Where were you on 9/11?

On September 11, 2001, i was in the 7th grade at Minnehaha Academy. School had obviously just began and we were just beginning to get the hang of things. We were in our first class of the day that Tuesday, which was Science (basically a Biology class). We had just started when a teacher came in and said the World Trade Center got hit by a plane. At this time i had no idea what the world trade center was, but i had never heard of a plane hitting a building in my life so i was amazed. The teacher said it was on TV and invited students to come watch it. I think i was so shocked that i didn't want to leave my seat, maybe i was confused, most likely both of those.

By the 2nd hour, everyone had heard about the planes hitting the WTC, of course at this time nobody thought it was an actual attack. Kids had been spreading rumors that our school was next and also that the mall of america was going to be attacked next. Of course everyone was scared, but they said over the loudspeaker that we should not be afraid, the attacks were over. This helped a bit, but no learning went on that day.

Later when i got home, it was explained to me in full by my parents. They told me what the WTC was and all the information they had gotten from the 24 hour continous news reports that day. It took a while for me to actually get it because i was 12 at the time, i had no idea what this meant or why this happened. It took about a month(?) i think, but it could have been longer until i finally grasped the concept that America had been attacked by terrorists flying planes into the two WTC buildings.

The attacks on the WTC, the attempted attack on the white house, and the attack on the white house, are really our Watergate, our World War, our Vietnam War, we will be asked to tell about the attacks and where we were for our whole lives. And i think that kids that were 12 in 2001, will be the last of a generation that will actually be able to recall where they were and what happened on that day. Which i am pretty proud of.

-Sam

Pictures from Decorah.

My Desk and My Bed!!
Campus
Beautiful View of the Upper Iowa River
"Downtown" Decorah
And last but not least, the famous Whippy Dip!

My Favorite Disney Movies

I know its random but i really want to see these because i havent seen them since i was about six!

Aladdin
Beauty and the Beast
Hunchback of Notre Dame (not sure how much i like this one)
Pocanhantas (sp?)
Finding Nemo
Dumbo
think thats bout it...

Day 15 at luther college.

Brandt, 2nd floor study lounge

This is the 15th day i have been in college at Luther. Today it has been raining since I woke up, and it still is raining although quite a bit less now. Today i woke to the sound of a fire alarm, and i had to rush to get dressed and then rush outside. After the R.A's said it was safe to go back inside, I plopped on the couch and began watching TV and checking facebook, and IMing. I watched the top ten best plays of Sunday on Sportscenter and then flipped to Discovery channel. An interesting show called How things are made was on. In this episode they were showing how toothpicks, guitars, helicopters, and beer were made. It was very interesting, but i had to leave halfway through the show because i had not showered yet and had Paideia at 12:15. It was near 11:15 when i stepped in the shower. When i returned to my dorm room, it was empty and the clock said it was 11:26. I had about 30 min before i had to head out towards Valders. I dressed in fairly warm clothes because it is pretty chilly outside. Some people might not think this is so great, but i just can't wait until fall comes around and the temperatures and the leaves drop. So it took me about 5 minutes to dress and then i sat on the couch watching TV until noon. Then I casually walked to Valders and went to room 106. There were already students inside the classroom when i arrived, which i was kind of suprised at. I like our professor a lot. His name is Oeyvind Gulliks, and he is from Norway and this year is a guest professor at Luther. We talked about ch 13-16 in the odyssey, and lots of students presented good points about the things that were going on in the book. Class ended early because the prof. said he couldnt stand his cold any longer and we were pretty much finished anyways. Well now im sitting in the lounge on the 2nd floor of Brandt. I should be reading but i am blogging instead, because i feel like writing. I like Brandt a lot and i am so glad that i chose it over Olsen or Ylvi because i have a nice room and it is just a overall nice building. It is also very central to Campus which is nice because none of my classes are very far away luckily. The farthest class for me is global politics in Loyalty Hall. This class has been tough to get to because it starts at 8 am. I have been tardy twice because i slept through my alarm. Hopefully i will solve this problem tomorrow and make it on time for once. I think i am beginning to get sick because i feel congested and i kind of feel like i might have a fever, maybe ill stop by health services and have some one check me out. I sure hope i dont get sick because that would be very boring and involve me sitting in my dorm all day until I feel better. Well I'll write more when i get the chance. bye for now.

Vikes easily win against falcons, Peterson makes big impact on his debut

Minnesota's defense overwhelmed Harrington with six sacks and two interception returns for touchdowns, and rookie running back Adrian Peterson finished off the Falcons in a 24-3 victory by the Vikings on Sunday.

I think the Vikings got lucky this week. The two interceptions thrown by Harrington were used to our advantage and were both returned for touchdowns. I don't think we will be all that lucky when we play Detroit, Kansas, or even Green Bay. We need to work on offense becuase our defense is pretty good, we just have trouble getting downfield and scoring.

