. Niagara Falls is much more than just a famous tourist site, it has history that has made nature and geology the way it is now.

Niagara Falls was made over a thousand years ago, it took years and years to form the Falls the way they are now. In the beginning, about a million years ago everything was ice. The Falls began forming with sediments being compressed. Dolostones, lime stones, sandstones, all were compressed and that’s how and when Niagara Falls began forming. Rivers, streams, and ponds were made from the rainwater, but one year it got to the point where the snow never melted for a year and was there when next year’s winter came. That’s when the sun finally came and the frozen lakes turned into massive melted water. Then Lake Erie along with Lake Iroquois both became separate bodies of water. Tonawanda ended up being in between the two lakes, the outflow coming from Tonawanda spilling into Lake Iroquois from five different entries. Nothing stopped Tonawanda’s water’s; it covered everything and all the spillways disappeared except the one at Queenston Site. Although this is how the falls began, this is how it was formed seven miles from where it is now. The lake Tonawanda began to shrink, and continued, and became the Niagara River as it’s known today. A cataract dug up a pool that was at its base to create the Cataract basin, and that began undercutting the layer at top of the Escarpment to make the Niagara Gorges. Today Niagara Falls continues to change and grow, as it is now it’s the second largest cataract in the world.

Today Niagara Falls is built from several different gorges; the unique thing about this cataract is the location and geography. Niagara Falls is split down the middle of New York, United States and Ontario, Canada. This cataract is shared in between two different countries at their border. Niagara Falls is made up out of three different waterfalls. They are known as the American Falls, the Canadian Horseshoe Falls, and the Bridal Veil Falls. The height of The American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls is 176 feet due to the rocks, without measuring the rocks the height would be about 70 feet. On the other hand the Canadian Horseshoe falls is 167 feet tall, and the brink is 2600 feet. The American falls are on the American side of course, together with the Bridal Veil Falls right next to it, when the Canadian Horseshoe falls is in the middle of the border, though they are mostly on the Canadian side, only one-third of the Horseshoe falls are on the American side. The entire Niagara Falls cataract runs on the Niagara River, 90 Percent of the water on the Niagara River runs over the Canadian Falls, the other 10 percent goes to the American Falls. Even though the Horseshoe Falls belongs to both countries, the American falls 100 percent is in America. The Niagara Falls is one of a kind.

As long ago as Niagara Falls was built, of course it wasn’t immediately discovered the minute it started forming. The Indian's were the first to know, from exploring the land themselves. Jacques Carter was the first to write about the Niagara Falls from hearing about it from the Indian’s, he had never seen them though, so he wasn't the first eye witness to write about the Falls. He was the first to mention the Falls in 1535 by writing about them, although Samuel De Champlain was the person to see the Falls the earliest in 1604, but he never said anything of it. Etienne Brule was the first European to see Niagara Falls in 1615. The person to actually see, study, and write about the Falls was Louis Hennepin in 1677-1678, bringing the attention of other Europeans with doing so. Hennepin arrived at the mount of the Falls on December 6, wrote a book describing Niagara Falls, which was published in 1683. As this made him the first European to see, describe, and even have pictures of Niagara Falls. This makes him the person that discovered Niagara Falls and let the word out. Pent Kalm also explored the area during early 18Th century, but of course it had already been discovered. Nobody will ever know who was the very first person to ever see the Falls, who will be the last person to see the falls. Everyone does know that Niagara Falls will be unforgettable by both.

Some years after the Falls became discovered by everyone, people started doing stunts, and trying to go over the Falls just to have their names in history, and of course some succeeded in their goal. Charles Blondin was one of many brave enough to try to walk over the Falls. In 1859 he became the first of many to tightrope across the Falls, which he first attempted on June 30, 1859 with a crowd of about 100,000 people and he succeeded after 15 minutes of waking across, and then walked back taking only 7 minutes. Once he even walked across while carrying his work manager on his back on August 17, 1859. Annie Edson Taylor was the very first person to cross the Niagara Falls from the U.S side to the Canadian in a barrel. Annie was a 63 year old school teacher, although claiming to be 43 at the time, and on October 24, 1901 she strapped herself onto a carrel and launched herself into the water, and that day, became the first person to cross in a barrel and live. Then Roger Woodward became the first person to actually fall down the Falls and survive with only a life-jacket on as a floating device on July 9, 1960. While him, his sister along with a family friend were on a boat along the Niagara River they didn't realize they were Nearing the Falls and by the time they did it was too late. His sister managed to not go down, but Roger did and was found by a Maid of the Mist Boat, thankfully alive, and became famous for that event that changed his life. In October 2003 history welcomed Kirk Raymond Jones as the first person in history to swim across the Falls without any flotation or safety device. The 40 year old jumped into the Horseshoe Falls without anything to protect him; he was 20 feet away from the brink of the Horseshoe Falls and swept off in to the water 170 feet above. Even though he lives, the consequence was that he got charged $3,000 for crossing over to Canada and is now banned. There are also many more people that did stunts but these are the most common names in history.

