This is the start of a paper y Boss Lady '08. Wow! I am nearing the end of another semester at Flo ida Atlantic University. This semester is special as it marks not just the e d of another semester, but the end of my pursuit to obtain a masters degre in public administration (MPA). As the topic of focus in the class at this point is storytelling, my mind is beginning to ponder over all the stories that can be old and that have materialized during my travels toward this degree, and in life in general.

I was just conversing with y youngest (16 years old) daughter and reflecting back on all the accomplishments she achieved over her Spring break from high school this past week. Little did she realize that she had driven in traffic for the first time ( he's learning to drive), just completed her first income tax return (with my as istance, of course), and taught a three-year old how to read three-letter words for the first time. Little does she know that these events will become "stories to tell" in years to come. A brief history of "firsts."

Now, back to me. Yes, as I think back over the course of my goal to obtain a MPA degree, I can recall (as I know so many of you can relate), the many long nights of toiling ov r homework assignments, projects and presentations. Sweating bullets ecause I have an exam that I have yet to study-and the exam is in an hour Pondering over how to go about organizing a project or presentation or other ask that was a assigned weeks ago and is due tomorrow but I procrastinated or was trying to juggle the demands of work, and time for school work just did n t fit in the schedule. Or struggling to follow the lead of an instructor who for w atever reason I just could not comprehend his/her style of teaching or method of instruction. Well, you know this could go on and on and on. Anyhow, regar less of the struggles, I would not trade my educational achievements, sacrifi es, expenses or demands for any thingwell maybe if the money was right.

So, again as we near the e d of this term, I think a session or two on storytelling will be an interesting xperience as it is always inspiring to hear about what other students are or ave experienced in life, and to relate their experiences with one's own ende vors and adventures in life. Somehow, I believe we are all in this together, nd somewhere "at the end of the rainbow" everything will come together, an one day everything will make sense, and maybe we will all be sailing togeth r in that "balloon" that we road in and to get to the Mind Room.

This is the end of the paper ~y Boss Lady '08.

This is the start of the paper by Elphaba.

Today I will be going thro gh the hero's characters as they pertain to my character Elphab . I will not go into my own in case I should have to discuss those i class and risk unveiling my identity.

My mentor: Sadly to say I do not feel that I have a true mentor. I have had to live my life myself ith no support from friends or family. If I had to choose a mentor, I w uld have to choose the only friend that I have ever had, Galinda. he has served to be many of the characters in my journey throu h life. She came to me at a difficult time in my life and showed me hat there was another way.

My threshold guardian: T e threshold guardian would have to be the Wizard since he was th one that stood in the way of me achieving my goals. I had to pr ve my worth to him, although it turns out that I did not need to be ac laimed through his eyes since his journey was quite opposite to ine.

My herald: Madam Morri Ie is who I can acknowledge as providing me with the opportunity and the ability to recognize the power that is inside me, that m kes me who I am. She helped me realize that the things that mak me different may be the things that make me so very special.

My shapeshifter: Galinda would be also be my shapeshifter for she has been both my greatest nemesis and my very best friend.

My shadow: If it is possible I would credit myself as my own shadow. Sometimes I feel as if am two people, one who is truly wicked and one who does goo . If it is not possible to be my own shadow, I would once again giv this position to Galinda. She may not have my strong convictions but she has the ability to make change happen, whereas I am limited through the perceptions of my by the people of my land.

My trickster: The trickster [in my story would very much be the love of my life, Fieyro. At first h$ wanted nothing more than to dance through life without a care.

I hope I gave you a little i sight into the inspirations behind my character for this class. I would have liked to write about who these people are in my life, but I cann t risk revealing my true identity.

This is the end of the pap r by Elphaba.

This is the start of a paper 'IrIritten by Princess Leah.

