Painful Repercussions

November 14, 2008

The actual accident only took seconds. The horse flipped his butt and the rider flew like she had wings. After the last buck, her legs let go and her life rested in God's hands. With spectators staring, eyes wide open, the rider hit the ground. The silence brakes when her body first hits the solid earth. After the initial thud, her body continues to bounce like a rag doll. Her momentum halts after slamming into the barbwire fence and she begins to organize her thoughts. Her mind replays the previous thirty minutes that brought her to her current painful situation. After picking up the events that lead to her present state, she realized that she should have seen it coming. The crisp day, the pressure put on the horse, and the limited riding that took place in the past month all contributed to the horse's decision to send her flying. The stupefied glare on her face shows the world that she now understands why she has been placed in such a painful predicament.

Horses are predisposed to certain attitudes that accompany different weather. Similar to humans, when a horse experiences hot sunny weather, they lack energy. The heat keeps them quiet as they try to conserve energy. Likewise, in cold weather a horse feels excited and rebellious. In most cases, a rider appreciates this energy boost that cold weather creates. Many times, when the sun shines, equestrians find themselves pushing their horse just to create enough energy to maintain any movement. Today, however, offered endless energy from the horse that would encourage a great ride. Painful shivers ran down the riders back as she tacked up the horse with good intensions. Little did she know that the horse did not have such an optimistic mind set. The horse hides his emotions well until the gate cracks open. Within a second's time, the horse reared and bucked through the gate and into the riding area. The quiet barn turned into a full out rodeo as the rider struggled to gain back control. She leapt into the air and managed to snag a line attached to the horse. After she realized that she had made a poor choose, she lunged forward standing no chance against the horse's power. The crisp air shot at the horse's feet forcing him to dance in every direction. The rider slides around each corner within the rectangular pen. Minutes passed until she could create any control over the equine. Trying to use the excessive energy, the rider put the horse to work.

Against better judgment, the equestrian decided to test the horses will. She knew that the next moments would bring complete accomplishment or concrete failure. The horse pranced in place while the rider through her leg over his back. Under such circumstances the horse could not retain any respect for his leader. The rider tried to pressure her equine into perfection but soon realized that perfection remained unrealistic. This reality check had no affect over the rider's determination. Her poking legs demanded that the horse listen to her superiority. Each movement, confined by the box that the rider kept around her horse's body, lunged in every direction trying to escape. She hoped that the box would save her from any dangers that might come about. The box soon broke and she went flying out the top. As she flew through the air she put her thoughts together trying to comprehend what just happened. She did not reach any conclusion until after hitting the ground and receiving the punishment for pushing her horse too far. She now sees the unfairness in her expectations. One inch at a time, the limp body readjusts itself to an enlightened posture. She gazes back into the equines eyes and sends her apologies. As if he understands, the horse lowers his head to show respect to his companion. This submission came a little too late to save the equestrians throbbing hip that still feels the intense pain from the fall.

She raises her hand and touches the beast that just transformed into a handsome prince. At this time her previous riding experiences present themselves to her. She reviews ever day within the past month and understands that the lack of practice contributed to the misfortunate fall. Her time management did not exist in the past few days and she did not get many chances to make it out to the barn. On the rare occasions that she could make it, her rides remained short and to the point. The horse had no time to improve on his performance or mood with the low caliber training. To improve on a hobby, one must practice as much as possible. This idea did not influence the ignorant equestrian who now must deal with the repercussions.

The blissful quiet air reentered the atmosphere. Time stops as the accident replays in both the rider's and horse's mind. The horse's sudden bolt through the gate knocks the equestrian to the ground. Running in circles, the horse tries to discourage the rider. Retaining power for only a short time, the rider jumps on the horse without much consideration. Continuous bucking throws the rider to the sky creating a dark outline around her profile. After a brief pause in the sky the rider tumbles back to earth. The loud thud shakes the world and a humbled rider results. The unfortunate consecutive events, that have now become history, cause the rider to feel the stupidity in her poor decisions. Had she stopped to think through the situation, she would not have experienced such painful repercussions. The cold air bites at her hip. The presser put on the horse brings pain to her shoulder. The reminder about how much riding she had done in the past month torments her aching head. She must experience all these repercussions for her mistake. Next time she will think twice before starting such a chain of events.