You might think the Falls are too strong and powerful to be unstoppable, but strangely enough, they have stopped flowing entirely. It was in 1848 that the falls completely stopped flowing water, everything had been fine, the Falls had been flowing all day the day before. By the next morning, nothing was there, not a drop of water running and nobody knew how or why. Everyone assumed the strong winds must have broken down the large rocks at Lake Erie stopping the water, because all they heard was a low rumble and then watched as the water came rushing down. Although later found out they found out there had been an ice jam in an upper river. Nobody will forget about that experience, because it got to the point where you could have gone out and gathered artifacts on the riverbank, and some people actually did, there were even artifacts from the battle in 1812. The falls did eventually stop flowing again in 1969, but only the American Falls. The only point in this was to determine the feasibility of the Falls, by removing the rocks that were at the base of the Falls. In the end they decided the consequences and damages would be too major. People have also wondered if the Falls freeze during the winter, and they do, but at the same time they don’t. Its complicated, but the situation is that they never completely freeze, they may look frozen from on top, but the water is still flowing underneath. So the volume of the water has never stopped flowing, there can even be ice up to 50 feet thick on the river, and if the weather’s cold enough an ice bridge can be formed. It would be amazing to be able to walk onto the ice and experience it, before 1912 you were allowed to, until February 4, 1912 when the ice broke and 3 tourists died. So, physically the Falls have never completely frozen over in the winter, they have completely stopped flowing, and there may be a possibility that it could happen again, who knows ?

     Niagara Falls made Canada different because it changed the geology and the history in the world by being the second largest cataract in the entire world. Without Niagara Falls Canada surely wouldn’t be the same way because it would be missing one of it’s most important attractions. Niagara Falls has made a huge input in geography and history, I can’t imagine that huge space in Ontario and New York without the great waterfall that belongs there, it would seem strange. Everything all started building with just plain rocks, and it came to be a famous waterfall. It became a place that people wanted to cross over and become famous, now it’s also a place where people die. Even when it wasn’t flowing it was still something everyone wanted to see, it’s always been famous. Niagara Falls will always be in Canadian history and heritage, it will always be known for being like nothing else anyone has seen.

Ponyboy Curtis

Ponyboy Curtis is a 14-year old boy. He has light-brown, just about red hair, and greenish-grey eyes. His hair is a bit longer than other boys wears their hair though. He`s not that much into getting in a fight as the others are, but he is part of the greaser gang, the youngest too. He’s smart, likes to read and write, but besides that fact, he’s known not to use his head when it comes to other things. He has two very different older brothers which also treat him differently than the other does. I chose Colin Ford to play Ponyboy because he matches Ponyboy's description and lookd like he could act the part perfectly.

Dally Winston

Dally Winston would be known to have an elfish looking face. His hair is so blonde it was even almost white. his eyes were blue, like blazing ice, and you vould see the hatred he had for the world in them. He’s the one in the group that had spent three years in New York and at age 10, had been arrested. Wich is why he was tougher than all of them. Tougher, meaner and colder. I chose Nick Roux to play Dally because his looks match Dally’s perfectly and he could have the same attitude Dally has if he wanted to.

                              Johnny Cade

Johnny is the smallest in the gang besides Ponyboy. He had big black eyes, with a dark tanned face, and jet black hair. Without the gang he would have no one, and he would have run away a million times. Between his parents beating him up and getting jumped by the Socs, Johnny had a rough life. He’s the gangs “pet” and “kid brother”. But without the gang, he would have never knew what love felt like. I chose Taylor Launter as a 16 year old to play Johnny because his looks match Johnny's and because of his experience I know he could act the part.