Joseph Campbell was an American professor writer, and orator best known fc r his work in the fields of comparative mythology c nd comparative religion. The Hero's Journey is a phra e based upon ideas from Campbell and he refers 1'0 his concept as the monomyth. The monomyth is a description of a basic pattern found in many myths from arounc the world. This universal pattern was described by Josepl Campbell in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Campbell believes that important myths from around the \i orld which have survived for thousands of years, all s are a fundamental structure. The fundanmental structure contains five stages including

· a call to adventure, ~hich the hero has to accept or decline

· a road of trials, regc,rding which the hero succeeds or fails

· achieving the goal ( r "boon, "which often results in important self-know edge

· a return to the ordin ry world, again as to which the hero can succeed 0 fail

· application of the be on in which what the hero has

gained can be used to improve the world.

Cambell wrote, "A hero ven ures forth from the world of common day into a region c f supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountere.d and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from t is mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on t is fellow man."

This is the end of a paper w'lritten by Princess Leah.

Procrastination helps to bri g more ideas than doing a task as soon as it is assigned. Although it seems t at if you get your assignments done as soon as you possibly can you will have nothing to worry about, you really have not given your brain enough time to develop original, deeply-felt ideas. By procrastinating, you take as m ch time given to think of the best way to go about the project, and at the la t minute, finally putting it all together. This leaves no room for regret or econd-thoughts.

The best thoughts come w en they are forced. It was at 3 A.M. that I realized my collages were all wro g for my English project. I had thought it all out, tom out numerous magazine sheets and outlined what I was going to do. It finally came down to the si, hours before my class started and I acquired an energy rush. I sat on. y bedroom floor ripping, taping, gluing, pasting, cutting, and outlining m) pictures, finally realizing that the art was not in the pictures, themselves, b t the way I put them together. At 6 A.M. I was finished with only two hours to spare before class. I felt as if I had done my best work possible and that if I had done it earlier the collages would look completely different.

Reading material the night before, rather than days before, better prepares you for the tests to com .. Although many people argue that reading a little each day better sets it in y ur memory, I believe that material better sets in if you have read it only a f w hours before hand. My junior year of high school I was preparing for a World History exam. Although I had been reading all year along with takin notes from lectures, I felt that none of the material had stuck in my brain. I rammed the day before, reading the lines over and over again in attempts t lock them into my mind. As I walked into class that day all I could rememb· r was what I had read the day before, all of the history circling around in my ead. I sat down and took the test, and not surprisingly, the material I remen bered the most was the material I had read just the day before. The months a d months of reading had slipped my mind and left me with nothing but men ories of staring at a chalk board.

When the few weeks befor the exam turn into the few days that turn into the few hours, I find myself oing projects the night before. It seems that my creative thoughts come 0 ly when they are forced and that the dark nights and the wee hours of the orning shed new light on projects that I had never seen giving me new an les that I had only hoped to encounter weeks before. Procrastination for es your mind to become creative!

By Dammien

This is the start of a p~per by Ilene Dover.

I have spent the last D w days thinking about my "story" . It is not coming t me easily. Who are my mentors? My shapeshifter ? Am I the hero or do I just play the secondary parts in other people's lives?

I really related to the omments made by world traveler. I think that I ma have also lost sight of what my dreams are and how to fulIlI them because of the responsibilities that come ith being an adult ... spouse, parent, caretaker, student, mployee, and friend. I enjoyed Bushwhacker's story. I ne ded a good laugh. I can't wait to hear his/her journey.

I am sure that the ele ents and characters for my story will eventually come to m . Maybe a trip to the mind room will bring them out. May e the end of my story can be something like this: "lIen Dover, after working one year of her contract with FAD, esigned today. She will receive a severance package wort $600,000."

This is the end of the baper by Ilene Dover.

1)

This is the start of my paper by J.P. prewi,,: After last week's class I took a good look at my own life and drew parallels with that 0 a Hero's Journey. This is what I came up with: Much of the parallels I drew upon d alt with my time served in the Military.

The Ordinary world: This ordinary WOrld~OUld be seen as the world or my life before I left it in August of 200 1. Things seemed s mpler, there was no 911 yet .. Terrorism was not yet at the forefront of everybody's mi. d. I was just one of many who join the military every year. Many can identify with this tr sition of life.

