胡敏

eofLincoln

membered

formanythings,includinghislog—cabinhome,hisabsurdlookingclothingaccessory,a

top-hat，butLincoln’sabsolutemostimportantcontributiontoAmerica’shistorywastoabolish

slavery,averyhardtasktoaccomplishatthattime。Inthemiddleofthe19thcentury,America

ntrywascutintotwoparts:theNorthandtheSouth。

Therewereanabundanceofdifferenceswhichcaudthisabnormalparation。Forinstance,

theNorthheldalloftheUniversitiesandMilitaryAcademieswhereasintheSouth,accessto

，NorthernersspokestandardAmericanEnglishwhile

SouthernersspokewithaSouthernaccent。Butthelargestdifferencethataboundbetweenthe

NorthandtheSouthatthattimewasslaveryandalloftheaspectsthataccompaniedit.

TheNorththoughtthattheSouthshouldabandonslaverybecaumintmostcas，slaves

faceddailyabufromtheirowners。MostNorthernerstriedtoabidebytherulethat“Allmen

arecreatedequal。"ThereasonslargelyaccountfortheAmericanCivilWar。TheCivilWar

wasalong,ungmenfromboththeNorthand

theSouthwerekilledonthebattlefield；thedeathtollwasalsoacceleratedbythefactthatsmall

Armyhospitalscouldnotaccommodatesomanywoundedsoldiers.

TheCivilWarwasfilledwithheroesonbothsidesofthebattlefield。NameslikeU。

，GeneralSherman，he

colnisprobably

mostoftenassociatedwithhisleadershipofthecountryduringthisdifficultperiod。Hewasa

1863,Lincolnsignedthe

EmancipationP

1865,Lincoln’slifecametoanabruptendedwhilehewaswatchingaplayatFord’sTheaterin

thwasnotanaccident；hewasassassinatedbyamannamedJohn

WilkesBooth。

NotlongafterLincoln'sdeath,theNorthdefeatedtheSouthandtheCivilWarwanded.

TheSouthwasnolongerthoughtofasanothercountry，oftheslaves

livingandworkingintheSouthwerefreedandabsorbedintosociety.

2。Mike—aStoryofPersonalChange

dcasuallyacknowledge

tohisfewfriendsthathelikedtowatchDVDs，althoughperhapsamoreaccuratedescription

wasthathewasaDVDaddict。Overthelastsixmonths，Mikehadaccumulatedthousandsof

wasnotatschool,hehadbecomeaccustomedtospendinghistimewanderingthe

streetsofthecity，,itbecameajokethatifaskedforhis

address，hewouldgivetheaddressoftheDVDshopadjacenttoourschoolsincehespentso

muchtimethere.

yes，

lessons，headoptedarathercooldemeanortowardsmostofhisclassmatesandwasoftenaccud

h,Mike

shefeltthathestillneededadequatetimeto

adjusttoanewenvironmentalthoughnoonecouldworkoutwhyheharboredsuchanacute

feelingoflf—pity。

Assomeonewhoalsoadoreswatchingfilms，IhadslowlybecomeacquaintedwithMike.I

hadoftenenhimintheDVDshopwhichadjoinedourschool，yetittookalongtimebeforehe

respondedtomyadvancesoffriendship。Maybeitwasanexaggerationtosaywewereactually

friends,althoughhewouldatleastacknowledgemyprencewithacursorynodoftheheadwhen

hesawme.

Oneday，Iwasaskedtoadministrateourschool’ittlewaryabout

r，Ineedn'thaveworried。

Mike’teradvertid

thegrandopeningoftheFilmClubthefollowingweek。‘HeyDavid,’hemutteredexcitedly，‘I

wanttobeinvolvedwiththat。’

ThechangeinMike’sbehavioroverthenextmonthwasdramatic。Ihavenodoubtthatit

wastheFilmClubwhichactivatedtheturnaround。Onceaboywhospentmostofhistime

sulking，eachfilmwasshown，hewouldgiveavery

informativespeechaboutthedirectorandmainactors。Everyonewasimpresdbyhis

knowledgeandpassionforfilmsandhesuddenlybecameextremelypopularatschool.

