This is a crwative essay only A Steeler Game I harbor a lot of passion for the game of football. It’s more than just a game to me. Some people fish or do crosswords. What I do to relax and have fun in my spare time is watch or read about football. While engaged in watching or reading about this particular sport, I escape from the everyday grind of life. Going to a sporting event like a football game is outrageous. The building anxiety weeks before I attend a Steeler game can drive any normal fan to insanity. It’s 6:00 AM Sunday morning. There was no need for an alarm to wake me up on this fine morning. I am about to pack my portable grill and a few cases of beer into my car to go on a two-hour road trip to Three Rivers Stadium. I am going to attend a Steeler game. On the road it’s WDVE on the radio all the way to Pittsburgh. Myron Cope, WDVE’s celebrated play by play analyst, sounds off. As usual he is as exited about toady as I am. Myron Cope is talking about players, injuries and coaches. There are a lot of things he’ll talk about with Tunch Ilkin, his sidekick and former Steeler player. As they make their predictions, as to how the day will go for the Steelers, and other teams in the Steelers division. After two hours of listening to the analysts, its time to pay the ten dollars to park my car. I open my car door and its pandemonium. Organized chaos! Thousands of people (fans) parking their cars, setting up their grills and cracking their first beer of the morning. All of this is happening at 8:00 AM. The day has just started, and it gets better. My breakfast on a day like today would consist of two hamburgers over easy and sixteen ounces of beer. In this kind of environment, Fruit Loops and O.J. just won’t do. It seems as though a lot of fans feel the same way I do. I smell nothing but grilled food and stale beer. For those of you who come from other planets, and with me being a responsible citizen of earth, I must tell you this. Sitting in a parking lot or open field, drinking alcohol, eating large quantities of food, and socializing before or after any football game is called tailgating. There are other things to view before the game even starts. Low flying aircraft with advertisement banners in tow. You know the kind, the same ones that interrupt your quiet time at the beach every ten minutes. Sometimes one of those huge blimps will be flying over Three Rivers Stadium too. I really like those blimps, and the blimps fly really low to the ground in the parking lot too. But I did not pay to see an air show. I came to watch a football game, and the only thing that I want to see in the air is a football. And looking at Three Rivers Stadium is quit a site, in itself. It’s not just its size, but its history that impress me. Well its time to get inside the stadium to watch the game. I’ll pass many scalpers in the parking lot on my way to the stadium. At this time I’d like to address the visitors from other planets again. Scalpers are not Indians trying to cut your forehead off. No sir, they are humans selling tickets to the game for three times their original value. I then get my game day program. I always buy this program. It makes a great souvenir. Once inside the stadium, it’s a new world. It’s nothing like watching the game from home. Everything looks different; the field is ten times more colorful than on television. The fans cheering are ten times louder, and more exciting. It feels like you’re apart of something really big. Once I sit down in my seat, like most fans I stay there until halftime. And at that point in time I wonder why I waited, because now I have to fight my way in and out of the restroom. That my friends, is the only bad thing about going to a Steeler game. While the game goes on you have plenty of things to cheer, or complain about, but all the fans are on the same page. We are all one unit, the twelfth man. To those of you who do not understand what that means. The twelfth man represents all the fans, because there are eleven players on the field for each team. The home team always has the twelfth man because the fans are the twelfth man. The home team’s fans make so much noise by cheering on their team, that it causes the visiting team to make mistakes. Fans have taken control of games before, just by making a lot of noise. That’s why the home team always has a slight advantage. The twelfth man is sixty-five thousand screaming fans. We’ll the game is over. Its time to tailgate again. For dinner I will eat, one half bag of ships, a few hot dogs, some kolbalsi, and potato salad would be good too. We’ll wash that down with more beer. Its getting dark, its time to pack up my things and go home. but first I’ll stare at the city before I leave. I would never want to live in a city the size of Pittsburgh. But it sure is beautiful to look at, when it’s all lit up at night. I will sleep the whole way home, and that’s the beginning of the end; of my adventure. Your probably wondering why, I did not tell you who won the game. Well there is a lot more to this event, than the game itself. I have a great time just going to the game. It does make the day more fulfilling if the Steelers win the game. But life is more than winning, and loosing. I know you’ve heard that before, but it’s only when you believe that statement that you mature in another aspect of your life. Life is about building memories, and some of my favorite memories are of conversations I’ve had with my friends, while we where tailgating. And there is the time I took my stepson to his first Steeler game. You should have seen his eyes light up, when he seen his favorite player score two touchdowns, just twenty feet from where he was sitting. Everyone has their own favorite pastime, you might like soccer, fishing, or reading. When you think of your fondest memories. It should come as no surprise to you that most of them are at times in your life when your engaged in your favorite pastime.

