tribute to cod

A Man of Service

Kenneth “Cod” Brandt dedicated his life to service; service to his country, service to his family, service to his community. He was a strong, caring man who was always placed others before himself.

               Cod was born in Postville, Iowa in 1923 to Ray and Melinda Brandt. Though He had many aunts and uncles, he and his older brother were the first generation of his family to graduate from high school. While he was a teenager, he had few small jobs working at a popcorn stand and a B&B clothing store.

               After high school, he was drafted into the army and sent to Europe to fight in World War II. During this time, Cod served under General Patton in the 8^th Armored Division of the European Theater and most notably fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He was a tank commander and was part of the reconnaissance group, which in his words meant “you go first.” He risked his life for his country everyday by being the first in the line of artillery. Reconnaissance soldiers went ahead of the rest to scout territory and were the ones to make contact with the enemy. Cod was willing to give his life for his country, a thing not all men can do.

               Once Cod came home, he got married and spent the rest of his life with a young woman named Betty Byrnes. Cod owned and operated gas stations for the majority of his life and later worked as an insurance adjuster after he retired. He was just an ordinary man in small-town Iowa.

               Cod did some extraordinary things, though. He and his wife did many things for their community, including the running of St. Vincent DePaul Thrift Store for 25 years, helping the less fortunate. Even after the store was no longer under their control, they stayed in contact with the new owners and constantly asked if they needed any help. They also drove by the store every day to check on it and see if there were any donations that needed to be taken care of. Cod served on the Board of Directors of the Food Shelf of Allamakee County, donated blood regularly, was a part of the Zoning Committee of Allamakee County, and donated to many causes in his community. He coordinated many Thanksgiving meals for the county and even helped give rides to the meal site. He was an excellent example of the qualities of devotion and respect. Many lessons can be learned from the way this man chose to live his life.

               In his community, Cod bought a run-down plot of land next to his gas station and fixed it up. This was one of the many projects he took on to better the community without being asked. The well-being of others was something that was constantly on his mind. He brought in new industry to Waukon which helped his small town prosper. Cod even aided his poverty-stricken Aunt Esther by buying her a trailer to live in. He did these things throughout his life all the while being humble. He never let anything stop him; not poor economic conditions, Alzheimer’s disease, or his three battles with cancer. He never let anything bring him down and was still smiling in the last days of his fourth and final fight with cancer. His service touched many people around him, and you can still see his kindness today in the beauty of his small town and in the gentleness of his family and neighbors.  

Tour of Kennedy High School cont.

If you go upstairs, you pass the terribly smelling labs and the awkward teachers trying to be cool. You then pass by the old teacher who is finally retiring this year after starting when the school opened in the 1970s. He taught some of the teachers here now, and not the young ones. Then you pass the weird rooms that never have the same teacher in them the whole day long. If you turn, you pass the math teachers that students pretty much hate and then the room if the teacher that “resigned”’ because of accusations of relations with a student last year. If you go back to the foyer and take a direct right, you pass a few random LA rooms and the Japanese room, plus the main office where you go when you get in trouble, like when the guys in the junior class pass around a purple turtleneck to wear for every school picture. Then you pass the band hallway that always has people in it no matter what time it is. Then you pass the art hallway which never has people in it. Then you pass the choir and orchestra hallway which is where many dirties like to hang out. It’s super awkward to trying to shove by them when they are just standing around cussing up a storm and you want to go to class. Next, you pass the cafeteria where there is bad food and weird open mike lunches and fights. A massive grindfest also occurs there twice a year at Homecoming and WPA. Then, you pass the weird pod entrances to the auditorium which is always full of creepy dirties PDA-ing. In the back there are the green room and dressing rooms where many a dirty has been caught doing the nasty.

If you were to turn the other way from the foyer, you would pass other LA rooms and then the guidance counselor’s office which you never enter unless you want to drop a class. The nurse is also around there, but she’s not actually allowed to give you anything and only allows you to lay down for about fifteen minutes if you feel sick, all the while talking loudly so you can’t sleep at all. Then you pass the other healthy vending machines that serve no purpose and the recycling bins hat never actually were recycled until this past year. Then you go down a hallway with the terrible lockers and random French and LA rooms are. The special needs classes are also down here. The gym is here too, but you never have to take gym at Kennedy unless you are a bum and never do a sport or actually fill your schedule. Although, gym doesn’t sound too bad because I hear you either walk around the track the entire time or play things such as badminton.

Well, there’s Kennedy for you. I hope if you ever have to actually go there, this has helped you a bit. If not, that’s ok too.