Call to Adventure: The call to adventure 10Uld be seen taking place while I was in Infantry School, which were the events of91I. Little did I know, this one incident would dictate the next 4 years of my life. Hence, an inciting incident occurs to get the story rolling.

Refusal of the Call: An involuntary refusal of the call to duty could be seen as the injury I received while in training. During a day 01 weapons training I lost a finger. Shortly after the reattachment a drill Sergeant ruffed m up re-amputating the finger. The Sergeant can be seen as a Thershold Guardian who in e sence tested my resolve.

Meeting the Mentor: The meeting of a meEor in my story was illustrated by my meeting Captain Miller. He was the Company Con ander of the facility I was at. His words of encouragement and understanding of my i ~ury helped me along on my journey.

Crossing the first Threshold: The croSSing!Ofthe first threshold could be depicted when I caught pneumonia and collapsed out in th field. I was finally taken to a hospital where I received two iv's because of a temperatur of 106 degrees. Thi.s instance could be seen as a physical or metaphorical crossing or irr vocable leap offaith, from which there's no turning back.

Allies, Enemies: While in training dUring]. /11, isolation from the ou. tside world made it impossible for me to gain information abo t the terrorists' attacks. Through letters I received from my family and fellow soldie s mail, I slowly got specifics on the changes going on in the world. This situation coul be seen as a quest for information, which led to new friends or allies.

Approach the Inmost Cave: This stage carl be seen to parallel the few days till graduation from infantry and the preparation for my d~ployment with my unit.

Ordeal: The ordeal could be considered th~ actual deployment.

Reward: The reward simply could be the e~d of my deployment.

Road back: The road back could be seen a~ my going back to school and getting on with my life.

2)

This is the start of a paper by Ahita Bath.

American University Prel;'ident has been suspended after allegedly misusing the school's funds for his own personal uses. Apparently, the school's Presid nt and his wife have both used the school's money to fund person I expenses. This has ranged from his son's engagement party to top ollar luxurious hotel rooms. Some of these expenses were filed by an auditing company and found that some of these expenses were allowed according to the President's contract. Up to $500,000 dollars is in qu stion that the President's has used (Washington Post, 2005).

Regardless if these expenses ar allowed in his contract, isn't it going a too little far? Tome this is wro g, especially for someone (president) who is in a very important lead rship role. Paying top dollar for the best room in the hotel for bus in ss use is ridiculous. As a student, I would not want my tuition to b funding the President's materialistic tastes. If the President needs a otel room for business use, why not just get the normal size hotel ro m instead of the penthouse suite in the best hotel in the city. Also, wh. is the President even allowed to dip into the school's funds for his p rsonal use? Even ifhe paid it back, which he did not, this money c uld have been used somewhere else. The President is being investig ed for spending nearly $500,000 dollars. I think that this money ould have been put to use somewhere in the university, rather than in he hands of the President's expensive spending habits. In the end, I t ink American University should remove the President from offic: even though he was allowed to spend that money in his contract. Just because it's legal, doesn't make it ethical.

This is the end of a paper by Anita Bath.

3)

This is the start of a paper by Bus.

I have never had a very power mentor. However, I have had several, rather mild ones. The most inter sting and passionate one was my Spanish teacher in college. She was bea' tiful and I wanted her. She guided me through the painstaking process 0 trying to learn the beginning elements of the language. I wanted to know all the Spanish love words but ended up only being able to repeat "me gus 0 taco." She was very encouraging in all other matters as well. I found a t eshold guardian in the same school. He was the business calculus profess r at the college. He could draw some of the prettiest curves on the chalk . oard. The only problem for me was the fact these curves fit some kind of pre-determined direction of unbelievable trickery.

The school heralded statisti s on the high rate of employability of its alumni. Many good things we e said by the school and most of the professors were firm believers i their ability. One of my economics instructors was so convincing I be ieved he could solve most social problems with a piece of chalk and an old black board. Shapeshifters were my costudents. I never felt a sense of p ace with their explanations of where they were going or of what they per eived from this educational experience. Some days we were happy and .. endly with a sharing attitude and other days we were involved in cut t oat competition filled with distrust and hatred.