Cancer Of all the diseases and viruses that are known to man, no other can strike fear in so many people’s hearts, as the word cancer. What is cancer? Cancer is a new growth of tissue resulting from a continuous proliferation of abnormal cells that have the ability to invade and destroy other tissues.1 Cancer may be found in any type of cell or tissue in the human body. Cancer is not found in just humans, but also in animals and plants. Cancer cells can grow where ever normal cells grow or divide. Cancer is not one disease but many single diseases classified under one name.2 In our bodies we produce many thousands of new cells everyday. We produce these cell in order to grow until we reach adulthood. When we reach adulthood, these cells reproduce primarily to heal wounds and to replace the cells that have died.3 When we look at a cancerous cells, we see that it divides endlessly. As the cell divides and multiplies, it takes up more and more of the space that the healthy cells once had to work in. These cells will take up more and more space until they are able to move into new areas of the body or the organism in which they live dies. This process of moving to new sites within the body is called metastasis.4 1. Robert A. Weiberg, Racing to the Beginning of the Road,Random House 1996, pg. XI. 2. Excerpted from Compton’s Interactive Encyclopedia,1994,NewMedia, Inc. 3. R. Grant Steen, The Basic Science of Cancer, Plenum Press, 1993, pg. 31. 4. Steven A. Rosenberg, The Transformed Cell G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1992, pg. 341. 1. There are many different types of cancer. Out of the hundreds of different types of cancer, there are three sub types to help classify the different types of cancer. First, Sarcomas, arise from connective and supportive tissue such as bone, cartilage, blood vessels, muscle and fat. Second, Carcinomas, which include the most frequently occurring forms of human cancer, arise from epithelial tissue, such as the skin and the lining of the body cavities and organs, and the glandular tissue of the breast and prostrate. Carcinomas with a structure resembling skin are termed squamous cell carcinomas. Those that resemble glandular tissue are called adenocarcinomas. Third, Leukemias and lymphomas include the cancers that involve blood forming tissues and are typified by the enlargement of the lymph nodes, the invasion of the spleen and bone marrow and the over production of immature white cells.5 The only number greater than the number of different types of cancer is the number of people found to have these deadly diseases. One million new cases of cancer are diagnosed in the United States alone each year. Five hundred thousand die each 5. Excerpted from Compton’s Interactive Encyclopedia, 1994. 2. year from this disease. It is also estimated that about 30% of the Americans living today, or 76 million Americans will develop cancer in their lifetime.6 As scientist search to cure this terrifying disease, with the help of millions of dollars in donations, we still do not even know what causes cancer to invade. We do understand that the diseases likeliness to form is heightened with the different environments that people live in. Researchers see that with constant contact with carcinogens, substances that promote the development of cancer, is almost a guarantee that the person will develop cancer at some point in their life. Chemicals, radiation and viruses are the main types of carcinogens. Constant exposure to these carcinogens cause gene abnormalities that can be inherited or induced in a body cell. These cells can also be damaged by outside sources. After many mutations from these carcinogens, it is thought that mutations will occur and will produce a malignant cell that will copy itself into many cancerous cells. Viruses are the cause of about 15% of all cancers. The virus is able to invade cells and cause them to synthesize new viral particles; viruses carry oncogenes that can 6. Excerpted from Encarta Encyclopedia, 1997. 3. infect cells and cause malignant transformation. Chromosomal structure change has been observed in 90% of all human cancer. Chromosomes are the repository for all genetic information required to build a cell. 7 Chromosomal changes are now considered as common in malignant cells and used to diagnosis cancer. It is said that about 80% of all the cases of cancer which are discovered each year are from environmental factors. Skin cancer for example can be caused by prolonged periods in the sun. Smoke is said to cause lung cancer. Cancers can be found in people who work with industrial chemicals such as; asbestos, uranium, aniline dyes, arsenic, vinyl chloride, ethylene oxide, benzene, formaldehyde, pesticides and herbicides. 