Tavaris Jackson had a decent game, 13/23, 56%, and threw for 163 yards and 1 touchdown.

It was a good game to watch because we have not been that successful for a while. In the first quarter, watching Kevin Williams a defensive tackle ran an interception back for a touchdown! it was amazing!

MN Twins Ballpark Construction Site

Picture of the New Minnesota Twins Ballpark Construction Site...

Ground-Breaking was delayed due to the collapse of the 35W Bridge...

Has not been rescheduled yet..

The Bart Wants What It Wants - DABF06

This is tonight's simpsons episode!


The object of their affection -- and altercation -- is Greta Wolfcastle, the daughter of action-film star Rainier Wolfcastle. After Bart and his slingshot rescue her backpack from bullies, Greta is immediately smitten. But her crush is unrequited, and the oblivious Bart blows off a date with her in order to harass Principal Skinner at his stand-up comedy debut. Clued to Greta's feelings, Bart breaks off the relationship -- until Milhouse steps in. It's only then, in the name of love, that Bart asks his parents' help to win Greta back by following her to her dad's film set ... in Toronto.

Update on the Minneapolis Bridge Collapse

Navy divers have been laying the groundwork for their search of the Mississippi River to find bodies that are believed hidden in the debris and murky water.

Six days after a Minneapolis bridge collapsed, the job of pulling tons of broken concrete, cars and twisted metal from the Mississippi is moving ahead.

Divers are gearing up to head back into the water to search for the 8 people who remain missing. A Navy dive team has arrived to help, and an FBI team is on its way.

Clearing the bridge wreckage will help with the recovery operation and open a channel wide enough for barge and boat traffic.

The clean up is expected to cost as much as $15 million.

In the meantime, it appears commuters are finding ways into the downtown area despite the loss of a major freeway.

Families of people missing after the Minneapolis bridge collapse have seen the wreckage up close.

The Interstate 35-West bridge over the Mississippi River was jammed with bumper-to-bumper rush-hour traffic when it suddenly broke into huge sections. Dozens of vehicles fell 60 feet into the water.

At least one burning truck and a school bus had been clinging to a slanted slab of the span. Parents of some of the children aboard the bus say all were able to escape.

Tons of concrete and twisted metal also crashed into the water when the bridge broke into several huge sections.

The eight-lane bridge, a major Minneapolis artery, was in the midst of being repaired and had several lanes closed when it crumbled.

So far, officials don't suspect anything other than structural failure.

An official with the Department of Homeland Security says there's nothing to link the collapse to terrorism.

The 40-year-old bridge stretches between Minneapolis and St. Paul.

The arched structure was built in 1967 and rises about 64 feet above the river.

The National Transportation Safety Board says the first step in the federal investigation into the Minneapolis bridge collapse will be to recover the pieces and reassemble them. The group's chairman says putting the bridge back together will help investigators figure out what went wrong.

Minnesota's governor has ordered an immediate inspection of all bridges in the state with similar designs to the bridge that collapsed in Minneapolis.

It's been a long time...

Wow it has been quite a while since I last posted anything. I have been extremely busy since Graduation which was June 4th, 2007. After the graduation ceremony we had a all-night party, which was fun and they had lots of activities and games going on. The party was at the Shoreview community center, and luckily it had a sweet pool! We all were picked up the next morning around 5:30 A.M.! Which was the stupidest time because all our parents had to wake up at like 4 to come pick us up on time. But luckily Mom didnt have to because i got picked up by Margo's Mom.

Well afterwards a had about a week before i started work and i pretty much relaxed and sat around. Then work started the next week. I work at Camp Minnehaha which is at North Campus. Well i thought i would never be at North Campus again until like 5 years from now but i walked in for work and we meet the kids in the campus room (lunchroom). It's a fun job, i love working with kids, but there are a few brats that make it tough but theres more cute kids than brats so it makes it easier to deal with the brats.

Last Friday, we went to the Minnesota Zoo. It has changed alot since i last went there. There is a new Minnesota Trail and lots more exhibits and exotic animals then i remembered. It went pretty smoothly. A few kids had attitude but we worked our way around them. I was very exhausted and sunburnt. I am relaxing this weekend and sleeping in because next week i start all over again. I have 5 more weeks of work and then its off to college.

My parents are "prepping" me for college life. They say im not supposed to lie and i should keep my room clean. I also attempted to help my mom make my favorite food, quiche. I did alright but she did most of the work. I am not very good at cooking. We are having steaks for dinner and my dad is cooking them "chumly" style. Which means spray pretty much the whole container of lighter fluid on the grill. Steak is another one of my favorite foods.

TWINS GRAND IN WIN OVER BREWERS

Everything worked out for the Twins tonight.

Boof struck out 11 and retired 10 in a row at one point, and only let the Brewers get one run.

Torii Hunter hit a grand slam in the Twins five run third inning

Jeff Cirillo hit a two-run homer and also a run scoring triple.