The shadow was a prob bility/pre-calculus instructor. He did everything possible to allow th student to successfully work with the mathematical material. Howeve, he held no reservations when issuing failing grades to students. He l( ved to work with an overhead projector using various sorts of colored pen .. I suppose he could be seen as a colorful presenter of a somewhat difficult. ubject. I did not see him as a guardian. I saw him as a shadow because h had the ability to allow the student to embarrass himself in such a way 0 heighten one's perceptual wherewithal. He offered the carrot and stick a proach to motivation but really enjoyed using the stick much more often t an not.

The trickster was my astron my professor. He was a physicist. He cut down the egos of both students and other professors. He had what I considered an unhealthy obsessior with spiders. He told us to call him if we saw any unusual spiders anywhe e in the area. He wanted to obtain the spider for his collections. He bel: eved there was some sort of constellation design in the spider's web. And aybe the spiders were guided by some intergalactic intelligence. In ge eral I saw this instructor as a very approachable and interesting pers n who certainly did not take any normal concern too seriously.

This is the end of the paper by Bushwhacker.

This is the start of a paper by Rose Stealth.

It is understandable for student to be creative with their papers for this class. Interestingly enough, I fi d that some of the writings have NOTHING TO DO with any of t e information disseminated (in my opinion). Typically I have writte about the topics covered in class, but here's my responses regarding he papers written last week.

The paper written by Bushwack r last week was an interesting story. Bushwacker described his famil and their achievements, almost like one of those Christmas cards s owing the world how wonderful your family is doing. The story is fun y and interesting, leading the readers to think his wife is cheating on him all the while she was in the garden. Great story .... but what does thi have to do with this class?

There's another paper with som~thing about policy implementation about fisheries? What is that al about? I know Dr. Mendell's scanner isn't great, but this isn't a scann r mishap ....

Princess Leah utilized this foru to ask for advice in the MPA program - this fits Mendell's overarching idea for this class, so I'll take this forum to answer some of her qu stions. The MPA program is fantastic - you'll be happy if you enroll. he professors are wonderful and the camaraderie with the other stud nts is phenomenal. There are enough classes offered each semester, but I highly suggest contacting Dr. Leip to schedule your classes accor ing to the three year rotation they have. Good teachers? Wow - hey all seem to be good - some favorites are Patterson, Cooper, Sementelli, and you're taking the all time favorite teacher right now.

There you go. My innermost th~ughts about the innermost thoughts of others. Perhaps next week I'll go back to the class discussion ... I think I'm a bit to critical.

This is the end of a paper Iby Rose Stealth.

Princess Katera

It is very hard to know how ne becomes a major role in a story about their own life. Yes YQ are the main character, but you can play so many different role$. How does someone define each role they play in their own Ii es. One day you can possibly be the antagonist and the other au may try to be your own super hero. I think its very hard ap a lot of times people get their roles confused. One thing I I arned was to always play your part the best you can. If you we, given a sucky part (a difficult/challenging role) y u have to play it to your best ability and vice a versa if you wer~ iven a great part. It helps build character which I believe m st people have.

The Threshold Mentor

You never think that a person or sitt ation that seems to prevent you from achieving a goal or desire, a source of strength in y ur life. Throughout our lives we meet people who for reason we don't understand wi hes to challenge us at every turn. You ask why and even then the answer doesn't seem ogical or rational at the time. The mysteries of these types of events reveal themselves t a later date as a means that made a profound difference in the course of action we tal en for the rest of our lives. That one act or circumstance has made us who we are t day and the person or people behind it remain in our memory for a long time.