30% of deaths in the United States are smoking related. Dietary factors may account for 40% of deaths from cancer. High fat diets, which are low in fiber can induce colon cancer. Another promoter of cancer is alcohol. If alcohol and tobacco are used together the risk of cancer to the mouth, larynx, throat, liver and esophagus is greatly enhanced. 8 Even though many different types of cancer are caused by chemicals, radiation, viruses and other sources, it has been found that 20% of cancers are based on inheritance. Some cancers are able to survive in families for generations. Even with such a large number as 20%, only a few cancers are thought to be caused by inheritance. The two 7. R. Grant Steen, A Conspiracy of Cells Plenum Press, 1993, page 5. 8. Mark Renneker, Cancer, Chelsea House, 1990, pg. 34. 4. major cancers thought to be Inherited are breast cancer and colon cancer. There is no rhyme or reason why these diseases run through some families but not others. Hopefully, someday, with our scientific advancements we will be able to save many lives. Even scarier than generations of families dying from the same horrible disease, is the way in which cancer spreads through the human body. Some cancers will grow and develop in one part of the body and will never really become dangerous as long as they are detected and removed. The more dangerous cancer cells are the tumors that travel through the body and replace healthy cells with the tainted, fast growing cancer cells. Normal tissue will be covered and will have cancerous cells running through it, each cell which is now potentially capable of forming a new tumor even if the original tumor mass is surgically removed.9 It seems that these malignant tumors are almost unstoppable. They grow and reproduce at an astonishing rate. Even though they do this very quickly, some cancers follow a very predictable pattern. For example, breast and prostrate cancers usually infect bone and melanomas. Kidney cancer is much the same and usually spreads to the lungs. Although we are aware of these trends, scientist are still unable to stop this infectious disease. 9. R. Grant Steen, Aconspiracy of Cells, Plenum Press, 1993, pg.93. 5. Five of the major cancers that have become the most predominate of all the cancers are the ones that affect blood forming tissues; lungs, skin, breasts, colon and rectum. These are the standouts and the most deadly of all the cancers. The type of cancer that effect blood forming tissues are leukemias. Leukemia means white blood. Leukemia causes the body to produce an abnormal number of immature white blood cells. This makes the body susceptible to infection. Leukemia makes up only 3% of all cancers, but what makes this disease so deadly is who it affects. Children are the most at risk for this disease. 10 We live in a very warm and sunny climate, because of this skin cancer is very prevalent. There are two types of skin cancer, basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. These types of cancers are both very dangerous cancers. They are found in all areas of the body which are exposed to the sun. The areas of the body which are most affected are the hands, face and ears. As long as these diseases are found in the early stages, there is good prognosis for complete cure. Melanomas are more dangerous because they metastasize much more quickly than normal cancer cells and can spread throughout the body. 10. Steven A. Rosenberg, The Transformed Cells, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1992. Pg.57. 6. Lung cancer is one of the most deadly cancers and is extremely hard to diagnosis. People are unable to detect the disease within them because the symptoms are not exposed until its final stages. The symptoms are a cough, spetum streaked with blood, chest pain, repeated attacks of pneumonia or bronchitis. The five year survival rate is only 14% overall. This cancer takes the greatest amounts of lives. The cancer that plagues one out of every ten women is breast cancer. Women as they become older, at about the age of 50, become more susceptible to this form of cancer. Through studies, we have found that over weight women with high fat diets are much more susceptible. Doctors highly recommend self examinations and mammograms to help women protect themselves from this disease. Breast cancer is one of the easiest cancers to be treated if detected at an early stage. 