Being sober was short lived, and so was the plan to move to the Grand Canyon. But their mom came up with another plan to move to West Virginia where their other grandparents lived. Once again they were only allowed to bring one thing, and Jeanette brought her rock. It took them a month to get across the country because their car only went twenty miles per hour. When they got there they were greeted by their grandparents but they weren't what they expected. They eventually learned to adapt to their lifestyle.
Soon after they were banished from their house because she thought that the kids were too misbehaved. They didn't have much money but they bought a very shabby house at the top of a mountain. There was no running water, and no running toilet. The only water they had was a spigot outside. It did have electricity but they didn't have the money a the moment to turn it on. They planned on building a new house on the land. He intended to fallow the blue prints of the Glass Castle.
page 129-155
Sunday, April 10, 2011
A Special Present
This year the thought that Christmas was going to be extra special because they were in their new house. Their parents usually don't get them any presents, but this year they all got to buy presents for each other. They even went to buy a Christmas tree and decorated it with their grandmas old ordainments. But Christmas didn't turn out as well as they planned. Their dad had gotten really drunk on Christmas and by the time they were ready to go to midnight mass he could barely stand up. When they went he started to swear and yell in the middle of the service. The usher had to kick them out. When they got home he lit the Christmas tree on fire. After that Jeanette said, "When Dad went crazy, we all had out own ways of shutting down and closing off, and that was what we did that night". This was not their idea of an extra special Christmas. I can't imagine having to deal with a drunk father on Christmas. Even though Jeanette loves him so much, she also gets so frustrated with him. He seems to love his kids so much, but when he always drinks it makes me think he doesn't really care.
Jeannette turned ten that spring. Usually birthdays aren't a very big deal in their family and they only get small gift, but this year was different. Her dad took her out on their porch and told her that she can have anything that she wants. It was hard for her to tell him what she wanted but finally she took a deep breath and said, "Do you think that you could maybe stop drinking?" He said, "You must be awfully ashamed of you old man." She said, "No, it's just that mom would be a lot happier. Plus, we'd have extra money." Finally he made the decision to quit. He locked himself in his room for over a week. It was hard for him and took the whole summer to recuperate. Once he got better they decided that they were going to move again. But this time it was different, they were going to move into the Grand Canyon and camp. They were going to cook their meals on an open fire and they weren't going to go to school.
Jeannette turned ten that spring. Usually birthdays aren't a very big deal in their family and they only get small gift, but this year was different. Her dad took her out on their porch and told her that she can have anything that she wants. It was hard for her to tell him what she wanted but finally she took a deep breath and said, "Do you think that you could maybe stop drinking?" He said, "You must be awfully ashamed of you old man." She said, "No, it's just that mom would be a lot happier. Plus, we'd have extra money." Finally he made the decision to quit. He locked himself in his room for over a week. It was hard for him and took the whole summer to recuperate. Once he got better they decided that they were going to move again. But this time it was different, they were going to move into the Grand Canyon and camp. They were going to cook their meals on an open fire and they weren't going to go to school.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
The Zoo
When they got to Phoenix they found that their grandma had left them with a very nice house and a good amount of money. They got enrolled into a good school and their mom got her art business going. Their dad joined the local electritions' union and landed a job pretty quick. He brought home the biggest pay check that he had ever earned and with that brand new bicycles for all his kids. The Walls family seemed to be off to a pretty good new start.
Soon the city life was starting to effect the Dad. He herd a story about a woman who lived in Phoenix who shot a mountain lion that was in her back yard. This got him very upset. He got his kids in the car and said, "I'm going to show you, that no animal, no matter how big or wild, is dangerous as long as you know what you are doing." They pulled up to the zoo. Their dad found the biggest alligator out of all of them and told them that he was going to have a starring contest. He told them that if you let them know that you are not scarred of them, they will leave you alone. After just a minute of eye contact, the alligator thrashed its tail and went under water. He said, "See, you just have to communicate your position." Soon after that he climbed over the chain linked fence to where the cheetah enclosure was. He stared at it in a nice way, and soon he put his hand up to the bars, the cheetah just looked at him. Then he put his hand in the cage and started to pet it. He soon had Jeannette petting it too. The cheetah even started licking her hand. Soon after that they had to be escorted out of the zoo. This is something that Jeanette is never going to forget. She likes that her dad is adventurous just like her. Jeanette and her dad have a very special relationship. They are so much a like, and once he even told her that she is his favorite out of all the kids (he told her not to tell anyone). I can relate to this because me and my dad are really a like. He also always try to get me to try new things and be adventurous like this. We both like to do the same things like ski, mountain bike and be outside in general. We have really similar personalities too.
