Day: October 21, 2013

What would’ve happened if America didn’t make it out of the government shutdown?

infamousdolphinLeave a comment

Keep in mind that I’m not wearing a cardboard sign yelling “THE END IS NIGH!” Nor am I a crazy homeless dude that snuck into an Apple Store to write this blog and scare their readers out of their minds. I just seek to answer if the great super power of America could take a plunge into the third world after a mild kick in the knees.

Being realistic, the United States of America would definitely not collapse because of a dispute between the Democrats and Republicans that resembles more of a pout. In the extreme rare case of this not being settled, the USA would land on utter Anarchy.

All government workers would be out of commission due to lack of funding, which means no police, fire department, teachers and it could even go as far as no military. The current government system as it is would have been completely obliterated.

Meanwhile, the world economy would take a great hit considering that the richest and highest consuming country in the world is out of the game.

The Government shutdown could have gone to extreme lengths, like civil war or just flat-out separation into two new countries. But the most plausible thing would be that the UN and the rest of the powers, like China, Russia, UK, France and Germany would determine the future of America.

The Creepy Crawlies

indigoshellLeave a comment

One of the least appreciated rooms at our camp was the Creepy Crawly Room, located on the second floor of the barn and requires a few twists and turns down an eerie hallway to reach.

As the name states, creepy crawlies reside in the Creepy Crawly Room. Creepy crawlies include tarantulas, cockroaches, frogs, newts, and scorpions.

Many times a week my friends and I would try our luck and see if there was a counselor monitoring the Creepy Crawly Room. Perhaps one out of five visits would be successful, the other times we would leave disappointed and roam the habitats and jungle instead.

On the days where there was a counselor we were allowed to hold the roaches, tarantulas, etc. Most of my friends would cower at the entrance of the room but I would always head straight to the cockroach habitat.

These weren’t your average pest cockroaches. They were tamer, you could say, and I could easily just reach into the glass tank and pull out a roach. People called me weird but man they were cute.

My best friend loves tarantulas, so he would always go for the little tarantula enclosures first. You couldn’t play with cockroaches or tarantulas, but there was a strange charm in simply holding an arthropod in your hand and watching them move. “They’re scary!” people would shriek, “they have fangs and poison!”

Well, dogs could easily rip a person’s throat out, yet they aren’t avoided as avidly. We fear the unknown, and most people have no experience with arthropods. Let a scorpion sit on your hand for a minute and you’ll realize they really have no intention to harm anyone.

A few weeks ago a tarantula was found in our school’s courtyard. My brother and I immediately went to investigate and put him in a safer spot away from screaming girls and stomping feet. “Do you think it was the way you two were raised?” inquires a teacher, fascinated by our lack of fear. “No,” I reply, “definitely not.


(This is Joey)

I ended up going back and taking the tarantula with me to class. I named him Joey and then released him later that day upon learning that he only had a few more weeks to live. Male tarantulas live much shorter lives than females do.

I hope people will appreciate, or at least not fear, creatures like tarantulas and scorpions, because they really mean us no harm.