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Tour of Kennedy High School

Kennedy High School is a jungle. Here is a simple tour through its crazy twists and turns.

               The front of school has a horse shoe drive where Carl monitors for students parking there. No one really knows his job description, but he’s who you blame if you get a parking ticket. He’s actually pretty nice, but it isn’t fair that he doesn’t give you a ticket if he recognizes your car and he likes you. There is a pond in the patch of green in the horse shoe which serves no purpose. There aren’t any fish or anything, just rocks, weeds, and water.

               Once you enter the door, you see a big staircase. This is the foyer. The corner/half by the picture case and attendance office to your right is the “dirty corner”. People who don’t shower, smoke pot, and do way too much PDA (public displays of affection) inhabit this part. The other side is where all the freshman and African Americans hang out. The middle part is for the seniors. There is a senior bench right under a TV that has weird inspirational sayings on it all day long. That bench is for seniors only. Sometimes they come sit on it during class just because they can. The jocks congregate by the vending machines that are borderline under the staircase. There is a weird wooden triangle thing opposite the vending machines that no one pays any attention to. I think there’s a map on one of the sides but I’m not sure. To your right is the attendance office where people sign out when they fake sick and where their parents bring assignments they forgot at home. To your left it the activities office which serves o real purpose other than to be the place you turn in your sports physical forms and to pick up fun certificates.

               When you go up the stairs, on the first landing is the entrance for the Upper IMC. After you go through a creepy detector to see if you are going to steal a book, they scream at you to sign in. Then you can either use a computer here, down one level, or down another level where there is a small ladder and tiny door that leads to directly under the stairs. No one actually knows why it’s there. This is where you go when you skip lunch to do homework you forgot to do. There is also a secret room where hey film the announcements each day. Which is pretty much two guys reading a piece of paper and then Dr. W (principal) steals the mike to elaborate whenever she wants.

If you go back to the first level an go straight back to the right, you pass part of the LA department and then loop around to the cool social studies teachers who all have white hair and are some sort of coach. Then you turn left and pass the teachers’ lounge where kids go in to get pop, popcorn, and coffee for themselves but pretend a teacher asked then to get it for them. Then you pass the not as cool but still okay social studies teachers and then turn into the foreign language hall where you can hear weird music videos being blasted on the smart boards to bored students.

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How to Write a Blog

               This is how to write a blog.

·       First, find a topic. You can pick anything at all! You can create a fictional story, review a book, tell someone how to do something, badmouth a person you know (not advised because this is the internet and nothing is private), share a recipe, show appreciation for someone, suggest a product, or pretty much anything- this is your blog post and you can do anything you want with it!

·       Next, organize your writing. Some people can just write exactly what they are thinking and just pretty much throw up words on the page, but it’s best to plan out your thoughts. You can write out an outline or scribble some thoughts on a piece of paper. This can be very helpful, especially so you don’t forget anything.

·       Then, write your blog. Take your thoughts and put then to words. You can do anything with this. You can choose any tone you want, use any type of diction formal or informal, write in short sentences, long, or a variety. You can sound very learned or just make your post an informal greeting. This is your post and you decide what you want to convey to your audience. Your style of writing helps you express your purpose. Normally whatever comes naturally is the best for your blog.

·       Last, revise. Check for spelling errors and weird wording and content errors. This is pretty much a no brainer so you don’t sound like a blithering idiot. You want your blogs to make sense to your readers. You could even have others proof read your blog for you.

If you follow these simple steps you are sure to have a rockin’ blog! Don’t worry about what your readers will think, though. This is your blog so even if you don’t have any readers, it just acts as an outlet for you. Let it be the therapy or fun past time you need it to be. J

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Pleasantville

The movie Pleasantville touches on many important aspects of the 1950’s era. It touches on civil rights, conformity, sexuality, utopian thought, and education.

            The major hit at civil rights in this movie is the “No Colored” signs that emerge throughout the town when townspeople start to live in color rather than black and white. This is a direct reflection to the attitude of whites toward African Americans during the civil rights movement. The characters in this movie reflected history because they were subject to violence, but they tried their best not to succumb. They held meetings and tried to brainstorm how to make their society better and equal while trying to stay as peaceful as possible. The attitude in this movie is the exact same as racism in history.



            This movie also accurately reflected the utopian society and conformity that accompanies the 1950s. Everyone was fixated on the “perfect life”. Consumerism was big and everyone had to have the same nice car and white picket fence. The American society had a very happy and utopian exterior. No one spoke out very much in the happy towns like Pleasantville. This town was perfect- the basketball team ever missed a basket, the temperature was always 72 degrees, the firefighters only had to rescue cats from trees, and the mother looked flawless and had dinner ready when the father got home. This lovely patriarchal society seemed to have no glitches, but this movie challenged that utopian thinking.



