Archive - Oct 2010 - Story

Tori Harvey

Rhode Island School of Design

Are you tired of having nothing better to play at your Halloween parties than “One Eyed Purple People Eater,” “Monster Mash,” “Mannheim Steamroller” and “Thriller?” (Probably yes, except for “Thriller.”) Do you share the same music library as me? (Probably not.) Do you at least share similar musical tastes as I do?

Every morning, 5:30 am, my brother shakes me awake
We look at each other, four eyes half closed with sleep
As my father picks us up by skinny waists in onesie pajamas
 
Dad curses as he scrapes the ice off the windshield of the frozen car
And lights a cigarette before he gets back in
A sliver of his window is rolled down, but the smoke trickles back

My grandparents do not closely follow the national political scene, so when I was recently visiting them, they asked me which candidate I preferred in our home district, NY-23’s, upcoming congressional race.

As each week passes, I am continually amazed by the uniformity in this year’s NFL season. Through six weeks, nearly every team is in the playoff picture. The San Diego Chargers, Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers have all struggled, yet all three teams remain viable playoff threats because of league-wide evenness.