Two-Bit Matthews

Two-Bit was the oldest in the gang, the wise cracker of the gang, and was six feet tall. He had gray eyes, long rusty coloured sideburns, and always had a wide grin on his face. You could never get him to stop talking; he always had to get his two-bits worth in, which is what lead to his nickname. His real name was Keith Matthews, life was a big joke to him, and he was known for shoplifting and for always carrying around his switchblade, and wich meant, that of course he liked fights. I picked Guy Pearce to play the part of Two-Bit because he looks like he has the attitude and looks to play the part.

                                                                    Steve Randle 

The 17 year old, Steve Randle was tall and lean, had thick greasy hair that he always had in complicated swirls. He was smart and tacky and had been Soda’s best friend since they were in grade school. He was an expert in cars, hence he worked at a gas station, he knew cars upside-down, and even backwards, and could drive anything that had wheels. He thought Ponyboy was nothing but a little kid still, but didn’t do much about it. I chose Lee Min Ho as Steve because of his experience and how his looks match Steve’s as much as they can. 

  

                                        Darry Curtis

Broad-shouldered and muscular Darry was the oldest of the Curtis brothers, and the responsible one since the loss of their parents. He had dark brown hair and looked identical to their father, and would be if his eyes weren’t his own. His eyes were pale blue-green ice coloured, he would be really handsome if they weren’t so cold too. Although he doesn’t understand anything that isn’t a plan fact, he uses his head a lot. I chose Marcus Schenkenberg to play the part of darry because of his looks, I think that he could act like Darry and be believed.

SodaPop Curtis

Sodapop Curtis would be known as the middle child, the second out of three brothers. He dropped out of school so he could work and keep Ponyboy in school, hes sicxteen, about to be seventeen. he has dark-gold hair wich he combs back and would be described straight and like silk, hes kinda like a movie star handsome guy, dark-brown eyes, and a sensetive face that hides the fact the he's reckless. He would never drink alcohol, but only because he didnt need to, he got drunk on plain living. He understands everyone and can make anyone smile , including Darry. I chose Ian Somerhalder to play the part of Soda because he fits the description perfectly , and he I wouldnt fin it hard to believe that he can act like Soda too.

Comparing Ponyboy & Grey

Essay

Ponyboy and Greg are two very different people if you were to compare them to one another. Ponyboy has the loss of his parents with him and being left with his two older brothers, meanwhile Greg has had his parents with him all of his life. Ponyboy is used to having things be rough and having to do lots of things on his own. But Greg is used to having things be easy and having things being done for him, although he might think that entering middle school is hard, its nothing compared to what Ponyboy has gone through. If you were to think about it, they have a lot of differences and similarities.

                Trying to fit in is hard, it is also one of the things they have in common. Both of the boys are trying to fit in, Ponyboy in his gang as the youngest member, and Greg being in the youngest grade of middle school. Ponyboy is the youngest in the gang, with his two older brothers, Darry and Sodapop, being one of the main people involved in the gang. Ponyboy is considered the tagalong by Steve just because he’s the youngest out of everyone in the gang. But even with Steve thinking that, Ponyboy doesn’t give up trying to fit in. He dresses like a greaser, acts like a greaser, and he thinks of himself as a greaser. Greg is trying to fit in at middle school because it’s his first year, the problem is that he’s trying too hard to fit in, he never realized all he had to do was be himself. So instead he joined every club in school so he could show up in the yearbook and be popular. Both of them did everything they could do to fit in.

Thought they have that similarity they happen to have a big diffrence too.  Ponyboy ended up having to grow up without a mom or dad, all he had was his brothers to watch out for him. He had lost his parents as a young boy, and all he had was his brothers and the gang . But on the other hand Gregory had his parents with him ever since he had been born and had never had to do anything without their help. Lots of things can change inside a person depending on wether or not they have parents with them. Ponyboy has his gang and his brother, but if he had his parents I almost guarantee he wouldn’t be in a gang. Greg isnt in a gang because he has parents that are still alive and take care of him and love him. The point is that theres a big diffrence between them just because one has parents and the other one doesn’t.

                Something else id have to say they do have in common is their brothers and their point of view on them. Both boys have older brothers, and both hate them. Ponyboy dislikes his brother because from hi spoint of view he thinks Darry, his oldest older brother, hates him. He thinks this because hes always saying things to Ponyboy about how he never uses his head and how he never thinks when it comes to doing the right thing, what Ponyboy doesn’t know is that Darry is just looking out for him, the entire gang knows that, except Ponyboy. But Gregory has an older brother that he dislikes because their have a normal brother-brother realtionship you see now a days. The oldest play prank on the younger one and gets him into trouble and then the youngest gets revenge. The diffrence between these two brother-brother realtionships is that Gregory and Fredrich is that they fight because they like picking  on eachother and think that they hate eachother, and Ponyboy and Darry don’t get along because Darry is always being mean to Ponyboy because hes looking out for him. Both realtionships may look the same but if you look closely and know more, theyre completely different.

