Personal Narrative: My Cultural Understanding Of Lake Okeechobee

Pearl Woodrum saw her fears realized when the dam burst in 1972. As the residents of Buffalo Creek slept soundly in their beds, they would not be able to envision the horrors that would occur on that dreary February morning. They knew that any time there was a substantial amount of rainfall in Buffalo Creek, the creek would rise and the lack of an early warning system meant they might never know if a heavy rain heralded disaster until it was too late. Residents also knew that the dam was not stable, a fact the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed when it concluded that the dam was “basically stable but could be overtopped and breached.” William Davies was the federal geologist who conducted the study and stated that if the dam broke, “flood and debris would damage a church and two or three houses downstream, cover the road and wash out the railroad.” A heavy rainfall on February 25, 1972 triggered grave concern from many around Buffalo Creek. Jack Kent, the Strip Mine Superintendent became increasingly concerned about the rapidly rising water levels in the dam. On the evening of February 25 he placed a measuring stick in a bank of Dam

Colonist are going to live in a new place that they have never lived before, will they survive? It is the year of 1607, 100 or more passengers were on a ship and they were sailing to Chesapeake Bay.Many colonists are dying and they don’t know the reason why. Many colonists died because of the water, they didn’t have any skills, and because of their relationships.

Okefenokee swamp is described differently by two authors. One suggest a calm favorable tone and the other a frightened, dark tone. The authors’ message is to inform people of the harsh reality behind the life of the swamp and the true beauty it contains. Both authors each exhibit a distinctive style through their deep contrast of the Okefenokee Swamp using imagery, diction, and figurative language.

Being born and raised in Florida it was evident that I was going to experience some beautiful nature as a child. It never really occurred to me though how important nature is and how much of an affect it can have on a person. When I was younger my family used to travel down to the Florida Keys every summer to go fishing and snorkeling. I would look forward to this trip every summer because the drive down to the Keys enabled us to see all of Florida and that was always my favorite part. As I got into my teens though and started playing more sports my summers soon became filled with traveling around the state playing sports rather than fishing and snorkeling down in the keys. I feel like during this time my love for the beautiful State of Florida and all that it had to offer was slowly diminishing.

The Johnstown Flood was caused by a man made lake, it was constructed in 1881. The dam was 900 feet by 72 feet. The dam was one of the largest earth dams, which means it was made by things like rocks and dirt instead of cement or steel which bridges are mostly made of. Johnstown was built on the Appalachian Plateau. It was the center of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club. The lake had been used for fishing and sailing. Before the dam broke, there had been many warnings that it was possible that it could break,but they had been ignored. “Messages were sent to Johnstown warning that the dam might give, but after years of false alarms, the messages were ignored. The water began to top the dam, and eventually it gave way” (“The Johnstown Flood”).

The drive was almost unbearable, but the thought of spending the week in the snow with family kept me going. It was only a four hour drive, but at 9 years old, it felt like an eternity. The scenery slowly changed from flat land, to rolling hills. The hills were covered in yellow dying grass, but they were still beautiful. Then we started to make the climb. Up mountains, through the passes, constantly surrounded by trees or a cliff that gave a wonderful view of the mountain next to us. We were so close to the snow of Lake Tahoe. We had been to Tahoe before, but this was a new cabin for us. We were all excited to see the cabin, but more importantly, looking forward to searching for sledding hills the next day.

