P.L.S.P. -- Blogmeister

My class and I went to Old Sacramento for a field trip. My teacher shared many true stories about things that happened there long ago, and I’d like to share my favorite story:

One day in Sacramento the Eagle Theater was built. It’s first show was a big hit. Loads of people came to attend the performance. But on January4, 1850, a flood was coming, and Eagle Theatre had a performance going on that very night. All of a sudden, the first row started to flood. Then the second flooded, and it continued, until the stage was flooded. The theater was flooded, and all the people left because the performance stopped, when the stage was submerged.

Soon, the theatrical group that was performing quit and left the theatre. Then the theatre was out of business. Still to this day the Eagle Theatre remains in Old Sacramento.

My class and I had gone on a field trip to Westminster Woods. When we came back, we had an assignment to write poems about our experiences there and these are a few of my favorites:

Forest

Deep colored, peaceful

Reaching, growing, reproducing

Home for plants, trees, and animals

The woods

Swaying of trees

Scampering of raccoon’s paws

Bark on sides of trees

Animal scat

Creatures on the ground

Water

Splashing, waving, shining, sparkling, spraying, soothing

Water

Redwood

Like a red and green monster

Like an enormous man standing above

Like a lanky, colorful building, waiting to tumble down upon whatever below

Like a beautiful, mossy master piece, waiting to be found

Like a tree version of King Kong, tall and strong

Like a rainbow no one can resist to see

Like a wonderful diamond, without the shine

I dont know about everyone else that is the eldest sister and child in the house, but five year olds and one year olds spell out DISASTER SHALL HIT! I mean seriously! Every other day, I have to play dolls with my five year old sister wiether I like it or not. But I'm sort of used to it now but still! I mean one sibling wants this and the other wants that and who do they want it from?? ME!

Anyways, please comment, your blogger,

P.L.S.P.

The Terrible Wave

I love how Marden Dahlstedt just makes the simplest thing sound so intriguing in her book, “The Terrible Wave.” I like how she writes with so much excitement. An example of something that is intriguing is how she said, “… shrouded in mist…” instead of, “…surrounded in mist…” That was a part when the main characters were floating on a farm wagon looking around town after the wave had hit, and they see some buildings shrouded in mist. She also makes things very exciting like, “… evil water surged about her,” This was when Megan was still in the floodwater and not yet on the mattress. But she could have said something dull like, “… the water was around her…” I also love how she gave fire some personification like “… tongues of flames, eating the sky.” Instead of “… fire in the sky.”

I also love that Dahlstedt gives such detailed pictures just waiting to be created in the heads of people who read the book. She wrote, “...piles of boards and bricks that had once been houses.” This was when the group was looking around Johnstown after most of the characters recovered from the wave that had hit. To me it’s as if it were real in my head, and I can just imagine how awful the scene must have been, with all those jagged and broken boards, and the bricks that had been thrown around. I think Dahlstedt was right on when she uses descriptors to tell the reader how the character is speaking. In this example, Megan had just thrown up, “I’m all right now” she said faintly “I’m sorry.... Let’s go on....” The faintly part gives me such a better image of how Megan said that. Somehow the faintly part makes her seem sort of down or embarrassed or maybe even having a lighter tone than usual.
I like all these examples. I like them because they seem so interesting and are a lot more detailed then how it could be. Dahlstedt also puts the perfect amount of detail in her writing, and I really don’t like reading books but every time I had to stop at a chapter, I’d wished I could read more.

Most Important Part of California’s History

I think the most important time of California’s history, was when the Gold Rush was on. People knew they were going to face hardships and possible deaths, but they didn’t care. They had gold fever!

Right away California’s population skyrocketed, and many people came from all over the world to get to California. Some people went by wagon and some went by ship. Some people, the ones who went by ship, took the Strait of Magellan, a long narrow strait. Some people took the long journey around Cape Horn, and lost much time because of the terrible weather. Most people had really no idea what they were doing, but they had gold fever.

Once people got to San Francisco, they had many expenses just to get to Sacramento City. For one person to get on the riverboat, the quickest way to get to Sacramento City, it took twenty- five dollars. Once in Sacramento, supplies were expensive. The person would have to get mining equipment like, a gold pan, a long tom, a cradle, a pick, and a shovel. Then the soon-to-be miner needed a stagecoach to get to a camp. Once in camp, they needed a place to stay and sleep. Then the person would get ready to head to the foothills. People came all around to test their luck, would you?

The Gold Rush had changed California’s history by increasing its population, leading California to becoming a state, and that’s why I think the Gold Rush was important.

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