Hornets’ Nest Observation
Dan Williams
1051 L04
Chelsea sits by herself in a booth in the Hornets’ Nest. She wears blue jogging pants and a black T-shirt that says “Just Do It.”
“This window’s too hot,” she says.
“Don’t sit there,” says Dylan, who sits at a round table with Kyle, out of the sun.
Chelsea and her classmates are at the snack bar working on an assignment. They are to observe their surroundings and write a short descriptive piece.
Chelsea watches, but writes nothing down.
“I can’t observe and take notes.”
She says she observed a soccer game over the weekend for an athletic training class. Her assignment was to analyze the players’ movements so her class could come up with a soccer-specific workout for them. She explains that a workout for, say, baseball players would emphasize core and upper body exercises, which would not be appropriate for a soccer player, who uses her legs.
Hilary, Amanda and Rachel sit at the booth next to Chelsea. They get up and go into the snack bar to buy food.
Amanda and Rachel return with a bagel each. Amanda also has a container of grapes; Rachel brings a carton of chocolate milk.
Hilary buys herself an omelet and a bottle of cranberry juice.
Talk turns to food.
Chelsea, who does not live in a dorm, gives tips on eating at LSC: Go to the dining hall as a last resort.
“You’d better be a chef with a microwave,” she says.
Dylan slides his chair over.
The group starts talking about microwave recipes.
Somebody mentions “Crackhead Soup” – ramen, pepperoni, cheese, and Doritos.
Dylan mentions something called “Heart Attack Salad”: pasta, kielbasa and cheese chunks.
The group talks about mixing foods. One says, “If my corn touches my mashed potatoes – if they’re touching, it freaks me out.”
At a nearby table, Matt, Diana and Joe discuss an incident that occurred over the weekend. Evidently, two young women got into a fight. Someone threw a bottle of Hawaiian Punch. Another person recorded the episode.
Soon, a young woman joins Matt, Diana and Joe. She has a shiner under her right eye. They talk about what happens next. As she leaves, she says, “I’ll let you know how it goes.”
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Montana Marshia
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A murmur of voices greets anyone who enters the Hornet's Nest. Many conversations occuring at once; even the simple act of waking to the dining area informs one of who's dating who, who slapped who first, and what the homework is for INT 1020. Hornet's nest staff joke and talk business; the lady at the checkout yells a question to the one working the grill. With the large windows on one side it almost seems part of an observational experiment on chaos theory.
Oh the multitude of smells... Every place has it's own smell and maybe at different times a completely unique smell. During breakfast the greasy smell of various meats cooking on an over used grill. The delicious smell of coffee ranging from black to sugar with some coffee. The different smells of the various juices cranberry, orange, superfood.
People sitting next to large, wide, bright windows allowing the newly woken sun to let its rays play on their faces and clothes pleasantly; warming, almost too hot but not. The slick table tops a little sticky with the residue of past meals eaten there. Clutching a cool juice bottle focusing on the cold when the sun gets too hot.
Almost too much going on to focus on much, let alone an assignment. It's so much fun observing, taking apart the senses, focusing on one at a time. So manyt styles of clothes in blacks and whites, greens and yellows, and much more. Tables unoccupied and tables with treats, trashh and friends. This is the Hornet's nest in the morning.
Now the cattle suspended above me look just like the cattle I've seen on ranches for years, but these ones are upside down swinging on hooks. For a moment, the sight seems unreal; there are so many of them, a herd of them, lifeless. And then I see a few hind legs still kicking, a final reflex action, and the reality comes hard and clear.
ReplyDeleteThis segment has compelling imagery the way he describes the cattle just hanging there allows you to sort of see it. From his writing I can tell just how horrible it would be to visit a meatpacking plant. The different jobs sound horrific but everyone needs a job. It is effective in the way the sentences stand together as well. The way the authors describes it as like a herd suspended in air is a sad thought.
