Explain the reference and what is important about it as Dillard relates her story.

Ft. Pitt [additional Pittsburgh history] = Caitlin
Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers = Alex
American Standard Corporation [background] (pp. 8-9) = Richard
Jean Arp style furniture (35) = James
Calder sculpture (8, 35, 213) = Melissa
Gaugin’s Fatata te miti [art] (35) = Vaughn
Edgerton Avenue (33) --Richland Avenue (66) --Reynolds Street (45) = Monica
Frick Park (Ch. 10) = Hannah
Lake Erie—summer cottage of Grandparents Doak (Ch. 13) = Sean
The Field Book of Ponds and Streams by Ann Haven Morgan (Ch. 16) = Samantha
Field Guide to Rocks and Minerals by Frederick H. Pough (Ch. 25) = Emily
Cotillion and Debutante process (Ch. 17 and 32) = Shelby
Orange Street Cars in Pittsburgh (Ch. 19) = Jesse
Ralph Kiner (68) and Roberto Clemente (220-1) [baseball players] = Drew
“trollish” Pirates’ fate in the ‘50s (97) = Whitney
Bill Mazeroski and 1960 World Series: Pirates vs. Yankees (99 and 229) = Adam
Wayne Terwilliger (110) = Jordan
Tamiami Trail (111) = Analisa
Reddy Kilowatt (102) [See Illustration above] = Pieter
French and Indian Wars [history] (Ch. 21) = Jade
Sid Caesar (140) = Matt
Polyphemus moth (160) = See chapter "The Fixed" in Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Dillard's 1975 Pulitzer Prize winner.
Rhinocerous beatle (163) = Nathan
Sewickley Country Club (Ch. 32) = Cory
Andrew Carnegie (Ch. 35) = Justin
Man Walking sculpture (212-3) = Erica

Annie now. Where is Waldo Annie? = Ashleigh

In Addition, Ponder These...
>What question would you ask Dillard, if you had a chance to talk to her? Why? What would her answer be?
>What perspective does An American Childhood give you on your life?
>What metaphor(s) would you use to describe life? [But beware cliches.]

"Bridging" story connections

Consider these Extensions or Context for reading
1. Max Apple--Nathan
2. Chekhov--Cory
3. Nolan Ryan --Drew
4. Big Train (Walter Johnson)--Justin
5. Girl Scouts/Brownies--Erica
6. bridging hand gesture--Ashleigh
7. Houston Astros 1983 uniforms--Sean
8. "separation anxiety" (psychology term)--Richard
9. curve ball--Hanna
10. fastball--Whitney
11. 1982 World Series--James
12. Rollie Fingers--
13. Robin Yount--Caitlin
14. Harvey Kuenn--
15. Andujar (need first name)--
16. Cub Scout uniforms (1960s)--Jade
17. Texas bluebonnet flower--Monica
18. Barbra Streisand (photo and or movie clip)--Emily
19. Robert Redford (photo and or movie clip)--Shelby
20. The Way We Were (movie precis)--
21. Astrodome (Houston arena)--Vaughn
22. Ralph Sampson (Houston basketball player)--Adam
23. Texas state parks 70 miles from Houston--
24. 58" oscillating fan--
25. deaths by falling off Empire State Building--
26. Texas wild grasses and other flowers: buttercups, poppies--

Our Books of Note

Favorite Books
Amityville Horror
My Sister’s Keeper
Hyperion by Dan Simmons
Stealing Horses
Martian Chronicles
The Notebook
Kite Runner
A Thousand Splendid Suns
The Giver
Five People You Meet in Heaven
The Longest Trip Home
Catcher in the Rye
Untouchable
Watership Down
Charlie’s Monument
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Band of Brothers
Dan Brown, author
Notes from the Universe

Dillard Reference Research updated

Explain the reference and what is important about it as Dillard relates her story.

The Field Book of Ponds and Streams by Ann Haven Morgan (Ch. 16) OR Field Guide to Rocks and Minerals by Frederick H. Pough (Ch. 25) = Lauren

