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May I See an ID?

“ID please sir!” said the bouncer

“I’m going to be honest with you” I said, slurring my words “I’m not 21, can I just show you my ID sideways?”

“I don’t think I’m allowed to”, stopping mid sentence as the he glanced over the ID

“You’re from Chicago too?” said the bouncer, squatting, extending his arms out as if he were going to hug me.

As the conversation continued I learned he was from the south side of Chicago, came here to study political science, and wants to become a writer/mayor of Chicago one day. Safe to say he immediately caught my attention. This was the night I met the bouncer of Eden Lounge, Vincenzo Bruno Caporale. The only way to truly describe this character is an old Italian man trapped in a 20 year old boy’s body. He stands at a height of 5’6”, weights approximately 140 pounds, and speaks solely with his hands.

Several weeks later, I went back to Eden when he was working to ask if he would agree to an interview. As I suspected by his outgoing personality, he immediately agreed. To start things out lightly my first question was “How on earth were you hired as the bouncer?” Vinnie, as he prefers to go by, let out a hard laugh and replied, “Man, I don’t know. I weigh 100 pounds soaking wet and they expect me to break up bar fights?” He then explained how working at a bar in a college town, especially Iowa City, could get out of hand sometimes. While checking ID’s outside of the bar, he began to tell me countless examples of the horrid experiences he has had working there.

“Oh you know, cleaning up puke, breaking up fights, being seduced by these prehistoric women,” said Vinnie with his arms crossed and his legs spread.

“Ok, I have to hear about these old women” I said chuckling

Vinnie explained that this 60 or so year old woman was celebrating her birthday, was a little intoxicated. She had invited him into the bar for drinks but explained that he could not because he was working. This woman was very persistent and proceeded to pull him by his tie into the bar. Eventually he broke free, returned to his assigned position outside, and the friends of the old woman escorted her away. “It was funny at first, but now it’s just like c’mon. Why do people gotta be like that? No respect I tell ya.”

I began to quickly pick up on the fact that Vinnie would steal the interview from me by going off on tangents and speaking to me about his life goals and hopes for the future of humanity. I was not sure exactly what I was getting myself into, but I was intrigued by the fact that he was able to start a conversation about his bar stories and work his way into how he feels he does not fit in with today’s generation.

“I don’t understand how any of this can be seen as fun or enjoyable. Grinding on one another is not dancing. “EDM” is not music. This environment is not ideal for a man with a worldview like mine. I want to be able to swing dance and talk with the person next to me. It’s like the art of conversation has been lost”.

Unfortunately this was the last question I could ask Vinnie during this meeting. I asked if he would be willing to meet up again soon to continue this interview. He said absolutely and he was looking forward to it.

For this interview, I thought it would be best to have a little more structure to it and have more of an idea of what specific questions I was going to ask. I started off simple. Why did you choose the University of Iowa? His response threw me off a tad, because it was “the view”. I told him to elaborate. His next response, which surprisingly trumped his first one, consisted of; “Where ever I looked out the window, or down the street, it was aesthetically pleasing. Plus I didn’t get into Wisconsin”. Now that is how you start an interview.

I thought it would be interesting to ask what he preferred, living in Iowa City or Chicago? As stated earlier, I am also from Chicago so I was eager to hear his response. He went on to say that college towns are not like real worlds. All his friends are doing the same things he is; going through the motions of school, working different but equally mundane jobs, and drinking at the same bars every night (most of them getting away with it under age). This town is isolated with college students with the same routine. It’s not like that in Chicago, and he won’t be ready until his 21st birthday. So for now he likes it here in Iowa City, but Chicago will always be his true home. I would have to say I agree with him on this point. The routine here in Iowa City does get old at times and we both have plans to return to Chicago after we graduate.

Next I decided gear towards his career choices and general future goals.

“So you want to be a writer, lawyer, and eventually the mayor of Chicago. What influenced all of these?” I asked.

“Maybe growing up where I did, I met two mayors of Chicago, my dad is a city worker. I come from an area that is very politically charged in the city. My dad is a talker, he’s got the gift of gab, and good talking makes for good writing, and vise versa,” replied Vinnie.

“Tell me more about your writing, with Iowa obviously being well known for its writing programs.”

“Ultimately, movies inspired me and they are my favorite medium to tell a story. I want to be up there with Emerson and Hemmingway and I want my writing to be a philosophy for people.” stated Vinnie.

He continued, “I’m a hippie. I believe in the power of love to change things. I feel that there can be a society of man without borders, religions, defined racial boundaries, these boundaries that separate. The only real boundaries are us, and them. The working man, and the boss. And they put these categories on us so they make us fight and they reap the benefits. And that’s no lie”

“You don’t think you’re a tad crazy?” I said, half joking.