Desert Blood 10PM/9c

November 7, 2008

To whom it may concern,

Desert Blood 10PM/9c portrayed a great novel that captured the reader. Denied the ability to see the true, Gus peruses his life as a regular teenage boy. Nicholas Hernandez, Gus's adopted father, loves and cares for Gus as he would his own child. Misunderstood by the public, this relationship posses questions to Gus himself. Why would a famous actor adopt a young boy? Who keeps threatening Gus and Nick with horrifying notes? These questions and more create a well written fictional book that keep the reader intrigued. Desert Blood 10PM/9c by Ronald Cree has a well developed plot, realistic characters , and believable dialogue that keep the reader interested in finding out the truth about the mysteries that control Gus's life.

In the beginning the author remains distant and mysterious in portraying the story. Throughout the book, the reader develops questions about the unrevealing plot which sparks interest in the story. By the time the reader has read the first half they cannot put the book down. Becky Sanders, Nick's personal assistant and publicist, does not display any respect for Gus. She puts no effort in hiding her true feelings about Nick's decision to adopt Gus. She feels that his presents in Nick's life brings too much conflict that could destroy Nick's career. The tabloid prints ads accusing Nick for his so called romantic feelings towards Gus. Becky always reminds Nick that Gus only gives the public reason to criticize and question Nick. At one point in the story, Becky says that a guilty conscience should not cause one to adapt a child. When Gus hears this statement, questions arise in the readers mind about what has caused guilt in Nick. The reader continues reading hoping to find that answer to such a mysterious question. This answer is not given until the book's conclusion. Jack, the man who sent all the threatening letters, reveals the true in the last few chapters. Nicks guilty conscience resulted from the accident that took Gus's mothers life. While Gus believes that a man named John Brooks killed his mother, the truth lies in Nicks guilty conscience. Nick caused the death but fled from the crime and escaped punishment. The unresolved story pieces itself together and creates a perfect plot that no one would expect.

Before Cree started writing this book, he studied the characters that would control the story. Cree used a real person to create Gus as well as Nick. Gus’s character was based on a young orphaned child. He also adapted a young Mexican boy that inspired Gus’s character. With such a close look as how teenage boys act, Cree was able to portray a realistic character for his audience. They boy’s speech and personality matched what a real high school boy would sound like. Nicholas Hernandez was inspired by the famous actor, Nicholas Gonzalez. After speaking to Gonzalez and asking permission to use his character in the story, Cree managed to capture the true life of a celebrity. Through the process, Cree and Gonzalez became friends that could talk through situations in the book and portray what would happen in a realistic way. While many authors would fake this character, Cree got the inside view and spit it back out for the audience to see. This intense research allowed the story to contain realistic characters that the reader could comprehend.

Alone with a well developed plot and detailed characters, Cree also managed to create a believable dialogue. When two characters carried on a conversation, the reader could picture that conversation taking place right before their eyes. With such well developed characters, the dialogue flowed in a smooth manner that made it believable and easy to follow. In the last chapter, Nick and Gus talk with each other after Gus finds out that Nick killed his mother. The reader knows so much about each character that they are able to imagine the conversation taking place. “Sara is very worried about you. You promised to call her, remember? I hope you haven’t lost her number. Girls don’t like it when that happens.” Nick reminds Gus about his crush after covering all the important questions the Gus had in mind. By this point, the reader already knows that Nick understands women. This statement fits perfectly with Nicks overall personality. Gus then reminds Nick about his downfalls. “Don’t get excited. You still have a lot of things to learn about being a parent.” The reader understand Gus’s teenage attitude that always tries to defend itself making this statement flow with Gus‘s personality. The well written dialogue influences the reader to visualize the conversations.

Ronald Cree took his work to heart and created a masterpiece. He managed to create a well developed plot that captured the reader, realistic characters that portrayed the story, and a believable dialogue that created visual conversations. The plot that pieced itself together throughout the story involved the audience causing them to take interest in the events that took place. The well developed characters made the story believable as the reader understood and examined each personality. The believable dialogue made the story flow well through the unsolved mystery. Desert Blood 10PM/9c captivates the audience and forces them to continue reading until they reach the conclusion. Not until they reach the end and resolve the issues does the reader satisfy their thirst for the story.