            The education in the fifties was starting to change. They still had basic schooling, but people became a bit more aware of things in the outside world after World War II. For instance, “duck and cover” was taught as protection for bombs. Also, things that weren’t normally talked about, such as sexuality, became a bigger part of society, as sort of reflected in this movie. Towards the end of the fifties, the conformity of the earlier times was being challenged by groups such as beatniks. By the sixties, the traditional values prevalent in the fifties were starting to get shoved out the door, which this movie starts to show.



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Forrest Gump

            Forrest Gump is a very entertaining movie, but although it does hold factual information, it has been embellished a lot. A lot of things in this movie actually happened, but the fictional character of Forrest Gump didn’t actually take part in them because, well, he’s fictional.

Let’s start at the beginning.

            I seriously doubt that Elvis Presley got his famous hip-swinging, knee-jerking dance moves from a small boy in Alabama. I also doubt that a boy with braces on his legs who could barely walk would one day miraculously start running from some bullies, have his braces break off, and be totally cured of whatever ailment he had. It’s possible and inspirational, but highly doubtful. I also feel as though it is not a common thing for a mother to get her partially mentally disabled child into a school by “dating” the principal. I bet it has happened, sort of, but not frequently.

            In the case of Jenny, her story is entirely believable. Because of her abuse as a child, she had a troubled time growing up and got involved in many bad situations. Sadly, this situation happens too many times in America.

            Forrest’s involvement in the Vietnam War is entirely plausible. He very well could have met a friend and then have him die, but rescue many people in the process and receive a medal of honor for his bravery. Also, all of the hippie protest gatherings were sabotaged just like in the movie. Also, there were Black Panther meetings like the one Forrest gets brought to. The Bubba-Gump Shrimp, on the other hand, probably was not founded the way the movie shows. The US did get invited to a big Ping Pong thingy in Asia, but the whole Forrest Gump part was a fabrication. Also, the Watergate scandal was not busted by a person looking out the window of his hotel room and calling the front desk to say that the lights are probably not working.

            I doubt that a man actually ran across the entire United States and attracted followers form all over and only stopped to eat, sleep, and go to the bathroom. That would be insane. I also doubt that he actually wiped mud off of his face into a smiley face design and gave a guy a t-shirt design or stepped in dog poop and made a bumper sticker slogan. All of these little instances in the movie are cute and funny, but they never actually happened the way the movie says they did.

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EEEEWWW Saliva

I hate saliva. It is disgusting. Dirty dishes are one of the most repulsive things in the world to me. I just cannot handle them. My parents want me to get a summer job, but my options are severely shortened by the fact that I refuse to handle other people's, especially stranger's, dirty dishes.

At home, I get the choice to either set the table before supper or clear it after supper. I obviously choose to set the table. Some people think setting the table is boring but I don’t mind it. I think it's a whole lot better to touch clean dishes rather than dirty ones. I can't even handle the saliva of my own family. I can only clear my own dirty dishes, and sometimes that even grosses me out. My dad also gives me the choice to either load the dish washer or unload it. Unload, duh! Loading the dish washer is even grosser because you have to turn the dishes on their side and so things can fall off and actually touch you. EWW. Some days, though, I don't have a choice. My father makes me handle the dirty stuff. It's traumatic. Sometimes I wear gloves if I can find them.

I hate having to clear the table when we eat pasta. Something about the red marinara sauce makes everything worse. It's not that it reminds me of blood or anything, it's just more disgusting than the other meals. Steak and meat like that is better because there is less human saliva left on the plate. You only use your silverware so you don’t really have a big chance of getting your hands dirty on a messy plate. I really hate it when sauce spills out the side of a plate and then you touch it. I feel like throwing up when that happens. I also hate touching people’s silverware so I try and balance it in the middle of the plate so I don’t have to come in contact with it. I do the same thing with napkins. I like when people already leave their napkin on their plate so I don’t have to touch it at all. But if I do have to touch it, I either just use two little fingers and grab the corner, or pick it up inside a clean napkin to protect my hand. I hate touching glasses as well because you not only have their hands and fingerprints to deal with, but you have their lip marks as well. Total saliva. Plus you have to deal with any possible liquid that slid down the side of the glass too. My last pet peeve for dishes is sauces. I hate when a sauce is all over the plate. It’s even worse when there are multiple sauces mixes together. It looks like something very repulsive. I would rather make dinner and set the table and do laundry all together rather than clear the table after just one meal.

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