Ella Houston: A Narrative Fiction

Smoke clouds drifted in the air, as the sound of metal chains thumping against thighs echoed throughout the night. Everyone was speaking loud in line, on the edge of the sidewalk, waiting to be granted access into the concert. I felt the back of my Doc Martens getting scuffed by the person behind me, as we got closer to the front of the line. The closer we got, the stronger the scent of cigarettes and marijuana became. Now we’re in reaching distance of the bowling alley door, showing our VIP passes, I opened the door as smoke clouds flooded the ceiling into the night sky.

A poem written by South Carolina pastor, Jeremy Rutledge has given readers a lot to think about. The poem was composed after the great Hurricane Harvey tragedy in Houston. In his poem Rutledge mentions the word pray many times but the meaning of it goes way beyond that. When praying for something it is important to know the aspects and struggles of it, and that is exactly what Rutledge is doing in this poem, stating all the things that make Houston unique, diverse, and capable to rise from it all.

Sam Houston was born March 2, 1793,at Rockbridge County,Virginia,VA.Sam Houston had five brothers and three sisters.His brothers names were Robert Houston,Paxton Houston,James Houston,and James Paxton Houston,William Houston.Sam Houston’s sisters name were Mary Blair Houston,Elizabeth Ann Houston,and Isabella Houston.Sam’s mom’s name is Elizabeth Paxton and his dad’s name is Major Samuel Houston.Sam Houston’s father died when he was only 14 because his father was in the Revolutionary.Sam Houston’s height was 6’6’’.Sam Houston’s wedding dates was first Eliza Allen on January 22,1829,Then Sam’s second wife was Tiana Rogers Gentry,and his third was May 9,1840 with Margaret Lea Houston.

Sam Houston was a prominent political figure in the 19th century whose fame is attributed to his role of bringing Texas into the United States. Even though he was a life-long slave owner, Houston was opposed to the expansion of the institution of slavery into the west. Despite that his attitude seemed contradictory, Houston had good reasons for his resistance of the expansion of slavery.

On any given evening during the quintessential 1950s, shakers and movers of a very unsquare world could be found gathered at cocktail parties in sleek suburbia homes, ultra swank bachelor's pads, or mirrored lounge/living combos in "Anywhere, USA". While the libations flowed, those edgy revelers were trying out their well rehearsed and choreographed, goo goo eyed social moves on one another, intent on making an impression. Other party goers were working the room, culling for a new client or perhaps clinching a huge business deal the company execs had awaited for months.

On March 2, 1793 Sam Houston was born on the family plantation in Rockbridge County, Virginia. His father’s name was also Samuel Houston and his mother was Elizabeth Houston. He was of Scotch-Irish decent and the family was Presbyterian. He received a simple education at a school which he only attended for only about six months. When Houston was thirteen his father died. Because of the loss, in the spring of 1807 he and his mother along with his five brothers and three sisters to Maryville in Blount County in Eastern Tennessee were the family established a farm on a tributary of Baker’s Creek. Houston went to a nearby school for the time. In 1809 Houston ran away to the Cherokees in 1809 because he did not want to work on the family farm or the store the family ran. He went across the Tennessee River and lived with the Cherokees for three years with Chief Oolooteka who adopted him and gave him the Indian name Colonneh, which means “the Raven.” Houston viewed him as a father and the tribe as a surrogate family. Because of this he had great sympathy for Native Americans for the rest of his life.

After Houston ran away, he lived with the Hiwassee Cherokee tribe. This tribe consisted of three hundred men, women, and children. The leader of the tribe was Chief Ooleteka who Houston soon developed a close relationship with. In fact, “Ooleteka became more than a surrogate father to young Sam….he adopted him, giving him the name Kalanu (the Raven).” While with the Cherokees, Houston learned to hunt, trap, and fish, and became well versed in Indian lore. Additionally, Houston became skilled at woodworking and he began to carry around wood and a pocket knife, a habit he continued his entire life. Houston also had similar personality traits to the Cherokees. Houston “was simple and brave; he was quiet and reserved and dignified; but when he

Being a proud native Texan, you can trace my family back to the time when Sam Houston was President of the country of Texas. However, shortly after the US attacks on 9/11, choosing to not live in fear my father accepted a position in his company which entailed moving our family to New York City. We witnessed first hand the beauty of neighbors coming together and holding each other up while rallying to rebuild and move forward. Sadly, we also shared the personal heartache of one of my classmates who was fatherless due to the heinous acts of terrorists.

In the “Eva B. Hopkins Oral History Excerpt”, Hopkins recalls that she worked at the Mercury Mill prior to the general textile strike of 1934. Furthermore, she adds that during the strike, a community house provided food for the strikers. How might this have benefitted those on strike for higher wages?

The Harlem Renaissance was an artistic, social, and cultural explosion during the 1920s in Harlem, York. This flourishing of African-American culture was an accomplishment in itself, given the times. The early 1900s was a difficult time for African-American people, and a difficult time for women, so one can imagine the difficulties that a woman of color would have endured. Ella Fitzgerald defied those odds, transformed the face of the jazz world, and paved a way for other African-American women to achieve stardom.

When Whitney Houston decided to be a singer, her mother warned her she’d be alone a lot (Mitchell). Despite this, Houston was able to realize that we all are no matter what we do. Loneliness is a thing that comes with life. In order to deal with this feeling of isolation that her mother had warned her about, Houston turned to drugs and a destructive marriage. You’d think that with all her fans and huge career Houston would be happy, but it’s easy to tell from her example that even those who seem the strongest can break into something no one can imagine. Joseph Campbell first outlined his thoughts of a journey all mythical heroes followed as steps in 1949 and, despite the time difference, these steps can still be compared to the lives of modern day heroes. From her birth to her death, Houston managed to follow these steps of the Hero’s Journey to prove herself as a hero who fought for her career and ultimately her life.

“down here guys,”said Jose. They walk through a narrow alley. At the end of the alley is a huge baile funk party. Sergio and Jose were amazed. There were beautiful women everywhere. People were dancing and enjoying themselves.

1. Main Point #1: Traditional Gender Roles One of the essential points in Houston’s story is traditional gender roles. At the opening of her journal, Houston begins theorizing how we identify ourselves differently depending on who we're surrounded by and how they expect us to behave. She goes about describing the role she plays in her family. Because Houston's parents maintained Japanese traditions, they have high expectations for their children to follow the traditional customs as well.

“We’ll see you soon sweetheart,” said Mr. and Mrs. Eisenhower. Little did they know that they would never see their precious daughter ever again.

The room reeked of sweaty armpits of bearded men. Not that it actually was, it just smelled that way. My vision was clouded by bodies at the entrance but then Alicia found me and pulled me to where she and her boyfriend- Dakota were sitting. Once I got pass the initial bad odor and mass of bodies, I got to seize up the place and it was actually pretty cool. There was a huge model airplane hanging from the ceiling, above me was a net with what looked like balled up aluminum foil in them, the walls were plastered with posters and metal plates of all kinds, there was a single pool table at the end of the room, the crowd was older, chiller, and more composed. I was liking that place.