When people think of a mentor, th idea concept that comes to mind is of a wise, gentle and caring individual who suppo us through hard times and gives us truth when we need it. This is true whenever you ta k to someone about a person who changed our life. Yet most often it is someone who ares to question our motives, our behavior, and our ideas when it comes to the world an our place in it. For me that person is Dr. Charles Washington, who taught me budgeting: san undergrad at FAD. I been taught by such teaches as a child in the 1960s; he repre ented the old Negro school of thought, "work harder than the white boy and you will mcceed in life". At the time I felt that the professor had in for me and wanted me 0 fail at all cost. I even had my feeling hurt when I spoke without thinking in class and ne er wanted to speak again. Still, I felt I had to prove to this man that I was worthy ofh's respect, even though I didn't really need it for any reason other than having the pleasu e of learning from someone who was older and more experience in life than myself.

Odd, isn't it that those that we dor 't know or just met can have a profound effect us.

That a person, who just entered our live , can shape us into who we are and perhaps who we want to be as a person. Such inciden s can cause a person to wonder is these threshold person or situation are random or cosmi events that can not be explain in logical terms. No matter what the reason or circumstm ce, the challenges to our dreams are always there. The form of that challenge, at least for 1 umans, is in the form of another person. Perhaps this is the only way God can correct the course we are taking and the best way to communicate with us.

This week we'd discussed the mi d room. I have great news classmates.

It worked. This time I'd tried harder to participate. Although I'd found myself thinking of something else, I'd found that the something else was m~ inter-self. By doing this, I'd found that I was able to complete my homework for another class with 0 problem. It was as if I had already known the answers to the questi ns that were asked. Now because it had worked in class, I had once again tried to perform this at home. Unfortunately, once again it did n t work for me. As always, I had already figured that it was going to be hard to perform this at home because of noise in the halfway house.

Dr. M., please excuse my comm nts from last week. You have made a believer out of me. However, I st " think it's a dangerous game to try and play with someone's mind. I will ontinue to try to have an open mind. During the week we were on Spri g Break, I thought that it would be a great idea to try this on some ne misfits. We had visitors from out of town. It was a hit. It's amazing hat you can do to a bunch of drunks. By the way, they were drinking after he mind room experiment. Oh no! Do you think this may have caused t eir drinking?

To get things off my chest, why is it that people become jealous when you get more attention then they do? don't understand this behavior. There are so many jealous people in th world. I say they need to get a life or try to get to know those people so th y won't be jealous of me. I can't help if I'm a popular person. As a wom'" n would say, "Don't hate! Appreciate!"

Signed,

Off My Chest

With only a few weeks f class left, I have to say that it has been very exciting. As alway , Dr. Mendell makes each class fun with his dry humor. I love t e personal stories. Dr. M. you will truly be missed. This week e learned about Joseph Campbell's book "The Hero with a T ousand Faces" which artistically outlines the art of story-telli g. We were asked to start thinking about their life as a story a d to start telling the story. As with the mind room, I have a com ort zone. It takes me some time to break the shell and share y story of life. Yes! I'm a typical man whom seems to hold s uff in. I'm not sure if I can easily

share my life story.

Being asked to move able to recognize a "call however, I don't think this don't think this will get me sounds as if I'm not going actually looking forward to

Off My Chest

4)

ut of your comfort zone, and to be to adventure" sounds wonderful;

ill get me the promotion I want. I he office space I need. Although it o participate, I promise I will. I'm ore practice.

This the start of a paper by Amazind to Be ...

I'd like to comment first on BUShWh. ~Cker's latest posting. Hilarious ... You totally sucked me in like a soap opera. I g t nervous and anxious reading about your picture perfect life that almost fell a art. Great April fool's joke. Was that your idea or your wife's? Thanks for ma ing my day a little more exciting.

I just love the idea of putting my life tory on paper. I think at some point everyone contemplates writing and/ r dictating a book. And what better material could one have than to write about ne's own life. Assuming one knows him/herself well enough to do so an more importantly is willing to take a look at their own behavior patterns and les ons that life has brought them.

I never imagined this class would h~ve so many resources for writing and as I contemplate whether or not this is t e right program for me I am finding more and more that it fits just right. Of course I don't know how the other professors are in the program as Dr. Mendell is the 0 Iy one I have experienced to date.