“I think I’m insane. I’m not sure if I know absolutely nothing, or absolutely everything.”

This interview had many turns, and at some points it was hard to keep up with this man. I had to quickly adjust and let myself kick back, relax, and let him do the talking. Who is Vincenzo Bruno Caporale? I am not completely sure, but what a great character.

Me, Vinnie, and the Mayor of Chicago. #nbd

Been at it since day 1

I don’t know why I remember: Writing About Memory

I don’t know why I remember this but back in first grade, around Christmas time, I use to sit next this girl named Jessica. Our desks were paired up touching each other, both of us in our uniforms. I was wearing a white button down shirt, navy blue dress pants, and a clip on tie while Jessica wore a blue and white plaid skirt with a tucked in, white short sleeved shirt. We had a substitute teacher that day, Sister Irene. She had given us an assignment to work on for an hour until it was time for lunch. The assignment was to color in a picture of a reindeer and the cut it out so we could display it on our lockers. As soon as I got my piece of paper with the reindeer on it, I rushed to get my color pencils out so I didn’t waste anytime on my masterpiece. Being very careful, I made sure not to color outside the lines and I tried my hardest to make sure it was perfect. As I was vigorously working on my reindeer, I felt tapping on my shoulder from Jessica. So I stopped my coloring and asked her what she wanted. Before she answered, she looked at my reindeer, made a face of disgust, then looked at me and said, “Why are you trying so hard to color in the lines? We are just going to cut it out anyway”. Sister Irene was walking by at the time and heard Jessica say this. Without saying a word, Sister Irene looked at me, smiled, and walked away. First grade Anthony took that as a “Don’t worry, your reindeer is better than Jessica’s”.

I don’t know why I remember this certain memory. In third grade my best friend at the time and still to this day, Neil, was telling me about how he was able to get any Crayola crayon for just a penny. He immediately gained my attention. Neil then went on and told me that if you go to the Crayola website, pick any crayon and insert a penny into the CD slot of a computer then they will give you that crayon through the same slot. Now at first I was like, pshhh no way. But Neil was very persistent and was determined to convince me. While running both of his hands through his hair as to express an irritated response to my doubt, he continued to tell me about how he actually did this the other night and he swore to God it worked.

I don’t know why I remember this, but when I was about five years old my grandma had to babysit my younger sister and I while my parents when out for the night. It was exactly 9:04 on the digital clock we had next to our lamp in the living room. While I was trying to watch TV, my sister was asleep in my grandma’s arms. Trying not to wake my sister up, my grandma whispered to me that it was time to go to bed. I refused to go to sleep and started to throw a tantrum. During my pouting, my grandma told me that if I don’t go to sleep then the police would come and take me to jail. I didn’t believe her and told her that she was lying. A few minutes passed, and while she was still trying to convince me she wasn’t lying a police car drove down our block with its lights flashing. Needless to say I went to my room right away and pretended to fall asleep so the police wouldn’t take me to jail.

That One Museum in Macbride Hall

Iowa city, home to a giant brain in the middle of campus, a cemetery with a cursed black angel, and Falbo’s, where the pizza barely received FDA approval. To add to this quirky list, MacBride Hall is specifically home to Rusty, a ten-foot tall sloth. Although this may seem a little too unusual, Rusty is part of something much bigger that has served and educated the population for many years.

In 1858, after being ordered by the Iowa General Assembly, the University of Iowa created the Museum of Natural History in order to display the findings of certain specimens and artifacts. This action was in response to a faculty member who started a petition to display more specimens and findings as a tool for professors to use in the Natural Science department. Now, the University of Iowa Museum of Natural History is considered the second oldest museum that lies west of the Mississippi River. The museum has six different exhibits, which consists of over 140,000 artifacts and specimens.

A true appreciation for the museum was not established until the University of Iowa suffered a massive blow. In 1897, a fire broke out in Iowa City that destroyed the Main Library, North Hall, and other important buildings on campus. After this unfortunate event, the Iowa State Legislature realized the importance of preserving the collections the museum held. Not only because they served as important tools for teaching, but the gathered collections were popular amongst the public. As a result, the new and improved Natural Sciences building was created in 1904. Thirty years later, the building was renamed Macbride Hall after Thomas Macbride, a former University of Iowa President. This building continues to serve as the current location of the Museum of Natural History.