3。Salt

NowthatBilly’sparentswerealittlemoreaffluent,thefamilyhadagreedthattheycoulda

cottageontheoutskirtsoftown。Althoughthecottagewassomewhatold—fashioned,theagent

whorentedtheplacetothemwaskeentoadvocatethattheyshouldnotinstallair—conditioning

astheycouldair—conditiontheplacebyopeningtheskylights。Thedaythattheymoved,theair

washeavywiththeadventofspring,anofrenewalaccompaniedthemalongtheway；Billy

andtheolddogRufuswatchedtheamazingaerialgymnasticsoftheswallowsoutofthecar

window,eyarrived,agroupof

menwereunloadingthevan。Billythoughtlookingaroundthenewsurroundingsshouldbe

placedhighontheiragenda,sohewhistledtoRufusandtheytoffonanadventure。They

foundasmallfootpath,RufusshowinghixcitementandhisaffectionforBillybypantingand

wagginghistail。Billywasatanagewhenhecouldstillfeelanofaestheticexcitementat

ereffectsofthoyearsinthecityemedtovanishashewalked，

andwithRufusashisaffiliatehefeltinvincible。However，hehadreckonedwithoutRufus。

Theyroundedabendinthepathandsuddenly，inthenextfield,newa

goodgamewhenhesawone，heranstraightintothefield,bakingaggressively。Justthen,aman

ingreenbootssteppedoutandinanequallyaggressivemannerstartedtoshoutatRufustogetout

ofthefield。Withanofalarm，Billyrealizedthatthemanwascarryingashotgunandhe

sawhimlevelitandtakeaimatRufus.

“Pleadon’tshoot”,yelledBilly，butthisemedtoaggravatethemanstillmore。The

elter—skelterbacktoBillywithhistail

strodeovertoBilly.

“Thosheeparepregnant”，themansaid,angrily。“Ifyouagitatethemtheycanlotheir

lambs。Iwillaffirmmyrighttokillanydogthatchasthem."

“Iagree”,saidBilly.“AndI'msorry,plea;helpmegetRufustoavet!”

“Idon’tthinkyourdogwillneedavetthistime”,saidthemman,“thegunwasonlyloaded

ttime,keephimonalead，okay?"

4。FreshmanYear

Iwasborninasmalltown，eofthehighaltitude,fewpeoplelivedthere。

Iwasalwaysamidmyneighborsandfriends,peopleIhadknownforallofmylife。WhenIwasinmy

hometown，dayswentbyquickly,andsoonIfoundmylf

packingmybagsforcollege。Iwasfullofambition，andhadappliedtogotouniversityinabigcity。

WhenIfirstgottomyuniversity,Iwasonthealertforeverything。Ifeltverymuchalonewithoutmy

familyandfriends。Iwaslikeanalienarrivingonanewplanet。Ifeltlikeanambassadorfromanother

assstarted,sier,becauIhadtoallocatemostofmytimeto

dtoworkhard，dto

findanalternatesociallifethatwouldletmehavefun，withoutalwaysdrinkingalcohol,likesome

universitystudentsdo。Manypeopleallegethatthisiswhysomestudentsgetbadgradestheirfirstyearat

university。

BecauIfeltveryambiguousaboutwhatIwantedtostudy，Itookmanydifferentclass。Itried

manydifferentthings，butstillhadn'demefeelevenmorelostat

school,rtomakenewfriends,andalleviatemy

loneliness，Ijoinedthedramaclubatmyschool。sidentofthe

dramaclubwasanolderstudent,namedBetty。Shewasquiteamiable,andhelpedgivemeadviceabout

school。ShehelpedmetoaltermyschedulesothatIhadthebestclass。

comedy,

onlyamateuractors，butIthinkwedidagoodjob.

Aftertheshow,myfathersaid，“Sarah，youamazeme，Ididn'tknowyouweresogoodatacting！”such

amplepraimademeveryproud。ThatwaswhenIrealizedwhatIwantedtobe,anactress.