I enjoy writing, and to not have any ests is just so great. I never thought that a person should be judged on their ability to memorize and then regurgitate information that will only be forgotte the minute the test is over. I guess people have talents for different some do ell in a test environment, but what about us truly creative folks who grew up day reaming in class and were bored to tears with the textbook crap?

Why did we get penalized just beca se our brain was functioning on a different level and class was being taught onl from a logical point of view? I believe school and any type of learning sho Id always involve some aspect of selfdiscovery. The more one knows ab ut yourself themselves the more they can adapt and function in the world. Do e have to have all the answers? Absolutely not. Do we want them? Of course, ut then what fun would the journey be if we knew everything before it happened

My guess is that the suicide rate wo Id increase and people would not evolve. If you don't have dreams then what d you have? I have definitely experienced the feeling of having no purpose and it i not something I care to feel again. Everyone in life has a purpose and choice whether or not they want to discover what it is. Ok, maybe not everyone, but everyone living in the U.S. I would venture to guess does. So, what is he secret to discovering our innerselves and fulfilling our destiny? My belief is to ust open your eyes, look around and really see the opportunities that are availa Ie. As long as we are in search of something higher and richer the uni erse will present it to us in one way or another.

This is the end of the paper by Ama~ing to Be ...

This the start of a paper by Amazind to Be ...

I'd like to comment on Driving Rang~ Golfer's last post regarding the separation of Church and State. Although I am not an expert on the subject, my best guess would be that having a Bible study i a government funded facility would be a violation of the separation.

The main premise of the separation ~'n the short research I did on the web seems to be to allow for religious freedom. In that case and in my personal opinion I see no harm in holding the studies. How ver, if one religion is represented then all others should be as well so that the government can remain neutral in its stance on religion.

Regarding the Pastor advising a co gregation to vote for a specific person and/or issue is debatable. In what context was the advice delivered? Was he/she just sharing their opinion and/or the vie", s of the church? In this case, I don't believe it violates that separation. Church i a private entity and has the right to act and make decisions that would be in the best interest of the church. Every member still retains their right to choose whic h candidate they see fit for the job regardless of the influence of the ch rch.

As far as the Pledge of Allegiance" ne Nation Under God", I remember a student or two in my elementary sc 001 days not standing for the pledge based on their religious beliefs. I personall find no harm in the words, but I am a believer in God. Could God be meant to represent the general definition of a God in any religion in that case only leaving out Atheists who have no belief at all? Or is the government imposing a specific religion on citizens thereby violating the exact nature of the sep ration. Rules are made to be broken, yes? That's what they say ... And who is hey anyways?

The "In God We Trust" statement Pj'nted on money could also be argued as a general statement of the existence f a God limited to the understanding of the individual. Or it could be again, the overnment imposing that belief on citizens. A conspiracy in the making? I don't believe it to be true, but everyone has their opinion.

These are great questions to ponde~When looking at goals of the U.S and other countries. I completely agree that w need to become more aligned in our goals for the country and that a return to t e basics is necessary. Preserving the rights that have been set forth for us as w II as changing with times.

It is my belief that every human ShO~d be provided with the basic necessities for survival and that we all live in peace and harmony with the environment and creatures on this earth no matter wh and/or what put us here.

This is the end of the paper by Ama*ing to Be ...

This is the start of a paper b Middleman. So we have had a two week break to cleanse ourselves and re esh our minds. So I made the most of my Monday without class, and finally did what I have wanted to do for months now (almost). I had been anticip ting going to Key West on a whim and without a care. So I woke up last Monday to go get my oil changed in my truck and run some other errand .. but I never made it. . .I ended up at the beach. It wasn't quite Key West ut it served the same purpose .... a day of thought and thinking and doing ab olutely nothing related to work or school. That evening I felt great and j ped into work Tuesday bright eyed and ready for the week. It as the best I ad felt in months. I guess everyone needs to do this once and a while.