Ft. Pitt [additional Pittsburgh history] = Devin
Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers = Chrissy
American Standard Corporation [background] (pp. 8-9) = Jesse
Jean Arp style furniture (35) = Alyssa Z.
Calder sculpture (8, 35, 213) = Taylor
Gaugin’s Fatata te miti [art] (35) = Seth
Edgerton Avenue (33) --Richland Avenue (66) --Reynolds Street (45)= Peter
Frick Park (Ch. 10) = Chris T.
Lake Erie—summer cottage of Grandparents Doak (Ch. 13) = Sarah
The Field Book of Ponds and Streams by Ann Haven Morgan (Ch. 16) OR Field Guide to Rocks and Minerals by Frederick H. Pough (Ch. 25) = Lauren
Cotillion and Debutante process (Ch. 17 and 32) = Kelly
Orange Street Cars in Pittsburgh (Ch. 19) = Hunter K.
Ralph Kiner (68) and Roberto Clemente (220-1) [baseball players] = Hunter H.
For a tribute to Clemente, visit this site.
“trollish” Pirates’ fate in the ‘50s (97) = C.J.
Bill Mazeroski and 1960 World Series: Pirates vs. Yankees (99 and 229) = Kyle
Wayne Terwilliger (110)= Chris B.
Tamiami Trail (111) = Tanner
Reddy Kilowatt (102) = Alyssa G. Try this Reddy Kilowatt web site.
French and Indian Wars [history] (Ch. 21) = Logan
Sid Caesar (140) = Jon
Polyphemus moth (160) = La Rue's slides (see below class web page calendar)
Rhinocerous beatle (163) = Collin
Sewickley Country Club (Ch. 32) = Stella
Andrew Carnegie (Ch. 35) --
Man Walking sculpture (212-3) -- See illustration above.

Annie now. Where is Waldo Annie? = Alex

Tell us when you had a Eureka insight or Christopherian experience

“Just as Christopher Columbus challenged the notion that the earth is flat by sailing ‘beyond the edge’ and thereby showing its curved shape…” (Armstrong, p. 152).

•Seeing something differently than what you expected…
•A change in the way you look at the world or how the world appears to you…
•Some sort of revelation, Eureka-aha, epiphany…


One of my most arresting experiences was seeing my first dump. We were in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on vacation during the summer. Dad and a friend were driving around with a couple of us boys.
We stopped at a dump outside of town. I'd never seen a dump before nor had I ever thought about what happened to trash, et al. (I must therefore have been quite young.)
The day was warm, sunny, and bright. Lovely green trees surrounded the dump. What we saw was utterly grotesque in my eye.
It was so ugly I couldn't comprehend it. There was so much trash it almost made me sick. Of course, it stunk. It seemed senseless.
I remember trying to ask Dad where it came from and why it had to be here. He answered, but not to my satisfaction. I couldn't stomach his answers. I urged him to leave soon.

Feb. 4, 1999—Crossing the Great Plains in a car is much better than by horse, but it's still a tedious trip. I've wondered how the pioneers maintained their sanity. Some years ago on a road trip back to the Midwest (with those wide-open spaces that give one time to think), I passed the time change line someplace in Nebraska and began to wonder when time zones were devised. I knew from a sunset table I had for bird hunting that each degree of longitude equated to 15 minutes of sunlight. Yet a degree of longitude was 30 or 60 miles and farther than anyone travelling by covered wagon could cover in a day.
So when did time zones become necessary? About the time that one could notice a change in the sun, actually lack of movement if moving west. When did people start moving fast enough to be concerned if they were experiencing the day at the same rate as others? The earliest technology that transported people that fast was the train. So I figured time zones were instituted about 1860 when there was a transcontinental railroad moving people east to west or west to east faster than the sun moved across the sky and the day time would be noticeably different from the time one got on the train to the time one got off.

Giving Blood
Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at Stanford Hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes, I'll do it if it will save Liz." As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away?" Being young, the boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood.

Looking for Summer

Above Evergreen on the approach to Squaw Pass.

Connections Between Ivan and Viktor

Your Ticket to Discussion

1. Kendra—Numbers are used instead of names to make people seem less than human.
2. Nicky—The soup (from the bottom)
3. Rachel—They tried to stay in the middle of the crowd.
4. Kyle—They avoided trouble.
5. Lauren—To both, life is beautiful, as the movie of that title.
6. Sasha—Dehumanization.
7. Kelly--Sick bay was relief from work.
8. Joe--World War II involvements.
9. Mazie—Mindset of prisoners (psychological impact).
10. Lindsey—The prisoners loved rest and alone time.
11. Alyse—A sense of vulnerability; had no more control over their own lives.
12. Paul—Main character male. (This needs expansion or replacement.)
13. Alex—Guards act almost inhuman, so heedless of prisoners’ feelings. You can beat a number easier than a person.
14. Natalie—No outside help, so other prisoners became family.
15. Sara—Lack of sanitation.
16. Jen—Prisoners kept positive attitudes.
17. Mike G.—Reduce prisoners to level of animals.
18. Connor—Answered truthfully, but limited.
19. Saryn—Neither men wrote to their wives (So what relationship did they have?)
20. Andrew—Both narrators try to make life better for themselves, even in small ways.
21. Katie Col—Survivors of camps had similar outlooks on life which would influence life after prison.
22. Mike S.—Both find deeper meanings to life in harsh situations.
23. Aly—Control by guards and lack of concern for prisoners’ welfare.
24. Katie Com—Apathy as a defense mechanism.
25. Jena—Both have adapted to life in prison.