11 The second most common of all cancers is colon and rectal cancer. 70% of all cancers found in large intestines are found in the colon and the other 30% are found in the rectum. Symptoms are constipation, diarrhea, bloody stools and a change in bowel habits. This cancer can also be successfully treated if found in its earliest stages. 11. American Cancer Society, The American Cancer Society Cancer Book, Doubleday, 1986, pg.24. 7. There are several different types of cancer treatments. Surgery is the most effective and the most used. About 50% of patients are also treated with radiation. Surgery is often used if the tumor is localized. If the surgeon can remove the entire cancer, the patient may be completely cured. Even if the cancer has metastasized, surgery can often stop the disease from spreading any further.12 Radiation is a very good attempt to stop this invasive disease. About 50% of all people who have cancer receive radiation therapy. The way in which the cancer is attacked is by damaging the cancer cells by covering them with radiation. The treatment is very effective, except that the healthy cells around the tumor are also damaged. The treatments must be timed for maximum effect because the healthy cells need time to repair. Chemotherapy is the next most effective treatment after radiation. It is used after surgery and is very effective. Chemotherapy is about 50 drugs which are administered to stop the growth of the cancer or just delay the growth. The drugs often have many very severe side effects. They have a tendency to cause temporary hair loss, vomiting and nausea. Chemotherapy like radiation, damages healthy cells as well as the cancerous cells but is more effective than the radiation when the cancer has spread throughout the body. Today there are more new drugs which help with the side effects of chemotherapy.13 12. Excerpted from Compton’s Interactive Encyclopedia 1994. 13. American Cancer Society , American Cancer Society Cancer Book, Doubleday, 1986, pg.104. 8. Cancer today is treated by the clinician and the scientist. The doctors cannot expect to increase the success of their treatment of cancer without ongoing input from basic scientists concerned with cancer research. 14 Both the doctors and scientists must become more tolerant of each other and the science of biology must come together with the art of medicine to help find a real cure for this disease. 14. R. Grant Steen, The Conspiracy of Cells, Plenum Press, 1993, pg. 383. 9.

“And the lord god formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed in to his nostrils the breath of life; and ma became a living soul. The lord god then took one of his ribs and closed up his flesh instead thereof: and with the rib from which the lord god had taken from man he created woman.”

Is cloning necessary for advancements in improving the quality of life? People often question whether or not we as a scientific nation are trying to play the role of god by the diverse issue of human cloning.

Early in 1997 Scottish scientist Ian Wilmut revealed to the world that he had successfully cloned an adult sheep, known to the world as Dolly. With this invention the world made a collective gasp at the realization that cloning was no longer an element of a science fiction movie. Since then the cloning of human beings has been one of the most largely debated topics in the world. From the schoolhouse to the White House discussions have begun regarding the ethical implications of cloning. In several recent polls by Time magazine (The Ethics of Human Cloning 1998) it was shown that 75% of the responding population thought that human cloning was a bad idea. Furthermore, 74% of the respondents believed that cloning was against gods’ will, and when asked if they would clone themselves if presented with an opportunity, 91% responded with no.

In times of negotiations people forget the actual role that ambassadors are suppose to play for their country. An ambassador is a political puppet controlled by the leader of a nation and is suppose to convey only what they were instructed by their leader. It’s frustrating for a committee to listen to an ambassador blow out a lot of hot air. The thing is they shouldn’t be angry at the ambassador, but at the person instructing the ambassador which most often is the leader. It’s frustrating because it shows how the side trying to gain some ground runs into a diplomat who’s been told to be stubborn. The west makes this mistake more often because people assume a lie is being told and being that westerners have a one track mind that doesn’t help to see the other side.