The Florida Everglades is the third-largest national park out of the 48 states. It is also the first national park created to protect the fragile ecosystem. Without the protection of the alliga-tors and thus the ecosystem area we know as the everglades could eventually become nonexist-ent. At one time “this wetland was called the river of grass by an author back in 1947” (Strawn 17). The Seminoles called it “Payhaio-kee” which means “grassy water” and later the white people began to call it the “Ever Glade” (Strawn 17). This area is considered

Richard M. Donovan wrote the book “paddling the Wild Neches”. Once the story is fully read, the realization of what a human will do in order to keep an important place that values so much, it is magnificent. Richard was 66 years old during his 200 mile canoeing expedition, he did not think that he was going to make it happen. However, he accomplished what he felt he needed to do so he can open minds about a place that needs their help. He captured what was hidden in the river and wanted to tell his story about it. Richard wrote about every little thing he saw, touched, heard around him while he was on the trip. The Neches River was not just a river to him, it was a home to animals and people that carried history within itself. In the book of “Paddling the Wild Neches” it

The first white settlers that came to Florida thought it was a good idea to drain the Everglades, but they were wrong. Since those early settlers drained the Everglades we have altered the water system. On page 113 paragraph 3 it says “ The streams were dredged, and the Everglades were nearly drained entirely.” Thanks to those settlers we many never get the Everglades back to the way it used to

Yes I am doing well and had been travelling a lot recently. I am going to Big Bear Lake in CA this weekend with a couple friends. Time to ski! haha Next weekend I am going IA with mom guys. Lake Tahoe is so beautiful and I would go visit again in the future. I also went ski for the first time near Lake Tahoe too. Fortunately, I did not take my car to CA this trip, used a friend 's car, 2014 Volkswagen. The car was alright to drive we switched off but the car did got stuck in ice when we were going uphill to Lake Tahoe (HAHA) luckily we had two big American young boys passing by and helped to push the car out. And I was not driving at the time so I was just sitting in the car while the boys pushed the car. I did drive in snow and that was fun and you can proudly call me a good driver now! (Long distance and snow). And of course, I always have the seat belt on 

Fahrenheit 451 is a novel authored by Ray Bradbury. The author is able to express his thoughts on a totalitarian society through the science fiction novel. This can be seen from his choice of language and also the styles he employs to pass his message forth. In the novel the most prevalent style employed in developing the plot of the book is the use of symbolism. Symbolism as a style is the use of a person, an object or a situation by an author to represent something else in a work of literature. The symbols used have a much deeper meaning in the context of the full story. In Fahrenheit 451 we see a great deal of the use of symbolism as a major style in the book. Although the author has used many styles symbolism is the most common and together

Context: The author of Passage 2 describes the Okefenokee Swamp. In contrast to the first Passage, this passage is emotional and informal; through many literary devices, the passage communicates the wildness and hostility of the swamp, describing it as “leaf-choked” and “sodden”, filled with “seething galaxies” of bugs (AP Section II). It also lists the enumerate animals that are the swamp's inhabitants.

My family and I were on our way to Mille Lacs Lake, a very great walleye fishery. It was going to be perfect, a small breeze 70 and sunny a perfect day for fishing. Little did we know it was going to be rough.

“The Indians called it Wakan, a reference to the clarity of its waters. Now it was fetid and murky, the mud banks glittering with broken glass and strewn with beer cans and the charred murky remains of bonfires. There was a single ravaged island a hundred yards from shore, so stripped from vegetation it looked as if the air force had strafed it. We went up to the lake because everyone went there, because we wanted to snuff the rich scent of possibility on the breeze, watch a girl take off her clothes and plunge into the festering murk, drink beer, smoke pot, howl at the stars, savor the incongruous full-throated roar of rock and roll against the primeval susurrus of frogs and crickets.” (Boyle 168) “Greasy Lake”, written by T. Craghessan Boyle

The Atchafalaya River is the third- ranking river on the earth. It’s located in South Louisiana, with its base the gulf coast from the mouth of the Mississippi river almost to Texas, its two sides coming together up near the lock and not including New Orleans or Baton Rouge. The Mississippi river with its sand and stuff has created most of Louisiana and couldn’t have done it by remaining in one channel. If it did then southern Louisiana would be a long peninsula reaching into the Gulf of Mexico. Southern Louisiana is still in its form now because the Mississippi river jumped here and there with an arc bout two hundred miles wide. For the Mississippi to make such a big change was completely natural, but in the wait dince the last shift Europeans