                Friendship should be one of the most important things you treasure, and for one of the boys it is, for the other boy… not so much. Ponyboy has his gang as friends, their so close he could say there even brothers to him. They always stick up for eachother and stay together, wich is what makes them better than their rivals. But if you look at how Greg treated his “best friend” its nothing like how the gang is. Greg knew that it was him who did what Rowley was accused of and he didn’t say anything, he followed the lie, he didn’t seem to matter that it was his fault Rowley ended up having a broken arm, he even made fun of how he dressed and acted and that’s not what a best friend is supposed to be like. Ponyboy and the gang makes a perfect example of what true frienship is. They stick together and always hav eachother to go to when theres trouble or problems, their not single people formed up, their like one big family. That’s what friendship really is, and that’s what Greg didn’t do with Rowley.

                Although both boys have many similarities, similaroties that anyone would be able to name on the spot, everyones different and nobody’s perfect. Both boys have people in their lives that are important to them and both have moments where they don’t know what to do or what to think. They have diffrences, of course, because one may have more than the other but that shouldn’t mean that they have more luck or fortune, it just means that the one that has less has to find a way to live with what they have and appreciate it. Greg is entering middle school and is gonna learn more than schoolwork. Hes going to learn about friendhsip, and growing. Ponyboy is going to learn about growing up and letting go of childhood like everyone once has to. Even though they both have different past and are going to have different futures they will always be learning more with every mistake they make.

Dawn Marie Article

Your Honour,

             Dawn-Marie was my daughter, I was her mother, but that all ended a few years ago. My daughter committed suicide because she was getting bullied. The last time I saw her, alive, was on November 10, 2000. She had a very short life, had only lived 14 years before she ended it. We lived in mission, B.C. without any problems for years because before any of this, they were great friends; they had spent every Halloween together, had sleepovers. The girl who, mainly, bullied my daughter was one of her best friends. Then the rumours started and so did the problems...

            The problems made a huge difference in our life, my life, everyone who knew her and loved her. None of us expected her to act so harshly about the situation. That she was suffering that much, enough to kill herself. It kills me knowing that I could have done something about it and that if I would have she would still be alive, in our house with our family. I would have done everything I could have done to make the bullying stop, to make her feel safe and not have her worry about getting beat up. Sometimes I even blame myself for her dying sometimes, but I know that is not what she would have wanted me to think. She would want me to think that she did this for her own sake. The pain is undescribable; it’s like losing part of yourself, because she was my daughter, she was part of my life, and I would have rather died than her. There were so many mother-daughter activities we never got to do, so many things she will never experience. A lot of things I wish we could have done, but now there’s no way it’s going to happen. We all know she’s gone forever, permanently, that she’s never coming back and that’s the worst part of it all.

           There are a lot of punishments that are deserved for what happened. The girls bullied my daughter enough for her to kill herself, and that definitely does deserve punishment. It’s not their fault my daughter killed herself, because it may not be entirely. Of course it is some of their fault, so I think that they should get a punishment that teaches them that death is not easy, and that it is changing. I’m not saying that we should kill someone in their life, but teach them, talk to them, about what it’s like having to go through loosing someone that meant so much to many people. It would be life-changing for them to know how much would be changed, how much pain there would be with loosing that one person. I want them to know what I’m going through, what they caused, what they shouldn’t have done. They should know the things they did that seemed so little to them, could mean so much to someone else. So much that they would do something life-threating. So that they will all think before they bully someone again, so they won’t do it again.

          My life will never be the same, ever again. My daughter was part of my universe, and now she’s gone. She chose to solve her problems without thinking about what anyone would be do or feel. I am glad she solved her issues, but I still wish she could have solved it without killing herself. Our lives will never be the same because she’ll never graduate high school, get married, or have children. I don’t blame anyone for her committing suicide, but I blame people for what they did to her. I blame myself for not doing more about the issue, not helping her go through it and then just watching her end her life right in front of me. I’ll always remember her coming home, without any problems, laughing and talking about her days. All 14 years of her life will always be in my mind, in my heart.