In 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis was occurring and Khrushchev was instructing his diplomats on what to say to prevent every nation who wasn’t aware from knowing what the Soviets were doing in Cuba. The only nation aware at the time was the United States. Then Khrushchev’s Ambassador to the United States Andrei Gromyko arrived in Washington D.C to talk to President Kennedy. Kennedy thought Gromyko was lying the whole time they talked, but actually Gromyko was acting as he was directed by Premier Khrushchev. Proving political discussions can be deceiving if not followed correctly. The American politicians were sold Gromyko was lying and what they weren’t aware of was Gromyko was doing his job for the Soviets. Premier Khrushchev was running a political puppet show and his puppets were the ambassadors who came into western countries saying the missiles would be for defensive purposes only. Ambassador Gromyko was one of Khrushchev’s puppets that almost convinced the U.S to allow missiles to be kept in Cuba.
The dangers of puppetry politics is that the side listening does not know whether the person is bluffing or trying to make you believe something that’s not true. North Korea’s leader, Iran’s leader have their puppet politicians tell the United Nations and the United States that they’ll shut down their nuclear programs. Then once the United States and United Nations along with the world are sold on that happening, Iran along with North Korea secretly start up again leaving every non-western nation clueless because all nations from other parts of the globe only hear that the programs are being halted. Once the news that the nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea are being halted hit televisions all over the world then those countries have the cover they need to hide their work from the world. With that news flashed around no one will believe anything different than what’s been announced. The west knows what’s happening over there, but the puppet shows in the United Nations have left the world uncertain and has allowed the nations to continue strengthening their nuclear programs. The puppet shows have distracted more than just modern day politicians and will be a continued political tactic that is used.
Puppetry politics cause the opposing side to hear different theories by different people who are all from the same country who try to create confusion by choosing a theory that best fits the current situation, but also puts their nation’s credibility in jeopardy. Like in 1962 when the United States knew the truth about the missiles in Cuba, the Soviet Union used their puppet Ambassador Zorin to try to say that missiles did not even exist in Cuba in the session of the United Nations. Early in Washington, Ambassador Gromyko had said to Kennedy that missiles do exist in Cuba for defense only. The Soviet Union’s cover was pulled out from under them and the world did find out about the missiles. Zorin did not realize that the United States had already found out about the missiles and that he had been lying to the world which meant his credibility was long gone.
Politics are all about who’s informed the most about each situation. Puppetry politics is a type of tactic that depends on the close and careful communication between the diplomat and the leader. In 1962, the Soviet Union clearly had a break down and proved that political strategy puts a country at a higher risk to collapse then if everyone sticks to the same position. Some nations want to be honest to the world and some don’t want to be honest. The truth to that is that Khrushchev’s plan could have created a war and almost succeeded in doing so by him sending in his representatives to the United States with a story of defense. A lot of top Kennedy Administration members knew what the score was and knew that the days till war were becoming shorter. Those lies were becoming sparks and American’s did not know which one would be the one to ignite everything.
At the end of the day diplomats are dedicated to serving their countries and take pride in conveying their countries view. An ambassador’s job is to support their leader’s position on a situation. Gromyko was supporting Khrushchev because it’s not like he’s going to go against his countrymen. Americans are sometimes guilty of using puppet politics and most nations are at some point. The thing an ambassador is not always going to tell you what you want to hear, but if you listen to their points without getting frustrated that can ease the situation already right then and there. Kennedy keeping himself together when he met with Gromyko even though all that was said was crap to him avoided early confrontations. Which that is one of the reasons the crisis in Cuba did not escalate was because to the United States to did not display any erratic behaviors in front of the Soviet’s during negotiations. To that, Puppet politics are just a way of beating around the bush to hide the truth from the world, but in the end have caused a lot of chaos in this world. Never should a nation lie to the world and the Cuban Missile Crisis is a clear example for what happens to those who do so, you suddenly collapse.