5。StoryoftheVikings

Jerryhadbeeninterestedinancienthistorysincehewasalittlechild。Everynightbeforegoingtobed，

hisgrandfatherwouldtellhimstoriesofgreatcivilizationsliketheRomans,theVikings，theIncasand

manyothers。Theshortanecdotesandstoriesalwaysinvolvedgreatkingsandleaders，greatwarsand

battles，andgreatheroesandfoes。However，astorythathadanythingtodowiththefierceVikingswas

alwaysJerry'ostinterestedinthestoriesbecauhisgrandfatherhadanalyzedtheir

familytreeanddiscoveredthatthefamily'sancestorswereactuallyVikings。

Everydayatschool,Jerrywouldwonderwhatstoryhisgrandfatherwouldtellhimthatnight。。Hewas

alwaysanxromthe

actionofeachstory,Jerry’sgrandfatheralsotriedtoteachJerryalife—lessonthathecouldapplyinhislife.

Jerry'sgrandfatheroftenaccomplishedthisbyusinganalogiestocompareJerry’slifewithsomethingfrom

thatday’rythatJerryenjoyedthemostwasaboutanannualfishingtripthattheVikingsmade

eachyearonacertainanniversary。inthisstory,thecaptainofalargeVikingshipdecidedtotsail

withoutbringingtheirlarge，heavyanchorbecautheydidnotanticipatethetriptakingalongtimeand

theywantedmoreroomforallofthefishtoobecautheVikingshadastrongappetiteforfish.

SomeoftheVikingsontheshipwereappalledatthedecisionofnotbringingananchorbecauofthe

apparentdangerofnotbringingone。Theythoughttheshipwasanythingbutsafe。Themenappealedto

thecaptainoftheshipandonemanevenwroteananonymouslettertothekingoftheVikingsaskingthatan

anchorbeputontheship。Butthecaptainoftheshipannouncedthattheywereleavingthenextday。This

answerannoyedveraloftheVikingcrew，buttheylistedtotheircaptainandtsail.

Notlongafterttingsail,theVikingshipencounteredalargestorm。Theshipwasbeingbadly

damagedandtterthe

stormended,thecaptainapologizedtohiscrewfornotlisteningtothemandpromidtobuyallofthema

ghthecrewoftheshipwasstillwetandtiredfromthestorm,

theyapplaudedwhentheyheardthecaptainapologize.

ngPoliceChief

Jimhadbeenappointedasthepolicechiefofhislocaldivision—anappointmentthathetookvery

riouslyashecretlyaspiredtoascendtobecometheleaderoftheentirecity’

promotionhadnotmetwiththeapprovalofeveryonewithinthedepartment，becaualthoughhewasan

aptleaderwhodidnotasktoomuchofhismen,manydidnotappreciatehissomewhatarrogantmethods

ftheyoungestpolicechiefver，his

promotionwasconsideredbymanyoftheolderpolicemenanassaultonthewaythinghadalwaysbeendone,

andtheywereveryapprehensiveatanarrayofnewprogramsthatJimhadinstalledwithinthedepartment.

Theyconsideredhimtobeanoutsiderwhohadcomeashorewithoutspendinganappropriateamountoftime

onthepoliceforcebeforebeingpromoted.

Sal，oneoftheoldestmembersoftheforce,tookJimasidetoascertainwhetherJimwasawarethat

theremightbeproblemsahead。“It'snotthatwedon'tapproveofthejobthatyouaredoing”,Salsaid,“but

yourpromotionatsuchayoungagehasaroudthecuriosityofwhatifisthatmakesyoudervingofsuch

aposition。Weneedtimetoappraiyourperformance.”Jimwasaveryarticulateyoungman,andthere

dedtospeaktoallofthemenasagroupbeforeanymoreproblems

couldari。“Iunderstandyourconcerns,butIassureyouthatthecommissioner'sdecisiontoappointmeas

yourleaderwasnotanarbitraryone",Jimsaidconfidentlytothegroup。“Iamnotashamedofmyyoung

age,andIhopethatyouwillgivemetimetoprovetoyouthatIamworthyofbeingyourpolicechief."at

thatverymoment,thesoundofgunfirewasheardoutsideasanassaultbeganonthebankacrossthe

street—thecriminathe

firstpolicemantorunoutsideandapproachthegunman。Hisaptabilityindealingwithsuchadangerous

approximatelytwominutes,

hadnotonlypreventedacrime,buthehadalsoearnedtherespectandappreciationforhisfellowofficers,

whonowfeltashamedthathadeverquestionedhisleadershipabilities.

