Friday, April 04, 2008

Weekend Assignment Results: True Lies

For last week's Weekend Assignment, I asked you to tell me a story, an anecdotal lie with some element of truth. And oh, the stories you told!

Chuck stretches the topic a little to encompass his claim that the ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes wrote an episode of I Love Lucy.

Saqib narrates a harrowing encounter between jaded city kids and a pack of wolves near Albany, NY.

Mike regales us with a cautionary tale of inattentive brothers and a close encounter with death-by-sinkhole.

Sarah tantalizes us with an unviewed video labelled "Alice and the Squirrels."

Florinda presents a novel reason for not being cited for a traffic violation.

Kiva brings us a heartwarming story of a family at Dodger Stadium.

Great stuff, folks! If you haven't already done so, please be sure to tell us where your story departs from reality. As for my own story of a toxic encounter with Onondaga Lake "quicksand," the facts are these:

1. This was based on an actual field trip to Onondaga Lake, circa 1971. I would have been in seventh grade, not tenth. I think the name of my environmental science teacher was Carlson, not Frisson. But yeah, he was young and hip, and he taught the subject with missionary zeal.

2. The contaminated gray "sand" that edged the lake really did remind me of quicksand as my shoes sank into it. I remember getting it on my pants legs as well, but my pants weren't jeans. I didn't get my first jeans until eighth grade.

3. To the best of my memory, I didn't fall or even trip, much less get a debilitating rash. I don't remember a ranger station or cleaning up on site. I probably remained filthy until I got home from school.

4. But yeah, it has been called the most polluted lake in the U.S.. Swimming there has been banned since 1940, and yet there is a Lovers' Lane along the nearby parkway. And although it's a Superfund site, it's still in really, really bad shape. But they're working on it!

(Photo snagged from The University Of the State of New York / New York State Education Department / Office of Cultural Education.)

New Weekend Assignment coming up shortly.

Karen

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I feel like sitting this one out. But if I were to add my two cents I would have to agree with you in that Obama's speech on race was inspiring.

I found solace in his words as he touched upon an important issue in American Society.

Oratory as an art form can't die because humans need regular doses of inspiration just to keep hope alive.

Most of the time I am the one who is recieving the dose. My shy nature has hampered my public speaking career, however!