page 92-109
Soon the city life was starting to effect the Dad. He herd a story about a woman who lived in Phoenix who shot a mountain lion that was in her back yard. This got him very upset. He got his kids in the car and said, "I'm going to show you, that no animal, no matter how big or wild, is dangerous as long as you know what you are doing." They pulled up to the zoo. Their dad found the biggest alligator out of all of them and told them that he was going to have a starring contest. He told them that if you let them know that you are not scarred of them, they will leave you alone. After just a minute of eye contact, the alligator thrashed its tail and went under water. He said, "See, you just have to communicate your position." Soon after that he climbed over the chain linked fence to where the cheetah enclosure was. He stared at it in a nice way, and soon he put his hand up to the bars, the cheetah just looked at him. Then he put his hand in the cage and started to pet it. He soon had Jeannette petting it too. The cheetah even started licking her hand. Soon after that they had to be escorted out of the zoo. This is something that Jeanette is never going to forget. She likes that her dad is adventurous just like her. Jeanette and her dad have a very special relationship. They are so much a like, and once he even told her that she is his favorite out of all the kids (he told her not to tell anyone). I can relate to this because me and my dad are really a like. He also always try to get me to try new things and be adventurous like this. We both like to do the same things like ski, mountain bike and be outside in general. We have really similar personalities too. page 92-109
Friday, April 8, 2011
Billy Deel
Billy Deel moved into battle mountain about a year after Jeanette and her family had been living there. He was tall with a blond crew cut and blue eyes. He was also a juvenile delinquent and had been known to kill animals, vandalize and steal. Jeanette did not like him, but he would fallow her around and tell everyone that she was his girlfriend. He lived in a very small rundown shack, and his dad was an alcoholic. One day he gave Jeanette a turquoise ring. She accepted it but she told him that she wasn't going to wear it and that it doesn't mean that she is his girlfriend. He said that it used to be his mothers, but she didn't believe him. He would try to kiss he but she would fight back, and it worked. He was so mean to her and once tried to rape her. When she returned the ring it made him very angry. He came over to their house while their parents were gone, and he started shooting at them with a BB gun. The oldest, Lori, got her dads gun and tried to shoot him, but she missed. He got away. I can't imagine having to shoot at someone, but in this town it wasn't a big deal. You did what you had to do to defend yourself. People were that nice to each other. And in the newspaper Battle Mountain was considered the number one ugliest town in the country.
Soon the cops found out about the situation and they wanted everyone to go down to court the next morning. So that night they packed up and headed to Phoenix, they are going to move into their grandmothers house who recently passed away. They were only allowed to bring one thing. Brian brought a toy solider, Lori brought The Wizard of Oz and Jeanette brought her favorite rock. Battle Mountain was the longest place that they have ever lived. To them this wasn't anything new to be on the road again, but in some ways they were going to miss Battle Mountain.
The Owl Club is an actual bar in Battle Mountain and its a place that is referenced a lot in the book. This is were their dad would gamble and drink, and its where their parents were when Billy Deel came with the BB gun.
page 73-91
Soon the cops found out about the situation and they wanted everyone to go down to court the next morning. So that night they packed up and headed to Phoenix, they are going to move into their grandmothers house who recently passed away. They were only allowed to bring one thing. Brian brought a toy solider, Lori brought The Wizard of Oz and Jeanette brought her favorite rock. Battle Mountain was the longest place that they have ever lived. To them this wasn't anything new to be on the road again, but in some ways they were going to miss Battle Mountain.
The Owl Club is an actual bar in Battle Mountain and its a place that is referenced a lot in the book. This is were their dad would gamble and drink, and its where their parents were when Billy Deel came with the BB gun.
page 73-91
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
The Next Meal
The dad lost his job. He lost it on purpose so that he could find more gold. But for a while they were very tight on money. One thing that they had to do was cut back on what they ate. To me this would be very scary. They even ran out of food. I have never experienced this, and it makes me think how fortunate I am. The only time they were able to eat is when their dad won money gambling. The kids had to find food on their own, and often having to steal it. They would sneak in for recess and take things out of other kids lunches. And when they went over to friends houses they would sneak their food. I can't imagine having to worry about where your next meal would come from.
