Long time no posts!

Wow. Has it been a week already? Remember that part in my first post where I said time willing I would post as much as I could? Well, it was one of those weeks last week. The one where you feel like you can never get your head above the surface. Ha, thats ironic because swimming is the main reason I feel like this. Don't get me wrong, I love it. I love my friends there, the excitement when you're winning a race, and the feeling of accomplishment when you realize your hard work has paid off. But, the season is wrapping up. Only less than a month left. So my coach has been pushing us harder than ever. Which translates into me being more tired than ever. It would be nice if everyone at my school swam, that way teachers would give us less homework during the season, but of course that isn't how it is. I've been bombarded with homework, studying, swimming. Sadly, blogging was pushed down to the bottom of my to-do list. But here I am, Tuesday night, and I'm supposed to have 3-4 posts by tomorrow, and I only have two.

Alright, you're probably wondering why I inserted a random Pure Michigan audio track. The reason: I love it. I love the way it focuses on the simplicity of life. The silly excitement when a child learns they have the day off to play in the snow: sledding, building forts and snowmen, and of course the classic snowball fights. But more than that, and it may sound creepy, I love this guy's voice! It's calm and soothing. Yes, that may sound odd. But it makes me want to go to Michigan and go back to the simple days of being in elementary school! So, congrats Pure Michigan, your commercials are working.  I wanted to post this last Wednesday when we had a snow day, but was too busy. I know, I know. Busy on a snowday? But yes, I had practice still and my mom wanted to return some clothes at the mall, so my day was pretty busy in reality. I didn't even go outside other than walking in and out of buildings. We had a two hour delay today, too. Because of this, I caught a snippet of Regis and Kelly, the morning t.v. show. I'm sure you've all heard, but Regis is done after this year. So, in honor of you, Regis, I thought I should post your picture so my followers can acknowledge you.

Hole in My Life: Pages 57-118
And now on to my assignment. Last time we left Mr. Gantos, he was in Key West preparing to go back to St. Croix. That seems like forever ago to me because--spoiler alert-- I'm now reading about Jack being scheduled for his court hearing and about to be on his way to becoming an inmate. But let's rewind, he's moved back with his family and is having a hard time adjusting. He misses the freedom he once had and St. Croix isn't exactly the vacation hot-spot. There are many racial problems and the natives are becoming increasingly angry toward the white men who are making them work for little profit. Then Rik, another St. Croix inhabitant, comes along, and asks Jack to make a special crate for him that contains secret compartments. At first, Jack assumes he's just smuggling Indian artifacts or pottery, but obviously, he finds out later that he is a dope smuggler. Now, this isn't where Jack's involvement in this crime ends. Rik asks Jack if he is willing to help Hamilton, Rik's partner, sail a boat to New York where Rik will be waiting for them. The catch? As Rik says,

 " We have two thousand pounds of hash buried somewhere. I need to fly to New York and arrange the deals, and we need someone, you, to help Hamilton sail the boat to Manhattan, where i'll be waiting. Your job is just to get the boat there, and for that you get ten thousand dollars. Cash. Of course, we can't pay you until we've made some deals, so you might have to stick around and help out a bit."

Jack's reaction?

"All I heard was the number- ten thousand dollars, cash. This was the jackpot. The answer I was looking for. My exit from St. Croix and my entrance to whatever good school would have me."

So, obviously Jack agrees and they set off. Along the way, they go to the island and dig up the hash, wander into military waters (remember this for later), and almost run out of fuel, only to be saved by some Japanese sailors that almost ends in Jack's death. No, they don't attempt to kill him. I'll let you read to find out how though. They arrive in Manhattan and struggle to find a place to dock the boat. They check in at a hotel, and set out to sell they drugs. Successful, of course, they have almost sold all of the stash and Jack is ready to put this behind him. He is constantly paranoid, feeling like he is being watched. Rik and Hamilton were preparing to leave the hotel to sell the final couple of hundred pounds. They told Jack to stay at the hotel. With his spare time, Jack planned to go down to the front desk and ask where Thomas Wolfe, a writer who had stayed in this same hotel, had roomed. However, as he was on the landing, he heard the confrontation. FBI agents were now struggling with Hamilton trying to arrest him. In a stroke of genius, Hamilton shouts,

"There they are! Those are the guys who own the boat" 

He's talking about the boat that the agents have been watching. The only problem with the people he pointed at? After the FBI men let him go and he runs off, they realize that those men, too, have been hired to watch Jack, Hamilton, and Rik. The FBI agents rush out to catch the runaway. As you might have guessed, they're successful. Jack has managed to get away. He takes a train back to King's Court, the hotel in Fort Lauderdale, and plans to hide out there for a while. He thinks he's safe, but not for long...

This book is an easy read! It's interesting and hard to put down, especially now. Reading it, I have to know the rest of Jack's story! I wouldn't say that I can directly relate to it, but I can imagine how he feels. Here he is, a young man just trying to earn some money so he can conquer his dream. Ten thousand dollars is serious motivation for committing a crime. Turning the offer down would be quite hard. So I can't say I blame him, he had good intentions. He just has bad luck, right? I know it was wrong, but I can't help but feel some sorrow for the guy.

Well, there you go Mr. Hill. Time to move on to my AP Lit essay. Enjoy your Tuesday night!