Observations
ReplyDeleteWalking into the student lounge and sitting on the comfortable sofa in front of the T.V., observing everyone as they were eating their lunch and drinking their beverages, watching them type on their laptops and listening to their iPods. Seeing people converse in their free time and talking to new friends. Smelling the fresh food coming from the kitchen, the hot pizza, the burgers and the fruit. Smelling the people next to me, what they used for shampoo this morning and the deodorant they chose to put on. Sitting down and feeling the loose cushion support the body while leaning into it, feeling the paper and pencil while writing, resting an arm on the wooden arm rest and feeling the clothing move around while shifting to get a more comfortable position.
Not deciding to eat, there was no taste and only the sense of smell was in the mouth. Hearing was the other big sense and many things were happening. Lots of talking, the paper was turning as people were doing their homework and the sound of pencils hitting the paper, there was a cold going around and a couple people had runny noses, it was right around lunch time and there was the sound of clashing plates and silverware. There was the sound of the kitchen and all the timers going off warning the cooks that the pizzas were ready, also there was an annoying fly buzzing around landing on everyone as they swatted it away. There was a pool game being played and every few seconds there was the sound of one ball being struck against another and that ball hitting the siding eventually finding its way into the side netting. Suddenly the air cooler for the soda machine turned on and it was near impossible to hear the T.V. as SportCenter was talking about Sunday’s football games and how surprised they were in some of the losses that took place. Lastly the door opened and it gave a little creaking sound as it shut closed and a burst of cooler air rushed in distracting everyone for a moment. After the experiment the class was over and everyone continued on with their day and left to go to their next class, but not me, my day was over and I sat doing homework and watched the rest of SportsCenter for the next couple of minutes.
Walking into the hornets’ nest the smell of grease greets everyone. People sit at booths talking and doing homework; others sit and watch SportsCenter on the big screen. People talk about their day and what is planned for the next while they eat their breakfast.
ReplyDeleteA group of kids talk about a fight that happened the week before. A girl joins their group with a black eye, making others wonder if she was involved. The table next to theirs has to boys seated at it. They talk about the assignment that they work on and how they’re going to go about completing it. The teacher sits across the room writing franticly trying to catch everything the girl sitting across from him is saying. She sits there not taking notes on the assignment, but rather observes her surroundings intently.
She begins to tell the teacher about recipes that she has liked from past family dinners. This conversation is heard by a boy sitting at the table next to theirs. He joins the conversation with a favorite recipe of his, made by his mother. The recipe that this boy talks of is a pasta salad with chunks of cheese as well as chunks of kielbasa. A few people begin to talk about the recipe as if they would like to try it.
Students and faculty walk into the hornets’ nest wondering what they will have for breakfast. Some will enjoy a bagel with cream cheese or a warm, delicious, cheesy omelet while others quickly grab a cup of hot coffee for their walk to class. A young woman chooses a cup of coffee and a granola bar. She arrives at the counter to use her points to pay for her food where she finds out her student identification card isn’t working. Out of frustration with the workers she grabs her coffee and storms off to class.
The staff of the hornets’ nest work together making the stop at the hornets’ nest worthwhile. Some of the staff are enjoying their job and talking to the people that pass through. Other staff members seem cranky and as if they would rather be doing another job.
Out the window of the hornets’ nest people walk to and from class. Some will stop at the hornets’ nest for a morning snack, while others are in a hurry because they are late for class. While they walk towards the hornets’ nest they pass a small pond with ducks floating around enjoying the bright, warm morning sun.
There are so many things that people can sense and feel with their five senses. People use their five senses everyday to learn and observe things or other people. The five senses people use are sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch. Using these five senses people can learn things they never knew before.