62-73
62-73
Monday, April 4, 2011
Dads Grace
In there new town everybody was tight on money. All the kids were "scrawny", and they all played together. What was most important to them was who ran the fastest, and who's dad wasn't a wimp. To me this is a little weird, me and my friends don't really care who can run the fastest or if our dads are wimps. But these kids didn't have a lot, so they had to figure out their own ways of having fun. Jeannette's dad was the most popular. He would always come out and play with the kids, and the kids would ask, "Can your dad come out and play?" The dad cares so much about his kids, he wants them to do the best in school and he takes the time to play with them. Even though when he is drunk he becomes angry at them, they are still the most important thing to him.
I am still amazed that these kids find joy in the simplest things. Jeannette especially seems to always find something fun to do. She collects rocks, and even finds very valuable ones. Jeannette and her brother Brian like to look for treasure in the dump. They collected hazardous materials to do "experiments". Just like every kid, they are very curious. Sometimes kids curiosity gets them in trouble and in this case it did. They decided to test the flammability of the materials. They dropped matches into one of the hazardous cans and it all went bad from there. Their shack was engulfed by flames. They stood there with their dad and watched it fall to the ground. I'm not sure how my parents would react to this, but i know that they would not be happy at all. Well, their dad wasn't one bit mad. While he was explaining that zone was known as the boundary between turbulence and order he said, "It's a place where no rules apply, or at least they haven't figured 'em out yet. You-all got a little too close to it today."
58-61
I am still amazed that these kids find joy in the simplest things. Jeannette especially seems to always find something fun to do. She collects rocks, and even finds very valuable ones. Jeannette and her brother Brian like to look for treasure in the dump. They collected hazardous materials to do "experiments". Just like every kid, they are very curious. Sometimes kids curiosity gets them in trouble and in this case it did. They decided to test the flammability of the materials. They dropped matches into one of the hazardous cans and it all went bad from there. Their shack was engulfed by flames. They stood there with their dad and watched it fall to the ground. I'm not sure how my parents would react to this, but i know that they would not be happy at all. Well, their dad wasn't one bit mad. While he was explaining that zone was known as the boundary between turbulence and order he said, "It's a place where no rules apply, or at least they haven't figured 'em out yet. You-all got a little too close to it today."
58-61
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Christmas Stars
My favorite part of the book so far is when the dad gave his kids starts for Christmas. They aren't able to afford Christmas gifts, so the dad took them outside to choose a start. Jeannette pick out the brightest star she could find. It happened to be Venus, but her dad told her that she could still have it. I like this part because they are able to find joy in the simplest things, like stars. Most kids want something that they can play with for Christmas, but these kids were so happy with the honor of having a star. The dad said, "Years from now, when all the junk they got is broken and long forgotten, you'll still have your stars."
After the mom had another baby, Maureen, they packed up and moved again. They headed out to a place called Battle Mountain in Nevada. I was shocked when they rented a U-Haul and let the kids ride in the back of it, even the baby. The trip was over fourteen hours and they were in complete darkness. One time they hit a huge pothole and the back door on the U-Haul opened. I would be terrified, but something like this wasn't as scary to them because crazy things like this happen to them all the time. Eventually they got the door shut, and made it to Battle Mountain safe. They moved into an old railroad depot. The dad got a job as an electrician in a mine. They improvised for furniture and soon it became their new home.
Things seemed to be going good for the family, and they seemed to be happy in their new home.
page 39-58
After the mom had another baby, Maureen, they packed up and moved again. They headed out to a place called Battle Mountain in Nevada. I was shocked when they rented a U-Haul and let the kids ride in the back of it, even the baby. The trip was over fourteen hours and they were in complete darkness. One time they hit a huge pothole and the back door on the U-Haul opened. I would be terrified, but something like this wasn't as scary to them because crazy things like this happen to them all the time. Eventually they got the door shut, and made it to Battle Mountain safe. They moved into an old railroad depot. The dad got a job as an electrician in a mine. They improvised for furniture and soon it became their new home.
Things seemed to be going good for the family, and they seemed to be happy in their new home.
page 39-58
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