Some may believe that the museum is full of boring artifacts and useless information, but this museum has a star attraction that is very well known throughout the of Iowa City area. As mentioned before, the Museum of Natural History is home to a replica of a ten-foot sloth that goes by the name of Rusty the Giant Sloth, who roamed the earth during the Ice Age 12,000 years ago. The replica Megalonyx Jeffersoni, or giant sloth, is based on one of the three skeletons found in this region. Rusty is the main attraction in one of the most popular exhibits, the Iowa Hall exhibit. This section of the museum has been open now for 30 years and covers a variety of different aspects that contribute to the history of Iowa. Each year, Rusty and the exhibit are visited by over 40,000 people that range from all different ages. The giant sloth has become so popular that it has its own Facebook page, Twitter account, and participates during special events or holidays by dressing up in costume for its fans.

The University of Iowa Museum of Natural History was started by a petition to help educate not only the students of the university, but to the public as well. The museum has now been open for over 150 years and with the help of students, the University, and even Rusty himself, it has been able to continue to serve its original purpose.

#museums&stuff

Handling Divorce Properly

According to the American Psychology Association about 90% of people (in Western Culture) marry by the age of 50. A healthy marriage can be beneficial for the couple and the family as a whole, both mentally and physically. But even though marriage rates are very high, in the United States between 40% and 50% of marriages end in divorce. Unfortunately, my parents fall victim to both statistics. The divorce was not easy on our family, but everything happens for a reason. Even though divorce can put much stress on the entire family, there are certain practices encourages by psychologists which make the process of divorce easier for the family as a whole.

From the very first day I could remember, my parents never got along. They were always fighting with one another and were not afraid to hide it from my little sister or myself. As I got older, I wished more and more that they would end up getting divorced. Eventually, that wish came true. It was towards the beginning of my sophomore year in high school when my dad told me that he was sending the divorce papers to my mom. Nothing really hit me until later that week when my mom received the papers at work. There had always been talks about a “divorce”, but this time it was real.

On the day the papers were sent, my heart dropped. It was the worst feeling I have ever experienced in my entire life. There were so many thoughts going through my head during that conversation that it almost became unbearable. I know that I wished for this to happen, but the reality of that situation was far too intense for anything I could ever imagine. I started to think how broken my family would become and how I would have to live with one parent and never see the other. It was impossible to hold tears back during that conversation and every emotion I felt that day blurred my sense of thought. I was unable to see any positivity from that situation and I believed nothing would ever get better, until later that week.

The day my mother received the papers was a completely different situation. I will not go into detail, but it was not a day I would like to go back and relive. Every thought and emotion that was expressed by me during the event earlier in the week went right out the window. It was not until this day that I finally realized how much better everything was going to be, it was almost a sense of relief. I never thought how calm my parents might be without them being with each other constantly, or how they could focus on being better parents without having to deal with all the fighting everyday. All this time I only thought about having the perfect family. Where there would actually be peaceful family dinners and overall we enjoyed each other’s company, but this is not my family. So we might as well settle for the next best thing, a divorce.

To this day, I could not imagine what my life would be like if my parents were still married. Overall it was the best thing for themselves, and for the family as well. I am very close with both of my parents and my sister, my parents are happier then I have ever seen them, and during special occasions or events my parents do a good job of getting along with each other.

The entire family is affected in the event of a divorce, but it all starts with the couple that is becoming separated. Psychologists have many techniques in which they encourage their patients to use when dealing with a divorce. For example, mediation and writing specific things down may help the process run more smoothly. During the process of divorce, emotions tend to run high and can blur the thought process of individuals. When emotions are high, it is not the best time to try and work out problems that the couple is having. Mediation allows the individual to calm down, put his or her thoughts in order, and then come back to the argument in a calm manner. Writing topics of issues the individual feels need to be addressed allows for better communication. The couple is encouraged to write down their problems during a time in which they feel relaxed, and then come back to each other and discuss their problems. Having a list of things written down enables stronger communication between the couple and allows each individual to truly express how they feel in a more neutral environment. Throughout the entire process, communication that can be respected by both people in the relationship is key to a healthy divorce.

As stated before, the entire family is affected by divorce. Out of anyone involved, the main priority should be the children and making sure their well-being is always kept in mind. There are a few ways that psychologists believe are best when helping a child deal with divorce. The first step is for the parents to have a plan on how they are going to tell their children. A well-planned, honest conversation is highly beneficial to children and allows the child to openly communicate with the parents about the situation. Parent’s should also give a fair warning on when certain events occur, such as when one parent moving out or other specific dates concerning the divorce. It is important that if feasible, the child should remain in regular contact with each parent. Children who have a distant relationship with one or both parents may develop certain long-term developmental issues, such as anger management problems, poor communication between the child and parents, and have a higher chance of getting a divorce themselves.

Divorce is not easy for anyone, but it can be dealt with in a healthy manner. Using techniques proposed by psychologists, or even going to therapy can help relieve some of the stress that is accompanied by divorce for everyone that is involved.

#essay1

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