Hardball Diamonds: A Short Story

The Authors, Richard Wright and Zora Neale Hurston write two great stories, “The Man Who Was Almost a Man” and “The Gilded Six-Bits”. The main characters of the two stories Dave, Missie May, and Joe bring the stories to life. In the story, “The Gilded Six-Bits” Missie May and Joe have a conflict with a stranger, Otis Slemmons who promises them riche, but only causes chaos in their marriage. Dave in the story, “The Man Who Was Almost a Man” thinks having a makes him a man. The main purpose of the story being a man and becoming a man in two different perspectives.

Ever since I can remember, I always played softball. My Dad played it, his sister, my sister, and my brother played baseball. Like a wuss, my brother quit playing, because he had a pop up hit him in the face. Though, when I played, I would get hit by the ball all the time, and get right back up. Throughout my years of playing, and trying to find a position that I liked, I loved to hit. Every game in little league till I was in 14U, I was always fourth in the batting lineup. The older I was the better I played, sure I had a few bad games, but nothing like this.

Nothing about me is set in stone, and if it were, it wouldn't make a difference. Stone can be ground to dust. I've tiptoed within the strict confines of a box I built around myself, after too many run-ins with harsh critics, for quite some time now. Committing almost fully to a "safe" portrayal of myself that doesn't leave room for risk and makes it hard to recover emotionally from error. Of all the labels I've been given, "hypocrite" seems to be the one I fear the most. I don't want to be weak. But, the only thing that's weak is not doing what I want, and what feels right. I'm not perfect and neither is anyone reading this. If I want to be a prude today and an exhibitionist tomorrow, things will be just fine. Perception is a tricky thing.

I admire your graciousness in accepting the apology letter from Allison and realization that we are volunteers and make mistakes along the way. The Director of Education and Training is going to perform an audit of the remaining visits scheduled

On 7/8/16 I asked LaTarsha if I may take 7/12/16 off due prior obligations that can't be rescheduled. LaTarsha is okay with this and subsequently approved the day. However, I apologize that I didn't communicate this to Randstad before asking LaTarsha. With LaTarsha in the present, I wanted to ensure she was okay with this.

Mattball was most meaningful to me, When were first started we were outrageously outmatched. It was freshman vs Juniors being the little fresh out of middle school boys we were facing men who shave twice a day was intimidating. a "David vs Goliath situation expect we were smacked. Day's went by where no one was able to get on base. Games going from 0-21 and higher. They screamed sounds triumph and running us over as we were forced to clean up and shamefully drag the matts back into the closet. Dreaming for the day we could scream with triumph. Then it happen, Ian Millholland the 7th round kicker. a nobody at the time, Kick the ball and it insistently went into the basket. An instant 100 points a free victory. Screams of joy were heard

“Not everyone is going to see or accept you for who you are, and you have to accept that.” I was told this quote everyday by my mother. Today was no different, walking up to the raked field, quote on my mind , eyes on the fresh red clay, and the sound of my metal cleats against the concrete. I was ready for this day. After months of hard work from November to February , the tryouts for Central softball team were over. Over the span of four months, I pushed myself harder than I ever thought I could, but what I did never seemed to be enough for the team.

I understand you are upset and had to spend unexpected and unnecessary time making additional travel plans. We would like all our guests to receive the best service possible and would like to help make your next stay as pleasurable as possible.

In the summer on July 22, 2017 my 14u USA Pride softball team left for the 2017 Softball World Series tournament in Crown Point Indiana. The team and I was super excited to be able to play in such a big tournament in a different state. My parents and I left one day before everyone else did just so we didn't have to get up super early the next morning. We had one day to ourselves before our first game the following day. We had the late game that was at one in the afternoon for our first game and I was super nervous. I am lead off batter so that is kinda frightening because all the pitchers are super good and our team hasn’t seen this kind of pitching before, because in Michigan where I live some people say we look

Shiner is a small town where I have been raised all my life. This community has

“The Diamond as Big as the Ritz” sets off in Hades, a town somewhere along the Mississippi River, opening on John T. Unger as he is about to embark upon a journey full of surprises. Being from this small town for “generations”, John’s family seems to decide that John should have a decent chance at wealth, and end up sending him to a school in Boston. This is where things begin. As John and the reader meet Percy Washington, not much can be deduced from the description of his actions; however, it is soon discovered that he is the symbol of the ‘rich kid’ who never wanted to disappoint his father, so does whatever he says, without question. Riding a train into the unknown “West”, Percy reveals this by bragging in a one-up competition with John (Fitzgerald 2). These simple words uttered by the young boy reveal a great deal about Percy’s upbringing and his overall desires, along with his fathers.

“Life is not about how many curve balls you encounter, but rather adjusting your perspective, to effectively handle each curve in life” (Laura, 2013). In this case, the United States swung for the fences and just came up with nothing. The case in question is that of Rafid Ahmed Alwan aka “Curveball” an Iraqi defector turned German informant that sold the world on the existence of Weapon of Mass Destruction in Iraq.

Fooball I took the snap I faked a run And started to drop back A man broke back to sack me I thought that I was done But nothing ever hit me I knew I had to throw but couldn't see

Perseverance is hard, but pays off in the end. In the story “The marble champ” by gary soto lupe is a girl that is really good at school but not good at sports; however, in the end, she comes out on top. The theme of this story is to never give up, and this is shown throughout the story with Lupe’s perseverance with her challenges.

Unreliable people are truly befuddling. They act all excited whenever you make plans with them, but one hour before the event, they cancel on you for one lame excuse or another. They apologize profusely and maybe even ask to reschedule. So you make a new plan with them, only to continue this pattern