The next topic for this cour. e will be lifework and the types of people who influence our lives. I think his is going to be an interesting topic. I don't think I have a large number fpeople who influence my life on a daily basis but I think this lesson may 1 ad to some surprises about the influences in my life. It sounds as if this Ie. son will be a reflection on where I have been and how I got here currently I will be digging deeply to discover who has shaped my motivations and haracter throughout my life. I am very much an introvert and I think I ave shaped a lot of myself through the experience I have put myself into position to take part in. People along the way have defmitely influenced e but in the end I am the one who has shaped my journey. I like that I ave always been in control of my own destiny and followed the call to a ventures when I am called upon. This an been an inner instinct that has alw~ ys lead me to success.

Finally I want to talk about . Mendell's comment that you "have to work at a place that lets you mak mistakes". I completely agree with this statement. Thankfully I currently work at a place that allows me to take chances and sometimes make mist kes. That is the only way to learn is from your mistakes. It can be the worst feeling worrying that a mistake may cost you your job and is often a deterr nt to being successful in an organization. Mistakes in and out of work are to Is of growth, now if one were to continue to make mistakes and never learn. om them then there is cause for concern. There is something terribly wron if someone does not learn from there mistakes and continues to m e them over and over again. In an organization then this might be grounds for firing. But a mistake that happens once (that isn't major lik stealing money or something) should be forgiven and learned from howeve a repetitive mistake major or minor may be grounds for firing. This may so nd harsh but this is the reality of the real world. This is the end of a paper b .. Middleman.

5)

This is the start of a paper by IPawprints.

What a glorious Easter wee end! The weather couldn't have been more beautiful and my arden was filled with the sounds of cardinals and blue jays. L st night there were two fledgling screech owls practicing their flying skills going from oak limb to oak limb in my front yard. A reat-horned owl sat perched on the goal post of the soccer field. A dusk-time walk through the tiny patch of woods behind my house led to the sighting of a small gray fox and a long black rac r snake. Despite the drought, it's obvious that Spring is here.

I'm taking three classes in th MPA program and am happy that the term is winding to a clo e. I spent all day writing the final term paper for my financial anagement class and am thrilled to be done with that major a signment. Now the only thing hanging over my head is completing a research methods project.

I'm sure Dr. Mendell is not c unting the days until his retirement, he's probably counting the minutes! It must be a very satisfying feeling to be wrapping up a long and distinguished career and looking forward to doing all the things you wanted to do, but never had the time.

When it comes to retirement my parents are my heroes. They definitely know how to do it right! They travel, they volunteer at the local elementary school nd nature center, they go to all the grandkids' sporting events, hey entertain, and in general, just enjoy life. My parents are s busy in their retirement, that I have to call and make an appoin ment just to get some guaranteed visiting time on their calendar

This is the end of the paper bV Pawprints.

This is the start of the paper by X I

Our week off has given me the pportunity to learn more of Joseph Campbell's The Hero's Journey a d explore the various tenets of his thesis. I believe that Dr. Campbell was co ect in his assertion that all stories carry a recognizable pattern that displays any of the archetypes and events that we have discussed in class. Furthermo e, I believe that once one recognizes these patterns they can utilize thes story themes to incorporate creativity and a degree of entertainment into therwise tedious stories. This can be used as a great communication too to capture interest, persuade others (as was the case with Dr. Mendell's p rsuasive powers on the tenure committee) and bring a level of entertainment 0 personal conversations.

Many of the lessons that we have een taught in Visionary and Creative management help to incorporate a unconventional element into the study of public administration while provid ng valuable insight into the mind of a brilliant professor. Dr. Mendell is I ot alone in shunning conventional approaches to management. One c' peruse the local business or selfimprovement section of a Barnes a d Noble and find that the management gurus, motivational authors and m ny successful chief executive officers have taken an approach that is ve similar to Dr. Mendell's. One such author is Malcolm Gladwell, a unc nventional theorist who offers another unconventional approach to mana ement and life.

Mr. Gladwell's latest work, Blink, s a prime example of unconventional thinking as he relies upon making nap decisions based upon a limited amount of information. He asserts hat we can over research or over think problems to the point where we re der our discretion useless. His work, along with Dr. Mendell's, is uncon entional because it encourages everyone to use a unique framework for deci ion-making. Dr. Mendell's course has heightened my awareness of such uthors and has encouraged me to seek out alternative approaches to problem olving and decision-making.