ReplyDeleteAs everyone walks into the Hornet’s Nest, the first thing that is noticeable is what can be seen. Using the sense of sight, the first thing that is noticeable is the people busily eating at tables and talking to one another and all looking incredibly tired. Most are wearing sweats and look like they haven’t showered, although some were dressed in jeans and t-shirts or a sweatshirt and a variety of other clothing from fraternity hats to sunglasses and many other things. The worker’s at the Hornet’s Nest looked tired and bored. Everyone looks busy and like there is something on everyone’s mind.
The next sense is smell. When everyone walks into the Hornet’s Nest, the first smell that seems to be penetrating the air is the wafting smell of grease because of all the food that is cooked there. Throughout the period of time that observing is being done, the smells change. The first smell is grease, and then as people enter and buy breakfast, the smells change to eggs, home fries, fruit, coffee, bagels, and so much other food that blends all together. A little while later in the observation it starts smelling very strongly of garlic. The only inference that a person can make is that the Hornet’s nest employees were starting to cook some dishes with strong spices.
The third of the five senses is now hearing. As a person walks into the Hornet’s Nest, the buzz of everyone talking takes over the air. The sounds of people conversing, and the hum of the television as well as employees asking questions about the food that is being bought, is very noisy and it fills the room. Over the buzz of all the noise, bits and pieces of people’s conversations are heard. There is a teacher talking with a student about a future assignment or Dylan talking about pasta salad with chunks of cheese and Kielbasa in it. The banging of pots and pans are still easy to hear over the din of voices.
The fourth sense is taste. There are many things that someone can taste in the Hornet’s Nest. There is the taste of the food people buy like bagels, juice, eggs, milk, coffee and many more choices. There is the stuff that can be tasted from eating it, and there is the stuff you can taste in the air that is being cooked and eaten by other people. There are many things that can be experienced through the taste buds there. People come from all over campus to taste their food and enjoy it.
The last of the five senses is touch. There are many things that a person can feel and touch. The tables where people are sitting can be touched, they feel sticky and dirty. The food can also touched and felt. Bagels are squishy because they are bread, eggs are slimy, and coffee and any other drinks are wet. Everything in the Hornet’s Nest has a different touch and everyone feels different things.
When everyone uses their five senses of sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch, they experience more things than if they just use one of the five senses. Each sense adds a new dimension and delight. Using all the senses everyone can experience the journey of life and learning.
The Hornets’ Nest is the spot where Lyndon State students come to grab breakfast or a quick snack. It is connected to the student center where the students can play a game of pool or watch some T.V.
ReplyDeleteIn the brisk, early morning, many students were silent. Sipping their green mountain coffee slowly, trying to savior every ounce of caffeine they could get before their next class. Some puzzled faces around the room as a few students tried to finish some last minute homework. Looking beyond the students and out the tall glass windows appears to be a teacher walking her dog. The dog stops at a couple bushes, sniffing and questioning the area, but soon the teacher decides she is ready to move on to another area. The opening of the outside doors is loud and echo’s throughout the silent room. A few more students come in, but quickly grab the food they want and head back out.
A large number of students watch ESPN on the few rows of comfy chairs. Football and Baseball are the main sports flashing across SportsCenter this morning. Behind the rows of chairs are a couple students standing. Loudly they argue about the playing ability of some of the members of the “Saints”. As another student walking toward one of the soft chairs, the aroma of peppers fills the room. He has an omelet, with green peppers and cheese that fills his entire plate. When he sits in one of the chairs, his gray T-shirt wrinkles because he is hunched over to eat the food that is in his lap. He doesn’t savior each bite, but devours the omelet in seconds.
In the front row of the student center sitting area there is an abandoned laptop and other items scattered across the low tables. Usually used as footrests by the T.V. watching teens. A girl returns to her laptop. Panic hit her eyes as she quickly moves her hands upon the table and around her chair. She turns her body around and talks to the student behind her. As she opens her mouth to ask him a question, the answer seemed to appear to her. She quickly turned back around, and searched through her backpack until she found the paper that she thought she had lost.
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