ntonElmStreet

asytoassume

thatnoonewouldbecomingtheotherway,andifadriverwasnotattentiveenoughhecouldeasilycometo

grief。Peopleattributedthistothefactthatchildrenwouldoftenasmbleatthejunction，makingithard

esidentswouldoftenasrtthattheonlywaytomakethe

junctionsafewouldbetoaugmentthepoorlylitstopsignswithatoflights,orattheveryleast，toassign

alollipoppersontothejunctionatthetimeswhenchildrenweregoingtoandfromschool。

Thelocalpoliceweresympathetictotherequests,aimedtheylackedthe

hadbeentightsincethepreviousyear’slocalgovernmentaudit,and

fundswereunlikelytobeforthcoming。However，theywould，whenasked，frequentlyassurethe

questionerthattheyhopedthegovernmentwouldsoonaugmenttheirbudgetandallowthemincread

autonomyinmakingfinancialdecisions,inwhichcadealingwiththeElmStreetjunctionwouldbeatop

oplepointedoutthatsimplytowaitforthegovernmenttoactwaspointless，thatmaybea

toftrafficlightscouldbepurchadcheaplyinanauction，orthatalollipopperson，besidesmakingthe

junctionsaferforthechildren，

emedthatforordinarypeopletosuggestimprovementstotheirowncommunitymerelyrvedtoastonish

thepolice。

Thematterwasttledinaratherunlikelyfashion。AtthebeginningofMarchacollisionoccurred

betweentheChiefofPoliceandtheauxiliaryfirervicechiefwhowasspeedingtoattendafire。TheChief

ofPolicesawtheaccidentcomingandsoundedhishorntogiveauralwarningofhisapproach,butthe

auxiliaryfirrvicechiefwasalreadyattemptingtoavoidasmallboyandwasunabletoassimilatethe

iliaryfirervicechiefandhisassociate,whowasinthebackat，were

efofpolice，however，wasslightlyconcusd。hegotoutofhisvehicleandstaggered

aroundwithaslightlybemudexpressiononhisface,asthoughhewasabouttoattainnirvana,afterwhich

hespenttwentyminutestryingtoattachaparkingtickettotheholewherethefireman'swindscreenhadbeen.

singCat

tchedthemoving

companywork，packingthelastcardboardboxesinthelargetruck。Theywerereadytogo,but

addecidedtowithdrawandhadhiddenhimlf

inthewoodsbehindhisowner'shou。Nowitwastimetogo,andhisownerwerebeginningto

ovalcompanywasn’twillingtowaitanymore，soChristinaand

adecisionthatwouldwrenchtheirhearts,theylefttheircat

behind.

Theirnewhou，acrossthetownfromtheiroldhou,istina

andPatrickwerenothappy。Nuttywasworthalottothem,ina

ytheylaughed

andlaughedwatchingthesmallbundleoffurwraphimlfupinabitofwirethathehadgot

fromtheirChristmaswreath。Hehadwoundhimlfupwhilewrestlingwiththewire,andwas

nowunabletomove,andwerebeginningtoworshipNutty,andthejoyhebroughttothem。

Unabletowithstandalifewithouttheirfavoritefriend，thecouplemadeaplan。Theysat

downtowriteaflyer。Theywroteabouttheirmissingcat，andtapedaphotoofNuttytothe

flyer。ovebacktotheiroldneighborhood，

andstucktheflyersupontelephonepolesandinthelocalstore。

Sadly,singlewitness

steppedforwardtoofferawordofinformationabouttheircat。However,afewdayslaterthey

rnedaroundandsaw

Nuttyrunningtowardsthemmeowing!SomehowNuttyhadfollowedtheirzigzagpath，across

everymajorzoneofthecity,inaandPatrickembracedtheircat

thecatwasawreckduetothejourney。Someoneorsomethinghad

edwretched,buttheylovedeverywrinkle。Theypraidthecatforhis

dn’tfoundhim，buthehadfoundthem!