What happened to the mind room?IPerhaps yet another journey to the mind room is warranted before the end olr the term.

This is the end of the paper by Xl.

This is the start of a paper y the driving range golfer. A story, all true, so"it's probably boring. I w s a three sport athlete in high school, but I wanted, to have a normal c lIege experience and not be a slave to a coach. My father asked me if I as ready to hang up my spikes. That was a wake up call. I decided be er to try it than to miss out on the opportunity. I was offered a sch larship at a small Division I school and decided to give it a try. Wow, u perclassmen are huge compared to the freshman and they are mean. Th freshman had to stick together, between 7 am conditioning that nduced vomit and freshman

initiation ... that also induced vo it, we all wanted to quit at some point. And the season had not even s ed. We all longed for sleeping in, being curfew free, and for time utside of practice. But we wanted to compete and win even more.

The first few weeks of the season was quite an adjustment. There I was, the Broward County Play r and Athlete of the Year, riding the pine. But how could I complain, I was sitting next to the Louisiana Pitcher of the Year and the Sou Carolina Player of the Y ear. We had to earn our positions, it was aw 1, you almost hoped that the person in your position would fail and giv you the opportunity to display your talents. But of course, when that happened, you stressed yourself out so much that you'd try to hit balls i the dirt over the fence. Day in and day out I put my time in at the bullp n. I was the back up catcher and most I played was warming the relief p tcher late in the game.

Finally my day came; twe ty games into the season after our starting catcher could catch a co d or a runner trying to steal second base. I was nervous, but felt at h me behind the plate. I was on deck (batter is not my favorite positio ) and we were down my one with one out. I sent up a quick prayer sim ly that the batter at the plate not get out. That would have left me to e the possible third out and we lose. My prayer was answered as the all flew over the fence. We were tied and I was ok with being the sec nd out. As faith would have it, my hit ended up over the fence as well. Everyone quickly remembered to cheer after the initial shock dissolved. at day I felt like a hero. I started about 80% of the rest of the g _ es over the next four years. Some days were better than others, but I ne er gave up and the freshman never gave up on each other. I was gla I decided not to hang up my spikes too early. This is the end of a pa er by the driving range golfer.

This is the start of the paper by world traveler ...

This week I want to focus n a few of the aspects of the Hero's Journey. In thinking over what I onsider to be some of my greatest adventures, I am trying to see h w it fits in with the supposed outline of the journey as seen by the ex erts. In no sense am I trying to say that I am a hero. In my defense, I do believe that I have helped those less fortunate as well as helped yself during my journey.

According to Wikipedia the first and second stages of the Hero's Journey are: Ordinary World - L mited Awareness and Call to Adventure - Increased Awarene s. I truly believe that almost anyone's story can fit into the Hero's Jour! ey outline with such general labels as those outlined by Wikipedia. Thi. is reassuring to me for a variety of reasons:

6) We all have the opportunit to make a difference

7) Even one person can mak a difference

8) All of us are unique in our I ves and journeys

9) Everyone has a story no m tter how exciting or boring they believe it to be

When I think about the jou neys that I have been fortunate enough to experience, which ar basically to travel and live abroad, I truly believe that they would not ave happened without education. The majority of people who hav grown up in the United States have been privileged enough to recei e an education. The level of the education provided varies by ea h person in each school, in each state and so on. Also, many wo Id debate the quality of education they received, but that is not the point of this paper.

My qualm is with the lack 0 education about the world outside of the United States. Yes, we have geography classes, so we can point out the other continents until ab ut t^h grade. But when it comes down to it, what do we really ever lear about other countries and cultures? This is where my journey began .. 1 loved to learn about other places in the hopes of meeting someon from these other countries or even seeing them one day. I fought fo the right and opportunities to be able to do this and help others in the rocess and that is what I did.

This is the end of the paper by world traveler. ..